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Has Michael's Music Aged Well To You?

Cinnamon234

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I'd have to say yes overall and I think that's one reason why his songs are still so popular to this day. I was listening to "Who Is It" recently and was thinking that this song could be released today. It still sounds fresh, like most of MJ's music. I mean think about an album like "Off The Wall". It's mainly an r&b/disco album but unlike most disco albums it has aged very well. "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" for instance sounds as exciting and fresh as ever, eventhough you can tell it's not from this era. Then take a song like "Billie Jean". It still sounds like NOTHING i've ever heard before. I've never heard anything like it before or since. It sounds so modern, not dated at all. "Bad" is the MJ album that has aged the worst imo but that's due to the synths and everything. It sounds very 80's, but there's nothing wrong with that. Songs like "Smooth Criminal" and "Dirty Diana" have probably aged the best from that album.

Overall, I think Michael's music has aged incredibly well (especially the "Dangerous" album). That's one of the main reasons I think he has quite a few younger fans. The music just sounds as fresh ever and I don't think his music will ever get old. That's one of the best things about MJ and his music too me. Both are timeless.
 
Well. Let's get Invincible and Bad out of the way first - they've both dated, Invincible primarily due to the lack of real instruments used and the over-production of the songs (that was ridiculous). Bad - because of the synthersizers used. Completely dated.

His other albums are classics, however I'd still say some songs here and there are dated.

If he makes anything like Invincible again, he's digging his own grave. I don't think he'd be that stupid TBH.
 
^wow I didn't even read your first post, and you basically agreed with me on BAD. Seems like we have the same understanding :)
 
why i think there's no real musical meaning behind "aged/dated music":

http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57997

and i see you're talking about how "fresh/popular" they'll sound today. but since we've been having a sort of 80s retro pop fad for the past few years, even Bad would make that cut and yet ten years ago it would have been largely viewed as an ancient mummified record. so culturally (in any given time), it doesn't mean much to me.

neither do incorrect terms like "real instruments", which are largely used to support the ageism arguments.
 
"Real instruments" means something to me.

Just take Akon and T-Pain for example. The shelf life of the crap these guys puts out is a few months at max. Then everyone forgets about them.

"Let's chuck a *clap* in here, and a stock-standard drumloop will go nicely.. can't forget that". Anyone can make this shit on their computer from home, just download Sony Acid Pro.

Billie Jean - amazing composition and use of real instruments. The song will never EVER age. It is a classic.
 
people largely mean acoustic when they say "real".

but a sound is a sound - synthesisers, like them or not, are just as real (and probably more versatile) than their acoustic counterparts.

i think we forget to appreciate songs and their sounds individually in their own right. just because the majority of 80s pop may have sounded quite similar due to the overuse of drum machine sequencing, similar synth sounds and keyboard patches, doesn't mean we can't take that notion out and appreciate a song in its own right. just as the majority of 50s, 60s, 70s, 90s and 00s pop sounds very familiar. you could even trace them back down to the year.

i think what Toto members did with Mike throughout his Epic albums (barring Invincible) was incredible, in really shaping his synth trademark on tracks like Human Nature, Liberian Girl and Baby Be Mine and also the drum programming.
 
all comes down to the voice... forget about everything else, imo.

just look at what people consider as timeless artist and that's the one constant.
 
Bad DOES have an 80s feel, but I think that's what I love about it so much!
 
Off The Wall & Thriller still sound 'fresh', like they could be released today.

BAD has that very dsitinctive 80's sound e.g BAD, Just Good Friends, Another Part of Me.

A few songs on HISTORY sound very 90's to me, This Time Around, Money, You Are Not Alone. But it has some timeless songs on there, Little Susie and Earth Song. pure genius.

Ain't even gonna bother mentioning Invincible lol
 
Some songs on "Invincible" do sound a bit dated, but I think some exaggerrate about the album sounding dated. Songs like "Whatever Happens", "Butteflies", "Break of Dawn" and more could be released today. The ballads on that album do not sound dated at all. About "Bad", I understand that synths are real instruments but my point is that it has a very 80's feel to it, which there is nothing wrong with and I love the album. I just don't think it has aged as well as MJ's other albums.
 
this could be another Invincible thread:lol:

Well, I don't see Michael's music has been aged. I always listen to it and it sounds so new, although the song is 27 years old:p
His music is so unique as shaggy once told in the MJ the one dvd ' ... and here is a Michael jackson and you listen to these songs and these songs are still freshed. (fresh)'
 
Good topic, this is something I'm actually contemplating almost everyday about.

And without making one of those long ass post as I usually do, let's say like this.
If Michael would've released "Dirty Diana" or "Remember The Time" today, oh my God, please believe that he would've restarted the whole music industry.

