Again?

This week, Janet Jackson made a daring move and when it wasn't received as she hoped (with open arms, that is), she immediately backpedaled. Sound familiar?

This time, it wasn't an oblong boob that was released, but something almost as bold: a cover of Debbie Deb's 1984 freestyle classic "Lookout Weekend."  Janet's "Weekend" was offered as a streaming "gift" (her word) via her official site Monday. Instant reaction to the song was mixed, to put it nicely. Sure, Janet, like any diva of superstar stature, has enough yes-fans who'll gladly eat what they're fed. But plenty of her faithful weren't swallowing it (one fan suggested that caustic track was Janet's idea of a joke, that they'd been punk'd). By Wednesday morning, the track had been replaced with a note purportedly from Jan herself: "Hey you guys, I'm writing to let you know that 'Weekend' is not my first single nor is it on my album...it was my gift to you. I can't wait for you to hear my new single, 'Call on Me,' which goes to radio June 19th! Get ready for my 20 Years Old album and tour!"

Her words aren't as hard to believe as her boldfaced "wardrobe malfunction" yarn -- it's extremely doubtful that a remake would lead the album that's supposed to reaffirm her pop relevance after the Superbowl debacle and unfairly cool reception of Damita Jo. And it isn't just a cover, but an extremely simple one that throws back to a genre that barely passes hipster, let alone commercial, approval. But then, it's also extremely doubtful that Jan or any member of her camp would have protested if everyone loved "Weekend," if radio stations embraced it immediately and, that simply, she was a force to be reckoned with all over again. Things leak for a reason, and in the world of pop music, everything put out is, in some way, a promotional tool. There's no such thing as a gift in commerce, or at least one that doesn't ultimately serve the giver. And maybe this "gift" was to be ours for a limited time (note that it was offered only as a streaming file, not a downloadable MP3, although, ahem), but fewer than two days? Please. If it's not a single or not to be included on the album, what would be the harm in leaving it up on the site indefinitely, or at least to whet the appetites of those who missed the brief open window of release, but are fans all the same? I smell fish juice.

Granted, it's an extremely delicate time for an extremely delicate voice. Janet was made a pariah in light of the Superbowl and not even "I Want You," her prettiest single since 1998's über-classic "I Get Lonely," could sway the public back in her favor. The mass tsking was louder than Damita Jo could ever hope to be (the most brilliant thing written about the record came via Robert Christgau, who said: "Call me immature, but I figure there's never enough good sex in the world. In a culture inundated with dirty pornos, Damita Jo is good sex."). Maybe Jan would have floundered sun tit or no sun tit, though, because of the seeming anti-diva providence of the the early '00s which found established, strong-ish female singers -- Mariah, Whitney, Toni, Madonna and even Mary -- flopping left and right. The success of The Emancipation of Mimi, and, to a much lesser but still significant extent, Confessions on a Dancefloor, mean that savvy material can turn things around. Janet had better not fuck this up.

And that's what "Weekend," would have done. And that's sad because it's pretty fucking great, and by that I mean appropriately shitty. Janet's voice has rarely sounded as strained, shrill or ugly, really, as it does struggling to hit the notes that Debbie Deb barely did to begin with. I'm guessing that this track is all bf Jermaine Dupri's doing, given that it falls in line with the electro fetish he exhibited via LL and J.Lo's "Control Myself." Besides, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis would never allow frail Jan to go alone against such a brutal track (the 808 claps the remake seeks to emulate sound more like bear traps closing, and it's pretty much just a harsh four-bar loop repeated for five minutes save that devastating break). The genius of the Jan, Jam and Lewis team has been to unfailingly beautify Jan's egg-shell pipes with songs her limited range can handle and strong melodic support (I mean, we're talking a pillow of backing vocals). "Weekend," for once, exploits Jan's voice for the awfulness it's capable of, without corrective blending, and in doing so, seems to understand that that's precisely the way to recreate freestyle authentically. Placing Janet in that context is a stroke of genius much like Tommie Sunshine's placing of Bis' tone deaf Manda Rin into the freestyle milieu in his remix of "The End Starts Today" . It is the best outcome of the what-if? hypothesis.

This is not to apologize for the track -- it's understandable that like any quintessential freestyle, Jan's "Weekend" comes off jarring to pop-trained ear. I wouldn't expect people to get what Jan's going for with this or like it, even if they did. But then, I don't think Jermaine, Janet, Jam or Lewis would expect that either -- there's a sly sort of "fuck you" in letting the public hear a song that's so ragged with a vocal to match. There's a fiestiness there that makes Jan's subsequent retreat back into her shell that much more disappointing, just like it was some two years ago. It's not fair to have it both ways, ultimately to expect us to swallow her bait-and-switch. There might be a fine line between Jan's normal sensitive shtick and spinelessness, and right now I'm grappling for a backbone. Come on, Jan: is that any way to be?

Comments

[Mango]

I had no idea Jan released a new track on her site this week. Her M.O. has always been gimicky... I'm not surprised she's pull a stunt like this.

