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

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