It's POLL For You -- ILM artist poll #103 -- JANET JACKSON (voting open until July 24, 2020)

https://66.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpwdxu5LFd1qh94kxo1_500.gif

Minneapolis!

MAIN POLL

Send me your ballot of at least 10 top tracks, or up to as many as you want. The top 40 ranked songs will be given weighted points, but any songs beyond those 40 will get 10 points each. (Collaborations are eligible for the poll.)

APPETIZER POLLS

Albums: Rank up to 5 of your top Janet albums/comps/EPs.

INTERLUDES

Rank up to 5 of your top Janet interludes.
Remixes: Rank up to 5 of your top remixes.
Music Videos: Rank up to 10 of your top videos.

(NOTE: Indicate if ballots are ranked or unranked; even the sidebar polls.)

Send ballots to ephender at-sign gmail dot com. Order ballots from highest (#1) to lowest, and include your username.

Voting closes at midnight July 24, 2020, or within a few hours or days thereafter.

Minneapolis!

Ready!

determined to vote for Unbreakable, however much Control thru All for You tells me it's impossible

I guess now's as good a time as any to say that I'll accept votes for interludes, too.

oh no

Evidently I've misjudged the level of enthusiasm for this ballot poll.

I didn't even see that this had gone up

I’m enthused!

Well, so long as there's a small but dedicated pool of acolytes I guess.

Very excited for this. Will start doing some revision today. I have a feeling that if I listen to Control and Rhythm Nation that would be well over half my list right there. I need to make room for plenty of All For You as it's definitely her most underrated album. Really fond of Damita Jo too.

I haven’t heard anything post-All For You. Recommendations?

Ooooooh. I tend to just passively observe most artist polls but I might have to throw in a ballot for this one.

I haven’t heard anything post-All For You. Recommendations?

I'd highly recommend giving Unbreakable a spin.

gonna preemptively bring up "All Nite (Don't Stop)", "Feedback", and "The Great Forever" as latter-era gems

Damita Jo isn't much of a drop off after All For You and Discipline has some good moments too. I need to give Unbreakable another go. I know a lot of people on here really rate. I'll try and make room for No Sleeep on my list.

I've always loved her singles but not given proper attention to the albums. Here's my excuse!

Unbreakable is marvelous.

Eric, honey, love is one thing we was nevah stahved for in the South.

https://girlsdofilm.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/davis-bette-all-about-eve_02.jpg?w=768

"Escapade"

But that was the fourth straight time.

Then this will be five.

Excited for this!

LET'S GO

So this is no doubt incomplete, but here is a list of the song titles I've pre-loaded onto my spreadsheet in case anyone needs a refresher.

Say You Do
You'll Never Find (A Love Like Mine)
Young Love
Love And My Best Friend
Don't Mess Up This Good Thing
Forever Yours
The Magic Is Working
Come Give Your Love To Me
Don't Stand Another Chance
Two To The Power Of Love
Pretty Boy
Dream Street
Communication
Fast Girls
Hold Back The Tears
All My Love To You
If It Takes All Night
French Blue
Start Anew
Control
Nasty
What Have You Done For Me Lately
You Can Be Mine
The Pleasure Principle
When I Think Of You
He Doesn't Know I'm Alive
Let's Wait Awhile
Funny How Time Flies (When You're Having Fun)
Diamonds
Making Love in the Rain
Rhythm Nation
State Of The World
The Knowledge
Miss You Much
Love Will Never Do (Without You)
Livin' In A World (They Didn't Make)
Alright
Escapade
Black Cat
Lonely
Come Back To Me
Someday Is Tonight
2300 Jackson Street
The Best Things in Life Are Free
That's The Way Love Goes
You Want This
If
This Time
Throb
What'll I Do
Funky Big Band
New Agenda
Because Of Love
Again
Where Are You Now
The Body That Loves You
Any Time, Any Place
Whoops Now
One More Chance
70's Love Groove
And On and On
Scream
Runaway
Twenty Foreplay
Velvet Rope
You
Got 'Til It's Gone
My Need
Go Deep
Free Xone
Together Again
Empty
What About
Every Time
Tonight's The Night
I Get Lonely
Rope Burn
Anything
Special
Can't Be Stopped
God's Stepchild
Accept Me
Luv Me, Luv Me
What's It Gonna Be?!
Girlfriend/Boyfriend
Doesn't Really Matter
You Ain't Right
All For You
Come On Get Up
When We Oooo
China Love
Love Scene (Ooh Baby)
Would You Mind
Trust A Try
Son Of A Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)
Truth
Someone To Call My Lover
Feels So Right
Better Days
Who
Feel It Boy
Damita Jo
Sexhibition
Strawberry Bounce
My Baby
Spending Time With You
Island Life
All Nite (Don't Stop)
R&B Junkie
I Want You
Like You Don't Love Me
Thinkin' 'Bout My Ex
Warmth
Moist
Truly
Slo Love
Just A Little While
I'm Here
Put Your Hands On
Don't Worry
So Excited
Show Me
Get It Out Me
Do It 2 Me
This Body
With U
Call On Me
Daybreak
Enjoy
Take Care
Love 2 Love
Roll Witchu
Days Roll By
Feedback
Luv
Roller Coaster
Rock With U
2Nite
Can't B Good
Never Letchu Go
Greatest X
So Much Betta
The 1
What's Ur Name
Discipline
Curtains
Let Me Know
Make Me
Nothing
Unbreakable
BurnItUp!
Dammn Baby
The Great Forever
Shoulda Known Better
After You Fall
Broken Hearts Heal
Night
No Sleeep
Dream Maker / Euphoria
2 B Loved
Take Me Away
Lessons Learned
Black Eagle
Well Traveled
Gon' B Alright
Made For Now

Definitely incomplete. Here's a few other titles to consider: https://www.discogs.com/Janet-Jackson-Past-The-Rope-B-Sides-Rarites-Collection/release/10631137

im in on this for sure.

Just looking at that list, I'd totally forgotten about Runaway from her first singles compilation. Such a lovely song.

I play "Runaway" at least once a month

one of favorite new songs written for a comp

ILM be honest are the first two albums worth listening to or is the consensus that Control is her real first album accurate?

excited for this, there's a lot of her discog i've never really dug into but what i have heard is a+

"empty" still sounds ahead of its time over 20 years after its release

I am excited to see the results but won't be able to vote, as I'm only familiar with her singles, and the Control and Rhythm Nation albums

You can still vote if you want to

absolutely recommend listening to the velvet rope at the very least

also probably janet. too really. is it controversial to say that 90s janet >>>> 80s janet?

ILM be honest are the first two albums worth listening to or is the consensus that Control is her real first album accurate?

― justfanoe (Greg Fanoe), Tuesday, June 30, 2020 1:30 PM (six hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

there are a few jams! i can't remember what they are at the moment, but they're there!

is it controversial to say that 90s janet >>>> 80s janet?

