mjscarousal said:

Emancipation89 said:

That's exactly my freaking point. Even some people who prefer VR say History is a better album, so why trip over some people's personal preference?

I am not.. WHY ARE YOU?

That still isnt going to stop me from stating to the obvious regardless of preference.

[Edited 7/12/11 10:29am]

I wasnt goign for Velvet Rope because most people said that in the beginning. HIStory is a good album. It just sometimes tries too hard to be trendy and experiemental int he same time almost...some of it seems robotic "This Time Around" "You Are Not Alone" "Come Together"....just seem way too easy. Little Susie & Smile..while are good songs left me feeling akward after the end of History..which I felt should have closed the album out. The rest of it is great however...I thought tracklisting could have been alot better..does not flow very well.

Velvet Rope has great flow and is maddening and calming in the same time. Almost everything from the intro to I Get Lonely was flawless (except for the boring "My Need"). I guess..I just liked the music more in The Velvet Rope..dark, careless...spacey, funky and confusing even in bits..many experimental layers. Michael was indeed experimental (Money, DS, Tabloid Junkie)..but it was more robotic than Janet's experimentation..it was at times..the music portion in janet's album spoke for itself.

Timmy84 said:

Fiona01 said:

By sharing her masturbation woes? Hmmm, classy...

She did have some cute interludes. Especially the "Fasten Your Seatbelts" one with Janet and her friends, or ex-friends I should say (Tina and "Bucky").

Nah, sorry I don't do interludes. It's annoying to look on the back of the CD and have to hunt out the actual songs in the tracklisting.

That was a nice interlude one of her better ones. She does way to many unnessary ones though:-|

paisleypark4 said:

mjscarousal said:

I am not.. WHY ARE YOU?

That still isnt going to stop me from stating to the obvious regardless of preference.

[Edited 7/12/11 10:29am]

I wasnt goign for Velvet Rope because most people said that in the beginning. HIStory is a good album. It just sometimes tries too hard to be trendy and experiemental int he same time almost...some of it seems robotic "This Time Around" "You Are Not Alone" "Come Together"....just seem way too easy. Little Susie & Smile..while are good songs left me feeling akward after the end of History..which I felt should have closed the album out. The rest of it is great however...I thought tracklisting could have been alot better..does not flow very well.

Velvet Rope has great flow and is maddening and calming in the same time. Almost everything from the intro to I Get Lonely was flawless (except for the boring "My Need"). I guess..I just liked the music more in The Velvet Rope..dark, careless...spacey, funky and confusing even in bits..many experimental layers. Michael was indeed experimental (Money, DS, Tabloid Junkie)..but it was more robotic than Janet's experimentation..it was at times..the music portion in janet's album spoke for itself.

I never liked "My Need". It definitely was an energy downer. Maybe that's why HIStory least had more good songs, it did have a period where MOST of the songs were on an emotional high. Hmm, maybe I pre-judged the cohesion of the albums a little.

paisleypark4 said:

mjscarousal said:

I am not.. WHY ARE YOU?

That still isnt going to stop me from stating to the obvious regardless of preference.

[Edited 7/12/11 10:29am]

I wasnt goign for Velvet Rope because most people said that in the beginning. HIStory is a good album. It just sometimes tries too hard to be trendy and experiemental int he same time almost...some of it seems robotic "This Time Around" "You Are Not Alone" "Come Together"....just seem way too easy. Little Susie & Smile..while are good songs left me feeling akward after the end of History..which I felt should have closed the album out. The rest of it is great however...I thought tracklisting could have been alot better..does not flow very well.

Velvet Rope has great flow and is maddening and calming in the same time. Almost everything from the intro to I Get Lonely was flawless (except for the boring "My Need"). I guess..I just liked the music more in The Velvet Rope..dark, careless...spacey, funky and confusing even in bits..many experimental layers. Michael was indeed experimental (Money, DS, Tabloid Junkie)..but it was more robotic than Janet's experimentation..it was at times..the music portion in janet's album spoke for itself.

