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Tag: Janet Jackson

  • New Music: Christina Aguilera’s “Keeps Gettin’ Better”

    Christina Aguilera. Photo by John Yale.
    Christina Aguilera. Photo by John Yale.

    It’s been said a million times, but out of the whole influx of teenage girl singers that arrived on the scene, Christina Aguilera was obviously the one blessed with the talent. Her albums haven’t always been easy listens, but there have been some great spots within them. Her work with DJ Premier on 2006’s “Back to Basics” was excellent,and it seemed that those great pipes would work fantastically with hip-hop production.

    Maybe I should cut her some slack because of the whole new mommy thing, but I was a little distressed by what I saw on the VMAs from her last night. Not only did her outfit look like it belonged on the set of Janet Jackson’s lame-ass “Feedback” video, but the song she performed sounded like a Britney castoff with better (OK, much better) vocals…which weren’t live, by the way. I decided to check out the studio version of the song (which will be on Xtina’s upcoming Greatest Hits album…apparently only available at Target and Target.com…way to piss retail off Christina), and…well, it’s not as bad as I thought it was the first time. It’s a bouncy, electro-influenced tune, way different from anything she’s released prior, and fits right in with what’s going on at radio these days. Maybe the not-explosive sales of “Back to Basics” (about 1.6 mil, which is not too shabby) scared Christina and her people enough that they played it safe this time around? Either way, if we’re going to get “commercial and radio friendly”, at least the girl can sing, right?

    I love the chorus…”sometimes I’m a super bitch!!”…at least she gets it, right?

  • MHW News Update: Kanye Contradicts Himself (Again), Drama Atop the Billboard Charts, and Britney’s Mom Sells Her Kid Out

    Kanye West. Photo by Tyler Collins.
    Kanye West. Photo by Tyler Collins.

    Dear Kanye: Didn’t You Say???…

    Guess who’ll be closing this year’s MTV Video Music Awards? If you guessed Kanye West, you are absolutely correct. One year after West vowed never to perform on or for the video network again, he will happily eat his words and prance across the stage when the show airs on Sunday night. While I’m certainly not shocked by Kanye seemingly putting his foot in his mouth, and might watch the show specifically for his performance (and the rumors of Michael and Janet Jackson appearing together on the broadcast), you have to figure that one day ‘Ye will learn to keep his trap shut just a little bit, eh?? (MTV.com)

    (more…)

  • The Infatueighties Countdown: #96: “Forget Me Nots”

    I’ll be honest-I can’t really judge instrumental proficiency. Hell, there are very few artists that I can identify by the tone of their instrument. The only ones I can think of off the top of my head are David Sanborn…and Patrice Rushen. Rushen’s piano playing (whether on the acoustic or electric) has a certain warmth to it that makes her singles completely recognizable before she even utters a word.

    The cover of Patrice Rushen\'s 1982 smash \"Forget Me Nots\".

    1982’s “Forget Me Nots” is an exercise in musical simplicity. Show me the keys and I could probably play the piano part. Rushen’s vocal is delightfully breezy and fairly plain-spoken. Even the standard Eighties sax solo sounds unfussy and relaxed. The song reminds me of summer, of backyard barbecues, and of roller skating-although I didn’t hit a skating rink for the first time until 1985, so I don’t know where that comes from. It also reminds me of Will Smith’s “Men in Black” and George Michael’s “Fastlove”, considering both songs heavily rely on “Forget Me Nots” as their musical base.

    Rushen started off as a fairly standard jazz/fusion artist before being convinced to actually sing. Her wispy voice and her youthful good looks (now in her fifties, Rushen literally looks half her age) along with her musical proficiency helped her score a handful of R&B hits, with her peak period being 1979-1984. She also had an early musical association with Prince. I’m not sure if the piano solo on “Sexy Dancer” is her, but it certainly sounds like her. There’s also a rumor that 1979’s Prince song “I Feel for You” (later covered by Chaka Khan) was written both for and about Patrice.

    After the hits died down towards the end of the Eighties, Patrice became one of the most sought after instrumentalists in the industry. She served as musical director for Janet Jackson’s 1993 “janet.” tour, and has also been the musical director for the NAACP Image Awards, the People’s Choice Awards, the Emmys and the Grammys. Pretty impressive to rise to the top in an area where you don’t see many women, much less women of color.

    This is another one of those cheesy early Eighties videos. You have to laugh at the simplicity. I can’t find an embeddable version, folks, so you’re just gonna have to go here…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td25kTqvl1w