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Appreciation is the key to releasing innovate and groundbreaking music. You can't win over the hardcore music lover by mimicking music that has only had a ten year life span. An artists' influence should be an amalgamation of past artists that have truly impacted American music. Retrospectively, classic bands, such as, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, were heavily influenced by the blues. Bob Dylan drew from the music of Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams for his inspiration. However, modern rock music has only identified itself as a clique or cliche. Bands like Seether, All American Rejects(their first album was actually enjoyable) and Nickelback are derivative of themselves. What do I mean by this? There is nothing in their music that gives a nod to past artists. They need to step outside of their own "creativity," and look at themselves through a different set of lenses. They need to ask themselves, "If we were a band during the heyday of rock and roll would The Beatles be fans of our music." It doesn't necessarily have to start with the instrumentation, even though that would be more refreshing. Lyrically, they usually settle for generic content. They are not above describing something colloquially. But don't take my word for it, just look at the lyrics of Nickelback's "Rockstar" or All American Rejects' "Hope It Gives You Hell." There is nothing to dissect. The lyrics are excruciatingly simple, it is nothing short of someone describing their day. I am not going to cop out, and say that we should all turn to independent artists. That would be too simple. We should expect the same excellence that yesterday's artists achieved.
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Certain films can be alienating. If you are not a Science Fiction buff, you are most likely not going to be first in line for the next Star Trek outing. If blood makes you cringe, anything with Rob Zombie attached to it is off limits. Nonetheless, you do not have to be an uber Michael Jackson fan to appreciate "This Is It." This is not some sick voyeuristic look at an artist whose life turned upside down. To be honest, this documentary shows no evidence, whatsoever, that Michael was dealing with any type of addiction. What you will get is classic MJ. Besides Michael's uncanny memory and brilliant vocals, the set design and stellar band are downright astonishing. The back-up dancers and singers are the perfect "extension to Michael's performance." Songs like "Thriller" and "The Way You Make Me Feel" were just as sophisticated as their video counterparts. Do not let director Kenny Ortega's resume sway you from watching this movie. Just because he was the one that brought us "High School Musical 3," does not negate the fact that he can deliver a superb documentary. Ortega has no particular dogma, or any ulterior motive, he simply wants to show us that Michael Jackson was going to pull off the show of the century.
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Does Michael Jackson's continuous success further testify to how bad popular music is right now? Or are people still enamored by his genius. His album sales and downloads are still hitting near the top, and it looks like the tribute film, This Is It, will probably do quite well at the box office. What causes one to cling this tightly to music that was out 30 years ago (this is just counting his solo work). It goes beyond Nostalgia. You might pop in a 'Best of the '80's' cd, but it is not the same. Let's face it, no one has the entire collection of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and if they do, they will never mention it out of fear of a good stoning.
Michael can not be narrowed down to a specific decade or genre. Jackson' music transcends time, and none of his music has lost it's potency, except maybe "Dirty Diana." We don't revert back to children every time we hear "Thriller" or "Bad." We don't say, "I loved this song", it is just "I love this song." These songs are not bubblegum Pop, their meat and potatoes Pop. We are still astonished to how such good music come out of a decade of awful music,and it seems like we might be repeating it.
It is quite noticeable that Jackson took the painstaking process of making each lead and background vocal sound the best. He didn't need pro tools. He redid the vocal. Go back and listen to the production of "Way You Make Me Feel" or "Human Nature" or for that matter the entire Michael Jackson catalog. The vocals and production sound almost superior to what is manufactured in today's top studios.
So now it is your turn, is Michael's music that timeless and on par with the Beatles, or Stevie Wonder. Or are people trying to cling to the past because they are fearful that popular music will never be this good again.
Michael Jackson Artist Page
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