Ernest Bazanye
27 June 2009
analysis
Kampala — MICHAEL Jackson was pronounced dead on Thursday after arriving at a Los Angeles hospital in full cardiac arrest. He may be gone, but his music will live forever. We sift through his greatest hits in tribute to a music great.
Michael Jackson gave us 10 albums and several great songs before he died on Thursday. Even though by the time he checked out, the King was, well, a pale shadow of his former self, a lot of his music remains eternally funky. Here is a look back at the brightest moments in his shining legacy.
Thriller (1982):
Though this was his sixth solo album, Thriller is, to many Ugandan fans, the joint that powered him into superstardom. It is to date the highest selling album in the world, a feat it achieved without a single Lil Wayne guest appearance.
Thriller:
The title track was basically a horror movie in song form and began MJ's trend spectacular music videos that could almost serve as a TV episode. Michael famously said to the actress playing his girlfriend (Playboy centrefold Ola Ray) that he was "not like other guys" before he suddenly changed into a dancing zombie. Much loved for it's epic dance sequence as for Vincent Price's "rap".
Human Nature
This song's strings make it seem even more haunting in some ways than the jiggy zombies in Thriller. It's cryptic, abstract lyrics are hard to get at first, but lines like "See that girl, she knows I'm watching. She likes the way I stare" suggest that then-squeaky-clean Michael was singing about one-night stands.
The Girl Is Mine:
After Michael had featured on Paul McCartney's solo album, contributing vocals to Say Say Say on that LP, the former Beatle returned the favour on this song, which was written by Michael himself. The spoken interlude, when Paul and Michael try to make a civilised discussion out of this rivalry they are having, (and Michael utters the destined-to-be famous phrase, "I'm a lover, not a fighter") was released in a time whose innocence belies that fact that this chick is sleeping with two rich men.
Billie Jean
Also written by Jackson, a passionate and powerfully sung song, one of his best, in which he repeats again and again that he is not the father of Billie Jean's child.
The second coolest thing about this song was the video where he walk-danced up a paved street and each pave he trod on would light up under his feet. That was so awesome that I'm sure Billie Jean's kid was dying to tell people it was his daddy doing it.
Beat It
Michael and his producer Quincy Jones were going for a hard rock song and this was the result of their efforts. They filmed a video where two rival gangs challenge each other, then sort out their beef through a dance-off. Many of the dancers in the video were actual gang members (for authenticity), but some are actors - including a then-upcoming Wesley Snipes.
Bad (1987):
Following up Thriller would never be an easy feat, but five years on, Michael returned with this harder and more aggressive cassette, which contradicted its tone by showing MJ on the cover wearing a lot of make-up.
Bad
This was originally supposed to be a duet with Prince, MJ's major rival at the time, but the Purple One declined respectfully, saying that the song would definitely be a hit, even without his help.
The Internet can finally settle years of debate over what the opening line was. It's "your butt is mine" (meaning, of course, "I can defeat you", not "I am attracted to your behind.") For years, fans insisted on singing "The bird is mine".
Dirty Diana
Michael was growing into the scandal phase of his career and one of the rumours he flamed was that this song was about a relationship with a sugar mummy. Speculation was rife that it was his close buddy Diana Ross. But it was actually about a generic groupie experience. Fun fact: A little-known Sheryl Crow starred in the video.
The Way You Make Me Feel
This song's popularity was spurred on by the rise of breakdancing. The hot tempo made everyone want to dance. It was a powerful and direct case of vibing a chick, or "kwensing" as I believe it was called in those days. "I like the groove of your walk, your talk, your dress!" He assured.
Liberian Girl
Long before Ugandan singers courted the Bongo market by putting Kiswahili lyrics in their songs, Michael was slipping the words, "Nakupenda pia, nakutaka pia," in songs like this.
Man In the Mirror
The Winans and The Andre Crouch Choir backed up this earnest, swelling song about changing the world.
Dangerous (1991):
Quincy Jones handed Michael over to 22-year-old Teddy Riley so that they could get a more funky sound here, in the age of hip hop, and this album was the result.
Jam:
Teddy's keyboards whipped up a frenetic storm of beats in this song where the two MJs, Michaels Jackson and Jordan, co-starred in the video.
Heal The World
Michael's preachy, message songs were now a staple. Continuing the sermon he started with Man In The Mirror, this song would go on to become a karaoke classic. It would not go on to be number one on Billboard, though. It was kept off that rank by Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You.
Black Or White/Give In To Me
This album's rock numbers, both of which were graced by Slash From Guns N Roses, took it further than he had gone before. Give In To Me, especially, had Slash all over it.
Remember the Time
The video marked the end of Michael's beef with Eddie Murphy. Eddie had sparked off a row back when he was an edgy and provocative stand-up comedian, by poking fun at Michael's effeminate voice and mannerisms.
They clearly sorted it out because, not only did Eddie star in the video for this song, Michael went on to feature on Eddie's poorly-received solo music project, appearing on the single Wazapwitchu.
HISTORY (1995):
This CD was written when Michael was fed up with your tabloids and your gossip and your rumours and his anger was manifest in several songs.
Scream:
Michael teamed up with his sister Janet to quite literally scream. An energetic Jam & Lewis-produced song that ranted about the intrusive gossip industry and all the stress it was causing them.
You are Not alone
In a state of depression over the accusations of child abuse that had come to haunt him, Michael reached out to one of the day's premier songwriter/producers to compose a ballad about dealing with such accusations. It was, ironically, R. Kelly who would collaborate with him and assure him that he was, indeed, not alone.
Invincible Michael's last studio album, dropped in 2002, and you could say it performed well if it was by T-Pain. But by MJ standards, it was a flop. There were rumours of a powerful comeback project were rife when Michael died, but that was the story of his troubled life. There were always rumours.
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