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Anyone else apprehensive about the new album?

Dark Artist

Dark Artist

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I don't mean this thread as a kill-joy or as an attack. I just want to discuss the new album from a different perspective.

This is how I personally feel, so I'm interested to see what the rest of you think. All the news I read about Michael's new album relates to him collaborating with people - the hot producers and hip new artists like Akon and Will.I.Am. etc.

I've heard Akon say in interviews that he creates music to suit the mainstream audience. I'm very tempted to express how much I dislike his music regardless, but I acknowledge that people have different tastes. Will.I.Am. is a great guy with good writing ability, but he's no Michael Jackson. I can totally understand why Michael might want to get a young artist's opinion and ideas in preparation for such a big album, but I cannot understand why is working so closely with them or why he needs to.

What I'm hoping for is a Michael Jackson album. A Michael Jackson album would make me cry tears of happiness. At the moment, I don't have my hopes up, because I am preparing myself for when I pop the CD in and hear something that I can find on any Chris Brown or Usher album. At the moment, I am worried that I will never hear anything as majestic as say, Earth Song, ever again.

Who did Michael collaborate with on Thriller, Bad, Dangerous and HIStory? Pretty much nobody. One duet here and there, one co-written song here and there at most. Those albums are all classic Michael Jackson records, pure and simple.

I'll always be a huge MJ fan because I know he's a true talent and what he's capable of when he pulls out all the stops. I'm just praying that his goal is to create art that amazes even himself, rather than the hot new bubble-gum radio-friendly tracks that his label has admitted they are pressuring him to record.

You expect to hear this music from the current young artists, but not Michael Jackson. After all this time, there would be nothing more disappointing than hearing the same stuff from him as we are hearing from everyone else!
 
Dark Artist said:
I don't mean this thread as a kill-joy or as an attack. I just want to discuss the new album from a different perspective.

This is how I personally feel, so I'm interested to see what the rest of you think. All the news I read about Michael's new album relates to him collaborating with people - the hot producers and hip new artists like Akon and Will.I.Am. etc.

I've heard Akon say in interviews that he creates music to suit the mainstream audience. I'm very tempted to express how much I dislike his music regardless, but I acknowledge that people have different tastes. Will.I.Am. is a great guy with good writing ability, but he's no Michael Jackson. I can totally understand why Michael might want to get a young artist's opinion and ideas in preparation for such a big album, but I cannot understand why is working so closely with them or why he needs to.

What I'm hoping for is a Michael Jackson album. A Michael Jackson album would make me cry tears of happiness. At the moment, I don't have my hopes up, because I am preparing myself for when I pop the CD in and hear something that I can find on any Chris Brown or Usher album. At the moment, I am worried that I will never hear anything as majestic as say, Earth Song, ever again.

Who did Michael collaborate with on Thriller, Bad, Dangerous and HIStory? Pretty much nobody. One duet here and there, one co-written song here and there at most. Those albums are all classic Michael Jackson records, pure and simple.

I'll always be a huge MJ fan because I know he's a true talent and what he's capable of when he pulls out all the stops. I'm just praying that his goal is to create art that amazes even himself, rather than the hot new bubble-gum radio-friendly tracks that his label has admitted they are pressuring him to record.

You expect to hear this music from the current young artists, but not Michael Jackson. After all this time, there would be nothing more disappointing than hearing the same stuff from him as we are hearing from everyone else!
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I totally agree with you on everything u say. Michael doesnt need other atist. he´s michael jackson.
 
I understand your apprehensions, but you have to remember that this such a popular fan board for a reason. We love, cherish, understand and yet are taken back by and become mesmerised by the music that Michael Jackson has created at various points during his career. He strives to be different, he breaks the 'rules' of contemporary pop music, he twists genres to fit his style. This is the opposite of what most artists do today, they adhere to what is the current trend, they fit into the genre of the current market and obey the rules of their record company. This is why music has sounded the same for so long post 9/11, there has been little to no creative input from artists, who believe they are unique. Genres like, indie pop, punk pop, R&B-pop, Hip-pop and so many other genres have come to light, all of which stay almost exactly the same since their conception, there seems to be no breadth in creationism anymore.

