When I suggested Janet Jackson's "That's the Way Love Goes" for the newest episode of Perfect Songs Forever Podcast on the Discograffiti network, I think Rudy was a bit confused.
By the end of the conversation, Rudy and his very beautiful open mind might have come around.., I think I made my case.
I've come to believe that "That's the Way Love Goes" isn't just a great sexy pop song it's one of the blueprints for everything that came after it.. in modern pop and R&B. The confidence. The restraint. The sensuality. The way Janet sings from a place of complete self-possession and expression. So much of what female pop and R&B artists would spend the next three decades exploring is already right there in those grooves.
Like so much of the music made by her brother Michael throughout '80s and early '90s, it somehow still sounds contemporary and modern. It's remarkable to think that two people from the same family helped shape the language of popular music for decades to come. Bruno, Britney, Justin, Beyonce, Sabrina... Think about it.
Now you might not think Janet's music would have much of an impact on a chubby kid from small town Iowa.. but just wait...
When I was in junior high, I had a crush on a girl who lived about a mile outside of town. Her step dad have given me a bunch of records including my first copy of Carole King's Tapestry.
I got to spin the cd's at my first dj gig ever at a co-ed birthday party she threw in her basement.. This is where I found out in real time, that not many 8th graders in small town Iowa know the song ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER.. the Hendrix version... anyway.
One afternoon she invited my friend Jed and I out to her family's farm while her parents were away.
Jed had a moped.
I had a bicycle.
Naturally, we decided the smartest possible idea to get there fast was for him to pull me down the highway.. me on my bike holding on to the back of the moped.
About thirty yards later, I completely wiped out.
I scraped myself up, wrecked my shoulder, ripped my shirt, fucked up my bike, and by the time I finally made it out to her house, I was a mess. Dirty. Bleeding and without a doubt a little snot still running down my face. Looking back, I'm sure I wasn't exactly the picture of cuteness or confidence.
I think she just felt sorry for me. Even though my ego and body were all bruised up.. I had my very first real... kiss.
The music playing in the background?
Janet.
That cassette became permanently attached to that memory... Forever!
For a brief little stretch, we even became boyfriend and girlfriend. Like kids do, we decided we needed "our song." We chose JANET'S "Again." But I can't remember if we ever actually kissed AGAIN. It didn't really matter cause my true love affair with this Janet Jackson record has lasted a lifetime.
For me, "That's the Way Love Goes" is a masterclass in songwriting and production. It's the sound of an artist coming into her own both artistically and sexually.
And, whether Janet Jackson ever knew it or not, it's also the soundtrack to a scraped-up kid from a small town Iowa discovering the way love goes and goes and goes.
You can listen to this brand new episode of Perfect Songs Forever here https://www.patreon.com/.../270a-soldiers-of-165495947...
Big thanks to Dave Gebroe for creating the best deep dive music podcast in the history of the world Discograffiti.. Join the patreon today!