I saw a recent picture of him, and man, I kinda feel sad about him. What happened to this guy? I mean. He was looking good since he was born until BLood's on the dance floor, but suddenly everything started going downhill, but now he is looking scary. And I downloaded his new song. Xscape or seomething like it, and it's VERY boring.
Where is the guy who composed masterpieces like Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal, Give into me, Dont stop til you get enough, and sang those soulfull ballads like no one else could?

xscape was never meant to be heard anyway.It was stolen and is probably an outtake from Invincible.

No comment on his looks. Boring

I wish MJ would stop being so weird and act normal for once.Make a kickass CD and remind the world what a talented artist he can be.Instead,he's always in the news for some dumb shit.Just yesterday,on the 6 O'Clock news,there was a crazy story about him dressing up like a Super Hero,and walking into a Congressman's office.He was complaining because there isn't a Taco Bell (!!) in the city he lives in.I kid you not,I saw this on the news yesterday.

I hear u, I hear u!

I really really miss MJ, he was such a good person before.I don't doubt he is in the inside, still, but his looks make people scared. He should have thought before he did anything to himself...

What a poor man
May ´God and Devil bless him

This is the Michael Jackson that I miss...



"Looking in my mirror
Took me by surprise
I can't help but see you
Running often through my mind

Helpless like a baby
sensual disguise
I can't help but love you
It's getting better all the time


I can't help it if I wanted to
I wouldn't help it even if I could
I can't help it if I wanted to
I wouldn't help it,no

Love to run my fingers
softly while you sigh
love came and possessed you
bringing sparkles to your eyes

Like a trip to heaven
heaven is the prize
and I'm so glad I found you girl
you're an angel in disguise


I can't help it if I wanted to
I wouldn't help it even if I could
I can't help it if I wanted to
I wouldn't help it,no


and I'm so glad I found you girl
you're an angel in disguise"

What's odd is that in the interview with Martin Bashir when they were discussing Tatum O' Neal where MJ was wearing a red shirt he looked...erm, normal!

Can't figure.

DavidEye said:

Yeah, but that's a Stevie Wonder song.

And Butterflies is equally as lovely.

DavidEye said:

Stevie's words though.

Gimme 'Who is it' or 'Stranger in Moscow' anytime.

Cloudbuster said:

Yeah,I knew that Stevie wrote it.But Michael really makes it his own,his vocals are heavenly on that song.But more than the song itslef,I miss the days when the *MUSIC* was the main spotlight.Back in 1979,his music was what people were talking about.Nowadays,there are too many "distractions",too much craziness and drama concerning MJ.The music takes a backseat.

DavidEye said:

You know it's my favourite MJ song also but that time is nearly 25 years ago now. He's an entirely different animal in 2003, I for one will be downloading samples and checking he's on point before I buy his next album when/if it's released, no longer a "must buy artist" to me.

"He's an entirely different animal in 2003"


Sadly,that's true.

Concerning the song Xscape, it was to be a B' Side for one of the singles that never were from Invincible.

MJ should let Remy Shand produce his next album,and let Jamiroquai contribute about three tracks.What do you guys think? It would be better than having MJ work with all these "trendy",lame R&B producers that he usually works with these days.

I think MJ's got the talent to do it all himself. Maybe he just can't be bothered anymore. But look at the credit's for the Bad album, nearly all the songs were written by him alone. And half the History album was his as well, They Don't Care About Us, Stranger In Moscow, Money and Earth Song were all great songs.
[This message was edited Wed May 21 6:45:53 PDT 2003 by Cloudbuster]

Cloudbuster said:

Yes,I think he should write the songs themselves and just use the producers to help with the music.He's always been a great songwriter but in recent years,he has gotten lazy.The best songs on 'Invincible' were written by others.

Cloudbuster said:

I've heard a demo by Floetry that suggests that it's their song, given to MJ.


apostrophe edit
[This message was edited Wed May 21 8:08:50 PDT 2003 by ThreadBare]

such a fallen icon, talent overshadowed by his weirdness

MJ may be a wierdo, but he still gets ratings on TV. On the ABC network anniversary show this week, a lot of Jackson clips were shown. Michael's appearances on awards shows, the Jackson 5 singing, MJ on the Dating Game show, the Jacksons movie. There were alot of Jackson clips in that show.

There's still a lot of people who are into MJ and the Jacksons. All of the MJ specials plus ABC plastering the Jacksons all over the network's anniversary special proves that people are still interested. I didn't watch the whole ABC show, but I didn't see Prince in any of the clips that I saw.

DavidEye said:

From you lips to Michael's ears. Would also like to see him work with Rapael Saadiq.

