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Smile!

Chaos

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Its a great song, and Mj's singing on it is great but it's one o his great songs that I cant listen to and appreciate because I start to kinda feel funny.

I dont know why but its something about his voice, he has this thing about it that kinda sounds like he is in great distress, on top of that he also sounds like he's really heart broken too....


does anyone else feel funny when they listen to the song?

or is it just me :huh:
 
its a brilliantly sung song because of that reason. THe lyrics say "smile though you're heart is aching"...and with MJs vibrato...and high pitch of the song, it sounds like at times he's close to tears, and then he laughs in between those lines. So its sung as an exact representation of the lyrics. At least thats what it seems to me.
 
Remeber when he sang it on LWMJ? I still cant get over that part! He completetly ignored that sucker Bashir and just got lost in song, his voice was perfect there, too bad bashir finally interupted him.
 
Naw chaos, the thing about Michael is, what makes him such a brilliant singer isn't his technical prowess, but his emotional prowess. He emotes like no other, both in terms of the quality of his voice, and in how he times and phrases. The song "Smile" itself is about suffering through heartache and sadness, but at the same time finding the strength to pick yourself up and go on. So the fact that you hear distress and sadness in Michael's voice is exactly what one should hear, if the singer is emoting and capturing the heart of the song. Michael does that with all of his music practically. If you listen to "Childhood", for example, the parts where Michael is dreaming and reaching for the stars and believing he really can attain what he lost, his voice sours and sounds with great enthusiasm, but the parts in which he realizes he never can have what he most wishes, his voice becomes defeated and grounded, sad. If the song is about the expression of joy, Michael sounds like a child who has just recieved a gift wraped present, if the song is about the expression of anger, Michael litterally sounds like he's chocking on the words and holding himself back from exploding, if the song is about sadness, Michael sounds truly as though he is hurting. With Michael, its impossible to tell whether he is the singer or the song. He's a brilliant singer.
 
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wannabestartinsomthin21 said:
Naw chaos, the thing about Michael is, what makes him such a brilliant singer isn't his technical prowess, but his emotional prowess. He emotes like no other, both in terms of the quality of his voice, and in how he times and phrases. The song "Smile" itself is about suffering through heartache and sadness, but at the same time finding the strength to pick yourself up and go on. So the fact that you hear distress and sadness in Michael's voice is exactly what one should hear, if the singer is emoting and capturing the heart of the song. Michael does that with all of his music practically. If you listen to "Childhood", for example, the parts where Michael is dreaming and reaching for the stars and believing he really can attain what he lost, his voice sours and sounds with great enthusiasm, but the parts in which he realizes he never can have what he most wishes, his voice becomes defeated and grounded, sad. If the song is about the expression of joy, Michael sounds like a child who has just recieved a gift wraped present, if the song is about the expression of anger, Michael litterally sounds like he's chocking on the words and holding himself back from exploding, if the song is about sadness, Michael sounds truly as though he is hurting. With Michael, its impossible to tell whether he is the singer or the song. He's a brilliant singer.
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thanks wannabe, once again I learnt somin from u :p :flowers:
 
wannabestartinsomthin21 said:
Naw chaos, the thing about Michael is, what makes him such a brilliant singer isn't his technical prowess, but his emotional prowess. He emotes like no other, both in terms of the quality of his voice, and in how he times and phrases. The song "Smile" itself is about suffering through heartache and sadness, but at the same time finding the strength to pick yourself up and go on. So the fact that you hear distress and sadness in Michael's voice is exactly what one should hear, if the singer is emoting and capturing the heart of the song. Michael does that with all of his music practically. If you listen to "Childhood", for example, the parts where Michael is dreaming and reaching for the stars and believing he really can attain what he lost, his voice sours and sounds with great enthusiasm, but the parts in which he realizes he never can have what he most wishes, his voice becomes defeated and grounded, sad. If the song is about the expression of joy, Michael sounds like a child who has just recieved a gift wraped present, if the song is about the expression of anger, Michael litterally sounds like he's chocking on the words and holding himself back from exploding, if the song is about sadness, Michael sounds truly as though he is hurting. With Michael, its impossible to tell whether he is the singer or the song. He's a brilliant singer.
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Great words! I agree with you 100%. That's what makes Michael a brilliant singer!!! :yes:
 
wannabestartinsomthin21 said:
Naw chaos, the thing about Michael is, what makes him such a brilliant singer isn't his technical prowess, but his emotional prowess. He emotes like no other, both in terms of the quality of his voice, and in how he times and phrases. The song "Smile" itself is about suffering through heartache and sadness, but at the same time finding the strength to pick yourself up and go on. So the fact that you hear distress and sadness in Michael's voice is exactly what one should hear, if the singer is emoting and capturing the heart of the song. Michael does that with all of his music practically. If you listen to "Childhood", for example, the parts where Michael is dreaming and reaching for the stars and believing he really can attain what he lost, his voice sours and sounds with great enthusiasm, but the parts in which he realizes he never can have what he most wishes, his voice becomes defeated and grounded, sad. If the song is about the expression of joy, Michael sounds like a child who has just recieved a gift wraped present, if the song is about the expression of anger, Michael litterally sounds like he's chocking on the words and holding himself back from exploding, if the song is about sadness, Michael sounds truly as though he is hurting. With Michael, its impossible to tell whether he is the singer or the song. He's a brilliant singer.
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I agree with you entirely, however I can't listen to that song either...I really don't know why because it's a really beautiful song, but I just can't sit through it.
 
