Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Music : Janet Jackson's 'Janet.'


Another album from my past, not just iconic in the career of Ms. Jackson [if you're nasty], but iconic in my youth. It was released in 1993, and the cover is about as infamous as the album itself. Oh, how I wish I still had that poster that hung on my bedroom wall!

After previous success with Control and Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814, Janet. was not only a departure from Janet Jackson's typical themes of female independence and cultural issues, but a venture into a new record label. Janet. was her first release after being signed to Virgin Records for a then unprecedented multi-million dollar contract. The album explored love and relationships, as evident with the first smash single That's The Way Love Goes. She titled the album Janet., deliberately dropping her last name, in order to dissasociate her public image from that of her family.

It debuted at number one with the largest first week sales for a female artist at the time and is listed by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 200 Definitive Albums of All Time, and produced six number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

There are a multitude of songs from Janet Jackson's career that are a huge influence on me, but I used to listen to this cassette tape from start to finish. The interludes are perfection, and the video for If is probably in my top ten favorite videos of all time simply for the extremely sexual and groundbreaking choreography.

"Sex isn't just fire and heat, its natural beauty. Doing what comes naturally. It's letting go, giving and getting what you need. In the age of AIDS, it certainly requires being responsible. On a psychological level, though, good sex, satisfying sex, is also linked with losing yourself, releasing, using your body to get out of your body. Well, for the first time, I'm feeling free. I love feeling deeply sexual—and don't mind letting the world know. For me, sex has become a celebration, a joyful part of the creative process." - Janet Jackson to Rolling Stone Magazine

Download these : That's The Way Love Goes, You Want This, If, Throb, This Time, Again

No comments:

Post a Comment