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PrintableMy Top Ten MJ songs In no order
1. Human Nature 2. She Drives Me Wild 3. Billie Jean 4. Keep the Faith 5. Dangerous 6. Who is It 7. Someone in the Dark 8. Whatever Happens 9. Break of Dawn 10. You are Not Alone | |
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Stranger in Moscow to me has got ot be the best mj song ever | |
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Mine in no order
Who Is It Keep the Faith I Just Can't Stop Loving You Man In The Mirror Dirty Diana Another Part of Me Blood On The Dancefloor Smooth Criminal Rock With You We've Had Enough | |
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1)Stranger In Moscow 2)We've Had Enough 3)Who is It 4) Break of Dawn 5)Threatened 6)Smooth Criminal 7)Whatever Happens 8)Remember the Time 9) Morphine (piano par tonly) 10)For all Time | |
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yeah I wanted to include whatever happens and for all time too, those are great, and monkey business | |
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yea monkey business makez me lol " I caught yo mother she was doing a dude" | |
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his most gangsta song | |
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Can't stand Monkey Business  | |
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what about no friend of mine | |
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It´s very hard to choose only 10 of my all time favourite songs and not remember of one few seconds later that I forgot. But on my list, there would definitely be those songs: I Can´t Help It She Drives Me Wild Someone Put Your Hand Out Butterflies Heaven Can Wait Who Is It Stranger In Moscow Smile Why Liberian Girl
and many others "When Michael Jackson is just singing and dancing, you just think this is an astonishing talent. And he has had this astounding talent all his life, but we want him to be floored as well. We really don´t like the idea that he could have it all." | |
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Murray is scheduled to appear in court on Monday August 23rd for his prelim hearing. At this point he's still allowed to practice medicine, although that may change at the hearing. Prince esta muerto...
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[img:$uid]http://i894.photobucket.com/albums/ac143/MichaelJennings/572ea223.jpg[/img:$uid]
http://www.michaeljacksoneverafter.com/ "We may deify or demonize them but not ignore them. And we call them genius, because they are the people who change the world." |
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Why was I looking at that picture, wondering where I knew those kids from?
Imagine if they would have did "Moonwalker" with the children. | |
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Why does Blanket have that "I'm comin' for that ass, bitch!" look? "We may deify or demonize them but not ignore them. And we call them genius, because they are the people who change the world." |
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[/img]^^ gorgeous painting....... MICHAEL JACKSON
R.I.P مايكل جاكسون للأبد 1958 | |
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We should re-order History II in this thread. | |
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gangsa is trying too hard, monkey business is the real deal
and awww blanket | |
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Mhmmm...love that song. | |
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I don't like Gangsta...at all. I love Monkey Business | |
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when I first heard Dirty Diana, it sounded star or gangster to me, it happened to my cousin too when she ws young | |
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I'm so tired I don't know if I have posted this yet or not, lol. So apologies for the double post if that is the case.
But to continue the weekly discussion of one of MJ's solo albums - this week HiStory.
HiStory
A lot had changed for Michael Jackson when HiStory was released. No longer was he seen as the creative genius, but rather as at best a target of tabloid journalists and at worst a potential child abuser. But whilst the years leading up to the release of HiStory were traumatic and filled with a lot of unanswered questions, Michael did what Michael knew best to do and that was break the media silence with an album that for the most part was his point of view on what most people took as fact and as the title suggested offered His side of the Story – the best way Michael knew how, through music.
Whilst packaging the album as a double cd filled with greatest hits and new music was a smart marketing tool and way to reintroduce Michael to a weary public, what the fans longed to hear was the new material. We didn’t need to convinced of his legacy. What we wanted to hear was where he was going to take us next.
For many of the press there was speculation as to whether he would actually address what had transpired in the previous years, or would Michael retreat into a fantasy world of imagery and safe pop. Thankfully, Michael didn’t hide and instead delivered his most personal album of his career.
