Janet Jackson – Feedback
Hmmmm … watch me piss off alot of people real fast.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’ve been a Janet Jackson fan for years … BUT I miss the Janet of old and it just seems to me that lately she’s just struggling to stay relevant. I realize its a natural right of passage for all of us to experience a sexual awakening. And its become almost cliche now for recording artists to wear their sexual enlightenment on their album sleeve. But clearly now that she’s discovered it, she clearly can’t leave it alone – addicted perhaps? And like any good porn, Janet’s cds are hot the first couple times but then fizzle quickly for the next hot thing. Now here we are not even a year since 20 YO and there’s another Janet cd on the radar. Strangely enough 20 YO wasn’t a bad cd – clearly better than Damita Jo, but I guess they couldn’t figure out how to milk it a lil longer or didn’t think there were any other cuts worth releasing. So here we have the first single from her soon to be released new album Discipline.
My feedback? … a lil more dancing and a lil less CGI … anybody else think she looks like Britney Spears at the end of this video???
The first single Feedback from the
soon-to-be-released new album Discipline
available February 26th.
You said that! This video should have been a lot more realistic. I think lately her videos have tried too hard to be mainstream instead of focusing more on Janet herself. And clearly, this sounds like a Britney Spears track that was left off of Blackout…
OK, we gonna leave Janet alone. Let her do her thing, if she feels this is the path she wants to take support her if you are really a fan. I did not like the single, but i am sure i will buy the CD when it is released. Ok I am late for work, but let her do what she wants, for the last 20 years she has been trying to do everything her fans wanted, now it is time we let her do what she wants. And how can you compare britney and janet?
Clearly and easily.
It seems to me that Janet, as of late, is becoming more and more mainstream, She used to be quite innovative; lately, it seems she is fading in the background of everyone else. Maybe it’s the producers, maybe it’s an attempt to be “different”, but I am not alone in thinking that. This particular song would not make me rush to get her album, but a couple others I heard would. And, as a true fan, I can recognize the good and the bad…
Here’s my view so far (and it’s pretty nearsighted at the moment):
I haven’t seen the video yet, but one of my favorite things about Janet are her videos, so I’ll reserve judgment until then. Regarding the single, I was listening to a stream of four songs from this album before it came out. I heard the single and immediately went “ugh…”. Fortunately, the other 3 songs I heard made me shake my boots, so I figured, ok, 3 out of 4 are good odds, so I guess I’ll probably enjoy this album somewhat.
I made the mistake of pre-ordering this album (don’t know why), so now I have to wait until Saturday for it to be delivered. I may download it before then just to give it a few listens, and then give you a not so nearsighted opinion of it.
But there are three things I must mention: from what I’ve heard so far, it sounds very late-80’s Janet. This may be good, or bad, depending on your opinion. But when she said she wanted to do something new and fresh, well… blatant lie. Second, I love that she’s not only in touch with her sexuality at her age, but that she’s still adventurous and trying things out. But girl, at some point you gotta take the finger out of your coochie and sing about something else. Seriously.
And third, I can’t wait for the day when she says bye-bye to JD, at least musically. As much as I’ve enjoyed some of his work with other artists (like Mariah), him and Janet are just unpalatable. They just don’t go together. Some collaboration, yeah, sure, but the hostile takeover (as I see it) that he has done has left me quite pissed off. I know she’s very happy and in love, but if Beyonce can keep Jay-Z involved without him overwhelming her music, so can Janet. So kick him out of the studio every now and then, why don’t ya.
One more thing, you may enjoy this blog I visit often:
http://fourfour.typepad.com/fourfour/
It’s not all about music (I actually go mostly for the Project Runway and America’s Next Top Model recaps), but he knows his music and talks about it often, especially when new things come out. It might pique your interest.
Thank U for the FEEDBACK … no pun intended … (OK OK … it was intentional)
I agree with alot of what u said but I have to give u ur props for being much more eloquent than I ever could. I will agree with u that there were a few glimmers on this otherwise lackluster release. However while I did get an 80’s vibe off of a few tracks, I dunno if I could say they were “80’s Janet” -esque. Interestingly enough none of her recent releases have been near as memorable as her 80’s releases. Of course we both know that back then she actually had something to sing about … which brings me to ur second point. AMEN!!!!! This blogging software doesn’t allow me to print that AMEN anywhere near as big as I would love it to appear. THE BITCH IS CLEARLY A SEX ADDICT – someone call Dr Phil! And quite frankly its starting sound played out – no pun intended again. I really do think that … and I am glad to hear that I’m not the only one that thinks so. In addition to played out themes, I found the album to be overprocessed and not quite as cohesive as past discs. As a matter of fact I would daresay that the entire first half of the disc bounced around too much and the 101 interludes didnt do anything to improve the transition. The theme of the album is DISCIPLINE and clearly this effort needs it. I agree with u … if this was an effort to try something new, clearly this isnt it. And I agree with u, JD clearly isn’t doing anything for the situation. My first impression of this release was that this was Damita Jo 2.0 … an attempt to get on the club wagon, another attempt to make her a lil more “urban”, and more tired ass sexual innuendo.
Again … thanx for ur preliminary opinion … I love ur insight … PEACE!
WOW … thank u for that link to Fourfour. His review blew me away and couldnt be more dead on. For anyone that’s interested, you can find his review of FEEDBACK at http://fourfour.typepad.com/fourfour/2008/02/bad-girl.html