I miss the olden days when artists could and would be a little more risky with their choices. Money and corporate interest seem to be the driving force more than ever.

Anyway, I hope she comes back with some bangin' sh*t. I really liked I Want You, All Nite and Put Your Hands On from Damita Jo.

[wowsers]

excellently written article although sometimes I was a little lost in what point you were making. good insight. also, i do predict her new album will be a flop. she's getting old, not regenerating new scintillating imagery for us, she's not fresh/she's beat, she's a tired work horse and we know it. for a woman that has spent her whole career sharing her quasi-real personality, i don't think she can or will fake it and doesn't really know who she is or who to pretend to be anymore. she's not an "i-love-being-an-uber-celebrity!!!" celebrity a form of celebrityism we voyeuristically adore to luxuriate in. addt'l we can't connect to her "own" personal choices in men/love. she's not fending off her 40-ishness as vehemently as other celebrity women, she's seeming to seep into it...she's unable to connect with the pop/youth/current-- i always felt like the superbowl performance was circa 1989. we like electric eccentricity in our celebrities. her sheepish, sad quality is not working. we want the old janet back forever or atleast one that believes in herself, is full of vitality and radiance and not ashamed of what she does (bold).

[nOva]

I want some edge and attitude this time around. I really wished she'd told the press and the public to "get over it" with respect to the nipple incident. She's kinda a punk for the way she carries things and that ANNOYS me. She's so much bigger than a lot of these bitches working today, yet doesn't realize she can be humble without be being mincemeat.

I like my Janet with a whip.

[Dave]

Madonna still did pretty well in the early 00's with the Music album though.

[Joe]

it's not awful...but of course no candle to the original debbie deb version. a freestyle (and roller rink) classic! i prefer my jackson in the form of la toya!

http://www.churchoflatoya.com

[Queen Lena]

I gotta tell you...I like it. It sounds so harsh at first, but then I was diggin it the further into the song I got.

[Arthur James]

Excellent.

I'm beginning to think I would even enjoy your commentary about a phonebook.

Thanks.

P.S. - I gots my filthy ho' hickeys. Now on to my abs of steel. Thanks for the inspiration!

[Penny Woods]

Rich, your article is much better than the one those hacks at Media Take Out wrote about this song. That's all I have to say.

[david]

pretty fierce. the song, that is... your commentary is just plain FLAWLESS!

[rod]

The Winston and the Model skits just don't hold a candle to when you talk about music, doll. The passion and knowledge is, like, a billion times better than the music-crit you find in conventional mags.

But don't stop with the Winston and the Models.

[alex]

best critique i've read on this song by far!!! i hate this remake. as much as i luvs me some janet, she need not EVER give a gift this horrible. i totally agree with wowsers, janet use to be fresh. she always set the trends never followed them. most ppl believe cause jd helped mariah make a comeback that he is guaranteed to do the same for janet. what most dont see is that he didnt create anything new w/ mariah. she sang over a few catchy but soon-to-be forgotten beats. whoop-tee-do. that mimi album will never be put in any "classic" category in my opinion. most of those singles could've been done by others. and i thought some of her singles sounded the same. but i digress. i really hope janet steps it up w/ this album cause otherwise it might be time to hang up the nipple ring and retire. although i'd still hop at the chance to see her in concert again. oh yeah boooooooooooo janet booooooooooo for this single.

[Brandon]

When I first heard the song I hated it, but the more I listen to it I find myself liking it in strange way. I do miss the soothing background harmonizing found in most of her work, yet there is something about this song that sort of nags at you until you find it bearable.
Damita Jo was a great album with unfortunate timing, if that same album came out a year later, I think it would've done much better. People were still on the witch-hunt when it came out, and it was simply overlooked by everyone but the core fans.
I am inclined to believe this was never meant to be a album or single song simply because it lacks the usual polish of even her worst work. It just seems like a two day deal, I mean just look at how many songs didn't make Damita Jo. I know at least 4 that I have heard personally.

[Brandon]

Oh... and lets be honest, It doesn't take much to be better than the original, where Debbie deb seems to only partially be on tempo. The biggest advantage has is a better break, the beat to janet's version lacks dancability even though its slightly easier on the ears. Maybe its nostalgia for most of you, but to me, the original isn't great enough to have remade in the first place.

[Don Baiocchi]

There's so many things wrong with Janet's career I just want to grab her and her Virgin producers by the shoulders and slap them! I grew up a huge Janet fan and have just gotten more and more disappointed with her. Remember when she actually had other things on her mind than sex? And remember when she did decide to sing about sex, she actually made it sexy?

And when will Virgin update her platinum certifications? They're loooong overdue. No other diva is overlooked by their record company the way Janet is (which is no one's fault but Janet's).

I'm hoping this is just a slump because, frankly, I think it was her turn. Mariah, Madonna, Whitney - they've all had their lows, but Janet had remained somewhat consistent until Damita Jo. Even though The Velvet Rope didn't do so well, it was critically acclaimed and was WAY more experimental, risky and entertaining than anything Janet's bland, uncreative peers could have pulled off.