― ufo, Tuesday, June 30, 2020 5:54 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

it might not be! i personally have a hard time making this judgment bc control has the same kind of relationship to rhythm nation as janet does to velvet rope, breakthrough -> masterwork

I have voted in some polls where I only knew half of the artist's catalog, but two albums + maybe 6-7 other songs would be like 20%? if we don't have enough voters, I'll try to listen to a couple more albums and throw in a ballot

is it controversial to say that 90s janet >>>> 80s janet?

Not at all.

(Esp since most of the Rhythm Nation singles were in the '90s.)

As I predicted, I listened to Control and Rhythm Nation last night and that's half of my list gone already.

BTW, I am not accepting ballots with fewer than 10 songs, and regard ballots with only two songs to be trolling.

what if the two songs are "Empty" and "Miss You Much"

They were both from All For You.

The first Jackson album has several Rene & Angela jams, one of which smokes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RLwRsTwV64

"Say You Do" is on the shortlist to make my ballot.

I would still accept "When We Oooo" and "Would You Mind"

I really do love that All For You takes Janet's traditional block of four album-closing ballads and moves them right up to the first half.

And then is all "now that you're comfortable, here's a goofy thing with Carly Simon"

Doesn't Really Matter and Someone To Call My Lover are probably both going to be in my top 10.

"Doesn't Really Matter" was such a perfect summer jam. I don't think anyone thought that confident mid tempo thing would be her first post-VR single.

lmao just thinking about being the kind of artist who has a run like control -> velvet rope

peerless

I'd say Madonna ---> Erotica is the only competition.

jam

woo oo

rebel

that's right

show me a more perfect drum track than the one on "nasty"

"Doesn't Really Matter" was such a perfect summer jam. I don't think anyone thought that confident mid tempo thing would be her first post-VR single.

She was the only person in Nutty Professor 2 with a song on the soundtrack; it would have been weird for it not to have been a single.

"what have you done for me lately" is a programming wonder and v much an early case of jam/lewis as industrial collage artists

Y'all need Control: The Remixes in your life.

omigod I've forgotten "When We Ooo" and "Trust a Try."

I honestly didn't remember how many non-album tracks and B-sides she has that I'm now giving serious consideration.

that ballad section of all for you is a career highlight, it's like you've fallen into a universe of pillows

"what have you done for me lately" is a programming wonder and v much an early case of jam/lewis as industrial collage artists

half of the beats on Rhythm Nation could be lifted wholesale by KMFDM and people wouldn't blink

Love love love this remix:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcjXxEA6lMI

half of the beats on Rhythm Nation could be lifted wholesale by KMFDM and people wouldn't blink

― shout-out to his family (DJP

otm. I've said often that Rhythm Nation's beats compete with Meat Beat Manifesto's easily.

show me a more perfect drum track than the one on "nasty"

I listened to "Nasty" for the first time in a long time recently, and that syncopated percussion still sounds like the future to me. Plus some cool change-ups in between those sections. I'd put it in the running for GOAT

Control's title track has become my favorite -- it's steel. And "The Pleasure Principle"! My god.

"this time" is kinda the template for the epics on futuresex/lovesounds right? it rules

I love it too

Gonna be pretty hard for me not to include pretty much every song from the first two thirds of janet.

putting together a ballot already seems impossible and i've only just gotten to rhythm nation

Don't know who well regarded/remembered this ebullient soundtrack duet is these days, but here's a friendly reminder not to sleep on it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79SNvZi3ltE

I listened to All For You on my way to and back from work today and it sounded so good in the sun. The ballads are all so gorgeous. When We Ooo, China Love and Love Scene will all be on my list. I always forget how great Better Days is too. Probably my favourite closer of hers (not including the nine second outro obviously).

(xpost) Very high on my ballot.

Seems I put "When We Oooo" between "The Greatest" and "Hairless Toys" on a mixtape once, guess I was feeling super ILMy back then

Currently in "Discipline is 10x better than I realized" mode, wow @ "Luv" -> "Rock with U"

You know what single rarely gets much love? "Because of Love."

Oh wow, is that house mix the actual definitive version? I've had the new jack version on my playlists this whole time not knowing about the other version!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbuiKmTh8Mk

Probably my favourite closer of hers (not including the nine second outro obviously).

For me I think that's still the slept-on "Someday is Tonight."

"Because of Love" is perfectly sequenced on the album, after the previous five or six songs' worth of genre zigging and zagging, nailing the landing with another "Escapade."

otoh "Again" is still a damp Kleenex.

the way she sings it elevates it

"Again" > "Anytime, Anyplace"

Received 3 ballots so far. I hope people don't sleep on the sidebar polls: albums, remixes, music videos (and interludes).

"love will never do without you": a near-six minute swirl of the best melodies ever written

plus a perfect herb ritts video

otm

(i am definitely participating in the music videos side poll)

“Love Will Never Do” is currently one of three songs in contention for my #1 slot.

this poll is weird, my top three will all have legitimate claim to being my favorite song of all time

(not that i've really settled on what my top three looks like, but "escapade" and "if" are in there)

lmao i just cried while listening to "escapade"

bridge sparkles like its spun out of the finest gold

Both "If" and "Escapade" have phenomenal bridges!

The harmonizing in the first bridge of the former gets me in the gut every single time.

the three ballads that end rhythm nation are all fucking incredible!!!!

underrated(?) janet. single: "you want this"

i think my favorite run on the record is funky big band -> new agenda -> because of love, though

also, fuck it, i love "again." it's so harmonically satisfying, and the absence of drums makes it float

"any time, any place" is like proto-voodoo

this is ridiculous, i have no idea how to rank these songs

one rule
no rules

one love
free xone

put this atop imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tivpKj1zt0

"i get lonely" is everything i like about music in one song

underrated(?) /janet./ single: "you want this"

(xps)

I don't mind "Again," but--and I'm sure this will be controversial--on the whole I'm not the biggest fan of her ballads. The colossal exception is "Come Back to Me," which I see placing high on my ballot.

really amazing album track buried in all for you: "truth"

Yeah, I love that one too, especially the way she goes into Ooh Child. There's going to be a lot of that album on my list.

Doesn't Really Matter and Someone To Call My Lover are probably both going to be in my top 10.

― kitchen person, Wednesday, July 1, 2020 7:18 AM (four days ago) bookmarkflaglink

hoo boy otm. just clocked the satie in the chorus of "someone to call my lover" for the first time

What do we think of "Black Cat"? I don't consider it more than a pleasant change of pace.

actually, the only imperial era single I find meh is "Miss You Much."

What do we think of "Black Cat"? I don't consider it more than a pleasant change of pace.

― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

It's quite easily my least favourite regular song on Rhythm Nation.

"black cat" was my favorite janet song when i was 8

still a fine piece of hair metal imo

I think its okay. Definitely stamps "1989" on the record in one of the less attractive ways, though.

Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead intended to record a version of "Black Cat" with Jackson, but was prohibited. Lemmy stated, "I wanted to do a version of 'Black Cat' with her, but Sony wouldn't let me. You could tell from the video that she was having a good time, that this loud rock music is what she really wanted to be doing. I love that fuckin' song.. Great fuckin' song that but the record company wouldn't let it be possible.

Can I vote for Djimon Hounsou in the video for "Love Will Never Do (Without You)?"

actually, the only imperial era single I find meh is "Miss You Much."

― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 5 July 2020 17:32 (five hours ago) link

I suppose theoretically there's an argument to be made that "Miss You Much" is too similar to "Escapade" to stand tall on its own, but in practice "too similar to one of the best songs ever made" is the opposite of a put-down.

This is an auteurist argument, but I find the lack of a Jackson co-write instructive; "Miss You Much" sounds generic while even the words in the middle eight of "Escapade" leap out. I realize "Love Will Never Do" also boasts no Jackson credit, but that's an exception.

Miss You Much >>>>>>>> Escapade (and I like Escapade)

My numbers two and one respectively from that album.

The beat on "Miss You Much" is a monster.

The apricot scarf was worn by Nick
Nothing in the words referred to Mick

Who do you think you are, Rambo?
Or a cumulonimbus capillatus or a cirrus or an altostratus?
Somebody to make somebody like me proud
In the encyclopedia of clouds?

tell em carly

As much as I love All For You as an album, Son of a Gun is the main one I can't get on with it. The repetition of the "clouds in my coffee" part is so grating.

I initially loved "Son of a Gun" but when I came back to the album 5 years later, it really felt like a prank

both posts otm

I'm spending more time with the Janet album. Out of her imperial phase albums it's the one I know the least. One thing I noticed this morning is how some of the singles didn't quite hit me. I know Again was already discussed here, that's one of my least favourite ballads of hers. Also, I know this is probably controversial, but If doesn't do a lot for me. That chaotic intro sounded so jarring to me for some reason.

I'm wondering what people think of Whoops Now? It was really sounding so joyful to me walking home in the heat today. Her saying "tiddlywinks" is a career high point.

"If" is all time for me, esp. because of the video clip.

I can see not clicking with "Again" but it's one of those ballads from the era that just feels like a steamroller regardless of what you think of it, like "Saved The Best For Last".

Listening to Damita Jo again, and still blown away that Janet not only included both "Warmth" and "Moist" on the album but programmed them back to back (including with the "my turn" transition).

“Whoops Now” is a delight.

^^^^

not sure how i'm going to submit a ballot without most of the velvet rope album tracks on it

more treated violin solos in music thanks

it's really ridiculous how much range she covered over janet & the velvet rope, those albums are just so immense and fantastic at everything they try to do

i'm not a big fan of "what'll i do" but otherwise yes otm

i was thinking 'hmm maybe janet is edging out velvet rope as my favourite album of hers' but now i'm listening to velvet rope again and it's impossible to choose

"what'll i do" isn't anything special but i like it enough and sequencing it after "throb" is inspired

I love the hubris of this track; only in an artist in her imperial phase would release it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsPb2EVCLdg

two of my favorite records this year do the "cohesive despite pretty wide genre-travel" thing and i wonder if it's because we all grew up on '90s janet

"this time" rules so much, like how did she get away with it - a 7 minute goth-r&b epic with a ridiculous operatic crescendo

the last two minutes of "this time".... fuckin legendary

the sequencing of the velvet rope is just fucking insane

"go deep" -> "free xone" -> "together again" -> "empty"

Listening to Damita Jo again, and still blown away that Janet not only included both "Warmth" and "Moist" on the album but programmed them back to back (including with the "my turn" transition).

― Tim F

This is the next album I'm going to revisit. Looking forward to it although without anything from this, I already have 50 songs on my shortlist.

i find it downright impossible to be objective about "if." if i were forced to find the "root" of my queerness it would certainly be watching the "if" video at the impressionable age of six, it was like a bomb going off in my life. the noteless guitar squalls, the percussion track's dense leafy compression, the fuckin... strings. the instrumental breakdown is like the logical endpoint of what "nasty" started

It's an insane production: the guitar squeal, the chinoiserie bit played on synths, then GIMME TEH BEAT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTSd4vqnMwo

the song is already its own atmosphere and then the video translates that atmosphere into perfectly-aligned images and choreography, i cannot begin to detangle them in my mind. janet walking in slo mo through the billowing red curtains @_@

good excuse to relisten here.

Listening to it last week, I relished how she sounds out of breath singing each word clearly when she gives the chorus a second pss: "If. I. was. your girlfriend. the. things. I'd. do. to. you."

this poll is going to give me the immense gift of listening to a lot of janet albums for the first time so thank you eric. like i hadn't heard "doesn't really matter" or seen the video and it instantly made my weekend so i guess it's going to be that x 100 for a few weeks if not months. yay!

the song ended! i didn't even get to come!!!

lmao "trust a try" is so fucking amazing

very aaliyah s/t-core

also i know i repped for "trust" earlier but "feels so right" may be even better. all for you: a great album

Just found out that Whoops Now didn't even get into the R&B chart in the US (was it even a single there?) and um what!?

uh i started damita jo and maybe it was a bad idea, bc now i have to figure out where "strawberry bounce" places in my already-full ballot

the fabled strawberry bounce to the top

Damita Jo is such a chilled and gorgeous album. I just listened to the whole thing and apart from the last track which really seems out of place, it sounded glorious. R&B Junkie should have been a single. I Want You, SloLove and Truly all need to be on my ballot as well. Even the opening interlude is really lush. So underrated.

Oh wow, I didn't realise the last song (Just a Little While) was actually the lead single. Weird choice.

yet it was so promptly forgotten. Fuck Justin Timberlake.

To read the Wiki on Damita Joe is depressing as fuck.

Damita Jo is such a chilled and gorgeous album. I just listened to the whole thing and apart from the last track which really seems out of place, it sounded glorious. R&B Junkie should have been a single. I Want You, SloLove and Truly all need to be on my ballot as well. Even the opening interlude is really lush. So underrated.

― kitchen person, Tuesday, 7 July 2020 23:23 (yesterday) link

the best parts of the album (i.e. the above, but also stuff like "The One" as well as "Strawberry Bounce" obv) make it seem like it could have been Janet's Last Train to Paris avant la lettre (to the extent that The Velvet Rope wasn't that already) if it was a bit more consistently in the pocket and expansive. But in particular the run of "Like You Don't Love Me" --> "Thinkin' Bout My Ex" --> "Warmth" --> "Moist" just kind of makes the horizons of the album seem smaller than perhaps they are (though lol I just realised that the "standard" version of the album excises those last two songs - was that a post-Superbowl decision?).

