Anyways what is your opinion on XSCAPE as an album?
It's because he's male and nobody compares in receipts or gets even close so they're insecure
XSCAPE is a massive step up from Michael. I love that they gave the original mixes with the remixed versions even if we already had most of the songs already from leaks. So far my favorite posthumous release has been Bad25, the demos we didn't have and the ones we did weren't that good in quality and of course the documentary slayed to the heavens. Xscape and Slave To The Rhythm are my favorite tracks. What did you think of it?
I really, really, really, really want more This Is It footage. I know a lot of fans are against that movie and how it was "doctored" to make MJ seem more capable than he was apparently, but to see him in 2009 when I was hyped as hell for my TII show... I just need more
It's because he's male and nobody compares in receipts or gets even close so they're insecure
XSCAPE is a massive step up from Michael. I love that they gave the original mixes with the remixed versions even if we already had most of the songs already from leaks. So far my favorite posthumous release has been Bad25, the demos we didn't have and the ones we did weren't that good in quality and of course the documentary slayed to the heavens. Xscape and Slave To The Rhythm are my favorite tracks. What did you think of it?
I really, really, really, really want more This Is It footage. I know a lot of fans are against that movie and how it was "doctored" to make MJ seem more capable than he was apparently, but to see him in 2009 when I was hyped as hell for my TII show... I just need more
I liked the remixes but I haven't listened to the original demos.
Slave to the Rhythm slays careers btw
Eventhough some people , as far as I can see, seem to be against albums like XSCAPE because "they're exploiting Michael's legacy" I think it's a good idea because it is a good opportunity for young people to get into Michael.
I wouldn't want something like XSCAPE for my own fave though. I hope her unreleased songs leak asap.
Anyway what album do you suggest I listen to? So far I know only some major Michael songs.
PS. It is sad that he passed away before his tour. He hadn't toured for years I think, right?
Half of those weren't fans before he died and plenty of others like to pretend they speak for MJ while criticizing the Estate and Sony for doing anything. We have no idea if he'd have released these in the future or not. Michael (the album) was a catastrophe, but Xscape worked well and WW sales are good reflecting that (1.5M sold).
Yeah, his last real tour was the HIStory Tour in the mid 90s. He did 2 charity concerts in '99, two anniversary concerts in 2001 (the second was the day before 9/11 in NYC) and a 9/11 memorial concert in 2002 so it was basically over a decade since he last toured. My show was the second one
You'd know songs mostly from Thriller and Bad as an average listener (I assume!) but you can't go wrong with any of his most famous albums:
Off The Wall - his most dated sounding but revolutionary in 1979. It's heavy on funk and disco. Thriller - Billie Jean, Beat It, Thriller.... you'll know most of the album without realizing it! Bad - The Way You Make Me Feel, Smooth Criminal, Man In The Mirror (his best bop album by far) Dangerous - Newer sound to the 90s synths, Black Or White is the most famous track. He mixes genres a lot. HIStory - By far the most personal and powerful album. Most know Earth Song, You Are Not Alone, Scream, etc. but the album tracks are way, way better. It's his most eclectic going from pop, to rock, to gospel, to blues..... Invincible - His last studio album. Heavily R&B inspired, tracks alternate between heavy and light subject matter. Probably his least known one, I wouldn't start with it if I were you.
I know some songs off Thriller and Bad : Thriller, BJ,Beat it, Bad , Smooth Criminal, DD.
I remember liking the first part of Invincible especially Unbreakable, You Rock My World and the title track.
I don't know his 90s stuff except for the masterpiece called "They don't care about us" which is my fave song of his.
It's a shame that he didn't release any album after Invincible
I know some songs off Thriller and Bad : Thriller, BJ,Beat it, Bad , Smooth Criminal, DD.
I remember liking the first part of Invincible especially Unbreakable, You Rock My World and the title track.
I don't know his 90s stuff except for the masterpiece called "They don't care about us" which is my fave song of his.
