Albums Review: Sounds of Yesterday, Society of Tomorrow
Liberation, Explicit Content & Acceptance — Dirty Mind vs. The Velvet Rope
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In order to start off Pride Month on a high note and continue the celebration of the past International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (17th May) and United Nations’ World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (21st May), I thought it more than fitting to address on the importance of freedom of expression and explicit content for social acceptance and artistic identity.
Artists such as David Bowie, Grace Jones, Madonna, and Lady Gaga, and groups such as T-Rex, New York Dolls, Culture Club, and Pet Shop Boys have always sought to express themselves through their visual presentation and socially shocking/appealing content in order to make us question our self-identity and liberate ourselves from our “shell” by embracing our own being (even if sometimes we want to be more savvy and reckless, it doesn’t hurt anyone).
Whether by subtle, androgynous, or more radical aesthetics, each one caused a change in their society and respective youth by reminding us that, no matter how different we feel from the rest, we are not alone and all of us can leave our “fingerprint” on this sometimes critical and judging world.
That said, the two artists and albums in evidence emphasise exactly this liberty and idiosyncratic, identitarian and sexual message, nuances so important that will always be connected to the music industry and its artists.
Prince — Dirty Mind
Genre (s): pop, funk, synth-funk, R&B, post-disco, new wave
Tracklist: Here
The first album under review is entitled Dirty Mind by the brilliant and formidable American artist Prince, released in 1980 by Warner Bros. Records (currently named Warner Bros. Inc. and owned by Warner Music Group).
Prince Rogers Nelson a.k.a. Prince a.k.a. The Artist Formerly Known as Prince laid the blueprint for virtually any artist on the music scene over the last 25 years across genres such as pop, rock, hip hop, indie, R&B, and neo-soul, making him one of the most influential and visionary musical icons of all time.
Through his off-the-charts musical versatility as an entertainer, singer, multi-instrumentalist (which is overly overshadowed by the mass public, by the way, especially his skill as a guitarist, which was as stunning as his singing), dancer, producer, songwriter, and arranger, Prince broke all barriers imposed by his industry around African American music credibility and authorship by the artist as owner and sire of his work.
Not only did he captivate us with his talent and brilliant craftsmanship, but also made us rethink our identity through his provocative, shocking, and challenging presentation around the American socio-cultural spectrum, which came to a point where it was unable to ignore any longer this “force of nature” from the cold city of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
You may wonder why I chose Dirty Mind over better-known albums like 1999 (1982) or the highly popular & successful Purple Rain (1984).
But believe me when I say that Dirty Mind is the first work that embodies Prince’s identity charisma as a sex symbol, inciter of controversy, and “declaimer” of commercially omitted taboo subjects of the era.
Like many of his contemporaries and at the helm of Warner Bros. Records, the recently signed 19-year-old Prince got carried away in his early professional days by the commercial dominance of disco in the late 1970s.
Despite crafting classics during this period like “It’s Gonna Be Lonely” (one of my favourite songs from his catalogue, what a track), as well as managing to smoulder some commercial success on the R&B and Hot Black Singles Charts from tracks such as “I Wanna Be Your Lover” and “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad”, he was not pleased to be recognised as just another hopeless romantic from his generation.
Given the decline of disco at the turn of the decade and saturation of radio stations in being “commanded” by the hits generated in the club scene, the African-American music community was forced to reinvent itself if it was to have longevity in the industry and not be merely submitted to black audiences and consequent less commercial exposure.
Straight away and by having majority control over his artistic processes and decisions (something extremely peculiar in the industry, especially at the time), the leading pioneer of the Minneapolis Sound genre Prince moved on to Dirty Mind, his third studio album and a musical, sexual, and identitarian tone-setter for 80’s American society and culture (even though its impact was only recognised many years later).
Production and arranging wise, the album was recorded and conceptually developed* between May and June 1980 in a rental house by Prince in Wayzata, Minnesota (under the use of a 16-track studio set up by himself), signaled by his tireless and perfectionist work ethic for endless sleepless nights in and out.
