So- in the spirit of me badgering Ashley to create this part of the board- Jason and I, aside from writing NBA articles and news to tens of people, will also be doing something we view is pretty cool- and that is reviewing albums and movies that were released years ago (could range from anytime to anytime) and will be calling them "Retroview" (like review. I thought about RetrEview- maybe that's cooler- ugh why do I talk to myself when I'm typing.)
Anyway, I want to kick this off with Michael Jackson's "Dangerous"
The reason I am choosing this disc, is because I believe it to actually be the album that Michael made that had the greatest lasting influence. Note- I didn't say it's "the best" or "omgilovelovelovethis"(I kinda do) and I know a lot of people are probably going to be quick to say that there is no way that I couldn't count "Thriller" as his most influential album. For all intents and purposes, Thriller is the quintessential pop album. Yes- it did basically launch the entire music video scene, the moonwalk, what became pop-n-lock dancing, MTV- yeah, that all happened because of that.
Here's the thing though, nothing on Thriller sounds current. Michael's voice is so distinct, that it automatically dates every song he is on. It's like Elvis- you could pick both of those voices out of a dark room with a thousand sounds easily and quickly. Yet, they are both deceased and haven't released big hits in so long that we associate them with the past. So to accurately judge the influence that his work had on modern music, you have to get past his voice and really analyze the composition of the songs, the albums, and the sounds that were used.
I am going to skip right on over songs like "Remember the Time" and "Black or White" because those songs were very "of their time". Sure- they are classic Mike, but they also didn't propel the pop genre forward like a bulk majority of the rest of the album did.
Ok, so when you listen to pop music from around the time N'SYNC's "Celebrity" came out until now- we have been in the middle of the era where the computer has been the instrument of choice. Canned sounds such as shattering glass, dripping wet pulsing bass tones, staccatic beats, high level over produced composition, choruses that build into something much more epic sounding than the verse could ever dream of being-
And you want to know where that began?
The first 16 measures of "Who is it" are composed of just 3 sounds. All of them are really simple, synthetic and hitting on the up and down beats of the quickly paced 4/4 measure. Part of what makes this song so incredible is how it builds. At the 40 second mark, a minor harmony 2 string synth begins to walk along the beat in a seductive manner that not only draws the listener into the song but also continues in the upward build of this songs composition.
After one complete run through, our high major note in a high string with a slightly different tonal quality bleeds into the track and gives us the songs first major harmony. Michael never was one for harmonizing with himself (like so many other artists)in his verses, but it didn't mean that they didn't contain brilliant harmonic qualities. They just were always found buried in the songs instrumentation (which- like I said- in this album is the computer)
The chords drop completely when Michael begins to sing the verse. When the prechorus begins is when we finally hear the beat of the song change. The bass section begins a simple 3 note walk down, we are introduced to a high note and a rattle. This begins the build up to the chorus, the dramatic change from soothing to sounds that don't sound complete really usher in the chorus, which goes back to the original beat of the song. Michael layers his voice here, giving us his own variation of an understated harmony.
The synth strings in the chorus swell in volume, which lends again to anticipation for an explosion or crescendo- which has a very small payoff. Mike was no idiot with his lyrical measure, and its obvious here his entire goal is to figure out who his boo is cheating on him with (really doing my best to not throw a ton of jokes Mike's way) and the songs entire structure gives us a marriage of being soothed, being frustrated or anxious, and a release.
It's a shame that while the manner in which this song was built was lifted and used repeatedly, not many paid attention to what actually made it work so well- which was how it was all tied together.
Why You Wanna Trip On Me is another song from this 1993 disc thats instrumentation sounds like it could have been released in a song yesterday. Something to really pay attention to in this song is how irregular the beat is in the verse, then it changes in the chorus to a very simple 4/4 head bobbing cut. Michael spent this entire album building momentum and delivering on the structure.
Again- he uses the chorus to layer his voice and deliver his harmony, which he selects just certain words from the hook and again uses a swell to breathe the notes in and out of your speakers.
Again, In The Closet, brings us a fully synthetic laced oddly timed verse building up to a harmony driven beat changed chorus. This song also really introduces the "glass breaking" sound which has spurred on the use of all kinds of random sounds of inanimate objects appearing in music in the last 23 years (yeah, this album can drink legally). (also- I can't decide who is dressed more feminine in this video).
It just astounds me, that really songs that have fashioned themselves after the tones, structure, and production of this album since this moment all sound "modern".
