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[Lazarus]

Unite or Fight?

Compare Jackson?s idealistic lyrics to those of her more radicalized peers.

Public Enemy and N.W.A. arguably had a more profound influence on pop culture today; it?s hard to imagine a contemporary pop star, who came of age in an era when intersectionality is the dominant critical framework, successfully insisting that we?re all more similar than we think. The vision of a world in ?Rhythm Nation,? in which societal ills such as poverty, drug use, and unemployment are merely individual problems, not inextricably linked to systemic injustice, hasn?t aged especially well. The colossal empowerment anthems of our time?such as Beyonc??s ?Formation,? from 2016?are less about erasing difference than claiming and celebrating it.

Jackson was incalculably influential in other ways, though, including in her use of the music-video format. A thirty-minute long-form music video, which Jackson?s team took to calling a ?telemusical,? was produced to promote the record just prior to its release. It contained three distinct, shorter videos?for the singles ?Miss You Much,? ?The Knowledge,? and ?Rhythm Nation??all shot in black-and-white, surely a nod to Jackson?s vision of a color-blind society. The story line functions as a kind of P.S.A., following two kids with big dreams whose lives are ravaged by drugs.

In the telemusical that aired on MTV to tease the album, two aspiring musicians meet their idol.

The video premi?red on MTV, and was later released on VHS. The eighties were a remarkable moment for the synching of the musical and the televisual, an idea seeded by Elvis Presley?s provocative, hip-thrusting appearance on ?The Ed Sullivan Show,? three decades before. Michael Jackson?s fourteen-minute video for ?Thriller,? which was directed by John Landis, premi?red in late 1983; it was followed by groundbreaking video work from Peter Gabriel, Dire Straits, and Madonna.

Janet Jackson worked with Anthony Thomas, then an unknown choreographer, who later honed the pop-and-lock (he was influenced by the jerky, rousing funk and disco dances developed on the West Coast in the nineteen-seventies), and is now often referred to as ?the man who changed the face of hip-hop.? The video for ?Miss You Much,? choreographed by Jackson and Thomas, includes an incredibly captivating chair routine that would be imitated for years after.

[FlowerBomb]

sfdfd he couldn't even quote it right
calm down!

[RAY7]

Yea Jan definitely influenced ALL of those clips
Love that Usher?s video is still remembered

[BAPHOMET.]

love that this article is gaining no traction.

Not when Madonna's tours were actually elaborate

[BAPHOMET.]

and Usher performs in clubs

[Lazarus]

Defying Genre

Rhythm Nation 1814 synthesizes a wide range of styles, from hard rock to hip-hop.

Because Jackson was so singular and virtuosic as a performer?because she made each track her own??Rhythm Nation 1814? feels coherent; Jackson herself is the narrative thread. To watch her perform is to witness a fully integrated artist, the physical and the spiritual working in glorious tandem. For me, ?Rhythm Nation 1814? is an affirmation that music can be so all-consuming that it rearranges us on some cellular level, teaching us new things about our bodies. I?m still grateful for its lessons.

[RAY7]

He?s been in Stadiums lately

[FlowerBomb]

Because Jackson was so singular and virtuosic as a performer?because she made each track her own??Rhythm Nation 1814? feels coherent; Jackson herself is the narrative thread. To watch her perform is to witness a fully integrated artist, the physical and the spiritual working in glorious tandem. For me, ?Rhythm Nation 1814? is an affirmation that music can be so all-consuming that it rearranges us on some cellular level, teaching us new things about our bodies. I?m still grateful for its lessons.

[RAY7]

and Mariah?s pre-recorded vocals perform In Vegas with hasbeens

[BAPHOMET.]

He?s been in Stadiums lately

i've been in a stadium too. Doesn't mean I headlined it or it was my tour. d

[FlowerBomb]

love that this article is gaining no traction.

Not when Madonna's tours were actually elaborate

They're were talking about her 90's tours hun'

[BAPHOMET.]

Usher killed that boy and ugly.

[BAPHOMET.]

janet too

[FlowerBomb]

Usher killed that body and ugly.

huh

[BAPHOMET.]

love that this article is gaining no traction.

Not when Madonna's tours were actually elaborate

They're were talking about her 90's tours hun'

j