It's a shame that he didn't release any album after Invincible
TDCAU is indeed a masterpiece, so much so it got two music videos!
Tabloid Junkie is a song from the HIStory album - it's by FAR his best song lyrically and IMO is what got him inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. Here is a lyric video (song starts after a long intro about 45 seconds in!) It's basically him talking about how false the tabloid media is by speculating, then circulating a lie to try and make it real all while covering themselves by saying stuff like "allegedly". The verses are incredibly well structured. I hate how MJ doesn't get artist credit a lot on here when he made something that amazing. The most insane thing about it is he talks about "who's the next for you to resurrect" as in who do you hold up as a hero after destroying them before and gives examples of JFK and Marilyn Monroe... that's exactly what they did to Michael when he died - became his biggest supporter and acted like they didn't kill him.
Yeah, he was with Sony and found out that they were working to make Invincible unsuccessful because they wanted to put him in debt forcing him to sell his share of their music catalog (he owns 50%) which he proved and then was able to exit his record deal as a result in 2002 (plus he claimed the Sony CEO Tommy Mottola who was married to Mariah Carey was a racist towards him and protested and went to rallies to get him removed which he did). Then of course the allegations and trial happened in 2003-2005 and after that he was destroyed
I know some songs off Thriller and Bad : Thriller, BJ,Beat it, Bad , Smooth Criminal, DD.
I remember liking the first part of Invincible especially Unbreakable, You Rock My World and the title track.
I don't know his 90s stuff except for the masterpiece called "They don't care about us" which is my fave song of his.
It's a shame that he didn't release any album after Invincible
A damn shame but it's okay because Invincible has amazing ballads and in my opinion, his best ballads (Whatever Happens, Heaven Can Wait, Break of Dawn, Lost Children, Cry)
Wow TJ is really really great, eventhough I cant hear the first verse.
What ,he sold his share?! Sony seems to be disguisting
Is there any unreleased material he recorded from 2006-2009?
Yeah he deliberately sings it in a way you can't quite make out all the words. Apparently it was meant to convey how you don't get the full story from tabloid media but I don't know if that's true or not.
No, he never sold his share. He bought The Beatles catalog in 1985 for just over $47 million. Then he added a few different songs here and there that he wanted. Then in 1995 Sony decided they wanted to get in on the big royalties game and asked to buy the catalog off him for $200 million. He said no, so they asked to buy 50% for half the price and his condition was ingenious - they had merge their artists into the catalog and all artists and/or song royalties they took on from then on. They agreed and the catalog ballooned to be worth almost $700 million by 2000.
Then Sony decided they didn't like 50% of the yearly profits, they wanted 100% and made a ton of offers to MJ who refused to sell his share since he knew the value was only going to go up as Sony was stuck with the deal to give him 50% of all royalties forever! He held onto the share instead of selling it to clear his debt, that's why he went so far into debt (almost $400 million when he died). Since his death Sony acquired a majority stake in EMI (the second biggest catalog) and a bunch of other catalogs making it the biggest ever. Today, the catalog is known as Sony/ATV and is worth somewhere between 3 and 8 billion dollars. Eminem, Rihanna, Gaga - almost all popular artists royalties go into that catalog. MJ's Estate owns 50% of that - he was right never to sell.
Sorry for the essay!
Here's some songs he recorded in the 2000s, though most you'd need to have downloaded since Sony pull them. Xscape and Blue Gangsta from XSCAPE are from the 2000s too.
Another Day (Recorded around 2000, released in Michael album) Hollywood Tonight (Recorded in 2000, released on Michael album as an edited version. This is the original demo, it's much better IMO) Hold My Hand Duet with Akon (Recorded in 2008, released as lead single from the Michael album) We've Had Enough (released in 2003) One More Chance (released in 2003, video released in 2009) All In Your Name Duet with Barry Gibb of the BeeGees (recorded in 2002, released in 2011 with studio footage video) Fall Again (Unreleased demo from 2003) The Way You Love Me (Demo from Invincible sessions, remastered for Michael album) Days In Glouchestershire (Unreleased demo, very early cut, 2004) I Am A Loser (First cut demo, recorded in 2003 and leaked last year)
For those who don't know, Tom Sneddon was the D.A. of Santa Barbara county who tried to charge Michael Jackson for child molestation in 1993 and brought charges in 2003. He spent millions of dollars in 1993 and gave numerous press statements indicating they had corroborating evidence MJ abused a child. They had nothing and so finally the case was dropped... sorta.