I was probably making a generalization but that is the case for alot of people here when they make their comments

So They Dont care About Us, Little Susie, Earth Song, Stranger in Moscow are robotic? Michael had me shouting like I was in church in some of his songs because I felt his pain and what he was preaching. He had me feeling lonely and frustrated as well. I could identify with the anger of how society is manipulated by the media and the injustice. The poverty as well as how we destroy mankind. And just that amazing dutch influence gem Little Susie.. GENIUS. There is nothing robotic about any of those songs. The ONLY song I will say that to is Come Together because it was a cover and like some have said very unnessary on an album as personal as that one.

I dunno but to me the ORDER in which the songs are place while IS important does not play a FACTOR on the overall QUALITY of an album which primarily seems to be the only arguement for History which honestly I dont disagree with. My only point was History is lyrical, artistically, the overall production and themes are way better than VR. Not to mention Michael wrote those songs himself and the LYRICS, language, metaphors etc were just crazy. He was a very talented songwriter

Velvet Rope is good but I exactly dont find the order of this album to be FLAWLESS or more better than the History odd order of songs. It rises and then falls. I love the album but it is not as impressive as History musically.

Damn I need to slow down when I type.. I get to carried away with Michael LOL

[Edited 7/12/11 11:07am]

[Edited 7/12/11 11:09am]

[Edited 7/12/11 11:12am]

^ To me the inclusion of Come Together was really unnecessary especially since I consider that he recorded the song in 1988. I guess he and Sony were having problems that he just put it in there to shut them up or something. I think there was a big fight between Michael and Sony on the way HIStory was going. The inclusion of You Are Not Alone was only because Sony wanted a hit (since Kels was hot at the time). But those two would have not been on the album if I was Michael.

GettOffMyLand said:

HIStory is a strange one for me. I love it and the songs are very personal. I love the fact that MJ was angry on it! The videos were great! Saying that there are things that I don't like (if we are talking as a complete package). The cover is awful. Just really disappointing. I hate the fact it was packaged in with a greatest hits. Also it feels like a random collection of songs rather than a well laid out album. I rarely listen to it from start to finish because the songs are so different (not a bad thing, but as a sequence of songs???).

Velvet Rope makes me sad. It is an amazing album to me in terms of the way it flows, the themes and the music. I miss Janet albums like that. Janet what happened??? That was the last time a Janet album made me feel a certain way. You went from an artist with something to say to a randy cougar.

It seems like MJ just put together an album without cohesion. Why the heck was "come together" on the album it didn't fit. That song should have been released with the bad album. It was like he recycled some previous songs on this album instead of making a new album with completely new songs. Where as the velvet rope had a theme and very cohesive.

janet jackson should do another velvet rope, but instead of the depression theme, she should do more of spirtitual theme about her trying to find happiness or finding it.

HIStory for me.It's just masterful.The first human voice on the album is a scream and the last human voice is a giggle...and that's it really. It takes you on a journey from Scream to Smile.

LightOfArt said:

HIStory for me.It's just masterful.The first human voice on the album is a scream and the last human voice is a giggle...and that's it really. It takes you on a journey from Scream to Smile.

Interesting analysis lol

I can kinda see why you would say that.

I'm going with The Velvet Rope on this one.

Timmy84 said:

^ To me the inclusion of Come Together was really unnecessary especially since I consider that he recorded the song in 1988. I guess he and Sony were having problems that he just put it in there to shut them up or something. I think there was a big fight between Michael and Sony on the way HIStory was going. The inclusion of You Are Not Alone was only because Sony wanted a hit (since Kels was hot at the time). But those two would have not been on the album if I was Michael.

I agree. However, Michaels vocals are amazing on YANA, its classic

TotalAlisa said:

GettOffMyLand said:

HIStory is a strange one for me. I love it and the songs are very personal. I love the fact that MJ was angry on it! The videos were great! Saying that there are things that I don't like (if we are talking as a complete package). The cover is awful. Just really disappointing. I hate the fact it was packaged in with a greatest hits. Also it feels like a random collection of songs rather than a well laid out album. I rarely listen to it from start to finish because the songs are so different (not a bad thing, but as a sequence of songs???).

