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Taylor Swift: "The Life of a Showgirl"

 In her thirties, Janet Jackson released "The Velvet Rope," a career-defining album. Jackson had been struggling with depression--so she decided to be blunt. The album is about self-harm and loss--but it's oddly inspiring, because it's an example of someone being brave.


The first single, "Got 'Til It's Gone," is centered on a wayward Janet. She has made mistakes; she has driven her love away. He isn't coming back. That's the start and the end of the song. He isn't coming back. Janet is just pleading--ineffectively.

If I could turn back the hands of time--
I'd make you fall in love with me again.
So would you give me another chance to love you?
To love you in the right way? No games?

This is followed by an astonishing letter-song, "Together Again," a dance number about AIDS and death. In "Together Again," Janet sings to her dead friend, and she highlights a particular lesson that he once repeated (and repeated) about anxiety.

When I feel that I don't belong--
Draw my strength--
From the words--When you said...
Hey, it's about you, baby...
Look deeper inside you, baby...

These singles are a one-two punch. They're statements from an artist who is curious about the world. In her verses, at least, she seems fearless. She has suffered on this planet; she is planting a flag in the soil; she is letting us know what she knows.

The value of a mediocre album--such as Taylor Swift's "Life of a Showgirl"--is that it helps us to remind ourselves of better work. We are pointed back toward Janet. 

Tipping a hat--one more time--to "The Velvet Rope."
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