“Nobody knew what was going on, and I became totally engulfed in it…It really felt like me for once” — Prince’s interview to Rolling Stone
*Its compositional process began after the brief nine-week imposed tour of Prince and his backing band (already featuring some members of what would become The Revolution, such as guitarist Dez Dickerson and keyboardist Matt Fink a.k.a. Doctor Fink) as the opening act for Rick James, one of his musical rivals (who accused Prince of copying his licks, poor Rick, he didn’t know yet that envy is corrosive to the soul)
One of the most fascinating aspects of the proceedings is that despite the limitations in terms of space and working resources, Prince was single-handedly responsible for producing, arranging and performing nearly all of the instrumentation in the entire record (except for Lisa Coleman’s backing vocals on “Head” and Matt Fink a.k.a. Doctor Fink’s synth on “Dirty Mind”, Prince took charge on lead & backing vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, synths and drums, just unbelievable), having had additional contribution from a few others involved in its finished work, such as Mic Guzauski (remixer), Bob Mockler (remixer), Ron Garrett (assistant) and A&M Records’ Bernie Grundman (mastering).
Its sonic and production outcome was echoed by Prince’s ambition to create something extremely intrinsic and truthful by demonstrating all his expertise, talent, and knowledge in an area as structured and complex as music, in which Prince is undoubtedly one of its great “maestros”:
· One of the most eclectic and challenging musical approaches by an African-American artist to date, from exploring genres such as pop, new wave (on “Dirty Mind”, which also holds some glimpses of the “robot funk” ethos of Kraftwerk’s krautrock style), synth-funk/dance-pop (on “Uptown”, “Head” & “Partyup”), post-disco (on “When You Were Mine”), punk rock (on “Sister”), R&B and contemporary Crooning (on “Gotta Broken Heart Again”), so as to enable a more natural embrace of both black and white audiences;
· Sound manipulation from diverse processing such as side-chain compression, reverb, and panning, as well as the application of various recording techniques such as vocal/guitar overdubbing and double-tracking;
· Highly innovative and underused instrumentation for an intertwining mix of pop, funk, and punk out of a stripped-down and minimalist arrangement marked by catchy melodies, Prince’s sensual and falsetto-based vocal sections, call-and-response, groovy and harmonious guitars, timeless, infectious, and tight bass lines, sparkling and sharp keyboards/synthesizers, as well as syncopated and punchy drums/rhythm sections.
However, it must be pointed out, that this is one of those albums of which I value both it's production/sonic handling, as well as its lyrical compositional impetus.
Being yet again nearly written by Prince (with extra contribution by Matt Fink a.k.a. Doctor Fink on “Dirty Mind”, André Cymone on “When You Were Mine” and The Time’s Morris Day on “Partyup”), its outburst is laced by traits that embody his entire audacious repertoire that contributed to the opening of explicitly sexual albums in the music industry.
In order to entice us by his androgynous approach (right from his album cover, presenting himself with no shirt and a thong on), its lyrical shocking/provocative intent is marked by explicit content and subliminal messages around autobiographical narratives, socio-political views, love, street life, promiscuity, gender, and sexual liberation as never described before with such magnitude and relentlessness until the arrival of Prince, something that in my opinion, we should all be grateful for:
· Sexual freedom, practice, and promiscuity (on “Dirty Mind”, the opening track in which by a robotized persona, it directly describes his sexual thoughts in wanting to make insatiable non-stop love-making (“Whenever I’m around you, baby/I get a dirty mind/It doesn’t matter where we are/Doesn’t matter who’s around/Doesn’t matter, I just want to lay you down”);
on “Do It All Night”, an ode to sex track in which the speaker desperately assumes he wants to “do it all night” with his beloved and is willing to do anything to make it happen (“Just to get this close to you/Now that you’re near me/I want you to hear me/I’ll tell you what I want to do”);
on “When You Were Mine”, one of the record’s best known and most successful tracks, its lyrics expose a painful love triangle experienced by the speaker, who acknowledges missing and being careless with his ex-love as he wishes she still “were mine” (“I know (I know)/That you’re going with another guy/I don’t care (Don’t care)/Cause I love you, baby, that’s no lie/I love you more than I did/When you were mine”);
on “Head”, one of my favourite and most explicit tracks in Prince’s catalogue, in which it promiscuously describes the practice of fellatio/oral sex between the speaker and his partner, as well as pretty much everything that happens during the act; its content caused immense protest and buzz at the time of its release, to the point where his original keyboardist Gayle Chapman had to leave the band due to her religious beliefs (“Now morning, noon, and night/I give you head till you’re burning up/Head till you get enough/Head till your love is red/Head, love you till you’re dead”);