More generally that sense of foreclosing horizons is what puts everything post-The Velvet Rope (and pre-Unbreakable) at varying rungs below what came before. I mean most of The Velvet Rope is very bedroom-focused but stuff like the title track, "You" and "Free Xone" help to create this sense of Janet operating with a broader vision and having "something to say" (even if most of that time that something is along the lines of "your coochie gon' swell up and fall apart").

lol also "all nite (don't stop)" aka my favourite song from the album

someone to call my lover is really fun. like a better version of jordan knights give it to you but with the ventura highway sample built in.

She's one of the few artists (ahem Madonna) to use sex as a prism through which to see how her euphoria stands in opposition to or is part of other people's experiences.

After getting on so well with Damita Jo I'm wondering if it's worth bothering going back to the two albums that came after or just skipping straight ahead to Unbreakable. All three of these are albums I've probably only heard once or twice. At this point I don't really have any room on my ballot, it's just more to find another great Janet album or even just a couple more awesome tracks.

I have a theory that no pop artist's work has aged as well over the past 35 years and would welcome suggestions of competitors to that title.

Okay, time for a full relisten.

(anyone repping the s/t? i'm not sure i've ever heard it)

it's kind of amusing how some of the tracks on the s/t sound like they could fit on All 4 U or Damita Jo.

yep!

I'd say "All For You" shows a careful study of "Young Love."

and why not? Rene & Angela were contemporaries of Change.

After getting on so well with Damita Jo I'm wondering if it's worth bothering going back to the two albums that came after or just skipping straight ahead to Unbreakable. All three of these are albums I've probably only heard once or twice. At this point I don't really have any room on my ballot, it's just more to find another great Janet album or even just a couple more awesome tracks.

― kitchen person, Tuesday, July 7, 2020 6:25 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

iirc 20 yo is the only janet album i’d call... not inspired. then again maybe when i listen to it next it’ll turn out to be amazing who knows. i also remember discipline as being patchy with some all-time jams

iirc 20 yo is the only janet album i’d call... not inspired. then again maybe when i listen to it next it’ll turn out to be amazing who knows. i also remember discipline as being patchy with some all-time jams

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson)

That's how I remember feeling about those two albums. Discipline might be worth a go if I find the time but I think I'm going straight on to Unbreakable which I've only heard once. I know it had a lot of support on here.

"Feedback" is straight fire

I don't much cop to Discipline either but "Rock With U" and "Feedback" -- one of them at any rate -- will appear on my ballot.

'Truth' is such an incredible song.

The bass line!

forgot how much i love Empty

i wanna amend my earlier comment to "no other artists HITS have aged as well over the past 35 years"

first two albums were rough going but i got Say You Do and Fast Girls out of it.

"your coochie gon' swell up and fall apart"

qft

I Want You, SloLove and Truly all need to be on my ballot as well.

"truly" is a masterpiece tbh

damita jo, great concept album about fuckin on the beach

So I'm skimming the "Artistry" section of her Wikipedia page and it starts off horribly, but then along comes one Eric H. with a good quote. Could that be our dear pollrunner?

Meanwhile, I'm ready to call All for You my fave. Just unceasing awesomeness.

it really is

classic: the way janet jackson says "funky"

sings rather

brain dying rip

I saw her on the "All For You" tour and it was pretty disappointing. But I saw her again a couple of years ago and she absolutely killed it.

My ballot is an overflowing mess. I've no idea how I'm going to get this cut down and in order.

Biggest discovery for me so far is how much I love the Janet album. I've been sleeping on that album for so many years. The second half is so strong.

Janet is still my least fave of her 5 (5?) megasellers. To many interludes, too many slow jams.

I'm realising my least favourite is Velvet Rope. Probably not a very common opinion round here.

xp i mean, pretty much every album of hers from rhythm nation onwards has had a ridiculous amount of interludes

yeah the interludes are pretty inseparable from the janet experience

slow jams too, especially a suite of 3-4 in a row

i don't love "again" but "where are you now"/"the body that loves you"/"any time, any place" is a great sequence on janet

If “Empty” doesn’t rank everyone’s accounts get deleted.

it's my #1 for sure

yeah ufo otm, "where are you now" is one of her all-time greatest slow jams

i'm listening to 20 yo and uh yeah... something's still not right here. "do it 2 me" is pretty cool though

"daybreak" too

lol, whoops, the album gets really good right around there. "take care" is amazing

discipline: underrated, slaps

"rock with u" is amazing but consider: "2nite"

off the first album, 'come give your love to me' will def get a vote from me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff808BbaFR4

holy shit I'm starting from the first album and this is like..... really really good?? like ok yeah obv it's not as innovative or groundbreaking as her later work but as a huge fan of early 80s funky disco pop this is GREAT

Angela Winbush, y'all

once the ballads hit it's too late, but the disco pop stuff is great yeah

yeah the ballads are clunkers for sure. I'm on "Dream Street" now and the first 3 songs are also fire

oh my god this synth breakdown at the end of "Pretty Boy" is sheer euphoria

off the first album, 'come give your love to me' will def get a vote from me

my ballot is, again, already full, but i'm really considering doing this too, what a cool song

OK how the fuck am I supposed to make room for "Moist" and "SloLove"

re: dream street: "don't stand another chance," "pretty boy," "fast girls," all great

"fast girls" is very proto-control

re: "black cat," i forgot, the video version is superior

i am kinda digging rediscovering Janet's ROCKIN THE FUCK OUT tracks,"Trust a Try" is fucking awesome

oh man the remix poll is gonna be even harder than the main one

"rock with u"........... is gonna be in my top ten

strobe lights make everything....

.... SEXier

lol remembering how incredible it was to hear unbreakable for the first time

i *have* to vote for "dammn baby," that is a finely-layered piece of production

janet/jam/lewis 4ever

"shoulda known better," wow, ;_;

this may be beside tim's point about damita jo but "dammn baby" sorta realizes the idea of janet's last train to paris for me

which, really it's the jam & lewis version of mustardwave, but that's how it ends up for me regardless

oh my GOD "night"

how do i get everyone to vote for "night"

I remember five summers ago almost weeping when "No Sleeep" was so damn good.

Same.

Was just thinking that if "Feels So Right" had shown up in, say, the back half of Erykah Badu's "Cain't Use My Phone" EP I'd still be spinning it weekly to this day.

omg TIL Janet released a promo-only single for Pepsi in 1999 that I don't believe has been available anywhere else since?? I wouldn't say it's one of her all time best tracks but I def don't hate it and it came with a Masters At Work remix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrASTW9DCm8

The post-All For You records aren't doing a whole lot for me these first time through them, but for what its worth, "So Much Betta" (from Discipline) is the only thing I've heard so far that I think is flat-out awful.