Just as an example, when Michael created Dangerous, a popular style of music at that time was New Jack Swing, a genre that had been in the making from the late 80's, Michael came along and adapted that genre and made it his own, and in some circles became the sound of New Jack Swing. Now Mike has two options with his new album, he could come along and take the Dangerous style, he could adopt and then adapt this current trend of music and attempt to make it his own, working on the contemporary styles which have been around for 5, 6, 7 years now.. However, I think it is time for a change, music is bland, and I don’t even think Mike can save it from its own lethargy and ennui. I think Mike is looking to come along and PUSH boundaries yet again, I think he understands that this is his make or break of being understood with people who currently do not like/know of his music. I think Mike will create something brand new, ahead of its time, yet with a sound so infectious, it will become a norm for the artists he has inspired; Ne-Yo, Chris Brown, Akon, the list really is endless..

This, in my opinion, is what Invincible did, you listen to that album now, ('Unbreakable' and 'Heaven Can Wait' especially) if those songs were released today, by someone like Chris Brown or Justin, they would be HUGE hits. These songs were way ahead of their time, and I think that Invincible has had more of an impact on the music we hear today than we currently realise. That album created the styles of R&B we hear today.
 
I agree..I also came to that realization. Invincible really does sound today like it's the predecessor of today's music..
 
All I would say, is your apprehensions are pointless. I just think that for years now, even since like 2005, people have been judging Michael's next album without knowing anything about it! We haven't heard it, have we? Hear it first, then judge! You have no clue what it's really gonna be like. Is Michael even collaborating with will.i.am and Akon for the new album? Maybe that was just for Thriller 25.

I think Michael knows what he's doing. And I think he will surprise us. In a good way.

Oh and Foxy, I agree about Invincible. What an underrated album. Those songs were WAY ahead of their time.
 
James... (foxy) what you said is spot on. If people like Chris Brown, Ne-yo etc released a song from Invincible, it would be top of the charts.

And I agree that MJ will take what is being produced at the moment and take it to the next level. how would he not!
 
Foxy.. said:
I understand your apprehensions, but you have to remember that this such a popular fan board for a reason. We love, cherish, understand and yet are taken back by and become mesmerised by the music that Michael Jackson has created at various points during his career. He strives to be different, he breaks the 'rules' of contemporary pop music, he twists genres to fit his style. This is the opposite of what most artists do today, they adhere to what is the current trend, they fit into the genre of the current market and obey the rules of their record company. This is why music has sounded the same for so long post 9/11, there has been little to no creative input from artists, who believe they are unique. Genres like, indie pop, punk pop, R&B-pop, Hip-pop and so many other genres have come to light, all of which stay almost exactly the same since their conception, there seems to be no breadth in creationism anymore.

Just as an example, when Michael created Dangerous, a popular style of music at that time was New Jack Swing, a genre that had been in the making from the late 80's, Michael came along and adapted that genre and made it his own, and in some circles became the sound of New Jack Swing. Now Mike has two options with his new album, he could come along and take the Dangerous style, he could adopt and then adapt this current trend of music and attempt to make it his own, working on the contemporary styles which have been around for 5, 6, 7 years now.. However, I think it is time for a change, music is bland, and I don’t even think Mike can save it from its own lethargy and ennui. I think Mike is looking to come along and PUSH boundaries yet again, I think he understands that this is his make or break of being understood with people who currently do not like/know of his music. I think Mike will create something brand new, ahead of its time, yet with a sound so infectious, it will become a norm for the artists he has inspired; Ne-Yo, Chris Brown, Akon, the list really is endless..

This, in my opinion, is what Invincible did, you listen to that album now, ('Unbreakable' and 'Heaven Can Wait' especially) if those songs were released today, by someone like Chris Brown or Justin, they would be HUGE hits. These songs were way ahead of their time, and I think that Invincible has had more of an impact on the music we hear today than we currently realise. That album created the styles of R&B we hear today.
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Damn, that'd make a huge and inspiring speech someplace. I love it, and I agree wholeheartedly. Its crazy, love you for it.
 
YES!!! I know what you mean!!! I completley agree with this post!!! The last thing I want to see is Michael releasing a album with hate to say it, SONGS LIKE TODAY!!!! LOL, music today is plain not good, we need something to jump start the music industry! :yes:And that would be MIchael with his great songs, songs that he made by himself, and not AKON, or WILL.I.AM, no offense there ok, BUT WAYYYYYY OUT OF MICHAELS LEAUGE, LOL, lets hope Michael releases a good album!!!:punk:
 
Dark Artist said:
I don't mean this thread as a kill-joy or as an attack. I just want to discuss the new album from a different perspective.

