Ongoing response to Michael Jackson’s music

[Head Gardener]

[Jockice]

I go to a speech therapy thing on Friday mornings at the local university. We basically get mentored by MA students, mostly in their early to mid 20s.. It's good fun. Anyway, there was a music quiz this morning. One of the songs chosen was I Want You Back. Nobody mentioned the dodgy stuff. Maybe young people simply don't know about his reputation.

[grassbath]

Michael Jackson was 11 when I Want You Back was released and, I would like to think, hadn't fiddled anybody at the time. Given that, plus its stature as an all-time great pop single, I'd be surprised if it ever ends up cancelled.

God, '#cancelled' as a term is so fucking obnoxious isn't it? 'Yeah, scrubbing that from history, don't know much about it tbh but it should totally be cancelled, I saw someone share a post about it made by someone I've never met.'

[mrpupkin]

Does one retrospectively cancel a paedophile from the time they started abusing or from their 18th birthday, the point at which they presumably become legally capable of child abuse? Or are they just cancelled from birth? It does seem weird to cancel a child for child abuse.

[machotrouts]

Michael Jackson was 11 when I Want You Back was released

THE PERFECT DISGUISE

[kalowski]

Billie Jean is memorable vocally

Earth Song not so much

I have a strange soft spot for Earth Song.

[Pauline Walnuts]

I have a strange soft spot for Earth Song.

^{Actually, so do I...}

[Phoenix Lazarus]

Does one retrospectively cancel a paedophile from the time they started abusing or from their 18th birthday, the point at which they presumably become legally capable of child abuse?

Criminal age of responsibility is ten, so they're legally answerable for child abuse thenceforth.

[machotrouts]

'Earth Song' was the second song I remember loving as a child (after 'It's a Mystery' by Toyah). Absolutely lost my SHIT to those aaaAAAaaaAAAaaAAaAaAAAAaaaa, aaaaaaaaaaas when I was 5 years old. I'd have let him child molest me without making a documentary about it so we both missed out there.

[Captain Z]

I remember once he got his bum out.

[Uncle TechTip]

^{Actually, so do I...}

Ah, lovely. They didn't show that close up angle for years - only now do I see the costume of the guy marching Jarvis off the stage, fly into the air as he stands in the wrong place.

[kalowski]

^{Actually, so do I...}

One of the great moments of TV.

[PaulTMA]

Celeb abusers, ey? I'm primarily concerned with issues like the use of drone footage and the lameness of the term #cancelled.  Just lovely.

[Sebastian Cobb]

This is the best thing him and J5 ever done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auh5nKSSG7o

[Talulah, really!]

It might be to both of you, but I don't hear it. I'm specifically talking about recollecting music in your mind, not when you're listening. Other artists (including the Jackson 5) have stuff that's easy to recall and replay in your head.

If it is any consolation I'm exactly the same as you with Jackson's music, so you are not alone.

So for instance, if you asked me out of the blue to tell you what 'Beat it' a song I've heard countless times over the years sounded like, my brain first of all can 'hear' the squall of the lead guitar solo then from that I can hear the riff with the rhythm guitar behind it but what the melody of the verse is, or the shape of the song nothing beyond a fragment that goes something like 'don't be a macho man, do what you can and beat it' and at some point he says 'repeat it'.

And it is the same with other Jackson songs. Thriller? Starts with 'It's close to midnight....' gets to '.......paralysed, cos there's a Thriller...Chiller...beast with a thousand eyes,' that's the chorus I think and then Vincent Price comes on at the end.

Dirty Dinah, Annie are you ok, Black and White, Bad, literally all I could tell you are they have a hook where he sings the title over and over.

In comparison, Prince 1999, it starts with the jaunty syncopated synth riff then the funky guitar comes in, songs starts with something like 'I was dreaming when I wrote this so forgive me if it goes astray' riff 'but I woke up this morning and it feels like Judgement day' riff (and those lines are intitally the female singers in the band then baritone male voices) some other couplet then into the chorus which is 'Hey two thousand zero zero party over it's out of time, so tonight we are gonna party like it's ninteen ninety nine'. I can hear the melody and the structure of the song in a linear way on this and other Prince songs in a way I just can't with Jacksons.

