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It is! My opening sentence for No Sleeep's write-up may have been a bit misleading. I was just referring to @Coochi's distaste for the song getting this deep into the rate.
janet. the discography rate.
- Thread starter nikkysan
- Start date
It is! My opening sentence for No Sleeep's write-up may have been a bit misleading. I was just referring to @Coochi's distaste for the song getting this deep into the rate.
Night is totally top 20 worthy, hope it can cling on a bit more. But, not at the expense of my #11 of course...
Oh dear. Not sure how I feel about being namechecked in this context! I feel I need to defend myself… I did throw four tracks from that album 8s!
But yes, as you say and as I’ve evidently said perhaps one too many times - I just don’t get the No Sleeep hype. Nor do I get the Rock With U hype either. They’re both ok, nothing special. I can’t believe the former especially has beaten something as iconic as Control!
P.S. Amazing write up of Empty ! You’ve inspired me to go and listen to it quite a few times over the past day or so. It will never be my fav but you have somewhat opened my eyes to how unique it is. I think because I know The Velvet Rope really well I’d lost sight of Empty’s uniqueness.
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This is partly why I love "No Sleeep" so much, other than the fact that it's really good. It felt like a throwback moment to both of her lead singles in the 90's.
No Sleep is great but probably not the best representative for Unbreakable. It sounds like yet another sexy midtempo Janet song to a casual listener, when the album has much more depth to it.
He/him
I love the extended version of Control, where the intro is stretched to build every layer of beats one by one, showing how each fits together. A masterclass in rhythm arrangement.
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Not helping your case ddd.
Control is awesome. It really does set the tone for janet's entire career.
My absolute favourite part of No Sleeep is that gentle caress of an intro. Jimmy and Terry still delivering refreshing sounds 30 years into their work with our girl, I don't know a pair of better producers. Also, I will forever link the opening bars to that day when after the long drought we got our first little hello from mother
Inventing ASMR, is there anything she can't do!?
Inventing ASMR, is there anything she can't do!?
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RainOnFire
Staff member
This is a story about control... chills. Imagine the power of having Control be the first song in your discography*. I had a passing knowledge of Together Again, All For You etc. but Control was technically the very first Janet song I listened to when I decided to go through each album, and when I tell you I was shook, that's an understatement. I knew from that intro alone that she was about to become one of my favourite artists ever. A very easy 10 for me and an 11 contender as well.
Control and No Sleeep are polar opposites in terms of sound, but I actually feel like they represent the same thing at their core - confidence. The former is self-explanatory in its messaging, while the latter is the sound of someone who has nothing left to prove. I said this when it was eliminated but she could've come back with Dammn Baby or Night - and believe me, I would've eaten it up - but she said no, I'm gonna stand in the shadows and you will notice me regardless. I feel like that's the running theme of Janet's career, so No Sleeep was the right comeback single but it's also just a perfect song and I think it sits nicely alongside That's the Way Love Goes and Got 'til It's Gone.
*The mixtapes don't count shut up!!!
Control and No Sleeep are polar opposites in terms of sound, but I actually feel like they represent the same thing at their core - confidence. The former is self-explanatory in its messaging, while the latter is the sound of someone who has nothing left to prove. I said this when it was eliminated but she could've come back with Dammn Baby or Night - and believe me, I would've eaten it up - but she said no, I'm gonna stand in the shadows and you will notice me regardless. I feel like that's the running theme of Janet's career, so No Sleeep was the right comeback single but it's also just a perfect song and I think it sits nicely alongside That's the Way Love Goes and Got 'til It's Gone.
*The mixtapes don't count shut up!!!
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23.
Score: 8.936
Highest: 10 x 11 (@Sprockrooster @WhatKindOfKylie? @Maria @GimmeWork @Consideration @klow @Skyline @Andy French @Omul invizibil @godspeed @lalaclairi_)
Lowest: 7 x 5 (@Daniel_O @Aester @rdp @JakobVision22 @torontodj)
My Score: 9.5
So R&B Junkie takes the bronze for highest rated album track, ahead of the likes of something like Empty... do I agree with this outcome? Definitely not. But as you can tell from my score I still obviously love this song. The middle section of Damita Jo from Island Life to I Want You is fantastic and easily my favourite stretch of tracks on the album, and R&B Junkie manages to keep up the energy set by the massive All Nite (Don't Stop). Containing a sample of Evelyn King's 1981 song I'm In Love, we get a real authentic throwback to 80s dance music here, with post-disco and freestyle stylings. It's just really fucking catchy, it's near-impossible to not move even the teensiest bit when this comes on. Honestly I don't have anything else for this one! Great song, end of story. Probably could've been a proper hit if Nipplegate never happened. R&B Junkie got a promotional single release, where it peaked at #1 on the Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and #17 on the Billboard US Adult R&B Songs chart. R&B Junkie was first perfomed at the 2004 BET Awards in a medley with All Nite (Don't Stop). After 15 years it would finally be performed again on Janet's Las Vegas Residency, Metamorphosis, and the Rhythm Nation 30th Anniversary Tour. It also made an appearance in Janet's set for the 2022 Essence Music Festival, and on the Together Again Tour the following year.
R&B Junkie, could and should have been huge and another classic Janet single. If only for an alternate reality at times!