With the industrial distorted introduction of Scream blasting through the speakers it was almost like Michael was rebooting for a new chapter in his life. And for those who though Michael might tread lightly the first verse showed he was instead going to tackle things head on. With a hard hitting beat grounding the track Michael and sister Janet trade verses in a unified attack at the injustice, frustration, and pressure that being in the public light delivers. As if saying you want the truth you got it, lyrically it contains some of Michael’s most direct and confronting utterances. In both an attack, and plea for relief, the song throws down hard and doesn’t let up. This is Michael mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore. Scream still pumps hard and has become a favourite for many a fan wanting Michael to step up.
They Don’t Care About Us continues with the anger. Its pulsing rhythmic shunt lays a bare bone foundation for Michael to spit out his lyrics that for the first time dismisses the idea of being universally loved, and hits hard with reality that he might be hated by some, yet he challenges them to truly see what it is they are hating and what they base their hatred on – stories fed to them by someone “in a suit, on the news” where people are chewed up and spat out like “dog food” and everyone has an “allegation”. It’s almost like Michael is welcoming the aggression knowing that ultimately the truth will be his savour. And perhaps in the only moment that Michael truly addresses the labels people were now willing to sling in his direction he counters with “I’m tired of being the victim of shame, you’re throwing me in a class with a bad name”. Where this song could have easily drifted heavily into a hostile rant, Michael manages to salvage it with vocals that at times attack but in equal measures draw you in.
After the aural assault of the opening two tracks, Michael shifts gears with one his all time greatest tracks, the hauntingly beautiful Stranger in Moscow. Again he wears his heart on his sleave, but rather than play the victim he lets us into his experience of his “swift and sudden fall from grace” and how it feels to be “abandoned in my fame”. He opens himself up with honesty that let’s us feel his pain without him asking for us to pity him. Musically the track features some beautiful melodies that both underscore the sadness of the situation but yet still offers a moment of hope that “sunny days will drown the pain”. But rather than fully arrive at a happy ending, Michael stays with the reality of feeling alone and makes the song more powerful for it.
While the previous songs perhaps looked at the previous years with a focus on the media in general, This Time Around hit’s squarely at those accusing him. He unfurls their plans to “control him” and “get him” and “falsely accuse”. And with a tone of lesson learned, he also seems to deliver the lyrics as if having the last laugh. Once again Michael’s ability to draw you in with a vocal melody is present and it’s often not until you actually listen to the lyrics do you realise how harsh and attacking the song is.
Earth Song, whilst originally written for inclusion on Dangerous seems better suited here. As a moment of reprieve from his personal world, Michael turns his attention to the world at large and the plight we are leaving this earth in. With an epic arrangement that starts soft and simple and builds with every passing bar to a raucous gospel tinged plea for action, Earth Song has a truth to it that was lacking in a song like Heal The World. Rich and lush productions means that almost every time you listen to it you hear something new, it might be the trickling strings, it might be the weeping guitar, of the bed of vocal harmonies that surround you. Bombastic? Maybe. But there is a sense of urgency and power to the song that can’t be denied and makes it one of Michael’s most gifted musical arrangements.
D.S. is a curious song for a few reasons. One because of its subject matter; a thinly veiled attack on Tom Sneddon. And two, because it is potentially the weakest track on the album. Maybe it was a cathartic move for Michael to include it, and perhaps the music sample of “Owner of Lonely Heart” by YES was another jab. I remember listening to it and thinking Michael was playing with fire (and history might suggest he was) but more I kept wanting the song to take me somewhere, instead it just seems to follow the one attacking path with almost 2 minutes of continuous rants that “Tom Sneddon is a cold man”.