Because of this, in my retroview I have to give this album 5 out of 5 stars, and a standing ovation for helping destroy the keytar and other such wonderful things the 80s gave us (don't worry, I love 80s music- you'll see).
Anyway, I want to kick this off with Michael Jackson's "Dangerous"
The reason I am choosing this disc, is because I believe it to actually be the album that Michael made that had the greatest lasting influence. Note- I didn't say it's "the best" or "omgilovelovelovethis"(I kinda do) and I know a lot of people are probably going to be quick to say that there is no way that I couldn't count "Thriller" as his most influential album. For all intents and purposes, Thriller is the quintessential pop album. Yes- it did basically launch the entire music video scene, the moonwalk, what became pop-n-lock dancing, MTV- yeah, that all happened because of that.
Here's the thing though, nothing on Thriller sounds current. Michael's voice is so distinct, that it automatically dates every song he is on. It's like Elvis- you could pick both of those voices out of a dark room with a thousand sounds easily and quickly. Yet, they are both deceased and haven't released big hits in so long that we associate them with the past. So to accurately judge the influence that his work had on modern music, you have to get past his voice and really analyze the composition of the songs, the albums, and the sounds that were used.
I am going to skip right on over songs like "Remember the Time" and "Black or White" because those songs were very "of their time". Sure- they are classic Mike, but they also didn't propel the pop genre forward like a bulk majority of the rest of the album did.
Ok, so when you listen to pop music from around the time N'SYNC's "Celebrity" came out until now- we have been in the middle of the era where the computer has been the instrument of choice. Canned sounds such as shattering glass, dripping wet pulsing bass tones, staccatic beats, high level over produced composition, choruses that build into something much more epic sounding than the verse could ever dream of being-
And you want to know where that began?
The first 16 measures of "Who is it" are composed of just 3 sounds. All of them are really simple, synthetic and hitting on the up and down beats of the quickly paced 4/4 measure. Part of what makes this song so incredible is how it builds. At the 40 second mark, a minor harmony 2 string synth begins to walk along the beat in a seductive manner that not only draws the listener into the song but also continues in the upward build of this songs composition.
After one complete run through, our high major note in a high string with a slightly different tonal quality bleeds into the track and gives us the songs first major harmony. Michael never was one for harmonizing with himself (like so many other artists)in his verses, but it didn't mean that they didn't contain brilliant harmonic qualities. They just were always found buried in the songs instrumentation (which- like I said- in this album is the computer)
The chords drop completely when Michael begins to sing the verse. When the prechorus begins is when we finally hear the beat of the song change. The bass section begins a simple 3 note walk down, we are introduced to a high note and a rattle. This begins the build up to the chorus, the dramatic change from soothing to sounds that don't sound complete really usher in the chorus, which goes back to the original beat of the song. Michael layers his voice here, giving us his own variation of an understated harmony.
The synth strings in the chorus swell in volume, which lends again to anticipation for an explosion or crescendo- which has a very small payoff. Mike was no idiot with his lyrical measure, and its obvious here his entire goal is to figure out who his boo is cheating on him with (really doing my best to not throw a ton of jokes Mike's way) and the songs entire structure gives us a marriage of being soothed, being frustrated or anxious, and a release.
It's a shame that while the manner in which this song was built was lifted and used repeatedly, not many paid attention to what actually made it work so well- which was how it was all tied together.
Why You Wanna Trip On Me is another song from this 1993 disc thats instrumentation sounds like it could have been released in a song yesterday. Something to really pay attention to in this song is how irregular the beat is in the verse, then it changes in the chorus to a very simple 4/4 head bobbing cut. Michael spent this entire album building momentum and delivering on the structure.
Again- he uses the chorus to layer his voice and deliver his harmony, which he selects just certain words from the hook and again uses a swell to breathe the notes in and out of your speakers.
Again, In The Closet, brings us a fully synthetic laced oddly timed verse building up to a harmony driven beat changed chorus. This song also really introduces the "glass breaking" sound which has spurred on the use of all kinds of random sounds of inanimate objects appearing in music in the last 23 years (yeah, this album can drink legally). (also- I can't decide who is dressed more feminine in this video).
It just astounds me, that really songs that have fashioned themselves after the tones, structure, and production of this album since this moment all sound "modern".
Because of this, in my retroview I have to give this album 5 out of 5 stars, and a standing ovation for helping destroy the keytar and other such wonderful things the 80s gave us (don't worry, I love 80s music- you'll see).
