If you’re nasty

I've been a Janet fan forever. One of my first concerts was Janet Jackson. TLC opened for her. Talk about iconic. I danced all night and had a blast, it was a great experience. I have most of Janet's CDs and many of her early records on Vinyl. I love the remixes of her songs. And why Janet, you'd ask? I got on a Janet Jackson bender this week because Upton posted a song by Joni Mitchell. Oh, how do you get from Joni Mitchell to Janet Jackson, you'd ask? It's easy. You're me. 

I love Janet. She does not have the voice that let's say, Whitney Houston had. She sounds to me like a girl version of Michael (did you know that a conspiracy theory said that she WAS Michael in drag?) very breathy and sexy. I think she does fantastic in studio but because she dances so much in her concerts, it probably needs boosting from backup singers? But I love her style and what she does with her voice. She knows she's got a limited range and does not push it. Why would she? She's in it for showmanship and I applaud that. 

The thing is that I think that just like Madonna paved the way for many, many, many, many a female singer, Janet did her part too. Don't you believe me? Pop tarts are still copying her dance moves (that she got with the help of Paula Abdul) even to this day. Janet is 54 and she's been in the biz since she was literally a child and has been very influential. She has done TV, music and movies. I think that I like all of her albums, but I'm not gonna go here on  an on about each one of them. But I'm gonna tell you what I played over and over this week:

Nasty. I love this video. She was sooooo fresh! Her dance moves were flawless, and that beat! I was amazed by her male dancers and their sneaky queerness. Something in me told me they were gay and I was not going to let anybody tell me different. When we're young, we look for those little details in music and cinema, to reaffirm our sense of not being alone. This video did that for me.

Love will never do without you. Very Herb Ritts. It's sexy. It's playful and it has a super cool melody. The only downside in the video is Antonio Sabato, who was smoking hot then and now it's just another MAGAt. Thank goodness for Djimon Hounsou. I love the intimacy of the shot and it gave me a thirst for a very tall boyfriend. That, I got.

That's the way love goes. This is one of those songs that make me wanna dance very, very close to the man I love. It's just so.... sensual? And that man with Janet in the video? Dreamy. I find that her songs make me wanna jump up and down or let myself be engulfed by the arms of a guy. Really. Also, that's JLo before she was JLo. 

Got 'til it's gone. This is the song that caused all this Janet brouhaha. Janet sampled Big Yellow Taxi, by Joni Mitchell and when Upton mentioned that song I had to go look for it. There was the sample! When this song came out I liked it immediately. The video cinched it.  So I made the connection between Joni and Janet because of this song. Lowkey, Upton is contributing to my music education. It's the Wonderland Burlesque endowment for the arts scholarship that no one saw coming. 

All for you. It's kind of quintessential Janet and at the same time new. I like the lyrics and she looks fantastic in this video.  And I remember there was this guy who took me dancing and insisted that we danced to it. This song is now forever linked to him. I wonder where he is now. 

And this was when that SuperBowl incident happened and Janet was blacklisted. Remember that one? When Justin Timberlake ripped her bustier and THE WORLD saw her nipple for a fraction of a second? Well, Justin chickened out after the fact and groveled to music executives and he was forgiven. Janet? She was blacklisted. I think she's going to talk about it in an upcoming documentary. I hope she drags him. 

Justin Timberlake used Michael Jackson's voice and moves to climb to fame. He used Pharrell Williams beats and lyrics and Janet Jackson's misery to succeed. He's a worm. I hope his dick withers and falls off. He also used and mocked Britney Spears (have you watched the documentary?) and then he apologized using the 'sorry not sorry' way out. Ugh. 

Made for Now. I loved this song and I was hoping Janet would stage a comeback after it. I was so ready I started looking for concert tix. But then I did not know of the whole blacklisting thing. I was flabbergasted to learn that Les Moonves, a powerful CBS executive basically banned Janet from all the airplay that he could influence. Can you imagine being a recording artist and not having your videos played or your songs on the radio? That's what happens to women, people. Don't do anything remotely sexual because you're done. Janet paid for Timberlake's 'wardrobe malfunction' with her career. 

The thing is, I'm not the kind of fan who only likes artists because they're hot. I like artists because I like their music and their lyrics and their style. And Janet's got plenty of those. Just look how she made the children EAT IT during the Billboard Awards two years ago. That, to me, is star power. I still listen to her songs and will probably buy her next record and will deffo watch that documentary. Hope the tea she serves is hot. Fuck Justin Timberlake.

Now, let's dance. 

XOXO