*THIS first time through them

oh that's how i feel about "this body" on 20 y.o.. terrible

i like "so much betta"

I used to hate “Rock With U” but I played it the other day and was like “wait this slams, what is happening”

yep

the bridge in "the great forever" is unreal

I wish "Free Xone" had more xones. Xones to infinity.

how do i get everyone to vote for "night"

top ten for me, I promise

One rule
No rules

Okay, after a couple of listens of “Janet Jackson” and “Dream Street” my takeaway is that the s/t is pretty unexceptional and generic but “Dream Street” is like... pretty great?? Which surprised me, bcz my impression was that they were both equally mediocre and filler-y.

i still think dream street is a little patchy but again, the jesse johnson and marlon jackson tracks, whew

also i have tried very hard but there's no way i'm ever going to like "two to the power of love"

it does not make the mistake the debut makes of wandering off into wispy ballad land

Oh yeah it’s definitely patchy and imperfect and nowhere near the tier of Control thru Velvet Rope BUT it is a bigger improvement over the s/t than I thought, like in terms of sonic palette I can see a progression from Dream Street to Control, it’s not like a total schism like Underworld’s first 2 albums or something.

also I love love LOVE “Pretty Boy”’s booming “ONE👏TWO👏ONE TWO THREE FOUR” followed by, like, a pleasant but fairly sedate synthesizer solo that is nowhere near as grand as one would expect from such a count-off

listening to damita jo for the first time and "strawberry bounce"!!!

It is a secret weapon

Strawberry Bounce will likely be in the 20-25 range for me

Strawberry Bounce is probably going to just miss out on my list but there will be a handful of Damita Jo songs in there.

Would it be fair to say that the general consensus is that 20YO is the nadir of her post-Control career?

yes and i agree with the consensus

Yeah, that's quite comfortably her weakest album.

damita jo is her most consistent album. there are no duds! and, like, at least ten perfect songs

"all nite (don't stop)", "warmth" and "slolove" will all be in my top 10 probs

i would argue Velvet Rope as her MOST consistent album.

but some of this may be a "your favorite season of SNL" argument
except Janet is, you know, talented

I want to love All For You SO BAD but after like 4 listens, it is just not sticking. It’s too mellow, too straightforward, Velvet Rope was SO innovative futuristic boundary-pushing and in comparison All For You sounds a lot more traditional. It’s not BAD, I just don’t find it very compelling. I’m secretly hoping someone can provide a good argument to convince me otherwise.

20 yo is definitely not a great album, but "take care" is insane. one of my very faves

ah ah
take care of me
ah ah
fulfil my needs

Fuck Unbreakable is so good. The duel between the laser zaps and piano at the end of Night!

unbreakable is really just as great as her run from control to velvet rope. i think the only things i don't like about it are that the j cole version of "no sleeep" was on the album and that 60s psych sample on the last track.

otm

janet during "spending time with you": "god i just love listening to that"
me: "me too janet!!!!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuDrC_b-CNo

spending more time with 20 yo hasn't endeared me to the album as a whole very much, but i certainly love this song

i feel like after a dodgy first few songs it's pretty consistently good though. "take care" is the best song ever and i'm def voting for "do it 2 me" as well

with you it's whatever your pleasure is to give me pleasure that's why i call on youuuu <3

and "daybreak" is sick too!

"take care" and "do it 2 me" are the other incredibly amazing songs on there

giving up today, this isn’t going to get any easier

am i missing out on any incredible outtakes that i haven’t heard

only 40 top tracks... the injustice....

Not quite “incredible” but Janet covering Joni’s “The Beat of Black Wings” and announcing in the intro that it is her favourite song is definitely a mood.

given the heartbreaking cuts i've already made, i guess it's unlikely anything new would break into my top 40 anyway

I need to do some last minute revision and give Unbreakable another listen, but I'm getting close. I have a 40 song list that could work.

Not sure I'm going to be able to join in with the side polls apart from albums. Maybe the interludes at a push?

i could only do albums and music videos

i mean i wanted to participate in the interlude poll but it’s basically “speaker phone” and then everything else

LET'S GO

MINNEAPOLIS

I've really become obsessed with Runaway over the last week. Definitely needs to be higher on my ballot than it currently is.

^^^^ so otm, def in my top 10

How many people are including "Scream" in their track/video ballots? I mean it's obv one of the best things BUT it 100% feels more like a Michael song that Janet participated in than a true Michael/Janet collaboration, it feels 100x more his thing than hers

kinda agree with that

That's how I feel about "Diamonds" re Herb Alpert

Wouldn’t vote for “Scream” on an MJ ballot, and won’t vote for it here. The beginning of Michael’s self-pitying phase, and not terribly catchy besides.

With presumptively 10 days left to vote, I've received four ballots:

clemenza
gospodin simmel
Tom L.
BradNelson

michael sang a song in 1972 about prejudice against him and his killer rat best friend

xp If you've submitted and don't see your name/username above, it might be lost in my junk folder.

I'm on the beach. I'm listening to "The Great Forever."

Shhhhh

Wouldn’t vote for “Scream” on an MJ ballot, and won’t vote for it here. The beginning of Michael’s self-pitying phase, and not terribly catchy besides.

I didn't know "Scream" came out before "Leave Me Alone"

Did Janet get called out on the similarity of the opening verse of Let's Wait Awhile to America's Daisy Jane? It's mighty similar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JYuuk4L2Vc

ugh I just discovered that the chair dance is NOT a part of the actual standalone "Miss You Much" video and I am OUTRAGED

This counts as a music video, right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NilzV-bn53M

there is only one correct answer to that question and it is "Yes, JAL."

Voted!

(xps)

Forgot about “Leave Me Alone,” probably because I’ve only ever owned Bad on vinyl (but more likely because I just forgot about it).

lol "Janet Jackson and The Nation"

I'd like to interrogate Andy K as to why his allmusic review for 20 Y.O. is so positive while his review for Unbreakable is so mixed (despite Allmusic affixing a best of the year label to it).

lol see also Allmusic's abysmal "Velvet Rope" review

"like you don't love me" is a masterpiece

DAMN! IS THAT ALL I GET. FROM YOU?

ACT LIKE I'M NOT YOUR LADY
DO ME LIKE YOU WANNA DO THEM OTHER GIRLS

An overdue relisten of Damita Jo wasn't an unpleasant experience at all, and while I already had 2 tracks on my ballot, I ended up coming away strongly considering up to 3 more.

okay I was not taking anyone seriously re: appreciating Janet's first two albums but "Say You Do" is a fukkin bop

Oh yeah that's one of the few tracks I really enjoyed from the s/t, it sounds way too much like a Michael song for me to rank but it is a bop nonetheless

it is definitely biting about three MJ songs, it is also really good

There are now 7 ballots in and enough songs have votes to do a proper 77 (with a few to spare).

i used to think rhythm nation was a good but patchy album. now i realise it's all amazing. growth

i don't know how to rank the top 5 albums and what to omit this is torture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxSfQeCoFUM

close enough

never seen that video, it is a+ nuts

my favorite from the unreleased & leaked ones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAGpoRcnIqs

PS - what has happened to rich harrison??

So, with one week left and 8 ballots in ... dare I open up balloting to allow for more than 40? Dare I say everything extra beyond 40 automatically gets 10 points each?

