A Janet double: janet./The Velvet Rope - 2NITE @ 7.30

I have such love for Together Again. It holds a special place with me as it was the song played at my cousins funeral.
It’s suffered a bit from overplaying over the years but it’s an incredible song.
 
Together Again

Where to begin. Originally written as a ballad. And they had that marvellous, slinky ballad version with its own video which they punted out when it started falling down the charts and kept it charting FOREVER AND A DAY in the US.

Literally one of the most effortless, joyous pieces of pop music ever made. It never fails to make me smile.
 
The Wiki article about the album's background is a quite interesting read. I knew she was kind of going through it at the time, but didn't know the extent. It's amazing she was able to give us the light of "Together Again" during all of it:

During her Janet World Tour, Jackson experienced an emotional breakdown, stemming from self-hatred, childhood humiliation, self-harm, and distorted body image.[10] She stated, "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".[11][12] She questioned her career path, feeling pressured by the demands of the entertainment industry, saying, "People look at you differently, as if you're not human."[13] Abbie Kearse of MTV responded, "You're creating a person who might not really be you, but you've created this fantasy woman, so when it's time to get back to business, it's like 'I've got to go back to that world'".[9] Jackson expressed concern for how she could portray an object of fantasy, feeling as if she could no longer fulfill her own desires.[14]

In self-analysis, Jackson uncovered vital details regarding her past, saying, "Certain things may happen, and you just dismiss them instead of stopping and saying, "Why am I feeling this way? Why am I acting out in this way?"[9] She had suppressed various traumas throughout her adolescence and early adulthood, using evasion tactics to prevent thoughts from surfacing.[9] She also recalled feeling unaccepted and ostracized for her skin color.[15] She was persistently haunted by a memory of a school teacher intensely scolding her, causing her classmates to erupt in laughter.[16] "Oh, God, it sounds so stupid. But being a kid you're just so frightened... I never talked about it, so it stayed with me all those years. I felt not deserving, not good enough... that's still the way I feel about myself sometimes", she declared.[9][16] As a child, she managed discomfort by speaking to her animals, later turning to overeating as an anesthetic, causing fluctuations in weight.[16] Jackson said, "I began to realize that whenever something really painful was going on, I would eat, and that's how I would run away from it. But I would just be creating another problem in another area instead of just dealing with that pain".[9]

Jackson developed body dysmorphia as a response to ridicule, stating, "I'd look in the mirror and hate myself. I'd sit and cry. It was so hard for me to look at myself and find something that I liked. Not just physically, but something that was good in me".[18] She also inflicted self-harm, banging her head against the wall when feeling unattractive.[19] She traced her fragility to her abusive marriage to recording artist James DeBarge when she was 16 years old.[9] Jackson recalled, "It all has to do with very low self esteem. Especially going into a relationship like that very young... someone telling you things like, 'no one is ever going to want you again, you should be happy here with me.'"[15] Attempting to alter his behavior and drug addiction, she explained, "I learned the hard way that you can't change a person."[20] Recalling her divorce, she revealed, "There came a point when I finally said, 'You know what? I just don't care what happens.' I had to do what I wanted to but had been too afraid to. And at that point I didn't care if I got my brains beat out. I just went ahead and did it. And I got my ass kicked for it. But I'm happy that I did it, or I don't think I would be here today".[9]

Her self-hatred accelerated into raging cycles of bulimia and anorexia, repressing the issue until questioned.[18] Jackson said, "people say to me: `Okay, you've got to start eating more. You're too thin.' But when you look in the mirror, you see something totally different."[18] She continued, "I had swung so far in one direction, I never thought I could swing so far in the other. You're losing weight and getting smaller, and I'd still say to myself I could afford to lose a little more".[18] However, she refused professional guidance, reluctant to examination.[18] She briefly saw a psychologist before an encounter with a spiritual guru, who aided her emotional recovery. Jackson recounted, "we went to this very spiritual place in the desert... That's where I met him, this cowboy. He's in his fifties, and he's full of wisdom. He's an older man who has experienced a great deal, and he used to be in the music industry, on a smaller scale. He even understood that side of my life".[10][13][21] She also began using coffee enemas to remove "sad cells", leading to media scrutiny.[16][22] The trauma lead to a brief duration of sexual questioning, saying "Am I curious? I think every girl has wondered".[18] Jackson culminated the experiences into the album's subject matter, recording over two years.[10]
Click to expand...
 