Velvet Rope makes me sad. It is an amazing album to me in terms of the way it flows, the themes and the music. I miss Janet albums like that. Janet what happened??? That was the last time a Janet album made me feel a certain way. You went from an artist with something to say to a randy cougar.

It seems like MJ just put together an album without cohesion. Why the heck was "come together" on the album it didn't fit. That song should have been released with the bad album. It was like he recycled some previous songs on this album instead of making a new album with completely new songs. Where as the velvet rope had a theme and very cohesive.

janet jackson should do another velvet rope, but instead of the depression theme, she should do more of spirtitual theme about her trying to find happiness or finding it.

Dont completely agree or disagree with that BUT I hope you are not implying majority of History was not "new" I also hope you are not implying History didnt have a theme It sticks out like a sore thumb how can anyone miss it? lol

The order of the songs could have been better but still does not affect the quality of the music. While their are ONLY 3 tracks that dont flow cohesively with the overall theme of the album, Michaels vocals are A+++++ on them. So their not a complete waste but I guess if we are making the arguement on who had the better set list from beginning to end on an album than VR does . The VR was not flawlessly arranged itself.

BUT that doesnt necessarily mean VR had the better album musically and artistically which is MORE important because it has to do with MUSIC.

mjscarousal said:

paisleypark4 said:

I wasnt goign for Velvet Rope because most people said that in the beginning. HIStory is a good album. It just sometimes tries too hard to be trendy and experiemental int he same time almost...some of it seems robotic "This Time Around" "You Are Not Alone" "Come Together"....just seem way too easy. Little Susie & Smile..while are good songs left me feeling akward after the end of History..which I felt should have closed the album out. The rest of it is great however...I thought tracklisting could have been alot better..does not flow very well.

Velvet Rope has great flow and is maddening and calming in the same time. Almost everything from the intro to I Get Lonely was flawless (except for the boring "My Need"). I guess..I just liked the music more in The Velvet Rope..dark, careless...spacey, funky and confusing even in bits..many experimental layers. Michael was indeed experimental (Money, DS, Tabloid Junkie)..but it was more robotic than Janet's experimentation..it was at times..the music portion in janet's album spoke for itself.

I was probably making a generalization but that is the case for alot of people here when they make their comments

So They Dont care About Us, Little Susie, Earth Song, Stranger in Moscow are robotic? Michael had me shouting like I was in church in some of his songs because I felt his pain and what he was preaching. He had me feeling lonely and frustrated as well. I could identify with the anger of how society is manipulated by the media and the injustice. The poverty as well as how we destroy mankind. And just that amazing dutch influence gem Little Susie.. GENIUS. There is nothing robotic about any of those songs. The ONLY song I will say that to is Come Together because it was a cover and like some have said very unnessary on an album as personal as that one.

I guess...when it came out..I was expecting him to cover some of these topics. I was 13 when it came out, and I was only really suprised by "Money" "Tabloid Junkie" and "Little Suzie". I knew he was going to talk about the media...he covered that topic many times on this album too. I hated fast forwarding through Earth Song (thought it was corny back then just as corny as Heal The World and We Are The World) and Stranger In Moscow (I just wasnt feeling at the time). Come Together should have been on Bad...boo.

I dunno but to me the ORDER in which the songs are place while IS important does not play a FACTOR on the overall QUALITY of an album which primarily seems to be the only arguement for History which honestly I dont disagree with. My only point was History is lyrical, artistically, the overall production and themes are way better than VR. Not to mention Michael wrote those songs himself and the LYRICS, language, metaphors etc were just crazy. He was a very talented songwriter

He is ...my favorite is Tabloid Junkie...man he was best when he was angry. I just expected this from Michael..I knew he had this in him. I felt Janet threw me for a loop though with the Velvet Rope. I think she pretty much took all of us by suprise. The album...was almost pretty much in secrecy in what it was about. Michael had tons of promotion and grand advertising for this release..which didnt make all of this too suprising for me in the end. before the release of History..VH1 had a whole entire month dedicated to the release of this album...everyone talked about it. back then I was underwelmed actually because I was exhausted by the time it was released. Janet...we never knew all of this was coming. We never knew she was married..then divorced..we never knew about her physical and mental abuse..we never heard her speak on homosexuality and homophobia...it was really great.