(Yes, I received a ballot with more than 50 and I can't penalize enthusiasm.)

^^ yup, got distracted in the abundance of goodness there, just cut off everything that's beyond 40 and don't mind me, I'll just weep quietly in the corner

WHAT

Nope, I've updated the intro post and now the floodgates are open. Add away, Brad!

(I have at least a dozen I need to toss an extra 10 at.)

(I feel like RuPaul saying "oh, and one more thing.")

20 yo is actually just a straight up sick album

I'm going to submit a list of at least 20 but probably going to wait until the last minute in case I find the time for further listening.

yeah, i have a ballot coming. just trying to listen through to 20yo and Discipline and getting distracted by new music.

I voted. Where's my sticker?

No sticker. Just a rope burn.

I want you to listen to ...

YOU!!!

Song that keeps jumping up on my ballot the more I listen to it and the more step dances to it I watch on YouTube: "Feels So Right."

yep. very high up on my ballot

Nine ballots in.

When I ran the Bjork poll it had 41. Just sayin'.

It's early!

I am voting, I just can't decide what to put on my ballot

I voted. I only enjoy two JJ songs but I ranked them and sent ‘em in.

Quality not quantity folks

You need at least 10 for the ballot to count.

Also, for those who missed it, I'm now doing unlimited ballots of more that 40. (Anything beyond the top 40 gets 10 points each. If you turn in an unranked ballot of more than 40, all songs get 10 points each.)

Aww
Oh well

i'm not familiar with the depth of her catalog (i think i've only heard 3 of her albums front-to-back) so i'm not sure if i will be voting on this, much as i love many of the songs that i do know

but i would like to express my support for the cool summer mixes of "nasty" in the remixes category :D

absolutely

I changed my mind, I am voting for "Say You Do", thank u DJP

It got a bonus 10 points from me.

FWIW, as of now there is only one single song that's gotten votes from every person who voted so far (and no #1 votes).

i am submitting a revised and expanded ballot. am i allowed to vote for the full rhythm nation 1814 movie as a music video

Sure thing.

I'm letting Stevie D pick a foreign airline commercial, after all.

A dozen ballots in, btw.

I'm gonna keep listening until the deadline. Right now, my ballot looks about 90% like Design of a Decade plus a bonus EP of VR/AfU singles.

lol i feel that

the hits are undeniable

Design of a Decade is pretty great though it gives janet. a major short shrift (I'm sure they didn't want to cut into the album's presumably still comparatively robust sales).

lmao i love the "go deep" video so much. the soap suds

David Browne: Due to contractual obligations, the album consists almost entirely of songs from Control and Rhythm Nation 1814 and includes only one (”That’s the Way Love Goes”) of the five top 10 hits from her 1993 smorgasbord janet.

(xp)

lmao omg I just actually looked at the tracklist for "Design of a Decade", what s senseless product!! Like this really is largely a compilation of songs from.... 2 albums???

And it doesn't even include "The Best Things in Life Are Free!"

Janet's definitely owed an at least two-disc Celebration-style compilation at this point.

LOL, I guess I forgot about buying this:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fa/Janet_Jackson_-_Number_Ones_album_cover.png/220px-Janet_Jackson_-_Number_Ones_album_cover.png

oh yeah i suddenly remember being devastated as a kid because design of a decade didn't have "if" on it

or "You Want This." Or "Anytime, Any Place." Or "You Want This."

"You Want This" is one song whose awesomeness I didn't fully recognize until I started listening for this poll.

Number Ones is insanely good

and it includes "The Best Things in Life Are Free" and "Diamonds."

But not “You Want This.” For years the version with the rap break was the song I picked from the gay dive bar jukebox.

only just now realising how structurally weird "what have you done for me lately" is. it really spends over half its runtime (from 2:17 until the end) messing around repeating the chorus

was going to say that "someone to call my lover" is an extremely underrated gem but found that kp and brad already talked about how incredible it is here

it really spends over half its runtime (from 2:17 until the end) messing around repeating the chorus

Worth it for that great piano break in the LP version.

I just want to reiterate my disbelief that "New Agenda" wasn't released as a single

Is "Whoops Now" the first (only?) "hidden" track to be released as a single?

The Clash's "Train in Vain" was 13 years earlier, and still probably the most famous example of this happening (I can't think of any others).

Ah, I knew there had to be at least one before that.

Putting together my ballot and might just fuck around and put "all nite (don't stop)" at #1

also, hope everyone remembers to vote for "go deep"

^^^ two of my faves right there

I might now post about some tracks that anyone who has yet to vote for should (re)familiarise themselves with, e.g.:

"rock with u" is amazing but consider: "2nite"

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Thursday, 9 July 2020 03:45 (two weeks ago) link

One track that I feel gets underrated (evidence: the only person who has mentioned it ITT is me) is "You" - I feel that this track really punches above its weight in terms of helping to give The Velvet Rope a sense of weight and heft. I know it's more of a vibe than a song but it's a vibe I can sit in all day.

It's also the best (or most) fake-Timbaland effort on the album. I remember when it came out I don't think I'd even consciously heard any Timbaland productions aside from "Pony" so it sounded super-futuristic to me.

I mentioned "You" too!

Here I am in your face
Tellin truths and not your old lies
Seems to me that you care
And I know that you're runnin out of time
See ya can't get away
I'll be here forever and again
Whisperin in your ear
Do believe cause you know you cannot win
Spent most your life pretending not to be
The one you are but who you choose to see
Learned to survive in your fictitious world
Does what they think of you determine your worth?

I mean, those lyrics are tailor-made for the closeted 17-year-old I was at the time.

i voted for “you”! jam & lewis doing fake timbo is my favorite thing, but especially with those horns it’s like a timbaland remix of a james brown backing track

unexpected late addition to my still wip ballot is "better days" which is so blissful

I ended up with about twice as many All For You tracks on the top 40 portion of my ballot than I initially drafted.

YOU! YOU! YOU! YOUUU! YOUUUUUUU!

incredible song

I think my favourite discovery in putting together a decent ballot has been And On And On. Blissful track

Also I needed to be able to vote for more than 5 remixes, had a shortlist of 14

20 YO is pretty bad but my first foray (maybe ever?) into Discipline has been okay so far!

xp go ahead and submit as many remixes as you like ... there's not a lot of heat for that side poll as of yet

Voted!

Xp already voted but could throw a top 10 remixes in as well?

Yup! I'll accept any ballot additions and/or revisions until such time as the balloting period is over.

Which I can assure won't be tomorrow but still, don't wait!

Done

Voted!

