Song Of The Week: Janet Jackson "Make Me"

It's hard to look at Janet Jackson and not instinctively feel sympathy, given her--our--immense loss. Luckily, "Make Me," a new song released as a gift to fans, requires no pity partying. Just partying. Over a throbbing bass line, Janet coos as confident as ever while goading a partner to dance and... whatever else might happen: "I see you against the wall, boy, what you waiting for/I want you to take control now." Fun, rhythmic, buoyant--it's the type of rebound we'd hoped for with 2008's Discipline, where Jackson teamed up with Rodney Jerkins in search of a youthful edge that only seemed to date her. They got it right here though, as Jerkins taps into Janet's sense of fanciful pleasure, rewinding time in a Janet way. We'll reserve the official comeback stamp, though it's a positive sign of things to come. -Clover Hope