Damn I need to slow down when I type.. I get to carried away with Michael LOL

Keep it coming

[Edited 7/12/11 11:07am]

[Edited 7/12/11 11:09am]

[Edited 7/12/11 11:12am]

paisleypark4 said:

mjscarousal said:

I was probably making a generalization but that is the case for alot of people here when they make their comments

So They Dont care About Us, Little Susie, Earth Song, Stranger in Moscow are robotic? Michael had me shouting like I was in church in some of his songs because I felt his pain and what he was preaching. He had me feeling lonely and frustrated as well. I could identify with the anger of how society is manipulated by the media and the injustice. The poverty as well as how we destroy mankind. And just that amazing dutch influence gem Little Susie.. GENIUS. There is nothing robotic about any of those songs. The ONLY song I will say that to is Come Together because it was a cover and like some have said very unnessary on an album as personal as that one.

I guess...when it came out..I was expecting him to cover some of these topics. I was 13 when it came out, and I was only really suprised by "Money" "Tabloid Junkie" and "Little Suzie". I knew he was going to talk about the media...he covered that topic many times on this album too. I hated fast forwarding through Earth Song (thought it was corny back then just as corny as Heal The World and We Are The World) and Stranger In Moscow (I just wasnt feeling at the time). Come Together should have been on Bad...boo.

I dunno but to me the ORDER in which the songs are place while IS important does not play a FACTOR on the overall QUALITY of an album which primarily seems to be the only arguement for History which honestly I dont disagree with. My only point was History is lyrical, artistically, the overall production and themes are way better than VR. Not to mention Michael wrote those songs himself and the LYRICS, language, metaphors etc were just crazy. He was a very talented songwriter

He is ...my favorite is Tabloid Junkie...man he was best when he was angry. I just expected this from Michael..I knew he had this in him. I felt Janet threw me for a loop though with the Velvet Rope. I think she pretty much took all of us by suprise. The album...was almost pretty much in secrecy in what it was about. Michael had tons of promotion and grand advertising for this release..which didnt make all of this too suprising for me in the end. before the release of History..VH1 had a whole entire month dedicated to the release of this album...everyone talked about it. back then I was underwelmed actually because I was exhausted by the time it was released. Janet...we never knew all of this was coming. We never knew she was married..then divorced..we never knew about her physical and mental abuse..we never heard her speak on homosexuality and homophobia...it was really great.

Damn I need to slow down when I type.. I get to carried away with Michael LOL

Keep it coming

[Edited 7/12/11 11:07am]

[Edited 7/12/11 11:09am]

[Edited 7/12/11 11:12am]

No problem I will

To those perspectives:

Michael might have spoke about HIS treatment in the media before BUT NEVER on the massive broader scale on History. Media was the umbrella but under that fell imprisonment mental as well as physical, racism, poverty,politics etc While it also incorporated personal frustrated, it looked a a broader spectrum of the media.

Earth Song sounds NOTHING like HTW, WATW so what arguement is that?

Promotion/Advertisement has nothing to do with the music. If the music is good its.. good regardless of how much hype it gets.

So far all I am getting is since this was the FIRST time Janet really showed herself personally THAT makes it better than History I appreciate that and I think it is a GREAT classic one of her best works but it is NO WHERE near better than History as far as overall production

I dont understand how people find Earth Song corny, that song was ahead of its time. It was a good decade before people "got green". Here's a little contemporary review of Earth Song.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-vogel/michael-jackson-earth-song_b_882740.html

And I dont usuallt give damn about reviews unless I agree with them so that one ^^ is a winner

LightOfArt said:

I dont understand how people find Earth Song corny, that song was ahead of its time. It was a good decade before people "got green". Here's a little contemporary review of Earth Song.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-vogel/michael-jackson-earth-song_b_882740.html

Earth Song is one of the greatest songs he ever produced. But I don't like anyone that covers it though.

