Music reviews : Michael Jackson kids today and his top songs: If that seems obvious today, it wasn’t at the start of 1991. Many mainstream artists still saw hip-hop as a passing fad or stereotyped it as nihilistic and violent. Jackson needed to walk the fine line between disposable bubblegum rap like Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer, and alienating longtime disciples with something too radical. After preparing grooves in Q-Tip’s Soundtrack Studio in Queens, Riley flew out to the Neverland Ranch to meet the master. There was a tour of the trophy room, the carousel, and the zoo, and then after they talked late into the night, Jackson put Riley on his personal helicopter and had him flown to the Universal City Hilton, a short distance from the San Fernando Valley studios where they recorded Dangerous. Riley began work the next day.
Hours after TMZ announced Michael Jackson‘s death, something “magical” happened. Everyone decided it was safe to be a fan of the King of Pop again. In a matter of minutes, maybe less, the whole world (more specifically, America) forgot about the corny punch lines they once shared to friends at the water cooler or the countless parodies they had come to enjoy, all of which developed this unfortunate post-2000 personification of an artist that, more or less, had become a modern myth. Up until that point, the name Michael Jackson didn’t necessarily spark memories of, say, Thriller, Bad, or the often forgotten 90’s masterpiece, Dangerous. Instead, trashy tabloids and shitty gags in Scary Movie, South Park, etc. took precedence. It’s a crap deal for someone who’s arguably the most inimitable force in music history, but that’s how things were prior to June 25, 2009. Still, death’s a curious thing.
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1 (1995) : This is a very tough album to rank. On one hand, it has the unfair advantage of being a pseudo greatest hits album – the number of classic songs reissued here alone should thrust it into the top 3. But the other half of the album features new material that, while not as legendary as the hits, still deserve plenty of props. However, for every memorable cut like “You Are Not Alone” or “Scream,” there are several more inferior cuts to drag down the experience. Despite the uneven nature of the album, it still succeeds, thanks to MJ’s ability to diversify his sound, willingness touch on social issues and, of course, the inclusion of his impenetrable collection of pop hits.
Michael Jackson family: Mocienne Petit Jackson’s (Michael Jackson’s daughter) books are now available in french! For our french guests: La deuxieme partie de l’autobiographie en trois parties de Mocienne Petit Jackson commence par une description detaillee de l’enlevement de Mocienne et de sa vie aux Pays-Bas (Michael Jackson Livre en francais). Par la suite, le recit nous devoile comment se deroule sa vie avec sa famille adoptive, chez qui elle reste en compagnie de la cousine Delivrance. Petit a petit, elle decouvre que son vrai pere est Michael Jackson. A l’age de 15 ans, elle quitte sa famille adoptive et vit dans un internat pendant 4 ans, avant de s’installer vivre toute seule. Nous la suivons tout au long de son adolescence et de son entree dans la maturite, ce qui n’a pas toujours ete facile. Mocienne rencontre un homme avec lequel elle a un enfant. Cependant, cet engagement ne dure pas. Nous en apprenons davantage sur les problemes qu’elle rencontre avec les Services de Protection de l’Enfance, suivis de nombreuses affaires judiciaires. Au debut, celles-ci portaient sur sa propre personne, plus tard, elles se transforment en bataille pour la garde de son fils. Une situation inacceptable prend le relais d’une autre situation inacceptable. Nous sommes egalement mis au courant de nombreux evenements traumatisants vecus par le personnage principal, de ses depressions et de ses nombreuses luttes pour faire face a la misere impregnee dans sa vie et a son combat pour s’en debarrasser. L’auteur explique clairement ces luttes a travers de vifs flashbacks.