One more time about Thriller celebration album. And few mentionings related with Christmas. Just to get you in holiday mood. Who agrees with Dalton Ross? Tell her opinions about both songs "Do They Know It's Christmas Time" and "We Are The World" forgetting that the last is related with Michael
News:
Michael Jackson to release deluxe Thriller
Pop singer Fergie has joined an already stellar line-up of guest artists for the 25th anniversary edition of Michael Jackson's Thriller, the world's biggest selling album of all time. Alongside new remixes of classic Jackson tracks by musical contemporaries Kanye West, will.i.am. and Akon, Fergie has added her signature vocals to a new version of "Beat It", entitled "Beat It 2008," produced and mixed by her fellow Black Eyed Pea will.i.am.
According to Sony BMG's press release yesterday, its branch Epic/Legacy Recordings will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson's Thriller with a newly expanded deluxe edition of the phenomenal record-breaking pop culture touchstone, available in the US on Tuesday, February 12, 2008. The album will be available worldwide the week of February 11, 2008.
The Michael Jackson Thriller 25th anniversary celebration kicks off in December 2007 with the release of a new single and continues throughout 2008 with a multi-faceted global marketing campaign featuring high-profile television, radio and online events around the world.
The Thriller - 25th Anniversary Edition will include the original album in its entirety as well as seven bonus tracks and a DVD featuring Michael Jackson's groundbreaking short films. The newly expanded version of Thriller premieres six tracks previously unreleased in any form: "Beat It 2008" with Fergie; a new Kanye West remix of "Billie Jean"; a new 2008 version of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" with Akon; will.i.am remixes of "The Girl Is Mine" and "P.Y.T."; and "For All Time," a rare unreleased cut from the original Thriller recording sessions, newly mixed and mastered by Michael Jackson himself.
Originally released in the US 25 years ago on November 30, 1982 by Epic Records, Thriller, Michael Jackson's sixth solo album and second with producer Quincy Jones, rocketed the former child-star lead singer for the Jackson 5 into the stratosphere of international superstardom. Introducing the "robot" and the "moonwalk" into the international lexicon of clubland dance moves via the pulsing sounds of Thriller, Michael Jackson revolutionized all aspects of mainstream pop culture -- from radio airwaves to the newly emerging art form of music videos -- becoming the world's most popular entertainer in the process.
The original Thriller sold 104 million copies worldwide and spent an astounding 80 consecutive weeks in the American Top 10, 37 of those at No.1. Seven of the album's original nine tracks became Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. In February 1984, Michael Jackson held a record-breaking 12 Grammy nominations, going on to win eight, which stands as the record for most Grammy Awards to be won by anyone in a single year. In 1985, the Guinness Book of Records named Thriller the Best Selling Album of All Time, an achievement that remains unsurpassed to this day.
Besides the anniversary celebration, Michael Jackson is reportedly making a new album with various musicians such as Kanye West, will.i.am, Akon and Ne-yo, and considering a short world tour, according the latest issue of JET, one of most famous black magazines in the US. The pop star will hopefully start all his projects next year.
(China.org.cn December 19, 2007)
http://www.china.org.cn/english/entertainment/236201.htm
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Mentionings:
Battle of the Charity Anthems!
The Glutton on why ''Do They Know It's Christmas?'' is so much better than ''We Are the World.'' Plus: your mail on J. Love
By Dalton Ross
Dalton Ross is an editor-at-large at EW and swears there are better pictures of him out there...somewhere.
I went to a Christmas karaoke party last week. Our neighbors have one every year, and every year I manage to get out of singing. Usually I am nursing some sort of gnarly viral infection so I have a good excuse, but this time my wife was not letting me off the hook: She insisted that I rock the mic.