And none of this is remotely like acid house either. :D
 
POP! said:
The Wiki article about the album's background is a quite interesting read. I knew she was kind of going through it at the time, but didn't know the extent. It's amazing she was able to give us the light of "Together Again" during all of it:
Click to expand...
Oh yes I remember all of that. The interviews were very honest. It's where the (now rather unfunny) coffee enema 'jokes' originated...
 
Together Again is obviously great. An unaged bop. It's a lot more poppy than the rest of the album so feels a bit weird shunted in the middle where it is.
 
It was top ten in the UK forever too. It’s her biggest hit here, isn’t it? Wonder how close it is to a million now? I seem to remember it was around 800k at the time- ludicrous for a #4 hit.
 
Together Again is the apex of this record, a total, dreamy slice of ecstasy that floats on its own little happy cloud - the soundscape is gorgeous, the sentiment is utterly beautiful, the execution is everything. every part of this song is a hook, it's ridiculous. and the VIDEO! my favourite Janet LEWK, I think I would have to say. simply iconic.

09.5 Velvet Rope
08.5 You
10.5 Got Til It's Gone
09 My Need
10 Go Deep
10 Free Xone
11 Together Again
 
I remember reading in TOTP magazine that she wrote Together Again after a fan sent her a letter about a relative that died.
 
Sheena said:
Together Again

Where to begin. Originally written as a ballad. And they had that marvellous, slinky ballad version with its own video which they punted out when it started falling down the charts and kept it charting FOREVER AND A DAY in the US.

Literally one of the most effortless, joyous pieces of pop music ever made. It never fails to make me smile.
Click to expand...
Just saw, 46 weeks on the Hot 100 :o pretty impressive given that they removed it once it got below #50 anyway.
 
11 Velvet Rope
10 You
09 Got Till It's Gone
09 My Need
10 Go Deep
06 Free Xone
10 Together Again
 
Sheena said:
It was top ten in the UK forever too. It’s her biggest hit here, isn’t it? Wonder how close it is to a million now? I seem to remember it was around 800k at the time- ludicrous for a #4 hit.
Click to expand...
definitely her most widely remembered/beloved track in the UK by an absolute mile.
 
Now I will say this: Together Again / Online interlude / Empty works quite well - and yes the latter is rewrite of 'Together Again', but with the online interlude hinting at Miss Janft needing connection online in the absence of real human intimacy it works quite well.

So yes, 'Empty' is not a great song on its own in but in context it works.
 
Suedey said:
I thought it was about her own friend(s) that died of AIDS.
Click to expand...
Well this was TOTP magazine... I’m sure they had the person who sent her the letter and the article was titled ‘Janet Jackson wrote Together Again about me’

it was probably made up.
 
I always saw "Empty" as quintessential filler, but I felt like it is a much needed break/moment to breathe after a quite relentless first half and an intense second half.
 
Together Again had sold 807k by Feb 2019, excluding streaming, with just downloads and physical sales. I wonder if she’d get a million seller out of it.
 
10 Velvet rope
09 You
11 Got 'Til It's Gone
08 My Need
10 Go Deep
06 Free Xone
10 Together Again
07 Empty
 
11 Velvet Rope
10 You
09 Got Till It's Gone
09 My Need
10 Go Deep
06 Free Xone
10 Together Again
07 Empty
 
Empty is another one I've never paid enough attention to. absolutely loving the beat. some TRIP HOP teas. very infectious. seriously the production is so SHIT HOT on this album.

09.5 Velvet Rope
08.5 You
10.5 Got Til It's Gone
09 My Need
10 Go Deep
10 Free Xone
11 Together Again
09 Empty
 
I always saw "What About" as the more unhinged/raw "This Time" although they obviously draw from very different musical influences in their own right.
 
This song is still astonishing 24 years later. The way it juxtaposes from the lovey dovey verses to the horror of the chorus is fucking astounding.
 
And of course, the proper pay off doesn’t even come until the second chorus...
 
I do love jan's SCREAMING REGISTER. she goes from sounding like a heaven sent angel to your WORST NIGHTMARE in no time at all. :D

09.5 Velvet Rope
08.5 You
10.5 Got Til It's Gone
09 My Need
10 Go Deep
10 Free Xone
11 Together Again
09 Empty
08.5 What About
 
I can entirely understand why they couldn’t release this as a single, but it was such a shame. It’s SO good.
 
10 Velvet rope
09 You
11 Got 'Til It's Gone
08 My Need
10 Go Deep
06 Free Xone
10 Together Again
07 Empty
10 What About
 
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