on “Sister”, one of my favourite tracks on the album and one of the most interesting and controversial ever, in which it depicts the subject of incest between the 16-year-old speaker and his supposed 32-year-old half-sister, a pretty bold subject to make in 1980 am I right; although Prince did have a half-sister sixteen years older named Sharon P. Nelson, it has never been confirmed whether the lyrical inspiration comes from a sexual fantasy by teenage Prince or whether there was indeed incest, so we will never know (on the Princevault: “There is some rumor that this is about Prince and his step-sister Sharon Nelson, but it is more likely just a Prince fantasy that he then turned into another song where he pushes the limits of acceptable subject matter”));
· Love and its accompanying suffering (on “Gotta Broken Heart Again”, one of my absolute favourites, where it beautifully describes the banality and tragedy of what it is to have a broken heart, yet again (“I’ve got broken heart again/Because I ain’t got no money to spend/You see, I spent it all on a long distance phone call/Begging her to please come home, yeah, yeah”));
· Autobiographical nostalgia towards his upbringings and social critique on the lack of acceptance regarding sexual liberation (on “Uptown”, one of the best known and most successful of the project, in which Prince describes and pays homage to the sexual and gender freedom felt in the Uptown Theater area in the popular southwestern district of Prince’s hometown Minneapolis, Minnesota, a place that the artist cherishes and seeks to “borrow” by making society aware of following in its inclusive footsteps (“Now where I come from/We don’t let society, tell us how it’s supposed to be/Our clothes, our hair, we don’t care/It’s all about being there (…) Everybody’s going/Uptown/That’s where I want to be”));
· Insights and socio-political critique around war and its mandatory enlistment registration (on “Partyup”*, the last and probably most energetic song of the project, in which while serving as a protest track over then-President Jimmy Carter’s reinstitution of the enlistment registry, Prince appropriates an uplifting and satirical approach to highlight his beliefs around the effects of war and the discrediting of American socio-political reality over a youth entitled to decide what they really want (“How you going to make me kill somebody/I don’t even know?/They got the draft, uh uh/I just laugh/Party up/Fighting war/Is such a fucking bore (…) Party, uh uh, got to party down, babe/Ooh, it’s all about what’s in your mind (…) I don’t want to die/I just want to have a bloody good time)).
*Curiously after writing “Partyup” with Morris Day, Prince gave him two options: get credited and paid for the track or form a band for him, to which Day decided to form the supposed band now known as The Time, the much-loved and acclaimed co-pioneer of the Minneapolis Sound genre (“He told Morris…that if he did the song with him, he could take the credit and get paid for it, or he’d do a band for him. Morris chose the band…” — Terry Riley)
“stunning, audacious amalgam of funk, new wave, R&B, and pop, fueled by grinningly salacious sex and the desire to shock” that “set the style for much of the urban soul and funk of the early ‘80s” — AllMusic Journalist Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Despite not being the best known and debatably Prince’s best album (although I find all of his albums between 1978 and 1995 extraordinary, the best for me is undoubtedly Sign “O” The Times), Dirty Mind broke down identity, social and racial barriers, was responsible in bringing focus to gaydar, signaled Prince’s erotic persona and provided an amalgam of artistic possibilities to 80’s urban black music, thus cementing itself as a landmark in African-American culture and a staple for the LGBTIQ+ community.
While being respected and acclaimed by fans and critics alike as one of his most unique records (ranked 326th on the 2020 updated list of Rolling Stone’s “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time” & 18th on its list of the “100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s”, 87th on Pitchfork’s list of the Top 100 Albums of the 1980s, 393rd on NME’s list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time”, 53rd on Slant Magazine’s list of the “Best Albums of the 1980s”, just to refer a few), Dirty Mind is a worship work that deconstructed society and transcends generation after generation much like its “messenger” Prince, who through his androgynous persona and blatant content, established his position as one of the voices of his generation and communities so often oppressed and discouraged by simply wanting to be themselves.
The “Purple One” was truly one of a kind and I consider him one of my biggest idols and inspirations/role models either on a personal, artistic, and work ethic level.
He taught me nuances about myself and was always by my “side” throughout my youth and consequent growth, so the only thing missing is to say thanks for everything Prince, I love you and like me, the world misses your presence and prowess.
That said, I recommend the listening of this endeavor to all fans of 80’s music, pop, synth-pop, funk, new wave, explicit content, sexual themes, and LGBTIQ+ art/culture (Link here).
Janet Jackson — The Velvet Rope
Genre (s): pop, R&B, trip-hop, new jack swing, neo-soul
Tracklist: Here
The second album under review is called The Velvet Rope by the timeless American artist and entertainer Janet Jackson, released in 1997 by Virgin Records.