I'm a Janet Jackson fan and I am most of the time biased towards her BUT objectively I choose TVR.

Plus I can relate to the album more "everyone has the need to feel special" right? I don't really have problems with the media and my childhood was quite happy.

mjscarousal said:

paisleypark4 said:

No problem I will

To those perspectives:

Michael might have spoke about HIS treatment in the media before BUT NEVER on the massive broader scale on History. Media was the umbrella but under that fell imprisonment mental as well as physical, racism, poverty,politics etc While it also incorporated personal frustrated, it looked a a broader spectrum of the media.

Earth Song sounds NOTHING like HTW, WATW so what arguement is that?

Promotion/Advertisement has nothing to do with the music. If the music is good its.. good regardless of how much hype it gets.

So far all I am getting is since this was the FIRST time Janet really showed herself personally THAT makes it better than History I appreciate that and I think it is a GREAT classic one of her best works but it is NO WHERE near better than History as far as overall production

I wasnt arguing about Earth Song..I am just saying that it fell (at the time in my mind) into the same type of corny anthem save the world / save the people theme he been doing for years. It took years for me to like that song...and I still wont play it often to this day...Man In The Mirror was good enough imo. I didnt have a problem with anyone else liking it....it's just I'm not into the "holding-hands-and lighters-anthems" as much...hell I dont like "Purple Rain" much either.

The songs go in part with my experience with the songs at that time. I loved Scream, TDCAU, Money, TJ, 2bad, HISTORY, YANA, SIM, D.S...I just didnt connect with them as much as I did with Velvet Rope. I was going through changes with hating myself for being gay at the time and this album SPOKE to me. They may not as been as political as MJ's were, but janet's Velvet Rope had more of a personal connection with me. I couldnt relate to Mj's ranting as much.

Velvet Rope

You

Got Till It's Gone

Go Deep

Free Xone

Together Again

Empty

What About

Special

Timmy84 said:

^ To me the inclusion of Come Together was really unnecessary especially since I consider that he recorded the song in 1988. I guess he and Sony were having problems that he just put it in there to shut them up or something. I think there was a big fight between Michael and Sony on the way HIStory was going. The inclusion of You Are Not Alone was only because Sony wanted a hit (since Kels was hot at the time). But those two would have not been on the album if I was Michael.

1988? Try 1985!

I love both albums but I'll have to go with HIStory.

[Edited 7/12/11 13:33pm]

Timmy84 said:

LightOfArt said:

I dont understand how people find Earth Song corny, that song was ahead of its time. It was a good decade before people "got green". Here's a little contemporary review of Earth Song.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-vogel/michael-jackson-earth-song_b_882740.html

Earth Song is one of the greatest songs he ever produced. But I don't like anyone that covers it though.

I heard a NewAge-ish cover once performed by a woman, was quite ethereal. Was never able to find it again though

Timmy84 said:

LightOfArt said:

I dont understand how people find Earth Song corny, that song was ahead of its time. It was a good decade before people "got green". Here's a little contemporary review of Earth Song.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-vogel/michael-jackson-earth-song_b_882740.html

Earth Song is one of the greatest songs he ever produced. But I don't like anyone that covers it though.

That's because "Earth Song", regardless if one hates it or not, is one of those songs that ONLY Michael Jackson can pull off. I hate most MJ covers to be honest. MJ has such a unique style that it's hard for anyone to cover most of his songs without sounding comical.

I liked Chris Cornell's cover of "Billie Jean" though and I liked Mariah's cover of "I'll Be There", but most of the time MJ covers suck. Most cannot pull off his songs.