Good music is good music no matter if it sounds dated or not.
Take an über commercial song like "The Dream - Rockin' That Thang" which was a huge success, it sounds like an retro record just "beefed up" and extremely good mixed.
Here's the instrumental:


I know most of you all gonna hate me for saying this, but to me that instrumental right there. I so easily could see Michael on a joint like that.
To me, Michael is thinking too much today. He should just go in the studio record joints without warming up his voice for 3 hours or having a pastor bless the walls in the studio or whatever rituals they're going for.

I mean like, just fill the room with writers, musicians and producers and let's go. - Just like in the "Thriller" and "Bad" days...


EDIT: And don't tell me this doesn't sound like an old Prince record or something:
 
In general, yes. OTW sounds old, but still sounds great. Invincible still sounds great as well. Songs like Heartbreaker and 2000 Watts can fit in very well with other dance songs of recent.
 
As others have pointed out, Bad and Invincible are the two stand out albums. Bad obviously because of the synths and such. Just good Friends and Another Part of Me shoot to mind straight off the bat, coincidentally most of the MJ songs on my shuffle are from Bad at the moment (Leave Me Alone, Just Good Friends, Another Part of Me, Smooth Criminal). I just don't really have anything good to say about Invincible, and I'm a bit sick and tired of talking about it to be honest.
 
Cinnamon234 said:
I'd have to say yes overall and I think that's one reason why his songs are still so popular to this day. I mean think about an album like "Off The Wall". It's mainly an r&b/disco album but unlike most disco albums it has aged very well. "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" for instance sounds as exciting and fresh as ever, eventhough you can tell it's not from this era. Then take a song like "Billie Jean". It still sounds like NOTHING i've ever heard before. I've never heard anything like it before or since. It sounds so modern, not dated at all.
Overall, I think Michael's music has aged incredibly well That's one of the main reasons I think he has quite a few younger fans. The music just sounds as fresh ever and I don't think his music will ever get old. That's one of the best things about MJ and his music too me. Both are timeless.
Click to expand...
I left in the things that I TOTALLY agree with!!!!!

mickyj007 said:
"Real instruments" means something to me.


Billie Jean - amazing composition and use of real instruments. The song will never EVER age. It is a classic.
Click to expand...
OOOOHHHHhhhh, I agree SO much.:clapping:

Mystic said:
In general, yes. OTW sounds old, but still sounds great. Songs like Heartbreaker and 2000 Watts can fit in very well with other dance songs of recent.
Click to expand...
Hmmm, IDK if I agree with this :no:
 
Among the music that has aged well:
"Got to Be There"
"I Wanna Be Where You Are"
"Ben"
"We're Almost There"
"Take Me Back"
"One Day in Your Life"
Most of the "Off the Wall" album
The "Thriller" album (with the exception of the title track and "Baby Be Mine")
"Smooth Criminal", "Dirty Diana", "Man in the Mirror" and "Another Part of Me" from the "BAD" album
"Remember the Time" from "Dangerous"

But his "dated" material is kick-ass too.
 
I think Baby Be mine has aged well. I think... I dunno, lol. Another Part of Me sounds so 80s it hurts though.
 
Michael's music has definitely aged well. I listen to Off The Wall and Thriller and they still sound fresh. Yes, Bad does have that 80s feel, but who really cares? lol I'll still groove to that album anyday as well as Invincible. Speaking of Invincible, songs like Unbreakable, Heartbreaker, You Rock My World, Butterflies, Speechless, and Whatever Happens are timeless in my own opinion. All of his music has well aged really well and of course, there are others who will disagree. In the end, it doesn't really matter because we all would groove to any MJ song no matter what year or decade it came out. lol :) This is a great topic because it's all about the music. Michael's music will always be fresh compared to most the stuff that is coming out today, which don't have much of a lifespan.
 
I was wondering the same thing lately. I figured it's a bit hard for me to tell because a) I'm "older" and not 100% up on new music and b) I've been listening to MJ songs for so many years, so many times... can I really hear if they sound old?

But I've come to the conclusion that songs like Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, WBSS and Billie Jean are really timeless. Especially the latter two. If you played them for someone who's never heard them (try finding that person, lol), I doubt they'd be able to nail the year. Bad is very 80's-sounding (Smooth Criminal & Dirty Diana are the most timeless on it, I think). Dangerous... that's a tough one. Some songs are quite 'new jack swing', but does that really sound that dated? For some reason, I don't think so. Who Is It, Will You Be There, Jam... could you guess what year? Same goes for songs on HIStory like Earth Song, SIM and TDCAU. Maybe I'm just confusing myself, but those don't sound as mid-90's to me as many other tracks. Invincible... well. Most of the album is too much Rodney Jerkins / too little MJ, imo. Speechless, The Lost Children, You Are My Life... those always sounded the most Michael to me and they're probably the most timeless. Overall I'd say that his music does age quite well, yes!

LOL about the Justin Timberlake's Prince sound. Yeah, wasn't that played in the club in Purple Rain, lol? OMG. There's another that I swear I thought Prince was doing the vocals in the chorus at first. Crazy. Oh, found it (listen when they sing "all night long"):

 
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