Sneddon spent the next decade spending millions of taxpayers' dollars trying to get more evidence of other "victims" in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia. He took the strip search video of Michael that was supposed to be destroyed and showed it to every cop in the police department in SB (Geraldo Rivera report). Sneddon talked to publications like Vanity Fair about MJ, indicating his guilt to them, throughout the 1990s. Michael expressed his disdain for Sneddon with the HIStory track D.S. (Dom. S. Sneddon, AKA Thomas Sneddon):
and by portraying a character resembling him in his 1997 short film Ghosts, who hated Michael in the film because he was "a freak and a weirdo." The song Ghost (from Blood On The Dancefloor) is likely about Sneddon too.
In 2003 Sneddon got his wish - a family who Michael cut off after they began taking advantage of his generosity by arriving to Neverland and ordering the staff around even when Michael wasn't there, agreed to move forward with an extortion case alleging MJ abused their 13 year-old son Gavin Arviso. The incident was alleged to have happened after the infamous Living with Michael Jackson documentary, in Miami. Sneddon publically arrested MJ and officers assaulted him, dislocating his shoulder and bruising his wrists and forearms before locking him in a fecal-covered restroom for 45 minutes:
(begins at 7:40)
The most expensive exploratory case and subsequent private trial in US history followed, with 10 charges and 4 added-after-the-trial misdemeanours were drummed up to try and get some form of conviction. Neverland was destroyed by 70 police officers who raided it, who broke the boundaries of search warrants and deliberately destroyed Michael's property.
They even changed the law to allow previous "alleged victims" information be used by the prosecution to make the case "MJ was probably a pedophile therefore he must be guilty here." The five alleged victims were the first five witnesses for the defense stating nothing ever happened and Sneddon was lying. During the trial, Sneddon gave interviews to Diane Diamond and cable news reporters who then reported biased information about MJ leading the public to assume his guilt and expect a conviction.
On June 13th 2005, Michael was found not guilty on all charges (original 10 and the misdemeanour offenses):
Despite wasting tens of millions of dollars on a trial that had no evidence for the sake of a vendetta against Michael even by stacking the odds against Michael by adding charges and being allowed discuss past alleged instances, Sneddon was allowed to retire with full pension honorably a short time after losing the case.
(Sorry for the long post, and I don't want to appear gleeful at the death of a person, but Tom Sneddon was a revolting son-of-bitch and I wish hell was a real place so he could burn).
I didn't know there a thread for the King of Music!
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Well, a death is nothing to joke about but well... Tom Sneddon was not the nicest man...
I love D.S tho, HIStory is underrated tbh. i mean EarthSong, Stranger In Moscow, Scream (they've never performed it together on stage ), They Don't Care Abut Us, Tabloid Junkie >>>>
And I love his cover of Smile, what an angelic voice .
His discography is perfect it's embarassing . People saying he's overrated are just insecure MESS.
I didn't know there a thread for the King of Music!
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Well, a death is nothing to joke about but well... Tom Sneddon was not the nicest man...
I love D.S tho, HIStory is underrated tbh. i mean EarthSong, Stranger In Moscow, Scream (they've never performed it together on stage ), They Don't Care Abut Us, Tabloid Junkie >>>>
And I love his cover of Smile, what an angelic voice .
His discography is perfect it's embarassing . People saying he's overrated are just insecure MESS.
Tabloid Junkies lyrics >>>> any song by any other favs.
HIStory is criminally underrated, people think MJ = Thriller, but he got so much better after that album
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. People saying he's overrated are just insecure MESS.