Thankfully Money brings the focus back on track, and is the soundtrack to all the people willing to make a quick buck and sell another out. No one escapes the wrath of Michael here, from those who use him for the money, those you preach one thing then do the other, to insurance companies that force settlements, to those who will betray you for a dime, or sell you out, and swear on a lie. Of course, Michael makes it all so irresistible with one of the catchiest chorus on the album especially in the way he teases out “money” and even tells those making a quick buck on his dime to actually go out an earn an honest living like people like “Trump, Morgan, Rockefeller, Getty”. For me, this was standout track on the album and should have been a single. It remains to this day a must have on any compilation.
Come Together was another odd inclusion of new material as it had already been featured in MoonWalker, featured as a bonus track on Jam (and in some countries on Remember the Time). So to see it here on HiStory was a little perplexing. There was a bit of sadness in it no longer being a rare collectible b-side. And whilst it is my favourite Beatles song it did feel out of place on the album for a long time. But as a cover version goes it’s pretty cool.
Despite You Are Not Alone going down in the history books as being the first single ever to debut at number 1, it was a song that just never really grabbed it. For some reason it seemed to be an R&B ballad done by the numbers and never really felt like an MJ song until he takes control of it during the last few minutes.
Following up You Are Not Alone with Childhood probably wasn’t the best sequencing of tracks. Part broadway musical, part sacharrine Disney ballad it just felt too soppy to really be taken seriously. Though over time the song has grown on me, it doesn’t captivate me in ways I hoped it would. What does wow me though, is that the vocal performance we hear is (minus a pickup line) a one take recording done whilst the orchestra played, which makes you appreciate Michael’s vocals even more.
Just when I felt like HiStory was fading at the mid point Tabloid Junkie came in to save the day. Once again Michael is in the role of media victim, but this time the is standing up against the machine. Starting with a role call of the weird stories that begam synonymous with his celebrity, the song shifts into a hard hitting, vocal spitting groove that mixes anger in the lead vocals with an alluring softness in the harmonies of the backing vocals. And once again showing his prowess in being able to meld a catchy pop melody with an attacking vocal the chorus lands its message of fact versus fiction where “just because you read in a magazine or see it on a tv screen don’t make factual”. Michael also cleverly layers in various pieces of gossip through the song around the typical speculation over him being homosexual, to a newsreport about Bubbles getting married. Again, this is a song that deserved to be a single, not just for it’s sure chart success but because it was convincing response to the media madness that revolved around him.
With a powerful 1-2 punch 2BAD kicks off with a Run DMC sample from King of Rock before launching into a blistering groove complete with bass and horn blast attacks. Once again Michael goes on the attack, targeting all those who scramble to get a piece of his fame and money and those who “tried to bring me to my knees”. One of the songs greatest features is the way Michael uses the backing vocals mixing both high notes with brooding low ones. This is perhaps the one song that has the most amount of backing vocals in all of Michael’s recordings, with them evening accompanying most verses. The only downside to the track is once the frenetic breakdown hits we have Shaq doing a rap which sadly doesn’t have the bite that Michael’s own lyrics have. The one saving grace in the rap is the way in which the live horns are treated and manipulated to have a sharper edge. Musically this song has so many elements in the mix that you need to listen to it over and over (and with headphones on) to truly appreciate the intricate layers in it.
With a symphonic introduction you just know that HiStory is going to verge on being overproduced, but somehow it holds under the weight of its ambition. Using samples from through out great moments in history (including his own “I don’t sing it if I don’t mean it” grab from an early Jackson 5 interview) the track acts in total duality mixing the hard and ready verses with almost Disneyesque sappy tendancies in the singalong style chorus. This mix of hard with oh so soft, makes History a song that has many loving and hating it simultaneously. Though once heard it is hard to get the hook of the chorus out of your head. And it’s only in the final few minutes do I normally give up wanting it to be harder and just go with the beautiful melody that is woven throughout it. Here Michael uses his own struggles to try and inspire while still pushing a focus on the struggles of the world. With it’s bombastic crescendo and historic moment role call it’s almost as if HiStory closes out the album.
