Who’s Really Behind the Music Here?

Hello all,

Today as I was listening to some pop music I began to think about how it had been almost a year since Michael Jackson’s passing (RIP). Feeling a little reminiscent I popped in my copy of “Thriller” and gave it a listen. Although not necessarily MJ’s best album it was by far his most successful and also my favorite. It got me thinking about all that had gone into the making of that and almost all of MJ’s solo albums. Michael Jackson really was the beginning of the end of pop. He was the first to really popularize the pop musician as an artist. He looked good, he could sing, he could dance, and more than all those he could produce. Sure Quincy Jones was the official producer of the greatest MJ albums but it’s almost unheard of how much control Michael had over the creative process. He wrote songs, made some musical arraignments and just went above and beyond being a pretty face on the TV. I think today’s popular music suffers from the lack of great talent that artists like MJ possessed.

Mostly I blame MTV and the visual aspect that it brought to music. Really it was a blessing and a curse. A curse if you were a talented artist that didn’t have a good look (Christopher Cross comes to mind) and blessing if you had a great look but not so much talent (too may artists to name here). I think in a lot of ways it watered down the music and after almost 30 years it’s really starting to show. Now a days you almost have to have a reality show, a movie deal and a record deal just to break onto the scene. The music has just become a side aspect of the MTV generation. An artist like MJ didn’t need all that to stay relevant his entire career (although he did have parts of that throughout, think “Moonwalker” and the “Jackson 5 Variety Show”). MJ was a true talent and they surrounded him with opportunities to stretch that talent. An antithesis to that is what we have today; think Paris Hilton. Most would think she has no talent for anything, yet she had a successful reality show and a music album that was actually not too bad. It’s because they surrounded her with the best in the respected areas. The real genius didn’t come from Paris herself, but from the people around her (songwriters, musicians, choreographers etc etc). I just think it’s sad to see that. It’s a formula that started with the MTV big wigs and continues today. MJ didn’t have all that during his rise to stardom (solo) so he had to work much harder on his talent than today’s artists. So when I sit back and reminisce with a good MJ album I remember to think about what he brought to the music. I like to think that what I am listening to is really MJ himself doing what he did best. Today, I don’t know who’s making the music regardless of who the “artist” on the album is. I challenge everyone who reads this to make an effort to discover the real talent behind what you listen to. Read the liner notes and dig deep to see if the performer is really the one “behind the music.” You might be surprised.

Here is probably MJ’s most famous live performance. It not only solidified his superstar status, but it was also totally directed by the man himself. Everything from the lights to the camera angles capturing his moonwalk were thought out and directed by MJ. Genius!!!!!