The downside to a success like Thriller is that it's nearly impossible to follow, but Michael Jackson approached Bad much the same way he approached Thriller -- take the basic formula of the predecessor, expand it slightly, and move it outward. This meant that he moved deeper into hard rock, deeper into schmaltzy adult contemporary, deeper into hard dance -- essentially taking each portion of Thriller to an extreme, while increasing the quotient of immaculate studiocraft. He wound up with a sleeker, slicker Thriller, which isn't a bad thing, but it's not a rousing success, either. For one thing, the material just isn't as good. Look at the singles: only three can stand alongside album tracks from its predecessor ("Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"), another is simply OK ("Smooth Criminal"), with the other two showcasing Jackson at his worst (the saccharine "Man in the Mirror," the misogynistic "Dirty Diana"). Then, there are the album tracks themselves, something that virtually didn't exist on Thriller but bog down Bad not just because they're bad, but because they reveal that Jackson's state of the art is not hip. And they constitute a near-fatal dead spot on the record -- songs three through six, from "Speed Demon" to "Another Part of Me," a sequence that's utterly faceless, lacking memorable hooks and melodies, even when Stevie Wonder steps in for "Just Good Friends," relying on nothing but studiocraft. Part of the joy of Off the Wall and Thriller was that craft was enhanced with tremendous songs, performances, and fresh, vivacious beats. For this dreadful stretch, everything is mechanical, and while the album rebounds with songs that prove mechanical can be tolerable if delivered with hooks and panache, it still makes Bad feel like an artifact of its time instead a piece of music that transcends it. And if that wasn't evident proof that Jackson was losing touch, consider this -- the best song on the album is "Leave Me Alone" (why are all of his best songs paranoid anthems?), a tune tacked on to the end of the CD and never released as a single, apart from a weirdly claustrophobic video that, not coincidentally, was the best video from the album.
As we all know that in addition to being a great entertainer that Michael Jackson is infamous for lawsuits galore. Remember when Notorious B.I.G. said, "mo money mo problem."Michael Jackson's publicist, Rayome Bain, recently filed a lawsuit against him:Reliable Source - Raymone Bain Sues Michael Jackson for $44 MillionThen, Michael Jackson is being sued by a music promoter that he has been wor...
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All eccentricities aside, the cat brought so much to music and pop culture. A legend passes...RIP MJ.
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Michael Jackson's opening concert date at London's O2 arena is being pushed back from July 8th to July 13th, while the next 3 dates following have been pushed back to spring 2010. "Due to the sheer magnitude of the “This Is It” concerts at the O2 Arena promoters and producers AEG Live and Kenny Ortega, Michael’s directorial partner and creative collaborator have elected to move back a few of
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"Life-changing" was the vibe that the guys in LAZRtag were obviously going for in this, their contribution to the just-released-and-free Buffet Libre -helmed Rewind 2 . We totally think they succeeded, in that anyone who really goes for the gold with a Michael cut and doesn't do any damage to the original and instead lifts it back up to undeniable legend-status, and we can't imagine anyone els...
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You can learn a lot about a person when auctioning off all their possessions. Sure, Michael Jackson has BeDazzled everything one could BeDazzle (which is everything!) and loves superhero costumes, but there’s a lot more to his estate than evidence...
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LAZRtag just keep bringing the heat in the winter (at least for us in the frigid midwest). After having been away for a week, I was pumped to see a new track in my inbox. They have remixed Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson as apart of a compilation called Rewind , which features remixes and covers of hits from the 80's and 90's. The guys must have had a ton of fun making this one: ...
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AllGood Entertainment is planning on suing Michael Jackson in an effort to block his London residency starting in July.According to the company, Frank DeLeo [Jackson's manager] signed a contract committing Jackson to perform a concert on July 3, 2010 at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas with his brothers and sister Janet. The agreement stipulated that Jackson could not perform any other concerts ...
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Even though I did not grow up. Around the time you made this song I believe that this is one of the best songs that you could have ever come up with. I love rock'n'roll and to see you just feel the energy of the song made this song my favorite OF ALL TIME.This song made me feel the energy that you put into every song. I will MiISS YOU and I send my prayers to your family. Love Alwayz, DaRudeGalCat
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Bad |
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| 2 The Way You Make Me Feel |
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| 3 Speed Demon |
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| 4 Liberian Girl |
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| 5 Just Good Friends |
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| 6 Another Part of Me |
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| 7 Man in the Mirror |
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| 8 I Just Can't Stop Loving You |
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| 9 Dirty Diana |
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| 10 Smooth Criminal |
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| 11 Leave Me Alone [*] |
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 "Bad")