As the youngest daughter of the Jackson family, one of the most famous and iconic in the music industry, Janet Jackson has managed to distance herself from most of her siblings (apart from the “King of Pop” and her older late-brother Michael Jackson), by cementing her status as one of the most influential and revered solo artists of the last 25 years by the music industry and LGBTIQ+ community.
Given her family’s legacy, you can imagine that media pressure was a certainty when Jackson decided to embark on a musical career.
Signing at the tender age of 16 to A&M Records, young Janet never relented to the successive attempts by the record company to “plasticize” and futilely control her career.
With the motto of searching for something distinct and identifiable for her sound, she joined forces with renowned producers James “Jimmy Jam” Harris and Terry Lewis, two of the most creditable for her success and popularity of the new jack swing genre in the second half of the 80s and early 90s (which I love, by the way, its rhythmic soundscape is electrifying and snare reverb gets me vibing all day). Through timeless singles like “Nasty”, “Control”, “What Have You Done for Me Lately” and “That’s the Way Love Goes”, as well as classic albums like Control (1986), Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989) and Janet (1993), the artist and her fellow producers achieved her desire for cathartic transmission and daily experienced suffering*, a nuance that is strikingly notable on her 1997 concept album The Velvet Rope.
Coming up during a transitory professional period of a long legal battle with various record companies (borne out of the success of the double-platinum compilation album Design of a Decade: 1986/1996), Jackson accomplished at the helm of Virgin Records, an unprecedented milestone of an $80 million contract and the status as the highest-paid artist in the music industry up to that point.
*Followed by years of enforced industry pressure, racist incidents, verbal assault, and domestic violence (at the hands of her ex-husband and DeBarge’s frontman James DeBarge), Jackson’s life was marked by mental illness shrouded in self-hatred, depression, body dysmorphia, anorexia, bulimia and sometimes self-harm, such was her dissatisfaction with her being and all that she stood for (“I was very, very sad. Very down. I couldn’t get up sometimes. There were times when I felt very hopeless and helpless, and I felt like walls were kind of closing in on me … like you can’t escape”- Janet Jackson)
Intertwined with these complications is the project’s central concept, which, associated with the discreet dealing with traumatic events and resulting mental illness endured from childhood to adulthood, Jackson invites us to experience her “velvet rope” by metaphorising human needs/limits and describing her inner reality plagued by harsh personal, emotional and critical-social introspection.
“We’ve all driven by premieres or nightclubs, and seen the rope separating those who can enter and those who can’t. Well, there’s also a velvet rope we have inside us, keeping others from knowing our feelings. In The Velvet Rope, I’m trying to expose and explore those feelings. I’m inviting you inside my velvet rope” — Janet Jackson
So through an extensive professional break (provided by the end of her Janet World Tour, which resulted in an emotional breakdown and followed by counseling and spiritual guidance), Jackson took the time to really embark on the development of The Velvet Rope, a “therapeutic” and unmissable record around personal reflection/self-improvement, liberation, suffragism, sexual/gender identity and acceptance, domestic violence, social critique/observation and confrontation with the grim reality experienced by minorities in our tenuous society.
Production and arranging wise, the album was recorded* and conceptually developed between January and July 1997 at several studios including Flyte Tyme in Edina, Minnesota, Hit Factory in New York City, and Record Plant in Los Angeles, California.
*Although only dated January-July 1997, its actual recording began after Jackson’s world tour, however, sessions were canceled or intermittently paused given Jackson’s fragile mental and physical state (“That was a tough album to make for her. There were times when she would not show up at the studio for five or six days in a row” — James “Jimmy Jam” Harris)
“(…) I’ve been burying pain my whole life. It’s like kicking dirt under the carpet. At some point there’s so much dirt you start to choke. Well, I’ve been choking. My therapy came in writing these songs. Then I had to find the courage to sing them or else suffer the consequences — a permanent case of the blues” — Janet Jackson
It had the contribution of a wide list of participants as instrumentalists/producers/engineers/arrangers, such as Janet Jackson herself (vocals, background vocals, producer, executive producer, vocal arrangement & rhythm arrangements), James “Jimmy Jam” Harris (producer, vocal arrangement & rhythm arrangements), Terry Lewis (producer, vocal arrangement & rhythm arrangements), René Elizondo Jr. (executive producer and Jackson’s husband at the time), Q-Tip (rap & performer on “Got ’til It’s Gone”), Joni Mitchell (performer on “Got ’til It’s Gone”), Alexander Richbourg (vocals, drum programming & rhythm arrangements), Willie R. Norwood (choir director), Vanessa-Mae (violin & performer), James “Big Jim” Wright (vocals, organ, keyboards & rhythm arrangements), Steve Durkee (assistant engineer), Brian Gardner (mastering), among many others.
