Blogocentric Formulations

Again

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Song: "Again"
Artist: Janet Jackson
Album: janet.


Confession time: Michael Jackson is not my favorite Jackson. Don't get me wrong; I think he's immensely talented and his success is undeniable, but I've always been a Janet fan more than I've been a Michael fan. Ever since Control was released in 1986, I've been a consistent fan of her work and while her work hasn't always lived up to that album's five-times platinum, 13-million-selling, Billboard No. 1 status, I've admired her continued ability to write new and interesting songs. After her first two unimpressive albums under the direction of her father, Janet Jackson broke out on her own with Control and has since released nine studio albums (including Control), the least successful of which (2006's 20 Y.O.) still went platinum and reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. With the exception of plateauing at No. 2 for albums 20 Y.O. and Damita Jo (2004), every single one of Janet's studio albums since and including Control has reached No. 1 and has, at minimum, been certified Gold (although her October 2015 album Unbreakable is not tracking as well and may break this streak).

The biggest struggle I had with this entry was not choosing whether or not I should blog about Janet; it was about which Janet song to choose. Should I go with some of her iconic earlier work like "Nasty" or "Rhythm Nation" or "Escapade?" Or should I go with some of her more recent work like "All For You" or "Just A Little While?" I ended up splitting the difference and going with her mid-career stuff, which were the first albums and songs I listened to as they were released rather than discovering them after the fact. I almost went with "Go Deep" from The Velvet Rope or "Runaway" from her Design of a Decade compilation... but I ultimately decided to go with this song because it (and the album) were so incredibly influential at a time when I was first starting to become aware of pop culture and social issues.

This song wasn't just a No. 1 single on a No. 1 album... it was also the closing song to (and originally written for) Poetic Justice, garnered her Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. This was also her current album when the now-infamous Rolling Stone cover   where she appeared topless with her then-husband Rene Elizondo, Jr.'s disembodied hands cupping her breasts.

Janet, like her brother, is a music icon that has - for decades - been at the forefront of musical ingenuity. I still listen to her albums even thirty years after their release and find them relevant and catchy. My "precious few" list wouldn't be complete without at least one offering by Janet.