Download of the Day (9/13): "Scream" by Michael and Janet Jackson

In 1995, two of pop music's titans, who just happened to be siblings, took time out of their busy schedules to record a little ditty for the brother's double-disc comeback album.

That little ditty? "Scream".

The brother-sister combo? Who else but Michael and Janet Jackson.

For the first time since "2300 Jackson Street" (don't feel bad if you don't know it; the song and album were a pitiful attempt to show family unity), two members of the hyper-talented Jackson dynasty took to the studio together. The most talented of the family, dance diva Janet and King of Pop Michael, teamed up to record "Scream" for Michael's part-greatest hits, part-studio album HIStory, his first record since the pop culture disaster that was his child molestation scandal. Like the other songs from that album, Michael uses "Scream" to strike out against the world that scorned him. Over an psuedo-industrial spacey, funk track, Michael and Janet snarl at their haters. "Stop pressuring me", the siblings angrily hiss over the infectious chorus. Always the dramatist, the song shifts to a gently melodic middle-8 with Janet before exploding in a fiery crash of Michael's scream and sharp electric guitar (making for a killer dance sequence, by the way).

It can be argued that "Scream" (and the entire HIStory album, for that matter) was the perfect display of entitled celebrity torment. Whether that's true or not, the pairing of Michael and Janet was a stroke of genius, resulting in an excellent piece of pop music.

The only regret about "Scream" is that there will never be another one.