that is a bit difficult (similar to STEVIE), but here it go:

1. i can't help it (definitely my favourite michael song of all times)

2. got to be there

3. wings of my love

4. they don't care about us

5. take me back

6. jam

7. heal the world

7. keep the faith

8. another part of me

9. man in the mirror

10. stranger in moscow

and some extras:

11.why you wanna trip on me

12.human nature

13.someone in the dark

14.earth song

15.is it scary

hhhhdmt said:

I am not really into Mj's personal life but i was wondering what Mj fans generally think are his ten best songs ?

Mine would probably go:

1. Wanna be startin somethin

2. Billie Jean

3. Dont stop till you get enough

4. Beat It

5. Human Nature

6. The Way You Make Me Feel
7. Man in the Mirror

8. Liberian Girl

9. You Rock My World

10. Rock with You

EmeraldSkies said:

bboy87 said:

It's called FFJV

Fucking for Jackson videos

And it worked! Got that snippet of Buffalo Bill

MJJstudent said:

SherryJackson said:

Oh MJJStudent gonna whoop mah ass for this...but I always liked this performance of TWYMMF

I think he coulda gotten a better lookin' girl...but whatever...

I miss this Mike. His body looked healthy, he wasn't too skinny. Just right.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!

yeah, he looked really healthy during the HIStory/blood on the dance floor period... he didn't look like you wanted to strap him down and stuff food in his mouth. but YEAH! i'm not too into the performances of the song, or the video. we've discussed that before...

SHERRY, WE IS TAKIN' THIS OUTSIDE! SHAMON! HA!

Hey, we agree on somethin'!

Normally I'd say ...but come on, we friends girl. And Michael wouldn't approve of us fightin' like kids. C'mere...

big hug for ya

Swa said:

Thriller and sales.

I've seen a few comments about Michael in a sense selling out with Thriller, and that people feel his creative motivation was just sales. Whilst it might be easy to say based on the huge sales it ended up doing, I don't think this was his primary motivation.

Whilst the story is often bountied about that Michael wanted Thriller to sell 100 million, in truth I think he wanted to be recognised - and he saw sales as irrefutable.

With his artistic heart on the line with OTW Michael saw it as his true solo album. His stepping away from his brothers, doing his music, his way. I think he had high hopes for OTW, and while it was a success it wasn't as big as he had wanted and he was still labelled a "black artist" rather than "an artist." Compound that with what he saw as it being snubbed at Grammy night Michael headed into the studio on his next solo album with an "i'll show you" attitude producing an album that couldn't be denied.

This motivation at it's heart was all about validation. Was all about proving yourself. It's all about doing work that can't be ignored. And with the that focus MJ went to work on Thriller. You can see it in the high hopes he had for the recording, the mix, the selection of songs.

Thriller though was still a risk. It was a genre-hopping album that had it not had solid songs could have easily been passed off as lacking focus and direction or a sense of purpose. When it hit, it sounded unlike anything else out there in the way it so effortlessly went from funk to adult orientated pop to dance to rock to soul.

There is artistry here beyond just a desire to sell.

you and several people here make great points about this. and i agree with you on many levels.

i do know for sure he wanted to be recognised outside of the artistic ghetto of 'R&B'; i remember verry well, hearing him speak about his painful experiences about not being recognized by the grammy people in the ways he wanted to be heard, and only winning in the 'soul/r&b' artist's categories... he wanted to be recognized as a person who could cross cultures and artistic boundaries. i have no problem whatsoever with that. in my view though, it's very sad that he had to make an album like 'thriller' to do that. i personally thought off the wall was a perfect pop album. yes, it was predominately jazz-based (particularly due to his work with swedien and jones at the time) but still, i don't think it stayed in any safe lanes. it's the industry which limited its view.

and albums like 'dangerous', 'bad', etc. used the same elements of jazz, classical, traditional pop, soul/r&b, etc. that thriller did, and to me, STILL came out artistically victorious in comparison to the 1982 output.

i think with the post-thriller albums, he validated himself as an artist worth his weight. same with off the wall. sonically, thriller was such a weak point in his career. it was that 'i wanna get my foot in the door and be recognized by the world' album that irks me in a lot of ways. possibly due to that, he signed off on to these weak songs being on this album.

perhaps when he finally WAS known, he felt he could REALLY make the music he wanted. this is what i heard from 'bad'. i like that album much better because it was as if he FINALLY got there, even though he was sad to not sell as much. save for 'human nature' and 'wanna be startin' somethin'' ultimately, 'bad' was much more expansive in the listening experience than 'thriller'. it was much more creative/adventurous to me. perhaps it's because jones' influence was less evident there. i think that was a great thing, because then people began to look at michael more as a full-fledged arranger/composer and artist, instead of the lad behind quincy.

michael acknowledged that EVERYTHING he did was in order to get validation though. for me, i think he validated himself perfectly as an artist ever since he began the art; unfortunately HE didn't feel that way.

i have to admit i am biased though- aside from what i feel is ultimately weak material for a completed album (even though the bulk of the songs on 'thriller' are great on their own), i prefer when michael does the straight-on message/political songs, which began on 'bad'. artistically/production-wise i LOVE 'off the wall', but i'm just not into the 'let's dance all night' and romance stuff from him so much. some songs, fine, but a whole album of it? not my cup of tea.

to me, this is why HIStory is ultimately his greatest album. it was ALL pretty much talking about socio-political issues, or media criticism. and 'you are not alone' could be seen as a gospel, or a platonic love song.

