Song #610: "When I Think Of You" by Janet Jackson

Date: Oct 11, 1986
Weeks: 2

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I'm a little torn on this song. On the one hand, it's fun and energetic enough. On the other hand, it has a lot of little moments I don't care for, and Janet Jackson has a lot of better songs, even if the charts don't necessarily reflect my opinion of their quality. I mean, this is from the same album as "Control," "Nasty," and "What Have You Done For Me Lately," but out of all those this is the only one that reached No. 1, even though it's easily the most forgettable of the set.

The song is perfectly enjoyable and through the first and second verses and both of those choruses. This song does a lot to justify many of the tropes of the 80s that I've complained about before. That 80s poundy drum correctly captures the intended bold energy. That matches the synthesized horn stings, which sound different enough from real horns to create an intriguing sound. The bass is simple but appealing enough. Janet Jackson's light voice is appealing and floats pleasantly in a layer of sound above the appealing background. The song gets off to a good start and seems to be building to a big musical payoff in the bridge.

Unfortunately, the bridge is where the song falls apart. Rather than getting bigger and more impressive, the bridge is full of studio tricks and very little sound. The section of bongo drums and weird grunts just isn't that appealing. The part where they add an echo to "when I think of you [you you you you]" is one of those things that just comes off insincere. And that conflicts with Jackson's spoken "when I think of you," which sounds very sincere, except in the context in which it's presented.

The lyrics are simple, and they're fine, but they're not very deep. When she feels bad, she thinks about her love, and she feels better. There's no odd phrases to mock, but there's not really anything all that clever to praise. The lyrics are ultimately pretty neutral. Except for the part in the bridge where she says "Bass" just before there's a small bass solo. That's one of those things that only works in a band where the singer calls attention to the guitar player who is also a member of the band, and even then it only really works live. A solo artist calling attention to the anonymous studio musician who did her bass line is just odd.

Also, the background singers doing the "So in love" lyric sing it in an overly staccato way that makes it sound like they're singing something else. For years I thought the lyric was something like "Sovinfur," and I wondered what that word meant.

My verdict: Don't like it. It starts off strong, but gets weird at the halfway point. And Janet Jackson has way better songs than this, even if some of her best aren't represented on this list.