ThreadBare said:

I know it's not his song. Neither is I Can't Help It. My point was that he could still turn in a lovely ballad vocally.

DavidEye said:

ROTFLMAO!!!

Right about now, The Neptunes could put MJ back on the map.

DavidEye said:

if Michael worked with them Soaky Turkeys I'd Talk Trash about Him.MJ Needs to Call R.Kelly Up&Get some of that "chocolate Factory&Some of that Isley Brother Vibe.MJ Needs to Work with Da Kang of Modern R&B all the way.I'll always Buy MJ Albums but do i expect things like the past? No.different Era&vibe.Remy is a Ice Shake Lame Clone of Maxwell.the Only Cat from Canada that MJ should work with is Gino Vanneli&His Brother Ross on Arrangements. Jamiroquai? don't Insult Michael like that.He does there Best Stuff on His Off Day.

mistermaxxx said:

Damn! Ouch!

Who on earth can say that they are the same person they were 25 years ago? People change and that can only be a good thing. MJ got criticised in 2001 for singing the happy upbeat R&B dance tune You Rock My World. People want Off The Wall from a 44 year old guy and it's not really possible to carry it off with the same innocence and hunger. For the record, I've seen him up close in real life and he does not look disfigured or freakish, just unique.

The guy as been world famous since he was 11 and in the spotlight and the family breadwinner since he was as young as 5. His life situation is just a tad different from your average 21 year old wih a fresh new contract and no other priorities than recording, promoting and touring.

BTW, I think Invincible was dreadfully underrated as a record itself, although still not up to standards for him and it's a messy and unfocused album. I thought something fishy was going on the moment I heard it and looked at the song credits. It's not an album that Michael Jackson put his heart and soul into. Usually his best tracks are one that he has written and produced alone. Personally I think he does have something up his sleeve and some folks in the media have underestimated him this time.

By the way, Xscape is actually a demo. It may sound like a finished song but so does the demo to Dangerous, which is completely different from the album cut. MJ's vault is bigger than some people may think. Not on the scale of Prince of course, but he IS a prolfic singwriter, but his so called perfectionism gets in the way of that. Things need to change in that department. No more trying to create the perfect commercial album to fit in all the markets. It's not possible when contrived, especially not in the current climate of the industry.

The key in my own opinion is to forget setting records straight by doing boring interviews with interviewers who have done no research and have no interest in talking about his music further than Billie Jean and the moonwalk. His voice is still amazing unliked for example Mariah Carey who seems to have damaged her middle register. A couple of unique live concert performances, 100% live, scrapping the predictable medleys and setlists... that's all it takes. What's the point chasing after the fickle teenage market who crowned Ricky fucking Martin the "King of Pop" for about 6 months 4 years ago? People couldn't give a crap about his face, especially not if they're hearing him sing an acoustic Is It Scary, Butterflies, Who Is It or Stranger In Moscow.

He has the talent, but the business needs to be sorted out first. I don't think he could just snap his fingers and release something tomorrow. It's obvious that there have been compilcated contract problems that needed to be negotiated and tied up before anything can happen.

DavidEye said:

Nah, Michael needs to let Quincy back on the block...

June7 said:

AMEN ON THAT!! as well.

Somebody asked 4 retro?

Ellie said:

Thats what I was thinking when I heard the album for the first time. I can hardly imagine how the final tracklist got together. I've tried to find a sense, why songs were put like that. And then I started believing that it is just a big Invincible Single. I can live with that.

I think he has to go back to his roots. Last night I downloaded some mp3s like Dacing Machine (live) or Workin Day And Night (live rehearsal). Thats, what he should do. He won't have to sing about his first love or something, but I need that funky sound. I don't need a "King of Media", I just want good and pure music.

For god sake, call Quincey, Mike!

BlueNote

okaypimpn said:

Those are the types of producers that MJ needs to stay away from! These days,MJ has a disturbing approach to making music: When it's time for him to do a new CD,he simply looks at the Billboard charts,finds out who the hottest R&B/hip-hop producers are,calls them up and spends the next few years recording a ton of tracks with them.This is what happened with 'Invincible',he recorded tracks with Missy,Wyclef,The Neptunes and everyone else who was "hot" from 1999-2001.That's not what I call "artistic inspiration".


I suggested that he work with Remy Shand because,obviously Remy is not some Top 10 "hot" producer,and he has a cool,retro R&B sound that would take MJ back to his roots.He's very talented but not overly commercial or over-exposed,like,say,the Neptunes.I suggested Jamiroquai for the same reason.Could you imagine MJ doing something like "Love Foolosophy" or "Picture Of My Life"? The results would be astonishing!