Unholyalliance said:

MJJstudent said:

there are songs michael liked that i think are straight up garbage. he also liked people like chris brown and usher, and i don't like those people at all, musically.

LOL Those two are kinda his disciples. Plus, I don't think MJ was the kinda person to just be "You SUCK" to anyone. I mean I know that there must have been times when he wanted to tell fans to gtfo and leave him alone, but he wasn't going to do that. At least I would think so. I mean this this is the same man that embraced Britney Spears, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga as well as Bjork and Radiohead.His musical tastes seem to be quite vast. Either he had shitty taste in music or he saw something in them and their work. So maybe he recognized that, at least. Though, I would have love to know if MJ was jammin' to Baby, Hit Me One More Time back in the late 90s.

You should do your own write up. I would love to see your complete thoughts on it.

Overall, I think it's pretty interesting that that most people find Thriller to only have 2-3 really good songs on it and then the rest of it to be crap. While I will listen to the entire album, there's only 2 songs I'm not really fond of too much. I think it really depends on your taste in music which is what I thought was the beauty of the album in the first place and maybe what some people tend to forget. It, literally, has something for everyone.

bboy87 said:

looking at it, Bad did somewhat better on the charts than Thriller did on the R&B chart

I think the irony is that many, especially some critics in particular, consider that to be MJ's least 'black' album.

you're right... michael never was openly negative in a way people would notice... he was a virgo; he was a 'healer'. i must say that i HOPE i NEVER see footage of michael getting down to britney spears, or anything like that. seeing him with beyonce and that group with timberlake was bad enough for me. and even worse was seeing him dancing to that TERRIBLE robert kelly song about 'i'ma put my key in your ignition' or something ridiculous like that. i don't even wanna think about that. he could enjoy all that all he wants... i ain't mad at him. i just don't need to see it.

i think for michael, in a lot of ways he liked how people marketed themselves. it doesn't mean he liked their music. he was public about saying he didn't really like the beatles' music (i recall this being in 'moon walk' and in a couple of interviews i saw); but in other interviews he would say he liked them. i think in a lot of ways it's about marketing. and not to mention the fact he owned ATV.

michael also liked nine inch nails though. i acknowledge being very particular in the music i like. another reason why i could not be a public person like michael. i'd talk about how much i hated most modern artists i know of in pop culture. i'd get thrown out of every place. HA! i thought michael was too nice in instances like that. if he didn't like something he should have just said so. but yeah, he did like chris brown and usher. again, i don't wanna think about it. grrrrrrrrr...

bjork and radiohead, i could roll with though.

i may just do my own write-up to thriller... it won't be very positive though, if we're just talking about how the album is set up. swedien? i think he did a PHENOMENAL job! as did bernie grundman.

hmmmm... i wasn't aware that a whole lot of people found thriller to be underwhelming. it seems like all these people love it. and don't even know anything came after it. this is DEFINITELY the album where most of the songs get skipped. you are absolutely correct, i do believe it's about taste in music. this album just is not mine. it's a bit TOO glossy; as a whole there's no real grit in his voice, like i hear even on off the wall. and that album was as pop as you could get.

i think with 'bad', people say it's his 'least black'; album', due to the shock people had that he was real light, in comparison to five years prior. with a smaller nose and straighter hair. and of course, 'dirty diana'. it was a straight-ahead rock song, as opposed to the minimal funk-rock of 'beat it'. but i'm sure you know we collectively have short memories in this society, and the ancestors of rock are/were betty davis, bo diddley, jimi hendrix, the isleys, sly stone, etc. so michael wasn't a traitor at all. we are quite limited in how we view culture as a whole, it's pretty sad.

SherryJackson said:

MJJstudent said:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!

yeah, he looked really healthy during the HIStory/blood on the dance floor period... he didn't look like you wanted to strap him down and stuff food in his mouth. but YEAH! i'm not too into the performances of the song, or the video. we've discussed that before...

SHERRY, WE IS TAKIN' THIS OUTSIDE! SHAMON! HA!

Hey, we agree on somethin'!

Normally I'd say ...but come on, we friends girl. And Michael wouldn't approve of us fightin' like kids. C'mere...

big hug for ya

AAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWW....

speaking of, they USED to have the FULL film on youtube, with the END CREDITS!!! does anyone here have a copy of the FULL FILM? bboy, do you have it? the score to the film at the end is PHENOMENAL! i have a copy, buit it sounds TERRIBLE!

MJJstudent said:

Swa said:

Cheater to me sounded like a poor man's The Way You Make Me Feel - and not just the intro which he repurposed for Heartbreak Hotel live and then later TWYMMF.

the intro he reused for both songs was from 'streetwalker'.

Yes - correct - blame it on posting at 1.30am in Australia - my whole comment was on Streetwalker - that said I don't love Cheater that much either, lol.

Ok no more late night posting.

Swa said:

MJJstudent said:

the intro he reused for both songs was from 'streetwalker'.

Yes - correct - blame it on posting at 1.30am in Australia - my whole comment was on Streetwalker - that said I don't love Cheater that much either, lol.

Ok no more late night posting.

oh, i make late-night mistakes all the time! i write wrong things, even though i know the answer to it. so i feel you.

