That's What She Said..

Every so often when perusing my musical collection I find a song that just embodies everything that I love about music. And I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I just came across one of the coolest pop songs I've heard in the past ten years. This song boasts an excellent collaboration between two artists that would later come to be known for something quite a bit more infamous.

In case you actually have not guessed it by now, the song is "(And She Said) Take Me Now" by Justin Timberlake featuring Janet Jackson. Long before he was ripping the tops off people nearly old enough to be his mother, he was serving up funky slices of pop like this sadly overlooked gem. With no radio play or promotion, one wonders who is responsible for preventing this radio friendly track from actually taking off as a single.

Aside from the obviously excellent collaboration, this track features pre-obnoxious-era Timbaland production with him providing a much more chilled and mature sound than his recent works. One has only to think to Madonna's "4 Minutes" to realize how much this producer has regressed over the years, but that is an entirely different conversation.

Back to the awesomeness that is "Take Me Now," Justin and Janet trade verses about... you guessed it, sex. The song is divided into relatively minimalist and tight-sounding segments, with verses, a beyond catchy hook, then possibly the best cheesy outro since N*Sync's "Pop."

For those who still do not recall this particular track, it is featured on Justin Timberlake's Justified, an album that any fan of pop should already own. Hopefully we can expect Justin to drop the serious act and get back to his roots, the always funky and slightly goofy pop offerings that he seems to have (nearly) forgotten on the admittedly enjoyable yet inferior FutureSex/LoveSounds.