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

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).