Finally got through Discipline four times and am hitting some remixes. will vote tomorrow.

i have not kept up with janet since 'all for you', but i'm going to try and slap a last minute ballot together here. time to fire up the old internet jukebox.

going to use this thread as my notepad.

starting with the first album (1982). never heard this before. seems very hit or miss. first track and last track are probably my favorites. 'come give your love to me' in particular has a very mildly (and very cool) prince/minneapolis sound-esque new wave pop soul vibe to it, especially with the guitar solo; though it maybe carries on for a bit longer than it should. highlights: 'say you do', 'come give your love to me'

dream street (1984) now. hey, first track she actually sounds like her for the first time vocally. they really had no idea what direction they wanted to take her in on these early records. title track kind of slays? feels a little like time out for fun-era devo musically, is obviously very prince-inspired, classic melodramtic narrative in the lyrics, really ace. (looks up album credits) fuckin moroder. badass schitt. overall, there's a bit more noticeable synth on this one. the record seems mixed really weird. like one track is nice and balanced, but then in the next it'll have these synth parts that are way too loud and tend to drown out everything else for their parts. not a whole lot that sticks out on this one, besides the title track. highlight: 'dream street'

oh yeah, i'd rate the first two records probably like 2.5-3 star range. both have jams, but are just very inconsistent.

control (1986). okay, i know this album well. gonna quickly skim for fun. yes, the cliche is true: this is the album where janet is "janet" for the first time. the opening of the album is burned into my memory forever. when i finally lose the rest of my mind and the alzheimer's takes hold, that's one thing i'll be able to remember. very good memory. of course the opening trilogy is about as classic as it gets. "NO MY FIRST NAME AIN'T BABAY" was probably the first time i ever encountered something resembling a meme. there was a time when there wasn't a person i interacted with that didn't giggle at that phrase. (okay, let's move this along, andy) 'pleasure principle' is overrated. 'when i think of you' is the overlooked gem of this album. oh yeah; the sax lol. slow jams towards the end are all good. highlights: 'control', 'nasty boys', 'funny how time flies' solid album: 4 stars

rhythm nation (1989). another one i know well. this is probably my album pick. another just absolutely epic intro. the title track is still an "oh shit!" moment when i hear it on the radio or out and about. that was like my national anthem as a kid. still kicks so much fucking ass. man! that is the music of the gods. is 'state of the world' preachy? that never occurred to me until i got old. i thought it was good back then. killer chorus, whatever the case. again, great slow jams to close it out. album's just loaded with jams, i'm not gonna go one by one. whole thing just fucking rules. highlights: title track, 'escapade', 'love will never do without you' absolute classic. 5 stars.

janet (1993). i remember thinking at the time it was her trying to go for a less blatantly poppy sound. 'that's the way love goes' was of course huge. album's inconsistent though. i think i liked 'if' the most off this album, which makes the rest of it kind of hard to get through because it's crazy long. remember being really disappointed by this one back then. i will say that 'any time, any place' is a great slow jam. highlights: 'that's the way love goes', 'any time, any place', and 'if' of course; 3.5 stars

the velvet rope (1997) was where she really started to lose me. i mean, i love 'got til it's gone' so fucking much, like few other things. it was such a huge record for me — that was my entry point into joni mitchell and it just felt like a really poignant moment for everyone involved, possibly one of the first major jay dilla productions. it brings me to tears, truly; that will probably be my #2. but idk, stuff like the 'buffalo gals' sample on the title track, that interlude where she's masturbating, the forced anger of 'what about', the extra sheen of the production (which i now recognize as just "lol90s"), all that stuff just felt out of place to me. highlights: 'got till it's gone', 'i get lonely'

planning to vote a minute or two before the deadline. friday night, prime listening hours.

oh yeah, 2.5 stars re: velvet rope. really disappointing album.

all for you (2001) is where she officially lost me. another super long record. i think i've listened to it once before right now. the carly simon thing has a killer groove and is hilarious! i don't remember most of it. i had forgotten how sexual it is. production is mostly an improvement over the velvet rope. lol america sample on 'someone to call my lover.' it actually makes for a solid groove. otherwise the album feels very decent. i'd definitely say a return to form. all that said: title track's obviously an absolute classic. highlights: title track, 'doesn't really matter', 'son of a gun' better than i remember. 4 stars

damita joy (2004) lol the post "wardrobe malfuntion" album. i remember hearing 'just a little while' and just noping it right away. going back to it now, yeah not a good song. the overt hiphop-ness of the album is noteworthy. overall, the production is decent. wow, 'slo love' is a killer groove. the lyrics and the song themes feel a bit excessive at times, though. like she's trying to regain some street cred or something. why are all of her albums like four hours long? definitely prefer the second half. highlights: 'truly', 'slo love', 'like you don't love me'

20 y.o. (2006) have never heard this album before in my life. first track has khia on it. oh dear. (looks around smiling) i'm uncomfortable. the production for the most part is very much a contemporary hiphop sound. i really like 'do it 2 me.' (reads credits) ahh, no i.d. definitely picks up in the second half. not very memorable overall, unfortunately. highlights: 'love 2 love', 'enjoy', 'do it 2 me' 3 stars

discipline (2008) another one that's entirely new to me. hey 'rock with u' kinda jams. boy, 'rollercoaster' is a strange thing, isn't it? this one isn't as overtly hiphop-ified as the last one and i think it hangs together a little better because of that. for a first impression, this one's surprisingly solid. highlights: 'luv', 'rollercoaster', 'rollercoaster'

gonna wrap it up for tonight. i'll get to unbreakable and send my ballot tomorrow.

oh yeah, probs like 3.5 stars for discipline. not bad at all.

and probs the same for damita jo.

"the best things in life are free" is just the best

voted

Deadline is officially extended for two more days. Ballots now due at EOD Sunday, July 26!

Up to 17 ballots, tho.

oh whew thanx for deadline extension!! I am working on my ballot now

And just in case anyone missed it, you can submit an unlimited number of songs (top 40 weighted; everything else gets 10 points each), and I've expanded remixes and music videos to up to 10 total.

alright, I'm in the living room with my Janet CDs and a sheet of paper, time to make some choices :)

hey am i good to get this on Saturday afternoon please?

i certainly hope so, cuz i voted!

voted!

Everyone's good to take the weekend to get me their ballots. (I'll maybe even accept them as late as Monday.)

checking out unbreakable (2015) for the first time. no intro??!!?! album definitely has very poppy production. but wow, the run from 'after you fall' through 'no sleeep' is pretty stellar! second half goes fairly mellow; kind of AOR r+b — actually really decent! after one listen, i don't think it was very well-served by the singles, even if i do like 'no sleeep.' i'll refrain from musing about mike's death and its undoubtedly big influence — but yes, it's apparent. overall, yeah, i totally dig this album and it feels like a very genuine output from her at that point. highlights: 'night', 'no sleeep', 'after you fall' good album; 4 stars

ballot sent. my songs ballot had 25 picks on it. it could've been a lot longer, but i thought that seemed like a good number.

this poll is gonna rule.

also i totally wanted to vote for 'what's it gonna be' but wasn't sure if it counted, so ultimately did not. i didn't care for that busta album, so bought the 12" and that was literally a piece of vinyl that i wore out. because of the odd time signature and super punchy drums, i used it a lot for fun beat juggling tricks while djing, in between just playing it for listening purposes; both copies i had of the 12" ended up basically unlistenable through all of the surface noise.

voted!!

