Comments on: The King Is Dead

By: The Hawk

The Hawk — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:44:28 +0000

[54] Yeah all the best ones are his. And then there’s “The Girl Is Mine”, which after 100 listens to the album isn’t so bad, while “Thriller” (the song) is kind of awful. To hell with Rod Temperton!

I think Bad would be a lot better if the production wasn’t so dated. There are quite a few mid- to late-80s album that suffered that fate.

By: Cliff Corcoran

Cliff Corcoran — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:36:28 +0000

Among those Jackson-penned Thriller songs: “Beat It,” “You Wanna Be Startin’ Something” and “Billy Jean.”

By: The Hawk

The Hawk — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:30:07 +0000

It’s all well and good to not listen to Michael Jackson but to extrapolate your own personal experience to the point where you don’t think his influence is still huge would be a mistake. He may not have had the same exact impact as Elvis or the Beatles but I’d say the Beatles had less than Elvis; it’s just the law of diminishing returns – as time goes on there’s simply less impact to be made. But Michael Jackson had as big an impact and influence as anyone could have at that point in time, for sure.

And yes the Quincy Jones thing is pretty overrated – the Jackson demos for the Jackson-penned Thriller songs are all pretty much fully formed.

(If you’re wondering, I’ve listened to – and as a result read about – Michael Jackson a lot the last year or so thanks to a certain three-year old’s fascination with him.)

By: thelarmis

thelarmis — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:55:03 +0000

[46] perfect! my granpda would say, “whadda you know, yer just a kid!” : )

yeah man, that world of hip-hop/r&b, etc. is like MANY universes away from me! that cat did NOT produce any hits on the new Cornell, that’s for sure! then again, to my ears, he’s probably NEVER produced a true “hit”. ; )

[47] thanking you, ms. october!

[49] i’m still sad about Khansahib. he died 8 days ago, at 87. i don’t remember if it was Khan’s mom or dad or it was Allah Rakkah, but at least one of them lived to 105. i wish that would’ve been the same for Khansahib. : (

By: Cliff Corcoran

Cliff Corcoran — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:54:18 +0000

Give it up to Katherine Jackson. She essentially gave birth to the Temptations, except her brood wrote more songs and played more instruments.

Speaking of the Jackson brood. This is how big a star Michael Jackson was in 1984: Did you know he had a sister named Rebbie? Not only did he, but he wrote her a song in ‘84 and it went top-40.

By: Raf

Raf — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:31:16 +0000

Also watching the Dancing Machine clip made me remember how tight choreography used to be back then.

By: Yankee Mama

Yankee Mama — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:28:21 +0000

I didn’t know Ali Akbar Khan died. Where have I been? How sad.

I think when Alex referred to MJ’s life as a public suicide, it hit the nail on the head. How much more could he possibly mutilate himself? In the end, he was repulsive, a symbol of a soul too damaged for this world.

Having grown up with the J5, I was a devotee, Tiger Beat and all. His decline was heartbreaking.

BTW, as much as I liked MJ in the 70 and 80s, SW has it all over him, musically.

By: Raf

Raf — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:27:56 +0000

Check out that sick robot he’s doing in 1974.

Whoa… Damn.

I saw a clip of him doing the robot to “Dancing Machine” on the Mike Douglas show, that was pretty sick as well.

When I was going through my “Motown” phase, I picked up some Jackson 5 cd’s, and I think I have both Thriller and Off the Wall around the apartment somewhere. I seem to remember “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” as a staple @ the roller rink.

By: ms october

ms october — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:26:30 +0000

[35] i agree raging. “human nature” was my favorite mj song – and i loved the way nas sampled it in “it ain’t hard to tell.”

[45] hi thelarmis. i read your posting at the end of the game thread. i am so glad you were able to snag a foul ball for aydin. that was very touching and shows what a wonderful and generous spirit you have. the strawberry glove’s magic continues!

By: Cliff Corcoran

Cliff Corcoran — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:24:50 +0000

“his new solo cd with some famous hip-hop/r&b producer. i never heard of the guy, but that’s not saying anything…”

Heh. No kidding. That guy is Timbaland, who is one of the top hit-makers of the last decade.