I love going on my pal Eamon O'Flynn's music podcast, Record Roulette, where we listen to an album on Rolling Stone's top 500 list. I jumped at the chance to talk about Janet Jackson's "Velvet Rope." Before recording this episode, "Velvet Rope" wasn't my favorite album, but upon repeat listening, I keep coming back for more of that sweet, sweet Miss Jackson sass.
Enjoy my theory that the structure of these CD-long albums in the late '90s mimics the interstitials in musical theatre that cover up scene changes. Janet, with her Shakespearean prologue, is the most theatrical pop diva of them all. How I love her so!