The joyous climax of HiStory is undercut with the more sombre Little Susie which in composition borrows heavily from Sunrise Sunset yet has Michael reworking this beautiful arrangement to punctuate the sadness of tale contained in the lyrics. A bretheran to Childhood in its musical production for me Little Susie is more listenable as I am more drawn into the story unfolding and enjoy seeing the way Michael sings continuously as lead vocal and without the reliance of chorus refrain in the true sense of the word.
Like Little Susie, Smile feels a little like an afterthought on the whole concept of the album, as if they might have worked better as hidden or bonus tracks. That sad, his take on the Charlie Chaplin penned song is beautiful and even more impressive when you learn it is (for the most part) a one take recording, done live with orchestra present. It seemed fitting at the time for Michael to record this, as if to say in the face of all the world has thrown at me I am still going to smile and get on with things. Of course nowadays, it has become a song that many a fan finds comfort in, whilst others feel it strikes too strong a chord with his passing. But just hearing Michael whistle and laugh as the song closes makes me feel like the lyrics of the song have served their purpose.
On a whole HiStory was the album Michael needed to make. He couldn’t hide from what had been going on around him for fear that critics (and fans) would have claimed he was retreating more into a musical fantasy world. Of course, many feel this is Michael’s “angry” album, but I welcome it. The writing is honest and personal and in many instances more relatable than his bigger flashier hits. It is, for the most part, a cohesive and consistently great album packed with killer songs and the one or two filler tracks, and reminded us all of the genius Michael has when he enters the recording studio.
To this day HiStory remains a solid favourite album of mine.
Swa
"I'm not human I'm a dove, I'm ur conscience. I am love" | |
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Michael Jackson's Irish hideawayMichael Jackson's secret retreat in Ireland's County Westmeath opens its doors to weekend guests. But is it a thriller?
Watch a video about Michael Jackson's secret Irish visit Link to this video
Even in the context of the bizarre, twisted fairy tale of Michael Jackson's life, the time he spent living in a converted cowshed in rural Irelandshortly before he died takes some believing. But in the summer of 2006, after his acquittal in the previous year's court case, having left Neverland and spent some time in Bahrain, the King of Pop secretly arrived in County Westmeath with his children. Relieved he had found a sanctuary away from the paparazzi and enchanted by an area so rich in history, myth and folklore, Jackson ended up staying for the rest of the year. I've been given some odd assignments by the Observer, but none quite so off the wall as sleeping in what used to be Michael Jackson's bed, after discovering that the Irish country homes he stayed in are now available to rent for weekend breaks.  Michael Jackson stayed at Coolatore House in County Westmeath. Photograph: Colin O'Toole
Grouse Lodge is a secluded Georgian estate located down an unsigned, winding, potholed gravel drive near the village of Rosemount. It was converted into a residential recording studio in 2002 by owners Paddy and Claire Dunning, and has been used by everyone from REM to Doves, Muse to Ms Dynamite, Snow Patrol to Shirley Bassey. Paddy is a modern-day renaissance man in his mid-40s whose life at times seems only slightly less fantastical than Jackson's. He started out as a Dublin dustman and became one of the founding fathers of the resurgence of the Temple Bar district of the capital. Now his Dublin businesses include Temple Lane Studios, the Sound Training Centre, the Button Factory nightclub and The National Wax Museum Plus.
In 2006 a woman called Grace Rwaramba arrived to check out Grouse Lodge studio for an unnamed A-list pop star. She liked what she saw and booked the studio plus a three-bed cottage on the grounds that had been converted from a cowshed. But she still didn't reveal who the artist was. Paddy and Claire only discovered the identity of their new lodger when a bus turned up and out trooped Prince Michael Junior, Paris and Blanket, followed by their father Michael Jackson, nanny Grace and the children's tutor.