MJJstudent said:

Unholyalliance said:

I think the irony is that many, especially some critics in particular, consider that to be MJ's least 'black' album.

you're right... michael never was openly negative in a way people would notice... he was a virgo; he was a 'healer'. i must say that i HOPE i NEVER see footage of michael getting down to britney spears, or anything like that. seeing him with beyonce and that group with timberlake was bad enough for me. and even worse was seeing him dancing to that TERRIBLE robert kelly song about 'i'ma put my key in your ignition' or something ridiculous like that. i don't even wanna think about that. he could enjoy all that all he wants... i ain't mad at him. i just don't need to see it.

i think for michael, in a lot of ways he liked how people marketed themselves. it doesn't mean he liked their music. he was public about saying he didn't really like the beatles' music (i recall this being in 'moon walk' and in a couple of interviews i saw); but in other interviews he would say he liked them. i think in a lot of ways it's about marketing. and not to mention the fact he owned ATV.

michael also liked nine inch nails though. i acknowledge being very particular in the music i like. another reason why i could not be a public person like michael. i'd talk about how much i hated most modern artists i know of in pop culture. i'd get thrown out of every place. HA! i thought michael was too nice in instances like that. if he didn't like something he should have just said so. but yeah, he did like chris brown and usher. again, i don't wanna think about it. grrrrrrrrr...

bjork and radiohead, i could roll with though.

i may just do my own write-up to thriller... it won't be very positive though, if we're just talking about how the album is set up. swedien? i think he did a PHENOMENAL job! as did bernie grundman.

hmmmm... i wasn't aware that a whole lot of people found thriller to be underwhelming. it seems like all these people love it. and don't even know anything came after it. this is DEFINITELY the album where most of the songs get skipped. you are absolutely correct, i do believe it's about taste in music. this album just is not mine. it's a bit TOO glossy; as a whole there's no real grit in his voice, like i hear even on off the wall. and that album was as pop as you could get.

i think with 'bad', people say it's his 'least black'; album', due to the shock people had that he was real light, in comparison to five years prior. with a smaller nose and straighter hair. and of course, 'dirty diana'. it was a straight-ahead rock song, as opposed to the minimal funk-rock of 'beat it'. but i'm sure you know we collectively have short memories in this society, and the ancestors of rock are/were betty davis, bo diddley, jimi hendrix, the isleys, sly stone, etc. so michael wasn't a traitor at all. we are quite limited in how we view culture as a whole, it's pretty sad.

Some might argue Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' is a song on social commentary (hardly boy meets girl love song) Beat It is a social commentary song too, and some could argue Billie Jean is a song about false accusations and paternity issues.

Even if you don't like Thriller as an album (and not everyone has to) you have to at least acknowledge that it set a musical blueprint for Michael that delivered future great songs like Who Is It, Dirty Diana, Tabloid Junkie, Threatened, etc.

ViintageJunkiie said:

EmeraldSkies said:

And it worked! Got that snippet of Buffalo Bill

[img:$uid]http://i51.tinypic.com/2hgfw60.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i53.tinypic.com/23uv0j.jpg[/img:$uid]

I CAN'T....I CAN'T

bboy87 said:

ViintageJunkiie said:

And it worked! Got that snippet of Buffalo Bill

[img:$uid]http://i51.tinypic.com/2hgfw60.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i53.tinypic.com/23uv0j.jpg[/img:$uid]

I CAN'T....I CAN'T

i really dont like you!

Swa said:

MJJstudent said:

you're right... michael never was openly negative in a way people would notice... he was a virgo; he was a 'healer'. i must say that i HOPE i NEVER see footage of michael getting down to britney spears, or anything like that. seeing him with beyonce and that group with timberlake was bad enough for me. and even worse was seeing him dancing to that TERRIBLE robert kelly song about 'i'ma put my key in your ignition' or something ridiculous like that. i don't even wanna think about that. he could enjoy all that all he wants... i ain't mad at him. i just don't need to see it.

i think for michael, in a lot of ways he liked how people marketed themselves. it doesn't mean he liked their music. he was public about saying he didn't really like the beatles' music (i recall this being in 'moon walk' and in a couple of interviews i saw); but in other interviews he would say he liked them. i think in a lot of ways it's about marketing. and not to mention the fact he owned ATV.

michael also liked nine inch nails though. i acknowledge being very particular in the music i like. another reason why i could not be a public person like michael. i'd talk about how much i hated most modern artists i know of in pop culture. i'd get thrown out of every place. HA! i thought michael was too nice in instances like that. if he didn't like something he should have just said so. but yeah, he did like chris brown and usher. again, i don't wanna think about it. grrrrrrrrr...

bjork and radiohead, i could roll with though.

i may just do my own write-up to thriller... it won't be very positive though, if we're just talking about how the album is set up. swedien? i think he did a PHENOMENAL job! as did bernie grundman.

hmmmm... i wasn't aware that a whole lot of people found thriller to be underwhelming. it seems like all these people love it. and don't even know anything came after it. this is DEFINITELY the album where most of the songs get skipped. you are absolutely correct, i do believe it's about taste in music. this album just is not mine. it's a bit TOO glossy; as a whole there's no real grit in his voice, like i hear even on off the wall. and that album was as pop as you could get.

i think with 'bad', people say it's his 'least black'; album', due to the shock people had that he was real light, in comparison to five years prior. with a smaller nose and straighter hair. and of course, 'dirty diana'. it was a straight-ahead rock song, as opposed to the minimal funk-rock of 'beat it'. but i'm sure you know we collectively have short memories in this society, and the ancestors of rock are/were betty davis, bo diddley, jimi hendrix, the isleys, sly stone, etc. so michael wasn't a traitor at all. we are quite limited in how we view culture as a whole, it's pretty sad.

Some might argue Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' is a song on social commentary (hardly boy meets girl love song) Beat It is a social commentary song too, and some could argue Billie Jean is a song about false accusations and paternity issues.

