Jessica McMillan
@JLMcMillan·10mo ago·4:39
It’s time to give a damn, let’s work together: Reflections on Rhythm Nation
"…So I ended up getting it on a medium that was prominent before cassettes. It's a meaningful to me. It is something that I think is undervalued now, even despite its amazing sales. When you look at the legacy of other pop artists like Madonna, for example, who has more biographies and more buzz around her. Still, Janet Jackson paved the way for a lot of pop musicians of all color, especially, of course, Beyonce.…"
"…It was like it seemed almost Michael was pop, but you could go there because it was Michael Jackson. But for me, it was more pop than soul at the time. That was what was more important to me. I think I remember enjoying her videos. They were great, but I don't think I ever went and thought her album, but I did get one of her latest albums, The Black and White One. My wife.…"
"…I'm going to listen to it again and see from what I remember now talking about this Bruno Mars album, it's a bit cringey because he's not singing about anything he's just singing about. Oh, man, but it makes you want to dance. It made me dance yesterday when I was cooking. And that makes you feel good. And so I know I will listen to that album again and again. I wouldn't necessarily buy it.…"
"…There was a lot of vapid pop from the 80s, and I think Jackson had already kind of come out of asserting herself with control and then just really nailed it with this album. And what I find interesting sonically in the album is it employs a lot of industrial music techniques that we still hear now. Pretty Hate Machine came out the same year, and it's a hardcore album in many ways. The percussion is extremely prominent. It's really in your face. It's quite aggressive.…"
"…Well, I bet they produced with A Nation. That's really interesting. So yeah, I didn't mean girls dancing around. I know her videos are always brilliant. Even the ones in Control were great videos, but I just meant that the girls, like, the more that I used to hang out with. It was what I didn't like.…"
"…And yeah, she was supposed to tour last year and is hopefully going to announce it again sometime when it's safer. And it is exciting for her to see her working with the same producers again. There's quite a bit of buzz around her past and present. Now, I've noticed that thing with JT at Super Bowl is being discussed in some film. I kind of stay away from all that gossip recipe stuff, so I haven't checked that out.…"
"…They were huge producers when it came to Swing Beach. It was them on one side who are doing most of the production for a lot of people. That music I was buying and dancing too, and it has that signature sound, which is this. I'm not even sure they did some Bobby Brown. They probably did.…"
"…All right, I can remember, man. Dance to this song. You said Jermaine Jackson. It. And of course, the music, the productions. Unmistakable. Right. Thanks again.…"
"…I was listening to all those things at the time, but the thing that has stood out over all of these years, three decades, I'm buying this album and it's a really cool slice of time and a complete sound like you said. And if you can pull up that mixtape and throw it on a playlist, I'd love to hear it. Thank you so much for sharing the tunes, to take care.…"
"…And last Sunday, we were driving back from somewhere, and I was in a car with some people and they were playing some R Kelly. And it's three women. And I said oh, wow. You're playing R Kelly. And they were like, you know, they can separate the music from the man, and there's some tunes that they just have to listen to, and they will. And I said, wow, that's interesting.…"
"…Hi, Mark. Thank you for this wonderful reply. And I'm very sorry for the delay. I wasn't feeling great yesterday, but I'm back in Nation and I'm excited about your list. I've got it on my Spotify. I'm going to play it today. I will give you a full report back. I love your description of that day when you scored on all those records. I totally or albums. I totally know what you're talking about.…"