In honor of Janet Jackson's "janet." turning 20 years old today, I am dropping two of my favorite songs from that album, ("Anytime, Anyplace", "If") alon with one track that I completely forgotten about but a Faceook friend reminded how great the track was and still is ("Throb").
Read: Billboard: Janet Jackson Talks 'janet.' 20th Anniversary & New Album: Exclusive
Read: Billboard: Janet Jackson, 'janet.': Classic Track-By-Track Review
Read: Rolling Stone's 1993 review of 'janet'
However, the tragedy of this anniversary is the lack of airplay of not only this album but Janet's entire catalog from the mostly produced Jimmy and Jam and Terry produced era, (including "Control", "Rhythm Nation", "The Velvet Rope" and "All For You") on pop stations and more importantly classic R&B stations.
Janet Jackson's albums from the late 80's to the late 90's were not about what was hot sound on the radio or trying to fit in an image.
It was about artistry.
It was about changing the game musically.
It was about making albums, not singles.
It was Janet following in the footsteps of her big brother Michael by making albums that were not just for today, but ones that made a muscial impact and stand the test of time.
Janet Jackson - You Want This from urbandesign on Vimeo.
Unfortunately, most classic R&B stations are missing the boat in playing the abundance of great music that came from that era, which not only include Janet Jackson, but also Mariah Carey, Jody Watley, Tony Toni Tone and Outkast who all have catalogs worthy for constant airplay (I love Zapp and Al Green, but there are some great music from the late 80s on too old school R&B stations).
Even if you look at Prince. who is arguably one of the best artists of all-time, even his catalog music doesn't get the same kind of love on classic R&B stations like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin or U2 do on classic rock stations, (When was last time you heard "Let's Go Crazy", "Alphabet Street" or "Controversy" on a classic R&B station in non-mix form?)
Right now, there is a teenage kid listening to Janet Jackson's 90's contemporaries Nirvana , Pearl Jam and Marilyn Manson for the first time and they will begin to download more rock music from the 90's music because they heard "In Bloom" Dissident" for "The Beautiful People" on a classic rock or a contemporary rock station.
Rock music will always have a piece of their history more so than R&B because they continuously expose the next generation to its past, no matter if its 50 years like the Rolling Stones or close to 20 years like Green Day.
In contrast, most kids who love urban music are not exposed enough to a full catalog like Janet Jackson', where they can see the road she traveled from being Michael's little sister who played Penny on "Good Times" to hopefully becoming a future Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
Even today, the vast catalog by 21st century artists like The Neptunes and Kanye West are routinely pushed aside in favor of what's the hottest rap/Hip Hop song of the moment, (sure pop radio does the same thing, but Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters are always being played somewhere).
Thank goodness for digital music platforms like iTunes, Pandora and Spotify so you can easily go from janet's "You Want This", hop over to Rhythm Nation's "Come Back To Me", take a quick detour down "Dream Street," round the corner by the Control's "Pleasure Principle", make a u-turn by The Velvet Rope's "Got Till It's Gone" and arrive safely back to janet's "That's The Way Love Goes".
Now that is a legendat musical journey worth taking.
Happy Anniversary Damita Jo!
What's your favorite song from "janet"?