I'm sure I have heard material off History but I have never heard that album

Velvet Rope for the flow and smoothness

HIStory for the songs and the emotion

They were both albums that they needed to make. Janet had been dealing with a lot of issues and she needed to air them out. What About, You, Everytime, Special were songs that you felt she needed to sing. With that said, VR has never been my favorite and while I appreciate it, I rarely listen to it for some reason.

Michael, had just gone through (at that time) the most horrific moment in his life and while he had done songs targeted at the media (Leave Me Alone and Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' were subliminal, and songs like Why You Wanna Trip On Me were also there), he hadn't done it with so much anger and pain in his voice on songs like They Don't Care About Us, Stranger In Moscow, and even the weak track D.S. Come Together is the odd inclusion as it was recorded in 1985 and had been released as a B side. It starts off with a "Scream" and ends with a "Smile"

Cinnamon234 said:

Timmy84 said:

Earth Song is one of the greatest songs he ever produced. But I don't like anyone that covers it though.

That's because "Earth Song", regardless if one hates it or not, is one of those songs that ONLY Michael Jackson can pull off. I hate most MJ covers to be honest. MJ has such a unique style that it's hard for anyone to cover most of his songs without sounding comical.

I liked Chris Cornell's cover of "Billie Jean" though and I liked Mariah's cover of "I'll Be There", but most of the time MJ covers suck. Most cannot pull off his songs.

One of the greatest live performers of all time has the tendency to do "Earth Song" as an encore in her shows but I always mute her.

TotalAlisa said:

GettOffMyLand said:

HIStory is a strange one for me. I love it and the songs are very personal. I love the fact that MJ was angry on it! The videos were great! Saying that there are things that I don't like (if we are talking as a complete package). The cover is awful. Just really disappointing. I hate the fact it was packaged in with a greatest hits. Also it feels like a random collection of songs rather than a well laid out album. I rarely listen to it from start to finish because the songs are so different (not a bad thing, but as a sequence of songs???).

Velvet Rope makes me sad. It is an amazing album to me in terms of the way it flows, the themes and the music. I miss Janet albums like that. Janet what happened??? That was the last time a Janet album made me feel a certain way. You went from an artist with something to say to a randy cougar.

It seems like MJ just put together an album without cohesion. Why the heck was "come together" on the album it didn't fit. That song should have been released with the bad album. It was like he recycled some previous songs on this album instead of making a new album with completely new songs. Where as the velvet rope had a theme and very cohesive.

janet jackson should do another velvet rope, but instead of the depression theme, she should do more of spirtitual theme about her trying to find happiness or finding it.

I couldn't disagree with this any more, it would be impossible. The overriding theme of HIStory (part 2) is 'fall from grace,' alienation, racism, the superficialities that separate us from one another, feeling isolated, discrimination, self-doubt, suspicion, paranoia. "Come Together" fits perfectly. Along with "Tabloid Junkie," "Stranger in Moscow," "Scream," "This Time Around," "Earth Song," "HIStory."

TVR is an extremely cohesive and strong concept and theme for an album, but HIStory is just as tied together lyrically and thematically, if not, even moreso.

That said, I love HIStory but my vote goes to TVR, probably my fave album by anyone, ever, along with Mama's Gun!

bboy87 said:

Velvet Rope for the flow and smoothness

HIStory for the songs and the emotion

They were both albums that they needed to make. Janet had been dealing with a lot of issues and she needed to air them out. What About, You, Everytime, Special were songs that you felt she needed to sing. With that said, VR has never been my favorite and while I appreciate it, I rarely listen to it for some reason.

Michael, had just gone through (at that time) the most horrific moment in his life and while he had done songs targeted at the media (Leave Me Alone and Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' were subliminal, and songs like Why You Wanna Trip On Me were also there), he hadn't done it with so much anger and pain in his voice on songs like They Don't Care About Us, Stranger In Moscow, and even the weak track D.S. Come Together is the odd inclusion as it was recorded in 1985 and had been released as a B side. It starts off with a "Scream" and ends with a "Smile"

Best way to put it!