Largely carried out by Jackson, Jam, Lewis, and Elizondo Jr. (except for the interlude tracks and samples credited to the respective artists), all those involved gave an incredibly effective production thrust and deeply “immersive” sound around the landscape of commercial contemporary R&B and more ambitious, cathartic and peculiarly introspective pop for the time, as although it holds this approach, one cannot deny its vibing and infectious delivery:
· Highly eclectic exploitation and appropriation of diverse musical influences through genres such as pop (on “Every Time”), rock (on “What About”), R&B (like on “I Get Lonely” & “Rope Burn”), new jack swing (like on “Go Deep”), funk (like on “Free Xone”), electronica (on “Velvet Rope” & “Empty”), dance-pop (like on “Together Again”), trip-hop (like on “You” & “Got ’til It’s Gone”), hip hop (like on “My Need”), jazz (on “Rope Burn” & “Anything”) and neo-soul (like on Rod Stewart’s cover “Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright)”));
· Ambitious sound production and manipulation in the pop & R&B genres through audio effects like delay, reverb (mostly on vocal sections and rhythm section), side-chain compression (between the spacing and frequency range between bass and drum) and crossfading, as well as recording techniques such as multi-tracking, overdubbing, interpolation (Des’ree’s “Feel So High” melody on the classic “Got ’til It’s Gone”) and phenomenal sampling usage (to me it’s one of the albums that better shows its application, Jam and Lewis really did an astounding job; contains samples such as Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells, Pt. 1” & Malcolm McLaren and The World Famous Supreme Team’s “Hobo Scratch” on “Velvet Rope”, Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” & Des’ree’s “Feel So High” on the classic “Got ’til It’s Gone”, Diana Ross’s “Love Hangover” & Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “You’re All I Need to Get By” on “My Need”, Funkadelic’s “One Nation Under a Groove” on “Go Deep”, Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ’Bout a Thing” on “Free Xone”, among others);
· Supremely intriguing instrumentation characterised by Janet’s raw, introspective and smooth vocal sections, ideally complementary backing vocals, swinging and perfectly resonating bass lines, rhythmic and entrancing guitars, stripped-down and harmonious organs & keyboards, spiritual and melodious string sections, call-and-response brass sections, as well as punchy and infectious programmed drums/percussion.
Allied to its sonic and production impetus, its lyrical compositional outcome (once again practically written by Janet Jackson, James “Jimmy Jam” Harris, Terry Lewis, and Rene Elizondo Jr., except for sample credits to their respective artists and cover of Rod Stewart’s “Tonight’s The Night”) is probably the most authentic and honest I’ve ever heard.
“Janet’s ability to effortlessly present necessary, meaningful messages via classic dance music is legendary. She proved that artists don’t have to scream to get a message across. There is a middle ground. Here, she had perfected her mix of provocative, personal, and pertinent” — Saint Heron’s compilation album credits
Rambling over Jackson’s experiences and catharsis, its substance is redistributed between seven interludes that introduce us to each theme in focus and takes us on a journey through her convictions, ideologies and “outburst” of emotions.