Even if you don't like Thriller as an album (and not everyone has to) you have to at least acknowledge that it set a musical blueprint for Michael that delivered future great songs like Who Is It, Dirty Diana, Tabloid Junkie, Threatened, etc.

i would DEFINITELY argue for 'wanna be startin' somethin'' being a social commentary, as well as 'beat it'. and i see 'billie jean' as having a sort of message... for me though, i prefer 'why you wanna trip on me, 'man in the mirror', and ESPECIALLY 'they don't care about us'- songs where the political commentary is blatant. more blatant than the ones on thriller, anyways. i prefer when he's straight up pissed off.

songs like 'we've had enough'- that is one of michael's GREATEST SONGS OF ALL TIMES. these are the songs i love hearing from michael. the ones that are blatantly political. no two ways about it.

and i hate 'dirty diana' and 'who is it' with a deep passion. those are two songs i'd be perfectly happy if i never heard for the rest of my life. those, and 'PYT'. 'tabloid junkie' i like (it fits the theme of HIStory perfectly) and i like 'threatened' as well, for a conclusion to the story of 'invincible.

MJJstudent said:

Swa said:

Some might argue Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' is a song on social commentary (hardly boy meets girl love song) Beat It is a social commentary song too, and some could argue Billie Jean is a song about false accusations and paternity issues.

Even if you don't like Thriller as an album (and not everyone has to) you have to at least acknowledge that it set a musical blueprint for Michael that delivered future great songs like Who Is It, Dirty Diana, Tabloid Junkie, Threatened, etc.

i would DEFINITELY argue for 'wanna be startin' somethin'' being a social commentary, as well as 'beat it'. and i see 'billie jean' as having a sort of message... for me though, i prefer 'why you wanna trip on me, 'man in the mirror', and ESPECIALLY 'they don't care about us'- songs where the political commentary is blatant. more blatant than the ones on thriller, anyways. i prefer when he's straight up pissed off.

songs like 'we've had enough'- that is one of michael's GREATEST SONGS OF ALL TIMES. these are the songs i love hearing from michael. the ones that are blatantly political. no two ways about it.

and i hate 'dirty diana' and 'who is it' with a deep passion. those are two songs i'd be perfectly happy if i never heard for the rest of my life. those, and 'PYT'. 'tabloid junkie' i like (it fits the theme of HIStory perfectly) and i like 'threatened' as well, for a conclusion to the story of 'invincible.

Agree with the first part.

I like it when Michael gets his social activist on. Makes me feel all rebelious and s**t.

As far as Dirty Diana and Who Is It is concerned..I like'em. DD ain't my favourite off Bad...so, I ain't gonna make a fuss about that. BUt I ESPECIALLY like Who Is It. The beat boxing in that song is pro. PYT is a fluff song, but still kinda fun.

Tabloid Junkie is AWESOME...I like the Thriller/Threatened mash up they did in TII...the songs just go together. But Threatened on it's own is a genius song. I love it.

MJJstudent said:

Swa said:

Yes - correct - blame it on posting at 1.30am in Australia - my whole comment was on Streetwalker - that said I don't love Cheater that much either, lol.

Ok no more late night posting.

oh, i make late-night mistakes all the time! i write wrong things, even though i know the answer to it. so i feel you.

Opinion respected but still...

SherryJackson said:

MJJstudent said:

i would DEFINITELY argue for 'wanna be startin' somethin'' being a social commentary, as well as 'beat it'. and i see 'billie jean' as having a sort of message... for me though, i prefer 'why you wanna trip on me, 'man in the mirror', and ESPECIALLY 'they don't care about us'- songs where the political commentary is blatant. more blatant than the ones on thriller, anyways. i prefer when he's straight up pissed off.

songs like 'we've had enough'- that is one of michael's GREATEST SONGS OF ALL TIMES. these are the songs i love hearing from michael. the ones that are blatantly political. no two ways about it.

and i hate 'dirty diana' and 'who is it' with a deep passion. those are two songs i'd be perfectly happy if i never heard for the rest of my life. those, and 'PYT'. 'tabloid junkie' i like (it fits the theme of HIStory perfectly) and i like 'threatened' as well, for a conclusion to the story of 'invincible.

Agree with the first part.

I like it when Michael gets his social activist on. Makes me feel all rebelious and s**t.

As far as Dirty Diana and Who Is It is concerned..I like'em. DD ain't my favourite off Bad...so, I ain't gonna make a fuss about that. BUt I ESPECIALLY like Who Is It. The beat boxing in that song is pro. PYT is a fluff song, but still kinda fun.

Tabloid Junkie is AWESOME...I like the Thriller/Threatened mash up they did in TII...the songs just go together. But Threatened on it's own is a genius song. I love it.

i don't like michael's 'vindictive woman' songs at all. the only one i like really is 'heartbreak hotel'. it's just so brilliantly written that it surpasses the simplistic vindictiveness of the other two songs mentioned. but michael's been vocal about his issues (and i don't hate him for that, i get it). i just don't like the songs. i like the beatboxing in 'who is it', but that's kinda it.

i actually made a parody song of 'who is it', about michael's love for KFC. i did it about 3 or so years ago... i love rearranging/remaking lyrics, and i used to sing that tune with a friend of mine, except we changed the lyrics to be about KFC. i decided to make a whole song around it.