Grouse Lodge is set around an old farmyard, and there's a collection of converted outbuildings that form a second grassed courtyard, none of which is visible from the road, so it's not hard to see why Jackson felt safe and secluded here. He began work on new material at Grouse Lodge with Will.I.Am and Rodney Jerkins, producers who flew in from America.  Paddy Dunning in front of Coolatore House. Photograph: Colin O'Toole
Jackson fell in love with County Westmeath and, after a month in the converted cowshed, moved to the equally secluded neighbouring estate of Coolatore, also owned by the Dunnings. Because Jackson didn't have his own driver in Ireland, Paddy enlisted local taxi driver Ray O'Hara to drive Michael and the kids around in a borrowed people carrier with blacked-out windows.
The Dunnings somehow managed to keep the fact that the King of Pop was in residence a secret for several months. Even when Jackson began to venture out and there were rumoured sightings of him in the nearby villages of Moate or Kilbeggan, the Dunnings would deny all knowledge. "If someone said to me I've heard Michael Jackson is there, I would tell them: 'Yeah, so is Elvis Presley!' says Paddy.
The only security Grouse Lodge arranged was to post three guards on rotation at the top of the drive to intercept unwelcome visitors. When word eventually began to leak out, locals in the know became protective of Jackson, sending reporters the wrong way, and one farmer even threatened to empty his slurry trailer over the car of a paparazzo.
The Irish Midlands are often overlooked by people rushing from Dublin to Galway or other parts of the west coast, but it's a magical land dotted with ringforts and medieval castles. Within a few miles of Coolatore are the twin historic hills of Cnoc Aiste and Uisneach; there's Lough Ennell and Lilliput, where Jonathan Swift first conceived Gulliver's Travels (Paddy is planning on an eco village in woods near Lough Ennell, along with a seven-storey model of Gulliver); and Locke's Distillery in Kilbeggan, now a museum. There are also a few local pubs that haven't changed for decades, such as the William Fox in Loughnavalley, and Gunnings in Rathconrath, which doubles as shop, newsagent, garage and community centre.
Traditionally, the hill of Uisneach is the geographical centre of Ireland. It's only 600ft high, but from the top you can see 20 counties on a clear day. It was the ancient seat of the kings of Meath, the most sacred site in the world in Pagan times, and home of the ancient festival of the fires, Bealtaine, which attracted Egyptians up the Shannon 2,000 years ago. It's also home to the Cat Stone (or Stone of Divisions), said to be the burial place of the goddess Ériu (who gave her name to Ireland, or Eire) and where the ancient provinces of Ireland were divided.
Uisneach is now part of the farm belonging to David Clarke, and on 1 May this year, Clarke and Paddy organised the first Festival of the Fires for more than 1,000 years, attracting a diverse mix of locals, farmers, clairvoyants, witches, wizards and gurus from far and wide. A beacon was lit on Uisneach, sparking a chain of fires on 73 different hills across the country, from Dingle to Donegal. "Michael was interested in history," says Paddy, "and smitten by the intricacies of Irish music."  The waxwork Elvis in the woods. Photograph: Colin O'Toole
The Dunnings have a wealth of stories from the time they spent with Jackson. "One night we ended up in the studio," Paddy recalls. "Michael was on the drums, I was playing guitar and [American producer] Nephew was on the keyboards and we just started getting a rhythm together, and slowly but surely Nephew just creeped the song in to 'Billie Jean'. It was just mad playing 'Billie Jean' with Michael Jackson – I never thought I'd do that."