This is how I personally feel, so I'm interested to see what the rest of you think. All the news I read about Michael's new album relates to him collaborating with people - the hot producers and hip new artists like Akon and Will.I.Am. etc.

I've heard Akon say in interviews that he creates music to suit the mainstream audience. I'm very tempted to express how much I dislike his music regardless, but I acknowledge that people have different tastes. Will.I.Am. is a great guy with good writing ability, but he's no Michael Jackson. I can totally understand why Michael might want to get a young artist's opinion and ideas in preparation for such a big album, but I cannot understand why is working so closely with them or why he needs to.

What I'm hoping for is a Michael Jackson album. A Michael Jackson album would make me cry tears of happiness. At the moment, I don't have my hopes up, because I am preparing myself for when I pop the CD in and hear something that I can find on any Chris Brown or Usher album. At the moment, I am worried that I will never hear anything as majestic as say, Earth Song, ever again.

Who did Michael collaborate with on Thriller, Bad, Dangerous and HIStory? Pretty much nobody. One duet here and there, one co-written song here and there at most. Those albums are all classic Michael Jackson records, pure and simple.

I'll always be a huge MJ fan because I know he's a true talent and what he's capable of when he pulls out all the stops. I'm just praying that his goal is to create art that amazes even himself, rather than the hot new bubble-gum radio-friendly tracks that his label has admitted they are pressuring him to record.

You expect to hear this music from the current young artists, but not Michael Jackson. After all this time, there would be nothing more disappointing than hearing the same stuff from him as we are hearing from everyone else!
Click to expand...

Actually, for Off the Wall (which, in MY opinion, is Michael's BEST album ever) and Thriller, Michael collaborated with musicians and singers that were popular back then. For example, on Off the Wall the song 'Girlfriend' was written by Paul McCartney and given to him. The song "It's the Falling in Love" had singer Patti Austin singing duet with Michael--their voices blended in so well. "I Can't Help It" was written by Stevie Wonder, "Rock With You and "Off The Wall" was written by and melodies by Rod Temperton who was a part of the group "Heatwave" (they had some great groves in the mid to late 70's, also, "Get on the Floor" was co-written by Louis Johnson who was from the brother duet the Brother's Johnson, who were another slammin' group in the 70's and early 80's. Gives you an idea of how old I am (LOL).

For Thriller, Michael had Eddie Van Halen from Van Halen do that guitar solo. Also again Rod Temperton. Also other collaborators included the group Toto who were popular during the 80's.

So the point I'm trying to make is Michael collaborating with popular musicians and singers is nothing new.
 
i agree,but in the end michael knows exactly what he is doing. and whatever he does,the world will be blown away
 
totally agree that vince paved the way. The only people that should be apprehensive about mjs new music is his current industry peers, they are goi g to get shown up. The music Industry, I am 100% sure mj is going to blow current sales out of the water and that's not important to me but people underestimate his reach. Finally the media should be apprehensive cos we ALL know mj is gonna bring it we all know his shows are going to sell out in a heartbeat. My confidence in michael has actually never been greater.
 
'sorry', but once you've heard the best, it's a waste of time to be apprehensive.

to me, it's like never being satisfied, till you lose everything, then you realize, you don't know what you got, till it's gone.

i've been thoroughly satisfied with everything MJ has ever put out, and i don't have any reason to be apprehensive about his next project.

i can understand being apprehensive about lesser things in life, but not the best.

i have trouble arguing with success.
 
rickd said:
totally agree that vince paved the way. The only people that should be apprehensive about mjs new music is his current industry peers, they are goi g to get shown up. The music Industry, I am 100% sure mj is going to blow current sales out of the water and that's not important to me but people underestimate his reach. Finally the media should be apprehensive cos we ALL know mj is gonna bring it we all know his shows are going to sell out in a heartbeat. My confidence in michael has actually never been greater.
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now this post rocks:punk:
 
I have NO apprehension at all
I know Michael will deliver the BEST
as always .. NO Doubt

If you want to know what the rest of the
musical industry thinks of Michael's abilities
listen to the final 2 episodes of thriller Cast
They have NO doubt and are BEGGING him to return :)

Listen to episodes 27 and 28
http://www.michaeljackson.com/podcasts.php
 
"Who did Michael collaborate with on Thriller, Bad, Dangerous and HIStory?"