SherryJackson said:

MJJstudent said:

i would DEFINITELY argue for 'wanna be startin' somethin'' being a social commentary, as well as 'beat it'. and i see 'billie jean' as having a sort of message... for me though, i prefer 'why you wanna trip on me, 'man in the mirror', and ESPECIALLY 'they don't care about us'- songs where the political commentary is blatant. more blatant than the ones on thriller, anyways. i prefer when he's straight up pissed off.

songs like 'we've had enough'- that is one of michael's GREATEST SONGS OF ALL TIMES. these are the songs i love hearing from michael. the ones that are blatantly political. no two ways about it.

and i hate 'dirty diana' and 'who is it' with a deep passion. those are two songs i'd be perfectly happy if i never heard for the rest of my life. those, and 'PYT'. 'tabloid junkie' i like (it fits the theme of HIStory perfectly) and i like 'threatened' as well, for a conclusion to the story of 'invincible.

Agree with the first part.

I like it when Michael gets his social activist on. Makes me feel all rebelious and s**t.

As far as Dirty Diana and Who Is It is concerned..I like'em. DD ain't my favourite off Bad...so, I ain't gonna make a fuss about that. BUt I ESPECIALLY like Who Is It. The beat boxing in that song is pro. PYT is a fluff song, but still kinda fun.

Tabloid Junkie is AWESOME...I like the Thriller/Threatened mash up they did in TII...the songs just go together. But Threatened on it's own is a genius song. I love it.

I thought I was the only person that feels the need to do illegal shit when I hear songs like "They Don't Really Care About Us"...I be wanting to punch out windows on cop cars and start screaming "black man, black male! dump a brotha in jail!...some things in life they just dont wanna see! but if martin luther was living, he wouldnt let this be nooo!"

I always thought MJ should have performed Speed Demon live. I would have died to hear the breakdown from Speed Demon transition into Another Part of Me on the Bad tour

ViintageJunkiie said:

bboy87 said:

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

I CAN'T....I CAN'T

i really dont like you!

[img:$uid]http://i53.tinypic.com/2pyyx54.jpg[/img:$uid]

Okay so as much as I think Will.I.Am is lame-o for not releasing or at least leaking samples of the music he supposedly worked on with MJ, beyond the Thriller 25 remixes, I love how he still rocks the MJ armband as a tribute to him in 2011. Michael must have had a huge impact on him. Saw Will on American Idol tonight, and even though the new song was dreadful IMO, he is still iaight in my book for wearing his MJ armband.

ViintageJunkiie said:

SherryJackson said:

Agree with the first part.

I like it when Michael gets his social activist on. Makes me feel all rebelious and s**t.

As far as Dirty Diana and Who Is It is concerned..I like'em. DD ain't my favourite off Bad...so, I ain't gonna make a fuss about that. BUt I ESPECIALLY like Who Is It. The beat boxing in that song is pro. PYT is a fluff song, but still kinda fun.

Tabloid Junkie is AWESOME...I like the Thriller/Threatened mash up they did in TII...the songs just go together. But Threatened on it's own is a genius song. I love it.

I thought I was the only person that feels the need to do illegal shit when I hear songs like "They Don't Really Care About Us"...I be wanting to punch out windows on cop cars and start screaming "black man, black male! dump a brotha in jail!...some things in life they just dont wanna see! but if martin luther was living, he wouldnt let this be nooo!"

I always thought MJ should have performed Speed Demon live. I would have died to hear the breakdown from Speed Demon transition into Another Part of Me on the Bad tour

You and I should tear up a street one day singin' this as an anthem.

AND YESSSSSS! Speed Demon shoulda been performed lived. Damn it all....

ViintageJunkiie said:

SherryJackson said:

Agree with the first part.

I like it when Michael gets his social activist on. Makes me feel all rebelious and s**t.

As far as Dirty Diana and Who Is It is concerned..I like'em. DD ain't my favourite off Bad...so, I ain't gonna make a fuss about that. BUt I ESPECIALLY like Who Is It. The beat boxing in that song is pro. PYT is a fluff song, but still kinda fun.

Tabloid Junkie is AWESOME...I like the Thriller/Threatened mash up they did in TII...the songs just go together. But Threatened on it's own is a genius song. I love it.

I thought I was the only person that feels the need to do illegal shit when I hear songs like "They Don't Really Care About Us"...I be wanting to punch out windows on cop cars and start screaming "black man, black male! dump a brotha in jail!...some things in life they just dont wanna see! but if martin luther was living, he wouldnt let this be nooo!"

I always thought MJ should have performed Speed Demon live. I would have died to hear the breakdown from Speed Demon transition into Another Part of Me on the Bad tour

first point: you see how effective that is??!! that is the micael i love, when he's just calling out the government, when he's just up front with it. and when he called out the INDUSTRY? whoo boy. even if it took for over 20 years in the industry to get to the point of calling out the government (and then the industry itself)- well, BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!!!

second point: yes, i would have LOVED to see a live version of 'speed demon'. i also would have loved to see a live version of 'lady in my life'. it would have been cool to see him alone, with maybe phillinganes on the keys or something. so gimmicks, no girls on the stage or anything. just the song.

