"Billie jean is not my lover"...
you can't deny the man, Michael got mad skills when it comes to writing + performing. this should go down as one of the best songs evr. the drum line is da shit, the hook is catchy + michael flows so well over this song it's almost heavenly. the Motown 25 performance was also one of his best..... evr!

"people always told me....."

It's definitely among the greatest of all time and before people accuse him of "stealing a bassline", Dez Dickerson said Prince borrowed his rhythm for "When Doves Cry".

it's not even Michaels best song...live and 12inch are better anyway.....you know you can't, because you're a city girl
[Edited 6/10/05 21:39pm]

squiddyren said:

You're the kind of MJ fan that gives the others a bad name. What the hell does Prince have to do with Michael stealing a bassline?

Anyway, I'd agree with Billie Jean being one of the best pop songs ever. Right up there, incidentally, with When Doves Cry.

whodknee said:

There was a "Billie Jean vs. When Doves Cry" thread eons ago and people were discrediting "Billie Jean" by claiming he subconsciously 'stole' a Rick James bassline, and since the MJ vs. Prince thing hasn't quite died yet, I thought I'd mention before anyone attempted to discredit "Billie Jean" that Prince may not have been totally original either with his signature hit so the two would even each other out, even though it's been said a number of times before that Prince probably subconsciously stole a Dez Dickerson rhythm.

Sorry if I offended.

yawn

Zzzzzz

squiddyren said:

It was Thriller.

LightOfArt said:

Oh?

Thanks for clearing that up.

This is my least favorite Michael Jackson song. Everyone loves this song and I don't.

squiddyren said:

It's the Give It To Me Baby Baseline.
[Edited 6/11/05 8:53am]

Yep. Ever.

IMO.

Well, I think many artists have crafted perfect pop songs but I don't quite think billie jean is one of them. I think Michael's entry in the line of perfect pop songs is don't stop till you get enough, and I think prince's is little red corvette. Granted, I'm not saying that there can be only one "perfect" pop song per artist, but I think if I had to narrow it down to only one for MJ and Prince each, When Doves Cry and Billie Jean would not be my first choices, though maybe my second or third ones. Here are some other "perfect" pop songs in my opinion

Take The A-train
Don't Get Around Much Anymore
Satin Doll
Almost like being in love
Mack The Knife
Fly Me To The Moon
Dance To The Music
Everday People
Bold As Love
Hey Jude
A Day in the Life
Got To Get You Into My Life
September
Uptight Everything's Alright
Love Having You Around (yes I know stevie's adult career has lots of contenders, but this is my top pick)
Good Vibrations
Little Red Corvette
Don't Stop Till You Get Enough
I Want You Back
I Got You (I Feel Good)
Papa's Got A brand new Bag
Brown Sugar
You Can't Always Get What You Want

You're kidding, right? Go listen to Steely Dan's Do It Again and come back and holla at me.

PurpleKnight said:

Kiss is my favourite Prince song so i'd agree with that. I don't care that much for WDC though. On a Prince scale i'd give it a 7 out of 10. It's one of those songs non-fans who own maybe only a Greatest Hits always cite as being one of his best. It isn't. It's good but nowhere near his best.

And Prince has never performed this song well live, it always seems i'm underwhelmed every time.


[Edited 6/11/05 15:36pm]