I really underscored R&B Junkie. I'd give it a solid 8.5 or 9 now.
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22.
Score: 8.954
Highest: 10 x 15 (@nikkysan @WhatKindOfKylie? @boom bazooka joe @Txetxu @Maria @Applause @RainOnFire @GimmeWork @Consideration @camden_italian @CasperFan @Andy French @Salami @cakeboy @lalaclairi_)
Lowest: 6 x 1 (@Skyline)
My Score: 10
So Discipline, after having being ravaged and massacred during the early days of this rate, is ultimately denied a spot in the Top 20. Feedback was Discipline's lead single, and her first since 1984's Don't Stand Another Chance to feature no production or songwriting credits from herself, Jimmy Jam or Terry Lewis. Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins handled both along with others... and you can certainly tell this is a song Janet had no creative input on. The lyrics... ffff well we got such gems as "Light skin, dark skin, my Asian persuasion" and "Flyer than a pelican, find another chick better than I don't see her, cause my swag is serious, something heavy like a first day period". Ok so the lyrics are pretty horrible. BUT, ignoring that... the song is an undeniable BAWP. It definitely has that late 2000s R&B sound with the heavy use of synths and electropop, but I think it still manages to sound pretty fresh? The song is full of great hooks and the chorus really goes off.
Feedback peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100, her highest charting single since Someone To Call My Lover in 2001 and remains Janet's last Top 20 single on the chart to this day. Overseas it peaked at #3 in Canada, #5 in Greece, #8 in Slovakia and #14 in Japan, as well as numerous Top 40/30 spots around Europe. It was certainly her most successful single in years. Feedback's music video was directed by Saam Farahmand. With a futruristic setting, we see Janet sitting on a planet along with latex clad dancers on some asteroids. I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of this video. It just takes way too long for it to get interesting, Janet is stuck on that planet not doing anything for the first two verses and choruses and its not until the bridge until we finally see her dance. Feedback is one of those songs that should have some KILLER choreography and the dancing in the video is... meh? Obviously not Janet's fault. The final scene where she plays with those floating balls is sort of cool I guess. Just a lot of missed potential with this video.
Feedback was performed on several televsion programs while promoting the single, and has been performed on every tour since its release.
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Poor old Disicipline never really stood a chance did it? I really can't disagree with the lashings it has received from fans over the years. With a few highlights aside (#JusticeForSoMuchBetta), as a body of work it's just not up to par with the incredible records Janet has released in the past. The only album in this rate where Janet basically went "This will do I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯" and it certainly shows.
The thing I've never understood about Discipline is that Island Def Jam wanted a Sade-type album and Janet disagreed...but the final product isn't exactly a "fuck you, I'm doing it my way" record, is it?
You can hear the creative disengagement without looking at the writing credits. "Will this do?" is the perfect way to sum it up.
You can hear the creative disengagement without looking at the writing credits. "Will this do?" is the perfect way to sum it up.
That huuuuge gap between Rock With U and Luv is tickling me.
And honestly, I'm still not over the fact that the title track wasn't the lowest song in the whole rate.
(I thought I'd rated the album pretty lowly... but look at @Skyline and @Dangerous Maknae album averages...!! )
I rarely go this low, even if I dislike an album (I think Britney Jean got like a 5 from me). But Discipline made me really angry because we all know what Janet is capable of and it should've never seen the light of day.
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21.
Score: 8.954
Highest: 11 x 1 (@m_dimitrov) 10 x 16 (@Sprockrooster @Rafa_el @WhatKindOfKylie? @boom bazooka joe @Txetxu @Beat @Rei Ayanami @No hay banda @Applause @GimmeWork @Consideration @Epic Chocolat @Andy French @aux @lalaclairi_ @Remorque)
Lowest: 5 x 1 (@RainOnFire)
My Score: 8
So the last song to miss the Top 20 is Design of a Decade's lead single, Runaway. It was originally written as a duet with her brother Michael in mind, but instead they opted to record Scream together. If we're comparing this to her other lead singles for the studio albums, then I'd only rank this one higher than Call On Me. It's good, just a little... lightweight for a Janet lead single? Her attempt at world-pop is certainly unique, the weird, grinding mechanical beats paired with the sitar and middle eastern instrumentation is cool. Janet sings about travelling all over the world but she still misses her lover. The chorus is easily the highlight of the whole track, it always puts a smile on my face. And the outro is just adorable... "Oooh didn't quite hit the note, that wasn't such a good time" only Janet could get away with laughing off a bum note on a global hit single. I always love it when Janet doesn't take herself too seriously, it's too endearing.
Runaway was a success, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also a hit internationally, hitting #2 in Canada, #3 in New Zealand, #5 in Hungary, #6 in the UK, #8 in Australia, Scotland and Finland, and #10 in Ireland and Denmark. The music video for Runaway was directed by Marcus Nispel and shot at an airplane hangar in California. She is superimposed on multiple famous landmarks around the world, where she dances on top of as well as on the wing of an airplane. It's a cute video even if the special effects have aged quite poorly.
Runaway was first performed live on The Velvet Rope Tour, and has made appearences on the All For You, Rock Witchu, Number Ones: Up Close and Personal and State of the World tours. It also performed live with The Roots on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, to commerate the song finally being made available on Spotify (girl...).