:D

21 ballots in. More, more, more!

Austin, I am totally accepting votes for "What's It Gonna Be?!" if you want to revise.

Finalising my ballot now. I've decided that the following tracks on 20 y.o. are jams (though none of them broke into my top 40), almost all near the end of the record:

1. Daybreak
2. Take Care
3. Enjoy
4. Do It 2 Me
5. Love 2 Love

daybreak, take care, and do it 2 me are all so awesome. i ended up voting for the first two in my expanded ballot

Top five jams on Discipline in rough descending order:

1. Rock With U
2. 2nite
3. Can't B Good
4. Let Me Know
5. Rollercoaster

I don't think "Can't B Good" has been mentioned in this thread? It's awesome.

I ended up voting for 69 tracks, being the number I felt Janet herself would have chosen.

Just to balance the scales I voted for 25 tracks almost all singles

:D

and no one could fault you

<3

Austin, I am totally accepting votes for "What's It Gonna Be?!" if you want to revise.

― Get the point? Good, let's dance with nunchaku. (Eric H.), Saturday, July 25, 2020 4:57 PM

omg i'm totally going to do this! i need to add another song as well after going back and relistening to some of the more recent stuff as well. ty!

okay, resent my revised ballot. expanded to 30 songs.

With the latest spate of ballots, the #1 and #2 songs have swapped places!

i feel like i have very little idea what's a likely #1 just because there's so many possibilities

Lets Wait Awhile with a bullet

I voted pleasure principle

the top of my ballot of was very rhythm nation heavy. but that's still not giving away much.

Would just like to say that although I’m not voting in this poll, I’m following everything with great interest and enjoyment.

I like to be thorough in these things, and there’s no way I’m suspending my regular listening habits (which is 95% current stuff, and I like it that way) to partake in this or any other *interesting* artist poll, much as I’d like to in theory.

Looking forward to the rollout, and it’s true: The Best Things In Life Are Free!

Ulysses, can you resend your ballot? Not sure I got it.

i think i signed it "forks"... just re-sent!

23 ballots in and there's still a lot of jumbling around in the order, even in the top 5.

excitement brewing!

voted! went with the original 40, but could've basically listed every existing Janet song

certainly the greatest of the 103 artists ever polled on this website

Voted!

breastcrawl, i feel your pain at wanting to keep up with new releases but it's good to pause that sometimes.
Really enjoyed having this as a listening project.

Three more ballots to add to the spreadsheet but I am leaving the window open until I get a ballot from DJP tbh.

Think I’ll try to get one in before end of day

Have been having some fun speculating on the age of each ballot submitter as they come in. Generational differences are making these results a bit more surprising than I anticipated.

old ladies still love Control

uggghghg I have my list of songs but it is SO challenging to order them because I just love everything?????

forks, it’s not a pain to me, and it’s not really that I feel a pressure to keep up either. it’s just that there’s so much good music coming out all the time, and I enjoy wallowing in it, which includes ending up in the occasional rabbit hole. I have bouts of revisiting or (re)discovering older stuff, but these are never planned and never last very long. it wasn’t always this way, but it is now, and like I said, I like it that way.

I'll try to get a ballot in today

breastcrawl: Far be it from me to tell anyone how they should listen! I get into long listening jags myself where I disappear into niches, genres, eras or artists, so i dig it.

Just to make sure I haven't missed anyone's ballots, here's my list of participants thus far:

clemenza
gospodin simmel
Tom L.
BradNelson
Kitchen Person
technopolis
krewki
justfanoe
uberweiss
evol j
erasingclouds
or something
cryptosicko
Gavin, Leeds
monotony
ufo
Alfred, Lord Soto
forks/ulysses
Austin
VegemiteGrrl
Tim F
mostly lurkin'
dbs
geoffreyess
Nourry
bunny slopes
Stevie D
Eric H.

If you gave me a ballot and don't see your name above, hit me up.

so, after jamming nothing but janet the past week or so, i'm ready to officially start the rhythm nation political party. who's with me?

LET'S GO

MINNEAPOLIS!

is it too late? if not whats the ultimate cut off?

Ok I just sent one in xp

If I were to do my ballot for the 00s album reboot today I wd absolutely include All for You. 'Masterpiece' is def a word that came to mind a few times while I've been listening to it over the past week

it's definitely better than its reputation.

I'm going to say the ultimate official cut off is tonight at midnight so that I can hopefully roll out the poll next week.

(If any stragglers come in overnight though, I'll still include them.)

thanks!

'Masterpiece' is def a word that came to mind a few times

that's the only word for it :)

ballot submitted.

And received!

And with that and no other ballots submitted overnight, I hereby officially declare this poll closed!

funny how time flies!

oops

DJP, if you think you can get it to me by the end of today, I'm happy to include it in. (Same goes for everyone, really, but after that I need to get the graphics in motion.)

whoops now!

lol i sent a late one just now

I should mention that 135 songs have gotten at least one vote, which means about half of them will end up on the 77.

this poll is gonna rule.

― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Saturday, July 25, 2020 1:19 PM

i'm so excited

when's launch ETD?

can't wait

Aiming to start with the sidebar polls on Monday, followed by four days of tracks.

Alright, final tally of ballots for the tracks portion was 33. We are now final-chimes-of-Rhythm-Nation-ringing-out closed for new ballots. Sorry not sorry.

MINNEAPOLIS!

C'MOOOOOOOOONNNNNNN

lol I am so bad at this

sorry Eric, I did intend to vote but somehow couldn't get my shit together

Based on some of what you've been stunting for upthread, I think you'll be more or less cool with the results as they are.

Mostly more tho.

currently jammin "when i think of you" in stater bros, it's a sign!

Control: The Remixes always reminds me of this snippet in the Faith-era Rolling Stone interview with George Micheal;

"How do they get that sound?” He is driving down London’s Piccadilly, turning heads in nearby cars as he marvels at the thunderous bass on the Janet Jackson remix album that’s playing on the CD player in his black Mercedes sedan.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/george-michael-seriously-80896/

Control: The Remixes

oh hey there's an album of peak era janet that i've never heard.

(looks up details)

it was never released in america ò_ó

and oh hey, the "cool summer mix" absolutely fucking slays.

i could have been jammin this heat for the last twenty three years if i didn't live in merckah, but whatever, this is fine. i guess.

ò_ó

iirc it's on American spotify now tho, along with a ton of other Janet remixes

lmao it's almost twice the length of the album itself

Holy shit, y'all, Spotify has remix "singles" for Rhythm Nation, Miss You Much, Escapade, Alright, Come BAck To Me, Black Cat, Love Will Never Do, and State Of The World that are ALL album-length as well (like 45-75 min)

can't wait for this

It's The Pleasure Princi-POLL -- ILM Artist Poll #103 -- JANET JACKSON Results Thread