Both albums had me going back in '95 and '97-'98. They had an introspective and serious vibe that dealt with their personal trials and tribulations. Michael had just came off of a miserable trip with the 1993 molestation charges and Janet had her emotional breakdowns as well. For some reason, I tend to listen to HIStory more than The Velvet Rope. Even though TVR sounds much more unified and built around a concept, HIStory just hits me alittle more harder nowadays. Even the sappy moments have connected more with me. I don't know if it's because of Michael's passing or just because it has grown on me, but both albums are tremendous to me.

I'm gonna try to do my mix of HIStory soon but when I do, this will probably be the mix:

1. Scream
2. They Don't Care About Us
3. Stranger in Moscow (that song is a masterpiece)
4. This Time Around
5. Earth Song
6. Morphine
7. D.S.
8. Money
9. Is It Scary
10. Childhood
11. Tabloid Junkie
12. 2Bad
13. Little Susie
14. HIStory
15. Smile

I thought "Velvet Rope" was a greatest hits type album or did it have new tracks as well as old ones? Hell, I don't know because I didn't buy it because I already had all the old Janet Jackson 1980s albums so that meant I had all the stuff from her I wanted because when the 1990s arrived and she sold out to that sound, I dropped her ass.

As for "History", Michael Jackson was one of the few artists from the 1980s that was still releasing stuff in the 1990s that I had respect for at the time. I was very impressed that he continued with some uptempo, funky sounding songs that a lot of people considered "outdated" at the time because sounding "outdated" in the 1990s was a good thing.

vainandy said:

I thought "Velvet Rope" was a greatest hits type album or did it have new tracks as well as old ones? Hell, I don't know because I didn't buy it because I already had all the old Janet Jackson 1980s albums so that meant I had all the stuff from her I wanted because when the 1990s arrived and she sold out to that sound, I dropped her ass.

As for "History", Michael Jackson was one of the few artists from the 1980s that was still releasing stuff in the 1990s that I had respect for at the time. I was very impressed that he continued with some uptempo, funky sounding songs that a lot of people considered "outdated" at the time because sounding "outdated" in the 1990s was a good thing.

^^^ No, vainandy, "Velvet Rope" was Janet's last really good album, IMO since the Janet (period) LP. It is not a greatest hits collection but a fully realized highly personal concept album with some really slick (in a good way) pop tunes. I love it and I am hard to please. Give it a spin and see what you think!

As far as the HIStory LP by MJ, I, too, was impressed that he continued with what I consider great music and I really like the songs added to it--classic songs are never outdated, they just grow better with time... BTW there is neither comparison nor competition between Janet and MJ; they will always remain brother and sister first, and then musical icons in their own separate statuses.

I could relate to the anger on Scream, the hope on Smile, the inner strength in 2Bad and the sadness of childhood (at one point) so it's not like I can't relate to HIStory either. Plus I think though HIStory is musically diverse, it may be musically heavier as a whole than Velvet Rope, and at the time of it's release, I was more into smooth r&b/hip hop over pop even though I like everything overall and always loved how diverse the two artists are. It was exciting when I got HIStory, and would play it often as well as watch his videos constantly after school, old and new in 1995-1997, plus I would tape him on all the entertainment programs that were being positive for sometime, and got VHS tapes off people at school, I was so lucky then. I would see HIStory tour clips on TV, would go on the internet to read MJ news and was dying to see him so badly, but he never made it here though I'm not in the US.

That's a good point someone made about homophobia, Janet was one of the first, if not the one to help me realize it's okay to be different in a hetereosexist world and not be ashamed, man that girl really taught me a thing or two about my sexuality! What About also was inspirational and made me interested in issues about what abused women experience and what to do to help them. Together Again was a hit in the same year I had to deal with a difficult family death, and songs like I Get Lonely, Can't Be Stopped and Special were easily relatable, was a freshman trying to find my place. I kept waiting for the title track to be released though cause it was so musically ambitious and she always released a title track. It was so awesome seeing her in person too in this era, it was my first time.