Through subjects such as intrinsic and universal encouragement, depression, sexuality, intimacy, BDSM, suffragism, inter and same-sex relationships, LGBTIQ+ rights, liberation, acceptance, and gender/social identity, as well as domestic violence, Jackson, made her most personal work to date, which not only embodied her creativity and versatility as a songwriter but also solidified her as an inspiration to all women and beloved symbol for the LGBITQ+ community around the globe, a more than deserved honour:
· Introspection and emotional (self) overcoming around trauma and personal experiences via social/racial unity, encouragement, and personal/universal belief (on “Interlude: Twisted Elegance”, the album’s introductory interlude where for mere seconds, Jackson introduces the themes she will be tackling and her “velvet rope”, where everyone can be themselves without restrictions and constraints (“It’s my belief that we all have the need to feel special/And it’s this need that can bring out the best in us/Yet the worst in us/This need created The Velvet Rope”);
on “Velvet Rope”, the track that epitomises its core concept of idiosyncratic freedom, in which from an analogy between the rope in a nightclub and her own “velvet rope” (like those worn at a red carpet show), everyone is worthy of having one from which they are free to “enter” and “leave” without being judged for their features, ideas, behaviours or insecurities (“Come with me inside/Inside my velvet rope/ Put others down to fill us up/Oppressing me will oppress you/Outside leave judgment, outside leave hate/One love’s the answer you’ll find in you”);
on “You”, whereby dissecting negative thoughts about herself, she encourages us to believe in ourselves and that we are the only ones capable of a meaningful change in each one’s life (“Spent most your life pretending not to be/The one you are but who you choose to see/Learned to survive in your fictitious world/Does what they think of you determine your worth?/If special’s what you feel when you’re with them (…) E-C-N-E-I-C-S-N-O-C/(you can’t blame nobody but)”);
on “Got ’til It’s Gone,” one of my favorites of the project and best known from her catalogue, in which by appropriating Joni Mitchell’s wise words, Jackson and Q-Tip roam over Jackson’s regrets surrounding failed relationships and the importance of enjoying life and what it has to offer while you can (“Don’t it always seem to go/That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone (…) If I could turn back the hands of time/Make you, fall in love, in love with me again/So would you give me another chance to love”);
on “Interlude: Sad”, the last interlude of the album which, although it takes us back to the initial theme of overcoming oneself, has a more direct approach towards encouragement and focuses on our mental & emotional healing (“There’s nothing more depressing than having everything/And still feeling sad/We must learn to water our spiritual garden”);
on “Special”, an interesting track split in two (the second being “Can’t Be Stopped”), where the first “Special” is a softer take on Jackson’s inner-child and insecurities, in a way that urges youth not to blame themselves and constantly tear one’s self down, as “pain is not permanent” (“I know how you’re feelin’/Same thing I did deal with/You’re not as alone as you may feel (…) We need to remember/That love lies deep within ourselves/We have to want it so/It starts with us and no one else”);
on “Can’t Be Stopped”, one of my favourites and being the “hidden track” and second half on “Special”, Jackson tackles more boldly the victimisation, hatred and racial discrimination sometimes imposed upon youth, encouraging them to have faith in themselves and that they are capable of overcoming any adversity, no matter how great it may seem (“Don’t let nobody tell you you ain’t strong enough/Don’t let nobody tell you (…) You must remember that (you must remember)/You were born with blood of Kings and Queens/And can’t be stopped (can’t be stopped”));
· Depiction of free/pure sexuality, promiscuity, and eroticism (on “Interlude: Speaker Phone”, the second interlude of the project, where Jackson introduces us to the sexual/gender liberation theme by masturbating before being on the phone with her then-sister-in-law Lisa-Marie Presley, that is a bold & “ballsy” approach as hell (“What you doin’ with your hands that you can’t pick up the phone?/Don’t you worry about it, I’m taking care of my business. What you doing? (…) Your coochie gon’ swell up and fall apart”);
on “My Need”, a representative song regarding BDSM and Jackson’s obsession and unrestrained lust for insatiable sexual desire with her beloved (“I just want you inside, baby/We don’t need to/Talk about no promises/My love, my need/Tonight, I feel so tight”);
on “Rope Burn”, one of my absolute favourites, where Jackson again invokes bondage and sadomasochism by sensually desiring to be tied up with a tight rope and pleasured with candled wax: “The expression of sexual fantasies can be beautiful if there’s trust, love and understanding” (“Tie me up tie me down/Make me moan real loud/Take off my clothes/No one has to know/Whisperin’/I wanna feel a soft rope burn/Wanna feel a rope burn”);
on “Anything”, one of the sexiest and softest on the album, which depicts yet again the elegance of pleasure and satisfaction of making love to someone you care for (“(Hold me)/So are you ready/(Kiss me)/To journey/(Show me)/Within me/(Feel me)”));
· Intrinsic and identitarian delight (on “Interlude: Fasten Your Seatbelts”, in which by recreating Bette Davis’ lines in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and All About Eve, the album’s third interlude introduces the theme of freedom and enjoyment as a daily motto for anyone (“But ya are, Blanche…ya are…/Fasten your seatbelts darling, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride”);