But the other thing that pisses me off about Janet's career is that the mainstream media only seems to pay attention to her when it's negative. She gains wait! We saw her nipple! Her last album bombed! Her tour isn't selling!

But when All for You had first-week sales figures in the 600,000+ range (coming off the commercial disappointment of Velvet Rope, no less), no one batted an eye. When Ray of Light debuted to the 400,000+ range, you'd have thought that Madonna cured cancer. That pissed me off.

Sorry, the rant is over.

[Jude]

Just to echo what others have already said, less drunkenly, in the comments, excellently written and well-thought-out critique and commentary. I've loved Janet since I was a very small teenager--just part of being my age, I suppose--and thought she was very unfairly and Puritanically demonized after the Super Bowl situation. But I'm still waiting for her to come back full force, true diva style, and show us what we've all been missing.

Great job as always. I've become a real fan of this blog.

[starstattoo]

I think Esthero's version, sung as the chorus of a pre-Fergie Black Eyed Peas song, beats both of these all to hell.

[Coy]

Yeah, Janet has been taken for granted. She's performed so successfully for a number of years that we just expect it. And, as you pointed out Rich, like most of the other "divas" she has a bad time of it.
I didn't hear "Weekend", I did hear how awful it was. Someone mentioned about her not being fresh...that probably was her attempt at something fresh (if a remake can be fresh) and she got slammed. So I can only guess her new single will follow the Janet J Formula. We'll see. I also agree that she should been brazen about the titty flinging incident. I lost all respect for Justina Timberlake after he punked out.

[JC]

THIS IS A REALLY INTERESTING ARTICLE...I AM A HUGE FAN OF JANET JACKSON AND WAS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE COUNTING DOWN UNTIL THE SUPRISE GIFT WAS REVEALED. i DON'T BELIEVE THAT IT WAS A TRACK RELEASED TO TEST THE WATERS....THE OFFICIAL JANET WEBSITE HAD NOT BEEN ACTIVE IN OVER A YEAR....THE SAME OL'FORMAT AND NO UPDATED NEWS. JANET TAKES HER FANS VERY SERIOUS.....NOT MANY PEOPLE KNEW THAT THIS SONG WAS GOING TO BE RELEASED AND LET ALONE HER NEW MESSAGES ON HER WEBSITE...NO PUBLICITY WHAT SO EVER....TO DO THIS DOES NOT SEEM LIKE A MARKETING PLAN THAT A VETERAN IN THIS GAME WOULD PULL....JANET IS ACCEPTED BY HER FANS BECAUSE WE LOVE HER VOICE. PEOPLE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT HER VOICE...AS TO STAY THAT SHE DOESN'T HAVE ANY TALENT...YES THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES WHO HAVE BETTER VOICES...NOT EVERYONE CAN SELL MULTI- MILLION UNITS AND RELEASE SEVEN-EIGHT SINGLES FROM ALBUMS...UNHEARD OF....SO MANY YOUNG SINGERS/ENTERTAINERS HAVE BEEN INFLUENCED BY JANET....SHE IS A TRUE ICON WHO DOESN'T NEED GIMMICKS TO SELL RECORDS...SHE CAN RETIRE AT ANY TIME AND STILL HAVE A COMFORTABLE SPOT AMONG THE ELITE ENTERTAINERS IN THE WORLD....SHE IS ALMOST 40 YRS A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE AND HAS A BOYFRIEND WHO IS ALSO A MULTI-MILLIIONAIRE....I GUESS SOME PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS JUST BE JEALOUS OF JANET HER TALENT AND HER CAREER.....MAKE SURE YOU PICK UP THE NEW ALBUM...SOMETIME IN SEPTEMBER....HOLLA!

[Milan]

I was JUST going to say what 'starstattoo' said. Esthero has such a powerful voice that doesn't get nearly as much attention as it should. Her rendition of "Weekend" (even if only a hook for another song) is by far the best version of the song in existence. That says something.

[Foxy]

20 Years Old is a bit cutesy for a title, no? Me thinks thou doth protest too much, Miss Jackson.

[Brandon]

Jumpin' music
Slick DJs
Fuck machines
and Razorblades

Like these: http://www.fuckingmachines.com/php/menu.php

???

[Rich]

Well, the original lyric is "fog" machines, but I wouldn't put it past sing-with-a-cock-in-my-mouth Jan to put her own freaky spin on it.

[Brandon]

The lyric is Laser-Rays not Razorblades. I though that too, my brother even though it was "Razor Raids", whatever that means.

[H]

Don,
You are right on...Although Janet's singing chops have been, well, chop-less, her videoes, her Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis songs, and her public image has been stellar throughout the years, not to mention the social issues she injecs into the public once a while, she has never reached, nor never will, reach Madonna-like levels of fame, and I think this has to do with her being black...nothing more, nothing less

[H]

oops...I mean the fact that she is black and we live in a racist culture...duh