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June 27 
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Even if he had not released quality music for quite some time and
functioned mainly as an occasional tabloid figure in the years leading
up to his shocking 2009 death, Michael Jackson was and will always be
one of the biggest superstars of music or any other mode of
entertainment. He ruled parts of four decades in one form or another,
so he certainly deserves due tribute as a hitmaking, calculating talent
blessed with an amazing amount of artistic versatility. Witness the
following list of Jackson's top songs of the '80s.
Jackson's fusion of disco, pop, funk and soul on his breakthrough album, Off the Wall,
may have been the King of Pop at his most deliciously tuneful and
catchy, which is saying a lot when you consider the massive appeal of
his follow-up, Thriller. This tune is underrated and
underplayed, and its relative obscurity amidst Jackson's familiar
catalogue makes it a welcome treat. A soaring chorus supported by a
tight groove in the verse would become the singer's trademark; here's
the prototype.
This tune offers even stronger evidence that Jackson had very nearly reached his peak before Thriller. At the very least, the singer's 1980 album Off the Wall
was only a couple of steps behind where he would end up on his next
record, so in that sense maybe the first half of the '80s was really
just a comfortable, plateau-like apex for Jackson. But what a glorious
period that was, and this song is a very pure kind of pleasure a
quarter-century after its release.
It's difficult to argue with the statement that Jackson was at the height of his powers on Thriller,
as he glided from genre to genre with ease. The singer particularly
dipped into a fresh patch of rock music he'd never drawn from before
for this one, and the contribution from Van Halen guitar wizard Eddie
Van Halen was the one element that really made the track stand out.
Lyrically it's no masterpiece, but that's nothing new for Jackson. His
key strength, after all, has always been his mastery of sound.
Jackson
rekindles his knack for irresistible beats on this, the third of his
amazing nine No. 1 singles of the '80s. It's certainly one of his best
tunes, replete with anger, passion and complexity. Musically, it's
blessed with a nifty melody and a bridge that trumps anything else the
song has to offer. The premise of a woman who may or may not be
wrongfully accusing the singer of an unsavory dalliance and a resulting
pregnancy is decidedly nasty at times, which makes for interesting
listening.
Though
not bearing Jackson's songwriting stamp, this gentle and unique ballad
boasts a haunting quality unlike anything released before or since by
the undisputed King of Pop. It's odd maybe that one of the song's
cowriters is one of the founding members of Toto, but whatever the
source, there's no denying the magic on this track. Much of that
majesty, of course, stems directly from Jackson's stunning, calculated
vocal presentation. It's one of the few voices that could do the melody
justice.
Paul McCartney and Jackson also worked together on "The Girl Is Mine" but this tune from McCartney's Pipes of Peace
stands out particularly as an optimizing force for their combined
talents. That is, the segments sung in alternating fashion by McCartney
and then Jackson not only spotlight each individual singer efficiently
but amount to a whole greater than the sum of its components. But
ultimately it's up to Jackson to take the song farther than mere
pleasantry, with his soaring performance.
As
with many Jackson songs, it's best not to examine the lyrics too
closely here, unless you want to raise your eyebrows in puzzlement or
have a chuckle. That being said, Jackson lays down a seductive groove
here that cultivates a life of its own within the performance. No one
can argue that, at his peak, Jackson was an irresistibly electric
performer, and beneath all the attempts at macho posturing, that
dynamism shines through in his greatest talent, his singing.
On the one hand, I'm ashamed to include this Bad
song on a list meant to celebrate the best in a musical career, but on
the other I can't help but give it its due. After all, when you get a
message song from Michael Jackson, you can't be too surprised when it's
burdened by a broad but shallow sense of right and wrong and good and
evil. He's just never really been all that complicated. Still, there's
something compelling just the same about this let's-fix-the-world kind
of idealism.
On the one hand, I'm ashamed to include this Bad
song on a list meant to celebrate the best in a musical career, but on
the other I can't help but give it its due. After all, when you get a
message song from Michael Jackson, you can't be too surprised when it's
burdened by a broad but shallow sense of right and wrong and good and
evil. He's just never really been all that complicated. Still, there's
something compelling just the same about this let's-fix-the-world kind
of idealism.
Maybe
it's appropriate that a few years back a short-lived band called Alien
Ant Farm reminded us how much fun this rather silly tune can be. By the
time Bad came out in 1987, Jackson was already clearly in a
state of decline. Yes, more No. 1 singles for the singer came from that
album than any other, but only the most die-hard fans would argue that Bad is a better record than either Thriller or Off the Wall. "Smooth Criminal" is a last hurrah, where Jackson said goodbye to the decade he ruled.