The song "Smile" was originally in the soundtrack for the 1936 movie Charlie Chaplin - Modern Times. Chaplin composed the music while the words were written by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons.

In the lyrics, the singer is telling the listener to cheer up, that there is always a brighter tomorrow, just as long as they smile...

Wiki paraphrased by Susie

PS: I like the way Michael giggles at the end...
 
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My parents says that MJ ALWAYS sounds like hes about to cry in his songs...in EVERY song :p
 
Smile is an amazing vocal performance by MJ and the perfect end to the HIStory album, despite all the anger and frustration that occurs he still smiles at the end of the day :).
 
This is my fav fan vid of Smile. The best part is at 2:01-2:24, with the footage from that interview matching the audio absolutely perfectly. It's also the best part of the song. And he's sooo cute at 2:26; I don't think many men would be comfortable enough in their masculinity to skip like that, lol!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OgQxhAXu5g

I love the opening strings, I'm a sucker for stuff like that. I'm not crazy about the violin solo; not sure what it is; it's like it's too stiff, although the closing riff is very nice. I'm not convinced by the piano part at the end. I get the Chaplin-era reference, but it's a bit blah to my taste.

MJ is great though. :)

MJ seems to be a lousy whistler. :ph34r:
 
Seriously giddyup, you said it. The man does NOT get the credit he deserves. You rarely hear him mentioned along side the usuals like Luther Vandross and the like. But I think he smokes all those people, and technically, he does.
 
wannabestartinsomthin21 said:
Naw chaos, the thing about Michael is, what makes him such a brilliant singer isn't his technical prowess, but his emotional prowess. He emotes like no other, both in terms of the quality of his voice, and in how he times and phrases. The song "Smile" itself is about suffering through heartache and sadness, but at the same time finding the strength to pick yourself up and go on. So the fact that you hear distress and sadness in Michael's voice is exactly what one should hear, if the singer is emoting and capturing the heart of the song. Michael does that with all of his music practically. If you listen to "Childhood", for example, the parts where Michael is dreaming and reaching for the stars and believing he really can attain what he lost, his voice sours and sounds with great enthusiasm, but the parts in which he realizes he never can have what he most wishes, his voice becomes defeated and grounded, sad. If the song is about the expression of joy, Michael sounds like a child who has just recieved a gift wraped present, if the song is about the expression of anger, Michael litterally sounds like he's chocking on the words and holding himself back from exploding, if the song is about sadness, Michael sounds truly as though he is hurting. With Michael, its impossible to tell whether he is the singer or the song. He's a brilliant singer.
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I totally agree with you! Michael becomes the song and the song is beautiful!!
 
i make sure to tell everyone i know about it, lol.
my sister know believes it :)

People always say "oh he's got great production" well that's mainly due to the quality of his voice... like Bruce Swedien says, He creates an atsmosphere.

There is also a thickness and layered sound to his voice.. listening to songs that show that off on good speakers is magic.
 
Yeah giddyup, you've got it! Michael's voice is incredibly rich, and by that I mean he has so many layers and dimensions to it that on every note, the tone can sound different from before, you can detect something new there and find so many different qualities when you really listen. He's just got an incredibly dynamic voice. There's nothing one-dimensional there at all. I wish more people knew. As you said, people say he's got good production, but it's really because he's such an unbelievably brilliant singer, his voice is the best in the business. That was even said in a review of "Thriller" from Rolling Stone in 82. They said the reason Quincy's production sounded so good was because he was working with the best singer, lol. But it's no joke. Michael can make anything sound good, he's such a pro.
 
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Michael will always be underrated as an artist no matter how much people big him up. he's that kind of a genius.

this version of Smile is one of the most moving pieces of art i have ever come across.
 
ok- wanted to bring this thread back from the dead, cause I just really listened to the song, and........:wub::wub:

I really liked reading what you guys wrote, too!

His voice is just unbelieveable......
 
Chaos said:
Its a great song, and Mj's singing on it is great but it's one o his great songs that I cant listen to and appreciate because I start to kinda feel funny.

I dont know why but its something about his voice, he has this thing about it that kinda sounds like he is in great distress, on top of that he also sounds like he's really heart broken too....


does anyone else feel funny when they listen to the song?

or is it just me :huh:
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I don't think his voice sounds like the way you feel it does, but if that's how you feel, I think you can interpret that is what makes the song powerful. You learn to truly appreciate the meaning and ability to smile when you've gone through or going through something. Probably one of the most intriguing and essential cases of paradox that we face in our lives. I believe Mike def. has the wisdom (just think about what he's been through...) and maybe that's why you can feel the painfulness in his voice even in a tune titled "Smile". The two emotions sometimes can come in ONE package and you could not seperate them. I think that type of mix can be found in many aspects of our lives. Some of MJ songs teach me the complexity.
 
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i find Smile to be the best song to listen to at this time. It helps a little
 
MJ's version of Smile is really great... I always thought the should have released it as a single....
 
I've only listened to it once since his passing and I of course cried a lot while listening to it. Too sad for me to listen to now, but a beautiful song and Michael's voice sounds wonderful in it.
 
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