Paddy is a natural raconteur. He tells me how, when he bought the Wax Museum Plus – Dublin's answer to Madame Tussauds – the resident Elvis was looking a little tired, so Paddy retired him, placing him in the woods by Coolatore. He had forgotten about him until Michael Jackson came in from a walk one day looking shaken. "Paddy," he said, "I just met my father-in-law in the woods!" Towards the end of his stay in Westmeath, Jackson started to look at prospective houses to buy. When the Dunnings bought a further property, Bishopstown House, a derelict Georgian estate a mile or so away, Jackson visited it and discussed the renovations with Paddy. So, although it would be a little disingenuous to call Bishopstown the House that Jacko built, it's certainly the house built with Jacko in mind. Jackson had a base in London for his ill-fated 50-date run of gigs at the O2, but according to Paddy he also planned to spend time in Ireland, escaping the media glare of the English capital.  The bedroom at Coolatore House where Michael Jackson slept. Photograph: Bryan Meade
Both Coolatore and the newly converted Bishopstown are now available for hire. Coolatore is the larger estate of the two – a beautiful 1866 Victorian country retreat with long halls and vaulted ceilings, grand living and dining rooms, a library and a hidden staircase that leads down to a basement bar installed by the Guinness family. Bishopstown, having been derelict for years before the Dunnings took it over, has been converted in a much more contemporary style, with a wood- clad extension added to the original Georgian house, along with a secret fourth-floor roof garden, designed to afford Jackson panoramic views of the countryside without being seen himself. Both houses have six bedrooms and five bathrooms.
The houses are rented primarily as self-catering properties, and if you use all the available beds, they can work out costing €100 a night each. It is also possible to have meals supplied by nearby Grouse Lodge (they can also arrange everything from massages to clay pigeon shooting), with menus focusing on local produce and vegetables grown in their own walled garden. Claire and the staff at Grouse Lodge cooked for Jackson, who favoured a simple, healthy diet of porridge for breakfast and main meals of fish or chicken with vegetables. "The guy was fit – he was getting stronger," Paddy says, "and I reckon if he had lived here and stayed here, he wouldn't have died." • Coolatore House and Bishopstown House are available for hire. Prices start at €1,200 for a weekend, which includes access to the swimming pool, sauna and Jacuzzi or whirlpool bath at Grouse Lodge. Both houses sleep 12. Visit coolatorehouse.ie and grouselodge.com
"I'm not human I'm a dove, I'm ur conscience. I am love" | |
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I don't mind the popcorn and candy, but they can have the clowns. Besides, MJ has been around enough clowns to last him a lifetime. | |
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It definitely messes up things. Thriller had the right sequencing.^ sad but true | |
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Do you mean metaphorical clowns? Dr. Klein, Faye, LaToya, other Jackson members... that Tatiana chick was clownish too [Edited 8/14/10 18:48pm] "If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with" - Michael Jackson | |
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There are so many layers to HIStory that it may take one years to fully understand it all. Someone said in the thread before previous thread felt that HIStory was an album of b-sides and I had to strongly disagree. When the album first came out, I was 8 and loved it but it rapidly went lower in the ranks of my favorite Jackson albums.....not sure why, but it just did
but as I've gotten older, it's my second favorite album. Dealing with struggles in the 22 years of my life and also still learning about Michael's life, I've learned to not only appreciate it, but UNDERSTAND it. It's not one of those albums where you can listen to it and say "oh yeah that song is for radio" and such, because it wasn't. It was a 36 year old man who had dealt with an abusive father, being abused by the music industry, leeches at every turn, accusations about his sexual orientation, pride in his heritage, charges of being a pedophile, a skin disorder. painkiller addiction, basically being shunned because he wasn't "normal", and to some people, being just some n*gger who sang and danced
The more you try to understand Michael, you can see where he was coming from with the HIStory album
hearing something like "Morphine", you wonder what other songs didn't make the cut (they did about 60 tracks for it)
Maybe the album was too angry for some to digest coming from the same guy who did Heal The World, Another Part Of Me, I Want You Back, Rock With You......
"We may deify or demonize them but not ignore them. And we call them genius, because they are the people who change the world." |
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Made by a dear friend of mine...
I can't stand Karen Faye. She's far from what you deem a professional, and always behaved like she owned Michael.
And Tatiana was nuts too. She was pretty, she is too desperate. If Michael wanted her, he could have made his attempts.
[Edited 8/14/10 19:33pm] | |
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Michael introducing his band during Dangerous. Love how carefree he moves here. And the leg-pop when he kissed Siedah. I also like the handshake at :50
"If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with" - Michael Jackson | |
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