on “Go Deep”, a party anthem track in which Jackson encourages society to have fun by going out with their “friends” and dancing all night in order to decompress from their daily problems and difficulties, with a likelihood that “go deep” could also be a subliminal reference to having sex (“We go deep and we don’t get no sleep/’Cause we be up all night until the early light/We go deep and we don’t get no sleep/’Cause we be up all night until the early light”));
· Outspoken critique of discrimination against the LGBTIQ+ community and call for sexual/gender freedom and acceptance (on “Free Xone”, one of my absolute favourites, is characterised as a protest and sex liberation “jam” where Jackson exposes the importance of self-love and criticism of discrimination and suffering endured by the LGBTIQ+ community, calling for a “free zone” world more open to dialogue and understanding by society at large (“He was on the airplane/Sitting next to this guy/Said he wasn’t too shy/And he seemed real nice/Until he found out he was gay/That’s so not mellow (…) One rule, no rules/One love, free zone/Now, let’s get free”));
· Reflection on physical/fantasy-like inter and same-sex relationships and its linked charms/insecurities (on “Interlude: Online”, the album’s fifth interlude, in which being marked by dialing and clicking sounds, Jackson introduces us to the new theme around social networking relationships and the consequent search for acceptance by herself and society via it;
on “Empty”, where Jackson continues the proposed on “Interlude: Online” and wanders about her experiences with online relationships and concern for those who, even unconsciously knowing they are sometimes unrealistic, cling to these and feel “empty”; it is very interesting that Jackson has this insight in 1997, in making us think about the social media age we live in today (“(When I close my eyes) I feel empty (…) Is this a new way to love?/Never face to face, is it enough?/Does it really count or am I a fool?/So tell me, please, am I wasting my time?”);
on “Every Time”, a song ballad in which Jackson rambles on and on about her fear of getting optimistically carried away by romance, perfectly portraying her traumas and previous experiences of troubled relationships that have scarred her and many of us (“I’m scared to fall in love/Afraid to love so fast/’Cause everytime I fall in love/It seems to never last/But every time your love is near/And every time I’m filled with fear/’Cause every time I see your face/My heart does begin to race everytime/One half wants me to go/Other half wants me to stay”);
on “Tonight’s The Night”, one of my absolute favourites and awesome track, in which by doing a super original “twist” on Rod Stewart’s classic, Jackson alludes to bisexuality and homosexuality from imagery of losing her virginity to a woman and subsequent threesome act; when again questioned about its controversial content, Jackson pointed out once more her inclusive role and messenger to the LGBTIQ+ community, by stating that “The record company tried to talk me out of it because it’s directed toward a girl. I love the song the way it is, and it’s reality for a lot of people” (“Don’t say a word my virgin child/Just let your inhibitions run wild/The secret is about to unfold/Upstairs before the night’s too old cause (…) Tonight’s the night/It’s gonna be alright”);
on “I Get Lonely”, a fabulous track in which Jackson muses in a melancholic and elegantly melodic way on insecurity and loneliness felt in a love relationship, something she has felt many times and makes us think about our own experiences (“Sittin’ here with my tears/All alone with my fears, I’m wondering/If I have to do without you (…) I get so lonely, can’t let just anybody hold me/You are the one that lives in me, my dear/I want no one but you”));
· Nostalgia, longing and the passage of time (on “Interlude: Memory,” the record’s fourth interlude in which Jackson introduces the passing of time theme and prioritization of yearning in favor of the pain sustained by it (“You don’t have to hold on to the pain to hold on to the memory”);
on “Together Again,” one of the best-known tracks in her repertoire and the one that solidified Jackson as an LGBTIQ+ icon, marks the nostalgic side of Jackson as she revisits and pays tribute to friends who died from AIDS (“Everywhere I go, every smile I see/I know you are there smilin’ back at me/Dancin’ in moonlight, I know you are free/’Cause I can see your star shinin’ down on me”); when questioned by the record company about its lyrical content and possible repercussions on her career, Jackson once again showed her humanistic and inclusive nature that we all must have in order to move forward as a society: “I don’t mind people thinking that I’m gay or calling me gay. I love people regardless of sexual preference, regardless of race”));
· Suffragism and domestic violence advocacy (on “Interlude: Full”, the sixth interlude and one of the most impactful of the project, in which Jackson introduces us to the theme about the importance of self-love and female empowerment, being that many times women feel unworthy and guilty for the pain inflicted by their male/female partner, something we all have to work and battle against as a worldwide community (“How empty of me to be so full of you”);
on “What About”, one of the most authentic, cathartic and listen-captivating tracks on the album, revolving around Jackson’s personal experiences of endured domestic violence; at the helm of its aggressive and rock-influenced sound, Jackson calls for the importance of self-love and request for help from the victim of this type of violence, whether verbally, emotionally or physically, which makes us reflect that “it’s important to let others know that certain things that you may have experienced in your life, and that they’re not alone, and that you understand what they’re going through, and that they can make it through” (“Don’t wanna live my life in misery/Don’t tell me you did it cause you love me/I don’t believe, I’m sick and tired, your deceptive games (…) What about the times you said no one would want me?/What about all the shit you’ve done to me?/What about that, what about that?”)).