[MiddleRabbit]

This is the best thing him and J5 ever done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auh5nKSSG7o

The first three Jackson 5 singles are up there with anybody's.  Especially the less well remembered 'The Love You Save'.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RcWebTqxPcQ

[rue the polywhirl]

I think the not finding the music of MJ catchy is definitely related to how pretentious you are.

'They have a hook and he sings the title over and over again' - not even a slightly fair description. Denialism worse than an MJ superfan.

[NoSleep]

Are you saying I'm a liar? What I describe is precisely the reaction I have to his music, like it disappears from my memory after hearing it; that doesn't happen with the music of Stevie Wonder (used as an example of another artist that became independent of Motown) and (as Talulah Really mentioned) Prince.

It's presumptuous to assume all people react to the same music identically (impossible) and, as I've said several times, I'm not talking about listening to Jackson's music, but trying to remember how it goes in my head; it scatters to the wind, apart from the odd riff.

[popcorn]

Dirty Dinah, Annie are you ok, Black and White, Bad, literally all I could tell you are they have a hook where he sings the title over and over.

?????

[Phoenix Lazarus]

Dirty Dinah, Annie are you ok, Black and White, Bad, literally all I could tell you are they have a hook where he sings the title over and over.

You mean Smooth Criminal, which alludes to Jackson shaving off his pubes to make himself palatable to sexual targets.

[BlodwynPig]

I rate Jackson only slightly better than the Beatles. At least he didn't treat his fans like children.

[Noodle Lizard]

I think the reason this documentary didn't really change my outlook on everything is because I sort of assumed this kind of thing had happened anyway, since the second trial in the 2000s.  I know he was never convicted, a lot of people testified in his defense (still do etc.), but it was definitely a no smoke without fire situation in my mind.  So hearing people now say "yeah, he did this to me" just isn't that shocking to me, I suppose, I'd already made my peace with it.

I don't agree with the idea of trying to erase wrong'uns from history in order to appease pockets of the public, but it's ultimately up to them what they do with their own business.  If something like YouTube starts taking all his videos down, then I'll have something to say.

[Ferris]

The Onion bang on the money as usual.

Michael Jackson Estate Questions Why Accusers Only Coming Forward Steadily Since Early 1990s

https://entertainment.theonion.com/michael-jackson-estate-questions-why-accusers-only-comi-1833105791

[DrGreggles]

Had my iPod on shuffle while I was driving and Wanna Be Startin' Something came on. First time I've heard it in a while.
What an amazing song it is. So much going on.
If anyone wants to choose not to listen to any Jacko songs again it's entirely up to them, but I won't be joining them.

[MidnightShambler]

The prick is the only person I can remember putting a catchphrase in his songs. There was no need for all the 'ee-hees' other than trademarking, the bland corporate cunt may as well have sang 'Pepsi' or 'McDonald's'.

There's millions of people who don't like his music and who never did, it's not even a remotely weird opinion to have. Since I've been an adult, the only times I've heard his music played other than radio/telly is at New Year's Eve parties and dreary small town nightclubs and the like, when the drunk school teachers want to get up and dance.

To be honest I'm surprised so many people listen to him here, I've not met many in the wild at all.

[Jockice]

He was a second-rate Jeffrey Daniel rip-off anyway. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS3AuK2xC3s

[Jockice]

Ah, lovely. They didn't show that close up angle for years - only now do I see the costume of the guy marching Jarvis off the stage, fly into the air as he stands in the wrong place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9UrQOYOnWo

[kalowski]

No response at the place where my daughter has her piano lessons. The kids group who play in the room up the stairs were rocking through "Beat It" this afternoon.

[Satchmo Distel]

"Bad" (single) was playing in my local breakfast restaurant this morning.

The melody seems to be nicked from Ghostbusters.

[Replies From View]

My response to Michael Jackson's music:  not good enough!


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