Quincy Jones
Teddy Riley
James Ingram
Janet Jackson
Notorious B.I.G.
Heavy D
Rod Temperton
Paul McCartney
Eddie Van Halen
LaToya Jackson
R. Kelly
Bruce Swedien
Slash
Princess whatever (In The Closet)

Michael has never done an all Michael album.
 
I totally trust Michael to deliver some superb tracks, I don't mind what genre, or an eclectic mix, I just want to hear his wonderful voice.
 
qbee said:
I have NO apprehension at all
I know Michael will deliver the BEST
as always .. NO Doubt

If you want to know what the rest of the
musical industry thinks of Michael's abilities
listen to the final 2 episodes of thriller Cast
They have NO doubt and are BEGGING him to return :)

Listen to episodes 27 and 28
http://www.michaeljackson.com/podcasts.php
Click to expand...

yep that's cool..trumpet player comparing MJ's vocals to the trumpet of Miles Davis..got that right.

yes..they're all confirming that the music industry NEEDS the return of Michael
 
Edit:

Am I apprehensive? No. I trust Michael...regardless of who he's working with. Yes, Thriller was very little collaboration, but if you had only heard about the people he was working with (Eddie Van Halen, Vincent Price, Toto, and Janet and Latoya) without having heard any music, some fans at the time probably would have been uneasy. The point is we never know in what capacity Michael IS working with anyone. It could be for a little something here or a little something there...not necessarily the whole shebang.

And I think a lot of these names aren't so much becuz he's working with ALL of them. I BELIEVE it's a lot like what Michael mentioned in Ebony 2007 about the Disney and deer story. MAYBE he gives ALL these people ideas and they ALL probably submit their version of these ideas to him and he may only pick what he feels is the best out of ALL those submissions. I hope I explained that right. :unsure: It doesn't mean ALL these people will be ALL over the album. It just means he COULD be looking for the best submissions on a particular idea or ideas.

Just trust the man. Maybe that's easy for me to say becuz I actually LIKED Invincible. Also, I feel like it's not a big deal if I don't like "some" songs. The skip button is an amazing invention. If I have to use it, I have to use it. If some of ya'll have to use it, then you have to use it. The world will still turn...and the album could very well STILL be a success. For every song you or I don't merge with someone else out there in the world may love it to death...and that's OKAY...imho. :flowers:
 
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I'm not, because I know Michael wouldn't let crappy songs end up on his comeback album. I have faith that he'll weed out any bad tracks (if there are any) and make a solid album.

Anyway, who knows if those songs will actually end up on the album? Other artists have collaborated with Michael on previous albums before, and their songs have been nixed before the final tracklisting is decided.
 
I have faith in mike making a great album
He always makes good albums :)
 
and guys the other thing we have to consider is how generous and resourcefulmike is. If he is in the studio maybe he just wants to reach out to these young artist in the same way others helped him. Teach them about song writing and giving music longevity etc mike isn't arrogant so he will work with these guys who do have talent and see what happens. There has to be a bigger picture here. The industry is in a bad way and maybe mike is giving back a bit while he records his songs. I for one will be listening to william and neyo. With great interest in the future to see what influence has happened after these sessions. It's win win. As a side note I cherish self penned songs like stranger in moscow, it's an incredible insight into the man musically and personally but equally collabs have been crucial to his success and reach. Peace
 
wendy2004 said:
Edit:

Am I apprehensive? No. I trust Michael...regardless of who he's working with. Yes, Thriller was very little collaboration, but if you had only heard about the people he was working with (Eddie Van Halen, Vincent Price, Toto, and Janet and Latoya) without having heard any music, some fans at the time probably would have been uneasy. The point is we never know in what capacity Michael IS working with anyone. It could be for a little something here or a little something there...not necessarily the whole shebang.

And I think a lot of these names aren't so much becuz he's working with ALL of them. I BELIEVE it's a lot like what Michael mentioned in Ebony 2007 about the Disney and deer story. MAYBE he gives ALL these people ideas and they ALL probably submit their version of these ideas to him and he may only pick what he feels is the best out of ALL those submissions. I hope I explained that right. :unsure: It doesn't mean ALL these people will be ALL over the album. It just means he COULD be looking for the best submissions on a particular idea or ideas.