Vanilli said:

Okay so as much as I think Will.I.Am is lame-o for not releasing or at least leaking samples of the music he supposedly worked on with MJ, beyond the Thriller 25 remixes, I love how he still rocks the MJ armband as a tribute to him in 2011. Michael must have had a huge impact on him. Saw Will on American Idol tonight, and even though the new song was dreadful IMO, he is still iaight in my book for wearing his MJ armband.

will.i.am NOT leaking any songs to me is the ULTIMATE sign of respect to michael, and pretty much the only reason i respect will.i.am. if he leaks any songs i will lose all respect for the man.

the armband thing? eh. i can take it or leave it. but that's a different story, relating to michael's fascination/obsession with the military. anyways, i think him not leaking the music is a bigger, much better tribute than a fashion statement on television.

again i am a minority in this; but i don't think any of these songs should be released if michael did not cosign onto any of it in his lifetime. there are songs michael DID cosign on to, and if people feel it's so important to squeeze anything more out of the man (ggggrrrrrrrrrrrr...), release THAT stuff. let the fans decide FROM THE STUFF THAT IS ALREADY FINISHED IN HIS LIFETIME.

even better- let his CHILDREN decide. when they feel ready to release stuff, let them do it. NOT sony, NOT branca or mc clain.

see folks, this is why i don't run the estate. i know we'd be owing people money for YEARS, because i never would have let 'michael', the video game, cirque du soleil, the (supposed) las vegas/MGM deal, or ANY of that stuff happen. there WOULD be no deal with sony. and ONLY finished product would be released, if i knew FOR SURE michael cosigned onto it. i just value his art more than money. and if stuff makes money, people will get it. if i actually owned property, i would sell it as well, if indeed michael did not specifically state that the properties should not be sold. i would basically see to it that his CHILDREN were okay.

[Edited 3/18/11 0:52am]

[Edited 3/18/11 0:55am]

MJJstudent said:

Vanilli said:

Okay so as much as I think Will.I.Am is lame-o for not releasing or at least leaking samples of the music he supposedly worked on with MJ, beyond the Thriller 25 remixes, I love how he still rocks the MJ armband as a tribute to him in 2011. Michael must have had a huge impact on him. Saw Will on American Idol tonight, and even though the new song was dreadful IMO, he is still iaight in my book for wearing his MJ armband.

will.i.am NOT leaking any songs to me is the ULTIMATE sign of respect to michael, and pretty much the only reason i respect will.i.am. if he leaks any songs i will lose all respect for the man.

the armband thing? eh. i can take it or leave it. but that's a different story, relating to michael's fascination/obsession with the military. anyways, i think him not leaking the music is a bigger, much better tribute than a fashion statement on television.

again i am a minority in this; but i don't think any of these songs should be released if michael did not cosign onto any of it in his lifetime. there are songs michael DID cosign on to, and if people feel it's so important to squeeze anything more out of the man (ggggrrrrrrrrrrrr...), release THAT stuff. let the fans decide FROM THE STUFF THAT IS ALREADY FINISHED IN HIS LIFETIME.

even better- let his CHILDREN decide. when they feel ready to release stuff, let them do it. NOT sony, NOT branca or mc clain.

see folks, this is why i don't run the estate. i know we'd be owing people money for YEARS, because i never would have let 'michael', the video game, cirque du soleil, the (supposed) las vegas/MGM deal, or ANY of that stuff happen. there WOULD be no deal with sony. and ONLY finished product would be released, if i knew FOR SURE michael cosigned onto it. i just value his art more than money. and if stuff makes money, people will get it. if i actually owned property, i would sell it as well, if indeed michael did not specifically state that the properties should not be sold. i would basically see to it that his CHILDREN were okay.

[Edited 3/18/11 0:52am]

[Edited 3/18/11 0:55am]

if they don't make money, the estate would soon cease to exist. The debts would cause them to sell things off. Imagine you get a loan but then payment stops. That's what would happen to the estate and it's assets (Michael's publishing, his master recordings, his trademarks and patents, Neverland, Hayvenhurst, the Sony/ATV catalog)

I agree that they should release material that he co-signed but there is so much that he left in the vaults that shouldn't collect dust and deteriotate, that would be a tragedy in itself.

So far, the estate DID release the merchandise that Michael signed off on for the This Is It residency and the game which Michael was working on when he passed

It's really all about keeping the Michael Jackson name out there and the legacy alive. I remember telling some people that after Michael passed away, I got emotional buying a t-shirt from JC Penny because I NEVER saw that before. I never saw Michael's merchandise in stores here in the states. The summer of 2009 was the FIRST time in nearly 17 years that I went to a store and saw Michael Jackson merchandise. I had seen a MJ poster as a child at Walmart once but that's it. You couldn't find books on Michael at bookstores, you couldn't find Tshirts or jackets or backpacks. I'm glad the estate is finally doing that because that was a void that needed to be filled

Although he left us with so much already released material, there's alot that he didn't release or didn't get the chance to. My only issue is that they shouldn't "finish them". Release them as they are. I love hearing demos, outtakes, and things of that nature because you hear the creative process. You hear a different side of the song that you may have missed with the final result. Hearing the demos of PYT or Dangerous or Beat It blew my mind. I want to hear more of that

At the moment, I'd give the Michael Jackson Estate a C+ or a B if I was generous

nice to see those lists guys

if i had to pick my next ten, id say:

11. Get on the floor

12. Whatever Happens

13. Off the Wall

14. Working day and night

15. Baby be Mine

16. Dangerous

17. Remember the time

18. PYT

19. Another part of me

20. She Drives Me Wild

i am a pretty big fan of the discoish stuff but the other's are really good too.

