CS wrote on Jun 29^th, 2009 at 1:00am:


No, Garth Brooks' live album is...

FG and Heart Of Stone: as Pdog correctly observed, this poll is only concerned with those Jackson singles that reached the top-spot in the US and UK.

I was tempted to do a kind of regular ' Favourite Michael Jackson Song' type of poll, but there would be the dilemma or what to and what not to include.

My method simplifies it greatly.

KEEP VOTING!

You know what Michael Jackson's last hit was?......The Floor.

human nature is my personal fave, the live version of man in the mirror was MJ at his most passionate....
but Don't Stop got my vote:
that opening bass, those funk guitar licks and that tight snare sound: MJ was able to marry that james brown funk to a more melodic foundation - and remember these songs were his arrangements.

Wild Bill wrote on Jun 29^th, 2009 at 10:08am:



So, we are in agreement that Budweiser is a shite beer? 

Seriously though: I am not a huge Jackson fan, but Thriller - according to some statistics - has shifted in excess of 100 million copies worldwide. Surely, there has to be something in it aside from savvy marketing.

KEEP VOTING PEOPLE!

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/archives/2009/06/from_the_voice_6.php

i must admit, i gave up on MJ around 1991, before the allegations and all that -
i think the fame, the persona overshadowed the art....
i remember when a new MJ cd would come out and there was always this collective sigh among my friends....we were admirers, but stopped expecting anything vital or interesting...
well, maybe we were wrong.
this is an interesting review of HIStory/Blood on the Dance Floor from the village voice...from a reviewer i respect.
it's weird now - it's as if i had forgotten he was a musician.
i'm going to have to re-assess MJ's later years.....

That really is a great review. I've actually noticed that in the past few days while rediscovering his music. A lot of it is really damn dark and twisted. And a lot of the lyrics are really hard to decipher.

It's like he purposely alienated himself because the world made him sick. But he always keeps hope alive that the world will change. And he inspires us to do so with songs like heal the world and keep the faith. I'm respecting this man more and more with each passing song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppXUj0lzZMc

The lyrics:
VERSE
Ignorance of people purchasing diamonds and necklaces,
And barely able to keep the payments up on their lessons,
And enrolled in a class and don?t know who the professor is,
How low people go for the dough and make a mess of things,
Kids are murdering other kids for the fun of it,
Instead of using their mind or their fist, they put a gun in it
Wanna be a part of a clique, don?t know who?s running it,
Tragedy on top of tragedy you know it?s killing me.
So many people in agony, this shouldn?t have to be,
Too busy focusing on ourselves and not His Majesty,
There has to be some type of change for this day and age,
We gotta rearrange and flip the page,
Living encaged like animals and cannibals,
Eating each other alive just to survive the nine to five,
Every single day is trouble while we struggle and strive
Peace of mind?s so hard to find.

CHORUS
I wanna shout, throw my hands up and shout
What?s this madness all about
All this makes me wanna shout
You know it makes me wanna shout,
Throw my hands up and shout
What?s this madness all about
All this makes me wanna shout, c?mon now

VERSE 2
Problems, complications and accusations
Dividing the nations and races of empty faces
A war is taking place.
No substitution for restitution, the only solution for peace
Is increasing the height of your spirituality.
Masses of minds are shrouded, clouded visions
Deceptions and indecision, no faith or religion, how we?re living.
The clock is ticking, the end is coming, there?ll be no warning,
But we live to see the dawn.

BRIDGE
How can we preach, when all we make this world to be
Is a living hell torturing our minds.
We all must unite, to turn darkness to light,
And the love in our hearts will shine.

VERSE 3
We?re disconnected from love, we?re disrespecting each other
Whatever happened to protecting each other
Poisoned your body and your soul for a minute of pleasure,
But the damage that you?ve done is gonna last forever.
Babies being born in the world already drug addicted and afflicted,
Family values are contradicted.
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust, the pressure is building and I?ve had enough.

CHORUS...

EDIT: The more I think about it, the more I believe that his behavior and appearance etc...was all part of his Art. Could it be that it was just all over our heads? I'm probably looking into it too much. I gotta put on some Stones for a while; take a break from this guy.

Doesnt anyone anywere care that he slept with teenage boys,before his music.
Iv heard people say,oh thats just Michael, thats just him.
What would you  do if that was a neighbour hanging aroung,giving out gifts,bouncing young boys on his knee,sleeping with them.
Say its ok,or chase the scumbag down the street before calling the cops.
People just seem to think,yes we dont think his behaviour was right,but his music was good.
Thats just MJ,he is weird.
Just like O-Jay he got off.
His actions were that off an abuser.

that was some cool shit Holden
we always heard the more commercial of his later stuff - and at the time it always seemed so ...commercial and an attempt to re-create thriller etc...
but this shit is dark, almost industrial.....
i think people stopped listening and this was so out there that they didn't know what to do with it.
it was michael jackson, the guy who goes to Disneyland etc...
but this was the work of a man who was looking at things in a very dark way.
and it's not commercial at all, which also threw people off.....
he was taking things to another level and we just ignored it and wrote him off...
this was edgier than anything prince has done in a while...

james37 wrote on Jun 30^th, 2009 at 7:25pm:


it can be a dilemma if you make it one and feel that both your aesthetic and moral compasses should be identically aligned or mutually dependent

take the recent thing with spector - sure he's a pathological fruit cake but what has that got to do with the magnificence of the Shangri Las??

also where do you draw the line  -  Leadbelly was a convicted murderer - should his contribution to music be completely disregarded on that score??

if you like john Lennon and Brian jones' work does it follow that you condone hitting your missus??



as the old saying goes "Never trust the Artist - trust the Art"

http://www.buttonmonkey.com/misc/maryfischer.html

i'm sure many are exhausted by this subject, but this is crucial reading.....

Just discoverd this footage of Jackson performing Ben on American television.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSqo17o2a1w&feature=related

Great voice and persona at such a tender age.

This calls for: what he HELL happend???

KEEP VOTING!

Honky Tonk Man wrote on Jul 1^st, 2009 at 4:29pm:



my sister had this 45 and used to listen to it over and over....
yeah, what happened> i think that's why people are so conflicted about MJ.