Now, I enjoy karaoke enough, but there is a very limited pool of songs that I will actually get up and perform. This is mostly the result of one disastrous turn of ''Paradise City'' that resulted in stunned silence from fellow patrons. (Seriously, not even a courtesy clap. Do you know how sad it is when you can't even get a courtesy clap?) Actually, come to think of it, a guy in Vegas also once threatened to blow my head off with a shotgun after my version of ''Baby Got Back'' devolved into me yelling ''Check me out! I'm dope!'' over and over for no particular reason. But that happened in Vegas so it stays in Vegas, and I'm not sure it counts.
Anyway, I started flipping through my mental catalog of Christmas faves trying to figure out which one I would dare unleash on my unsuspecting suburban neighbors. ''The First Noel''? Not a chance — too many high notes. ''Silent Night''? Nope, I don't think I could make it through the line ''Holy infant, so tender and mild'' with a straight face. ''The Twelve Days of Christmas''? Impossible to perform without running out of breath and sounding like you're hyperventilating. And then it hit me — Band Aid's ''Do They Know It's Christmas?''! Not only was the song not extremely vocally challenging, but I always had a soft spot for the thing. Maybe it's because — as a celebrity charity single — it was so vastly superior to ''We Are the World.'' Look, I'm not trying to dis and dismiss the good ol' Stars and Stripes, but let's examine all the ways in which the U.K.'s ''Do They Know It's Christmas?'' beats USA's ''We Are the World.''
* First off, it was the original. ''We Are the World'' was a copycat, as American performers tried to jump on the charity bandwagon. Don't get me wrong — as far as bandwagons go, raising money for starving children is a pretty good one. But still, Michael Jackson and Co. were lacking a bit in the originality department.
* ''Do They Know It's Christmas?'' featured musicians who were actually somewhat current. When the Band Aid single came out, at the end of 1984, it featured young artists at the top of their game: Duran Duran, Sting, George Michael, Boy George, and U2 (although I'm still not sure why Paul Young gets to sing half the song by himself). ''We Are the World'' certainly boasted big names (Michael Jackson obviously being the biggest), but it also featured many past-their-prime players: Dionne Warwick? Al Jarreau? Diana Ross? Bob Dylan? Ray Charles? Smokey Robinson? Bette Midler?!?!?!??! All huge figures in music, to be sure, but ones whose biggest impact had been in decades prior.
* Bono's line ''Well, tonight thank God it's them instead of you.'' You know you love it. Is there any line in ''We Are the World'' that carries even half the emotion of it? Honestly, I can't even understand what the hell Bob Dylan is saying.
* Dan Aykroyd sings on ''We Are the World.''
* What it really boils down to in the end, however, is that ''Do They Know It's Christmas?'' is just a much better song. The harmony is catchy and it hits only about a 6 on the sap-o-meter, while ''We Are the World' goes all the way to 10.
Oh, by the way, in case you're wondering, I kinda flubbed the karaoke performance. I got lost at one point, and then when I realized the rest of the song basically consisted of repeating the phrase ''feed the world'' over and over, I just gave up, put the microphone down, and walked away. I considered it an act of mercy — to both myself and those who had to endure it.
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20167043,00.html
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Scrooge tunes and fa la la la la songs
"A Motown Christmas" by Various Artists (Motown, 1999)
There's no better way to melt a Scrooge's heart than with the infectious R&B grooves from Hitsville U.S.A., aka Motown Records. The Jackson 5, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross & The Supremes add some much-needed soul to holiday standards like "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Jingle Bells." A very young Michael Jackson belts out "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" with the enthusiasm of a kid who still believes in St. Nick, and Stevie Wonder's "Someday at Christmas" can bring you to tears. When Jackson shouts "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," it's as if he actually witnessed it. The album is infused with so much optimism and innocence, you can't help but smile and sing along.
http://www.charlotte.com/200/story/411480.html
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Today in
Michael Jackson History
1998 - Michael Jackson performed at the grand opening of the Royal Towers at the Atlantis Hotel & Casino in the Bahamas.
