Michael Jackson top albums, life and his kids today: On the whole, Michael feels rather dull. Vocally, he’s on target the majority of the time, with the exception of the still manufactured-sounding, “Breaking News”, but musically it’s far from impressive. So many of the beats sound so derivative that it lacks any evolution, which is what Jackson was always about. Look at the transition between Off the Wall and Thriller, or better yet, Bad to Dangerous. He went from disco to ’80s synth, from hair metal aesthetics to New jack swing. What’s more, he always surrounded himself with the most top notch, key players in any industry. Do you think it was by chance that Jackson hired the likes of Macaulay Culkin or Michael Jordan for his videos? Remember, it was the early ’90s, those guys were just as much royalty as he was. The same went for Slash, or Eddie Van Halen, or Martin Scorcese, or Teddy Riley. That’s what’s missing on Michael.
Jackson established nerve centers at Record One and Larrabee Studios, just a few miles down Ventura Blvd. The latter had the SSL mixing console that Riley needed to make the tracks slap, and despite his pop reputation, Jackson wanted his new songs as hard as humanly possible. Engineers remember Jackson demanding that they play the New Jack Swing songs so loud that your ears bled. He invariably blew up a pair of headphones each session. As you’d expect, the recording process boasted its requisite share of idiosyncrasy. Nancy Reagan visited the studio once, requiring the Secret Service to search the place for hours prior to her visit. Brooke Shields called frequently to talk to Michael, who materialized every day in the same black dress pants and red button-down shirt (he had a clothing rack of just two items).
In 2010 I ended up in the world media after I had made a request to the US court to do a DNA test with the now deceased artist Michael Jackson. The entertainment industry thought it was a strange story, with the result that people on various websites and in newspapers called me wrong. The American tabloid TMZ, like many other foreign tabloids, has tried to catch me for an interview. At that moment I thought they would all label me as some crazy person. It might even cost me my Thuiszorg Ernestine BV company once they had the image material they had intended in their hands. See even more information at http://mpjjacksonrevelation.com/.
People like to say you are mentally ill if they cannot handle the truth about something or someone. In this case that would be the truth about Michael Jackson and me, Mocienne Elizabeth. They worship artists like they are Gods and drop them like hot bricks when they become big stars. The lives of artists have shown that their stardom is an illusion that makes us want to rise above ourselves.
Ben (1972): Yeah, laugh this one off as “the rat record” if you want – you’re missing a treat. Obviously the standout here is the title track, MJ’s first solo hit and yeah, a song about a rat from a movie. But look beyond that track and you’ll find endearing soul and infectious pop records that were dazzling at the time and still hold strong today. Forgotten Favorites: “Ben,” “Greatest Show on Earth,” “What Goes Around Comes Around”.