Celebrating Michael Jackson’s birthday, thousands of people around the world tried to “Thrill the World” by simultaneously participating in group renditions of “Thriller.” Durham Magazine got this clip of people trying to thrill the Bull City. Check it out below.
[Image courtesy jacquigal.com]
Courtesy theblacksocialite.blogspot.com
The final installment of the five-part series on Michael Jackson discusses the 1991 hit, “Remember the Time.” Aside from an incredible nine-minute long video, featuring cameos form both Eddie Murphy and Magic Johnson, the song is an excellent example of a widespread cognitive phenomenon. For the full Pop Psychology series Michael Jackson series, visit Part One on “Man In The Mirror,” Part Two on “Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough,” Part Three on “Black Or White” and Part Four on “They Don’t Care About Us.”
With “Remember the Time,” I like to think that I have chosen to save the best for last. The second single off the Dangerous album remains my favorite Jackson song. There are a many features to like about “Remember the Time”: the smooth beat; the passion in Michael’s voice, especially near the end; the simple but contagious chorus. Ultimately, though, the defining characteristic in a Jackson track is in the reaction it evokes. More than any other Jackson song, “Remember the Time” makes me want to dance, dance, dance.
One day after Michael Jackson’s death last week, Who’s Bad, the country’s premiere Jackson cover band, had a show in our nation’s capital. Fortunately, Editorial Page Managing Editor Austin Boehm was in attendance and willing to share his thoughts on the show:
Shortly after I arrived in Washington D.C. for the summer, I ventured out to famed small concert venue 9:30 Club for a show by the next big thing in hip hop, Wale. While at the concert, I noticed that Who’s Bad, billed as the best Michael Jackson cover band, was playing on a Friday in June.
Courtesy musiqueonly.com
Today, Pop Psychology features the controversial 1996 song “They Don’t Care About Us” as the fourth installment in our five-part series on the King of Pop. For the full MJ experience, read Part One on “Man in the Mirror,” Part Two on “Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough” and Part Three on “Black or White.”
If Picasso had his Blue Period, then maybe History, with singles like “Scream” and “They Don’t Care About Us,” represents Jackson’s “Angst Period.” Though later tempered by the poignant “You Are Not Alone” and the almost laughable “Earth Song,” the first sounds off of History were practically vicious. In “Scream,” Michael and Janet Jackson take aim at the press. But in “They Don’t Care About Us,” Michael again turns his attention to global injustice.
Courtesy musicstack.com
In this third installment, Pop Psychology takes a look at Michael’s 1991 hit, “Black or White.” Part 1 featured “Man in the Mirror,” and Part 2 highlighted “Don’t Stop ’till You Get Enough.”
“Black or White,” is the debut single off the Dangerous album. Not surprisingly, it topped the singles charts for 20 countries. Although it’s still a very catchy song, it has not aged nearly as well as many of Jackson’s other hits. Everything about it is just so early 90s, with Bill Bottrell’s rhyming being perhaps the worst offender. I don’t really know Bill Bottrell; I just know that his verse on “Black or White” makes Will Smith look like Easy E. What’s more ridiculous is that Epic Records hailed “Black or White” as “a rock ‘n’ roll dance song about racial harmony.”