Who Is It

Smooth Criminal

Billie Jean

Dirty Diana

Another Part of Me

Man In The Mirror

Blood on the Dancefloor

I Just Can't Stop Loving You

Bad

Rock With You

I'm naming another 10

Earth Song

For All Time

The Way You Make Me Feel

Give In To Me

Keep the Faith

Whatever Happens

Threatened

Music & Me

Euphoria

Got To Be There

[Edited 3/18/11 2:58am]

bboy87 said:

MJJstudent said:

will.i.am NOT leaking any songs to me is the ULTIMATE sign of respect to michael, and pretty much the only reason i respect will.i.am. if he leaks any songs i will lose all respect for the man.

the armband thing? eh. i can take it or leave it. but that's a different story, relating to michael's fascination/obsession with the military. anyways, i think him not leaking the music is a bigger, much better tribute than a fashion statement on television.

again i am a minority in this; but i don't think any of these songs should be released if michael did not cosign onto any of it in his lifetime. there are songs michael DID cosign on to, and if people feel it's so important to squeeze anything more out of the man (ggggrrrrrrrrrrrr...), release THAT stuff. let the fans decide FROM THE STUFF THAT IS ALREADY FINISHED IN HIS LIFETIME.

even better- let his CHILDREN decide. when they feel ready to release stuff, let them do it. NOT sony, NOT branca or mc clain.

see folks, this is why i don't run the estate. i know we'd be owing people money for YEARS, because i never would have let 'michael', the video game, cirque du soleil, the (supposed) las vegas/MGM deal, or ANY of that stuff happen. there WOULD be no deal with sony. and ONLY finished product would be released, if i knew FOR SURE michael cosigned onto it. i just value his art more than money. and if stuff makes money, people will get it. if i actually owned property, i would sell it as well, if indeed michael did not specifically state that the properties should not be sold. i would basically see to it that his CHILDREN were okay.

[Edited 3/18/11 0:52am]

[Edited 3/18/11 0:55am]

if they don't make money, the estate would soon cease to exist. The debts would cause them to sell things off. Imagine you get a loan but then payment stops. That's what would happen to the estate and it's assets (Michael's publishing, his master recordings, his trademarks and patents, Neverland, Hayvenhurst, the Sony/ATV catalog)

I agree that they should release material that he co-signed but there is so much that he left in the vaults that shouldn't collect dust and deteriotate, that would be a tragedy in itself.

So far, the estate DID release the merchandise that Michael signed off on for the This Is It residency and the game which Michael was working on when he passed

It's really all about keeping the Michael Jackson name out there and the legacy alive. I remember telling some people that after Michael passed away, I got emotional buying a t-shirt from JC Penny because I NEVER saw that before. I never saw Michael's merchandise in stores here in the states. The summer of 2009 was the FIRST time in nearly 17 years that I went to a store and saw Michael Jackson merchandise. I had seen a MJ poster as a child at Walmart once but that's it. You couldn't find books on Michael at bookstores, you couldn't find Tshirts or jackets or backpacks. I'm glad the estate is finally doing that because that was a void that needed to be filled

Although he left us with so much already released material, there's alot that he didn't release or didn't get the chance to. My only issue is that they shouldn't "finish them". Release them as they are. I love hearing demos, outtakes, and things of that nature because you hear the creative process. You hear a different side of the song that you may have missed with the final result. Hearing the demos of PYT or Dangerous or Beat It blew my mind. I want to hear more of that

At the moment, I'd give the Michael Jackson Estate a C+ or a B if I was generous

see, that's why i ain't runnin' the estate though... nothing from 'this is it' was finished; nor was the video game. i'm talking stuff that was ONE BILLION PERCENT FINISHED, that michael WANTED to release, but it didn't fit anywhere. that may be a smaller number of materials than unfinished stuff.

this is what i think SHOULD happen. if i was running the estate i WOULD sell everything (except the major assets), and start again. what is most important? the material items, or the legacy/teachings. to me, the values are most important. i'd sell everything and break even. then you'd never have to give into sony, and there most likely wouldn't be an argument about whether or not another 25% of ATV would be sold. or mijac.

sell havenhurst and neverland. why not? either that, or turn it into a non-profit organization. michael left there, i don't agree with trying to relive something he left.

again, with the demos, the FANS should decide. so many demos have already been uploaded by fans. just release those, instead of some lackluster 'remixed' album.

the legacy is already there, why do you need to sell the name? people who are already into him are gonna be into him. and those who knew nothing about him will learn from others. i think the marketing of michael should cease. he's not physically here to do it himself.

no, i don't see what they're doing as filling a void at all... i just see it as making money of a man. i have a lot of the t shirts, people give me things all the time. i see books on michael all the time at the bookstore, even before 2009. and if you don't see stuff, there was plenty of stuff on ebay before 2009. which is actually where i got most of the michael stuff that was not given to me.

if i didn't have any of that stuff my love for michael would not lessen. they are selling an emotional connection to material things, through their marketing of him. they are not bringing home the message he was teaching. and to basically make a posthumous deal with sony is essentially betrayal, in my opinion.

this is my #1 problem with the estate. it's straight on corporatism. i give them an F (and a D-, if I was being generous).

again, this is why i am not running the estate.

I think it's good he's being promoted and feel so sad and empty that it's gone down now though it will pick up again with cirque du soilel and behind the mask hopefully. I just think a better job could be done, though now I'm selective about what to buy and what not to, cause he's a cash cow.

MJJstudent said:

bboy87 said:

if they don't make money, the estate would soon cease to exist. The debts would cause them to sell things off. Imagine you get a loan but then payment stops. That's what would happen to the estate and it's assets (Michael's publishing, his master recordings, his trademarks and patents, Neverland, Hayvenhurst, the Sony/ATV catalog)

I agree that they should release material that he co-signed but there is so much that he left in the vaults that shouldn't collect dust and deteriotate, that would be a tragedy in itself.

