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In Memorandum, Michael Jackson
Total Views: 1017 - Total Replies: 2
Jun 26 2009, 4:09 pm - By CiCi



In spite of what you may have
thought about Michael Jackson, and in spite of what his personal life
entailed, there's no denying that he was king when it came to music,
dance, and all out entertainment. Michael Jackson was a man many
generations grew up with. Whether you were there during Jackson Five's
days, or there during his Smooth Criminal years, Michael Jackson was a
dominant force of nature in the history of pop music. I grew up to his
music and odds are many of you did, too. Gone much too soon, here is
our top ten favorite Michael Jackson songs of all time. Good night Mr.
Jackson.




10. I'll be There


This Motown ballad was a great hit with Jackson
leading the record with his brothers as they sang to a girl who'd found
another lover. Here they say goodbye to her and wish her well in spite
of the broken heart they endure. "I'll Be There" had a considerable
impact as one of the best from the Jackson Five and was covered by
Mariah Carey in the early nineties to great success and reintroduced us
to the classic by the young Motown lads.


 


9. Smooth Criminal


Michael Jackson was like Elvis to those who grew
up in the eighties and nineties and in no video is it proven more than
"Smooth Criminal." Though nonsensical and weird in the context of his
movie "Moonwalker," Jackson
is the larger than life presence who is warped in to a nineteen
twenties night club where he and gangsters perform the slick "Smooth
Criminal." It's a dazzling video that's demonstrative of Jackson's dancing skills and it's a great pad to the run time of the unreal movie starring Jackson as a magical man who is pulled in to a world of fantasy with three children.


 


8. I Want you Back


Where as "I'll be there" was a ballad that
declared the heartbroken brothers saying goodbye to a love, "I Want you
Back" is where they get down on their knees begging their girl to come
back to them declaring they made a mistake in letting their girl go so
early and want a second try. As we learned, sometimes there's no such
thing as a second chance.


 


7. Beat It


Very reminiscent of "West Side Story" two warring gangs go at it in alleyways and abandoned warehouses while Jackson
emerges from his home to play peacekeeper unable to decide his loyalty.
Through the magic of his peace making both major groups manage to dance
along and unite in a hail of Jackson's
raucous lyrics. This is then driven home by the amazing guitar work of
Eddie Van Halen who is given a great solo midway. It's one of the best
videos Jackson ever starred in.


 


6. ABC


Very similar to "I Want you Back" this 1970 hit
knocked "Let it Be" off the charts with simplistic storytelling about
that one girl who the boys are trying to get the attention of. ABC is
as simple as One Two Three and the boys expose us to the feeling of
love and how easy it can be to fall for someone in your life. It's not
a hit that should be taken lightly as it's been sampled, covered, and
used by many pop culture facets including the likes of Kevin Smith
whose recent critical hit "Clerks 2" featured a musical number with
"ABC" blasting through a dance montage.

Jun 26 2009, 4:10 pm - Replied by: CiCi


5. Rock With You

"Rock with You" is one of the earliest music
videos I remember watching. It doesn't have much of a premise to it but
that doesn't matter. Michael performs solo as a teen dressed in a
sequent jumpsuit as he's paraded around a series of back grounds
including rolling marbles and early special effects that helped the
psychedelic nature of the video. "Rock With You" become more of an
experience than a simple video.


 


4. Billie Jean


"Billie Jean" is historic not just because it was
one of the most popular music videos of all time on MTV, but because it
was what Jackson danced to in the Motown 25 in 1983 where he set the
world on fire with a dazzling performance that showed off who Jackson
was and also introduced us to the moon walk, a dance move that would be
copied for decades by fans, little kids, and general pop culture alike.
The music video is also one that paints Jackson as a larger than life presence and you can't deny it's what Jackson excelled at.


 


3. Bad


"Bad" is one of the second attempts at a music video that tells a story and surely enough it works. Here Jackson
uses his raucous ode to bad assery to tell the story of a young man
being forced in to a life of crime by his friends who declare that he's
not enough of a man to join in on crime. Jackson
then proves them wrong by--well---showing how bad he is by dancing the
hell out of them and showing he has just as much and maybe even balls
than any of them can even hope for. Truly it's one of Jackson's best.


 


2. Rockin' Robin


Covered in 1972, Bobby Day's hit single was
covered by a young Michael Jackson who propelled the single to hit
status yet again. Jackson's
evolution of his soulful voice is clearly defined as he shouts through
most of the song and injects his unabashed enthusiasm and showmanship
in what was one of the better songs young Michael Jackson ever sang.


 


1. Thriller


No one did it as well as Jackson did and the proof is "Thriller" a 1982 epic record that implemented old school horror movie clichés and followed it with Jackson's
magnificent showmanship and his knack for presenting his characters as
larger than life. Directed by John Landis, "Thriller" is about all of
our childhood fears and scares when applied to movies and telling a
good horror story. This video was packed with talent including Rick
Baker on special effects and Vincent Price narrating giving the MTV
generation one of the greatest music videos ever made, and it's
definitely my favorite of all time. Horror geekery aside, "Thriller"
features one of the greatest dance sequences with Jackson
fully made up as a zombie dancing with the walking dead and touches on
what fun can be had when submit yourself to horror fandom. It's a force
of nature, just like Jackson was.
Jun 26 2009, 5:39 pm - Replied by: Silva


I love Michael. He had such positive music in such a negative world. If only the people that claim that they learned so much from him actually learned something from him and replaced their hateful, angry, racial, female discriminative music with some of the words of Michael maybe they ouldn't be such fakes!
""You miss 100% of the shots you never take." Wayne Gretzky"
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