“Perfect from Start to Finish (…) Jackson had already begun pushing the boundaries of sexually explicit pop but it’s The Velvet Rope that cemented her as a free, liberal voice for experimentation” — NME Journalist Eve Barlow
Despite the predictably succeeding controversy following its release, ranging from the artist’s alleged intimate involvements with women (specifically with her dancers Tina Landon and Shawnette Heard), banishment of the record in Singapore for its homosexual-inclusive motto and ostensibly critical media coverage (by being referred to as a “queer-studies thesis”) due to its explicit and peculiar industry content like homosexuality, bisexuality, domestic violence, bondage and sadomasochism, The Velvet Rope is a testament to survival, perseverance, identity and personal/universal achievement, not only for Jackson but for all those who are and feel oppressed, insecure and ostracised instead of cherished and understood.
Upon being highly celebrated by fans and acknowledged by critics (ranked 318th on the 2020 updated list of Rolling Stone’s “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time”, 11th on Vibe’s “50 Albums Every 20 Something Should Own”, World Music Awards’ “Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to Pop Music”, Jackson’s fourth consecutive record to top the Billboard 200, certified triple platinum by the Recording Association of America (RIAA), just to refer a few)), Janet’s masterpiece has sold an estimated 8 million copies worldwide to date and is a landmark work in the music industry of the last 20 years, not only for its huge influence on artists/groups such as Janelle Monáe, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Fiona Apple and TLC, but also for its role in the creation of subgenres such as alternative R&B and its acts like Frank Ocean, Miguel and The Internet.
Although I became a fan of Janet’s through Control and Rhythm Nation 1814, I have to admit that this is currently my favourite and in my opinion, the most important album of her career.
The Velvet Rope not only signals her creative pinnacle, but it also cemented Jackson’s role as an LGBTIQ+ icon and advocate for sexual and identity liberation/acceptance like few other figures in musical history, an example of which we should all follow in our communities and adopt in our daily lives, being that in order to progress as a society, there can be no room for prejudice, hatred and lack of understanding.
That said, I strongly recommend its listening to all fans of pop, R&B, trip hop, explicit content, love, suffragism, social advocacy and LGBTIQ+ art/culture (Link here).
Clash of Times (Dirty Mind vs. The Velvet Rope)
Throughout history, music industry has always been one of the most catalysts for the initiation of discussion and advancement around identity/sexual justice, acceptance and liberation.
While several decades have been more relevant than others (as in the late 60s & early 70s with the rise of the Women and Gay Liberation Movements, etc.) one that stands out is the liberating and outspoken 80s, kicked off and signalled by Prince’s Dirty Mind.
By being full of polemical, explicit and liberating material, Prince opened our horizons as he has always tried to do during his career.
Not only did he show us the role of artistic freedom in the cultural domain, he also raised our awareness to the importance of dialogue and transparency in search of acceptance and welcoming of any human being’s identity traits in society, a society that is sometimes more interested in “pointing fingers” than helping each other.
With the introductory ‘pages’ to this progression in focus, the heyday of the WWW and digital revolution in the late 1990s/early 2000s provided greater information and a variety of ways in the pursuit of social equality and identity/sexual liberation, a nuance that The Velvet Rope epitomises like few other artistic projects.
In contrast to Prince’s provocative style, Jackson’s soothing and contemplative approach makes us think and revisit our own past, as well as ponder on the behaviours we want to carry out in the present and future.
Through her magnum opus, Janet not only “unfolds” the humanist nature in each of us, but also makes us aware of prioritising dialogue, freedom and sexual/social acceptance so that atrocities of the past are not repeated and future generations do not endure the suffering of countless others.
We live in a society where change is exponential and information is sometimes adulterated and polarised, yet there is one thing pleasantly remarkable, and that, is the space for dialogue about communities anciently ostracised and misunderstood by movements such as the LGBT Pride, #MeToo, among many others.
I believe that everyone can improve and become acculturated towards the achievement of greater cohesion, tolerance, and acceptance regarding difference because, at the end of the day, we all have traits that distinguish us from others.
We will only move ahead if we respect those differences, given that for society and the entire world to evolve, there can be no place for prejudice, hatred, and intolerance.
Above all ideals and beliefs is the character of the human being, and that is the most important thing to dignify and pass on.
“Let us live so we do not regret years of inertia and ignorance, so when we die we can say all of our energy was dedicated to the noble liberation of the human mind and spirit, beginning with my own” — Maya Angelou
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