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June 09 | | | Easy MP3 Downloader - Download your music in an easy way | | | Aretha Franklin, Josh Groban Line Up For Nelson Mandela Concert |  | Aretha Franklin, Wyclef Jean, Queen Latifah, Josh Groban and TLC will headline “The Mandela Day Celebration,” a tribute concert honoring human rights leader Nelson Mandela, on July 18 at Madison Square Garden in New York. From: billboard.com | 
| The event is organized by 46664, Mandela’s campaign for global HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, and marks the first time the U.S. will host a Mandela Day concert following successful installments in the UK,South Africa, Spain, and Norway. Additional artists on the Mandela Day lineup include Cyndi Lauper, Jesse McCartney, Angelique Kidjo, Baaba Maal, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Chris Chameleon, Freshlyground and Vusi Mahlasela, among others. Spearheading the tribute is Eurythmics’ founder and producer Dave Stewart, who launched 46664 in 2002 and named the campaign after Mandela’s Robbens Island prison number. Stewart most recently teamed up with U2’s Bono and Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor to organize a 2008 Mandela Day concert at London’s Hyde Park in celebration of the former South African President’s 90th birthday. This year’s Mandela Day concert will cap off a week-long series of events in Mandela’s honor, including a fundraiser dinner hosted by former U.S. President Bill Clinton. “In return for everything Madiba has taught us, we each owe it to him to support his work and legacy by doing and living our own as best we can, not just on this day, but throughout our entire lives,” Clinton said in a statement. | | | Sounds cool? Why not download your music with EASY MP3 DOWNLOADER now?
| | | | June 08 | | | Easy MP3 Downloader - Download your music in an easy way | | | Jay-Z To Release 'Blueprint 3' On Sept. 11 |  | Jay-Z will release his "Blueprint 3" album on Sept. 11 on Roc Nation with distribution through Atlantic Records, numerous sources have confirmed. From: billboard.com |
| A formal announcement is expected Sunday on New York radio station Hot 97 and at the station's massive Summer Jam concert in New Jersey at Giants Stadium. Sam Crespo, VP of Rap Promotions at Atlantic Records who goes by the twitter name TheCrespo, first confirmed the news in a Twitter posting yesterday afternoon. The post was removed hours later. A MissInfo.tv blog posting also revealed the details but was subsequently removed. Last week, Hits Daily Double reported that Sean "Diddy" Combs had allegedly spoken with Jay-Z and persuaded him to sign to Warner Music Group, joining former Island Def Jam colleagues Lyor Cohen and Kevin Liles. The site also alleged this was a one-off deal just for this recording. Meanwhile, Billboard.com reported that Roc Nation was going over to Sony through Epic, and sources close to the negotiations are still standing by their version. "Roc Nation will still be coming to Epic. It will still be a distribution deal," a source tells Billboard.com. Just last month, Jay-Z confirmed his departure from longtime label home Def Jam. His split from the Universal Music Group-owned label reportedly came with a $5 million price tag, but left the rap artist and label executive in control of his future master recordings. Jay-Z's eleven solo records (including the live "Unplugged" album) and collaborations with Linkin Park and R. Kelly have sold more than 29 million units according to Nielsen SoundScan. | | | Sounds cool? Why not download your music with EASY MP3 DOWNLOADER now?
| | | | June 03 | | | Easy MP3 Downloader - Download your music in an easy way | | | Amerie's Def Jam Debut Due In August |  | After a two-year hiatus, singer/songwriter Amerie has announced the release of her Def Jam debut, "In Love & War," which will be available in August. From: billboard.com |
| The lead single, "Why R U," will be serviced June 15th, with an accompanying video directed by Ray Kay (The-Dream, Lady Gaga) premiering June 8th on BET. Producers on the album include Teddy Riley, Sean Garrett, Eric Hudson, Jim Jonsin, Rico Love and The Buchanans, who helmed the first single. So far, no collaborations have been announced. "In Love & War" is the Washington DC-natives fourth album, and follows her Columbia records debut, "All I Have" and her Sony releases "Touch" and "Because I Love It," which was released in Europe. "All I Have" sold 661,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, while "Touch" sold 406,000. | | | Sounds cool? Why not download your music with EASY MP3 DOWNLOADER now?
| | | | June 02 | | | Easy MP3 Downloader - Download your music in an easy way | | | Beatles Reveal 'Rock Band' Details At E3 |  | The surviving members of the Beatles unveiled new details about their upcoming "Rock Band" videogame at the E3 videogame conference in Los Angeles. From: billboard.com |
| Joined by Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr disclosed 10 of the 45 songs expected in "The Beatles: Rock Band" when it comes out Sept. 9. The tracks are "I Saw Her Standing There," "I Want To Hold Your Hand," "I Feel Fine," "Taxman," "Day Tripper," "Back In The USSR," "I Am The Walrus," "Octopus's Garden," "Here Comes The Sun" and "Get Back." Additionally, they said the entire "Abbey Road" album will be available for purchase and download, as will other tracks from the band's catalog, after the game's release, and "All You Need Is Love" will be released exclusively for Xbox 360 users as a downloadable song the day the game hits retail shelves. The proceeds of the single will be donated to Doctors Without Boarders. Different venues played by the Beatles will be recreated for the game, including the Cavern Club in Liverpool (where they got their start), the Ed Sullivan Show, Shea Stadium and the Budokan in Japan. The game will take fans into the studio experience after the band stopped touring through "artistic visual expressions known as Dreamscapes, intended to transport players to the imaginative environments that capture the essence of The Beatles' genre-busting musical and fashion transformations during their later years," according to the release. From a gameplay perspective, the release will break from existing music-based games that allow for only one singer, and add three-part vocal harmonies. Content will also include previously unreleased recordings of the bandmates talking between takes during studio sessions recorded at Abbey Road. A demo version of the game is available for attendees of the E3 conference to play. | | | Sounds cool? Why not download your music with EASY MP3 DOWNLOADER now?
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