So far, the estate DID release the merchandise that Michael signed off on for the This Is It residency and the game which Michael was working on when he passed

It's really all about keeping the Michael Jackson name out there and the legacy alive. I remember telling some people that after Michael passed away, I got emotional buying a t-shirt from JC Penny because I NEVER saw that before. I never saw Michael's merchandise in stores here in the states. The summer of 2009 was the FIRST time in nearly 17 years that I went to a store and saw Michael Jackson merchandise. I had seen a MJ poster as a child at Walmart once but that's it. You couldn't find books on Michael at bookstores, you couldn't find Tshirts or jackets or backpacks. I'm glad the estate is finally doing that because that was a void that needed to be filled

Although he left us with so much already released material, there's alot that he didn't release or didn't get the chance to. My only issue is that they shouldn't "finish them". Release them as they are. I love hearing demos, outtakes, and things of that nature because you hear the creative process. You hear a different side of the song that you may have missed with the final result. Hearing the demos of PYT or Dangerous or Beat It blew my mind. I want to hear more of that

At the moment, I'd give the Michael Jackson Estate a C+ or a B if I was generous

see, that's why i ain't runnin' the estate though... nothing from 'this is it' was finished; nor was the video game. i'm talking stuff that was ONE BILLION PERCENT FINISHED, that michael WANTED to release, but it didn't fit anywhere. that may be a smaller number of materials than unfinished stuff.

this is what i think SHOULD happen. if i was running the estate i WOULD sell everything (except the major assets), and start again. what is most important? the material items, or the legacy/teachings. to me, the values are most important. i'd sell everything and break even. then you'd never have to give into sony, and there most likely wouldn't be an argument about whether or not another 25% of ATV would be sold. or mijac.

sell havenhurst and neverland. why not? either that, or turn it into a non-profit organization. michael left there, i don't agree with trying to relive something he left.

again, with the demos, the FANS should decide. so many demos have already been uploaded by fans. just release those, instead of some lackluster 'remixed' album.

the legacy is already there, why do you need to sell the name? people who are already into him are gonna be into him. and those who knew nothing about him will learn from others. i think the marketing of michael should cease. he's not physically here to do it himself.

no, i don't see what they're doing as filling a void at all... i just see it as making money of a man. i have a lot of the t shirts, people give me things all the time. i see books on michael all the time at the bookstore, even before 2009. and if you don't see stuff, there was plenty of stuff on ebay before 2009. which is actually where i got most of the michael stuff that was not given to me.

if i didn't have any of that stuff my love for michael would not lessen. they are selling an emotional connection to material things, through their marketing of him. they are not bringing home the message he was teaching. and to basically make a posthumous deal with sony is essentially betrayal, in my opinion.

this is my #1 problem with the estate. it's straight on corporatism. i give them an F (and a D-, if I was being generous).

again, this is why i am not running the estate.

If Michael wasn't willing to sell those assets, then the estate should keep them. Keep Hayvenhurst and Neverland and when the kids get older, they should decide on the fate of the properties.

the Michael Jackson brand that Michael built for years had to be repaired. Michael was dealt some serious blows the last 20 years of his life. The marketing will always be there because his work has to live on, and in order for it to live on, they have to find various platforms for people to discover/rediscover him. There are people who discovering him through not just the music, but the new video game, through the Vision DVD set and there's gonna little kids who are going to be discovering him through all these platforms.

You're right, stuff was on eBay, but in stores in the states? nonexistant. Vanilli and I were talking about how when we were growing up, finding a Michael Jackson poster or book or anything was nearly impossible. All estates of celebrities do it. Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown.....the list goes on and on (although if I see Michael Jackson toilet paper, there's going to be a problem

Right now, it's about rebuilding the brand. Michael knew this. When Michael was still here, there would be Michael Jackson dolls, wallets, jackets, shirts, record players, video games, notebooks, coloring books, hats, perfume.....

WildStyle said:

They get a damn 'F' on the principal alone of releasing an MJ album with 3 Jason Malachi songs on it.

true dat

MJJstudent said:

i would DEFINITELY argue for 'wanna be startin' somethin'' being a social commentary, as well as 'beat it'. and i see 'billie jean' as having a sort of message... for me though, i prefer 'why you wanna trip on me, 'man in the mirror', and ESPECIALLY 'they don't care about us'- songs where the political commentary is blatant. more blatant than the ones on thriller, anyways. i prefer when he's straight up pissed off.

songs like 'we've had enough'- that is one of michael's GREATEST SONGS OF ALL TIMES. these are the songs i love hearing from michael. the ones that are blatantly political. no two ways about it.

and i hate 'dirty diana' and 'who is it' with a deep passion. those are two songs i'd be perfectly happy if i never heard for the rest of my life. those, and 'PYT'. 'tabloid junkie' i like (it fits the theme of HIStory perfectly) and i like 'threatened' as well, for a conclusion to the story of 'invincible.

LOL You are killing me here. x_X

The complete opposite is true for me. Omg, I remember when I first heard Why You Wanna Trip On Me, and when the words started I skipped that song so fast. Those lyrics...get me every single time. They just seem so utterly juvenile to me. I mean...yeah I get it, but UGH. I usually love his social commentary songs, but that one? Omg...it pains me to listen to it. The beat is great though. What sucks it's the one time I can totally understand everything he's saying. Usually I can't so I just listen to him making incomprehensible sounds.

Same thing with You Are Not Alone. Something about that song makes me run out of the vicinity that I hear it being played in. Every. Single. Time. The only part I like are the ad-libs and that long note he holds at the end. Same thing with Cry, I hate that song as well. Actually, I dislike a lot of R.Kelly's work, but I will take his oversexed work anyday of the week.