Just trust the man. Maybe that's easy for me to say becuz I actually LIKED Invincible. Also, I feel like it's not a big deal if I don't like "some" songs. The skip button is an amazing invention. If I have to use it, I have to use it. If some of ya'll have to use it, then you have to use it. The world will still turn...and the album could very well STILL be a success. For every song you or I don't merge with someone else out there in the world may love it to death...and that's OKAY...imho. :flowers:
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now, this is a magnificent post, with great insight.

and i remember MJ saying, that there are janitors who write great songs.

..unless we know what the creative process is all about, it's just great to appreciate. it's great to appreciate, anyway..lol:D
 
I just miss pure MJ songs like Stranger In Moscow, Liberian Girl, Billie Jean etc... Songs he wrote and quite produced alone (when you listen to Billie Jean demos, you realize that Quincy Jones just polished the song, but that was not big deal, really...).
 
Mystic said:
"Who did Michael collaborate with on Thriller, Bad, Dangerous and HIStory?"

Quincy Jones
Teddy Riley
James Ingram
Janet Jackson
Notorious B.I.G.
Heavy D
Rod Temperton
Paul McCartney
Eddie Van Halen
LaToya Jackson
R. Kelly
Bruce Swedien
Slash
Princess whatever (In The Closet)

Michael has never done an all Michael album.
Click to expand...

Clearly if we go into technical details we will find countless names, but I'm specifically talking about writing collaborations - not someone like LaToya who sang backing vocals. I deliberately didn't mention Off the Wall since that album was dominated by other writers. Not that that was necessarily a bad thing at the time, because Michael was still searching for his sound and the quality of the mainstream was much better than it is today.

I suppose my apprehensions being pointless is something that depends on your own taste. Invincible isn't one of my favourite MJ albums, simply because I don't enjoy the music as much. The abundance of writers compared to other albums did affect the material, and the influence of Jerkins was a little too overpowering for my taste.

For example, you might notice that on Invincible Michael only does his signature 'hee-hee' TWICE. Forgive me for not being able to source this, but I did read a quote from Jerkins saying that this was a conscious decision, and that restraining Michael's ad-libbing this way was a good idea. It was Rodney's way of "trying to return to the roots of music" or something like that. THIS is what I'm afraid is going to happen again.

I guess I should remain faithful that Michael knows what he is doing, like a lot of you are saying. In fact, 'We've Had Enough' is a good beacon of hope for me personally because I'm hearing the classic MJ beastliness in it... that kind of raw energy that shows me MJ is taking control again, despite the fact that it was produced by Jerkins.

In saying all this I don't mean to completely criticize Rodney's talent.... the breakdown in Heartbreaker is mad enjoyable.
 
I am not in the least apprehensive about this album. Not only is he going to release it, it is going to be a major hit. He's gonna hit one out of the ballpark with this one....yep.
 
Not surprise.

With all the alleged crap artists thats suppose to be on the album I would be apprehensive about it to.
 
What had Teddy Riley done before Dangerous though? People have their own opinion on Rodney Jerkins, and that's fine, but I wonder what tune some of them would be singing had Invincible been pushed and marketed correctly, with music videos and a tour. The album would have sold more than it did and I'm sure it would be held in higher regard. These were two middle of the road producers who created some really good stuff with MJ.

My point is that regardless of what their (will.i.am and Akon's) body of work is like, MJ chose them for a reason and there's no guarantee how much if any of their work will appear on the album.

Also, I think Akon is underrated. WBSS 08 was by far my favorite remix on Thriller 25, and he's also done a few good tracks for other artists. His writing combined with MJ's production and leading could result in something really great. will.i.am is by far a better writer for others than he is for himself.

I think the fact that Hold My Hand was not released is telling of the quality MJ is holding himself up to. Yeah, it was a nice track, but MJ wants his first new single/appearance to be something a bit higher quality, as I believe Akon confirmed. The leak plus the timing (with MJ's return somewhere on the horizon... hopefully) required something more than what Hold My Hand was.

I'm not really apprehensive about what will be on the album.. it's Michael Jackson, after all. I'm just wanting to actually hear something.
 
MJ has used a lot of writers before Invincible...

Thriller writers: Rod Temperton, Steve Porcaro, John Bettis, James Ingram, Quincy Jones

Bad writers: Terry Britten, Graham Lyle, Glen Ballard, Siedah Garrett,

Dangerous writers: Bruce Swedien, René Moore, Teddy Riley, Larry Gorssman, Buz Kohan, Bernard Belle

HIStory writers: Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, R. Kelly
Also, Smile and Come Together are covers.
 
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