Articles/Videos discussing MJ’s art (post them here)

ScreenOrigami

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Inspired by this wonderful thread I thought it was a great idea to start a collection of articles and videos that focus on discussing MJ’s art.

Make a new post for every item you share.

I’ll start with three in a row, to get things rolling.

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ClassicFM

Let’s take a moment to enjoy the greatest key change in pop music history

29 August 2018, 15:29 | Updated: 8 March 2019, 09:42

Michael Jackson’s ‘Man In The Mirror’ features one of the most satisfyingly epic key changes in all music. This is why it’s so good.

It's no secret that Michael Jackson was a musical genius, but let’s take a moment to remember just how great he was with one of the greatest modulations in history.

So we’re looking specifically at this moment here:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PivWY9wn5ps?start=163" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Let’s just celebrate for a moment the audacity of this key change. For a start, it occurs on the word ‘Change’. Not only that, it occurs on the word ‘Change’ during a song ACTUALLY ABOUT change. Key change, changing person, on the word ‘Change’. It’s change central.

‘Man In The Mirror’ begins in humble, plain, unassuming G major. The harmony is sweet, fairly unadventurous, but functional. Jackson, a keen improviser, clearly enjoys rattling around G major and exploiting that killer 7th degree of the scale for maximum impact. Fine. We expect this.

But then, at about 2:50, it happens. Change happens.

In a stroke of genius, the key change itself is pre-figured with a moment’s silence, which completely removes the rug from under the listener’s ears (if that’s physically possible), and establishes a new reality of A flat major (or G sharp major, which looks more impressive) without so much as a cursory consultation period.

It is brazen, insane, wonderful.

Source: https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/music-theory/man-mirror-michael-jackson-key-change/#8JIB50smhkouxqEV.97
 
While it says “British Guitarist” on the tin, the man is also a trained singer, so he knows what he’s talking about when he discusses MJ’s legendary performance for “We Are The World”. It’s not just one of millions of reaction videos, but actually offers real insight into Michael’s technique. Check this out. :)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dQ8qY4uYUgs" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Yoann Bomal’s documentary focuses on MJ’s inspirations and reveals how they influenced his music, dance, and short films. Yoann is a filmmaker, and his film is way more than a mega-vlog (as he calls it) – it’s a piece of art in itself. Also, zombies!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nZHP_VOA7z4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It’s in French, but you can select to watch it with English subtitles. :)
 
English Talk "Dangerous, Michael Jackson & Mark Ryden, pop music & Fine Arts" by Isabelle Petitjean

 
ScreenOrigami;4291071 said:
Lost Children & Kick the Can.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dFhpPj_pihw" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Interesting theory. I'm not quite sure I agree with it, but it's food for thought and to look at the song in a more complex view for sure.

What's interesting, and made me a bit emotional now, haha: Spielberg remade this story in "Twilight Zone: The Movie" in 1983 (when he still had his sparkle, his "inner child" and everything that made him special and authentic).

The series wasn't shown in my country so I wasn't familiar with it (not even with its existence), but the movie was available in the local vidéothèque and I borrowed it many times. I don't know how oldschool fans of the series regard the movie version, but I loved it very much. It contains four stories (one by John Landis, dealing with everyday racism). I loved every stories but "Kick the Can" was my favourite (I didn't remember the title though, so it was great to recognize the story in this clip).

Spielberg's version was very, well... "Spielbergish", full of emotions and magic :) (so I guess critics hated it :D, but I thought it was great as a child).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_Zone:_The_Movie
 
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English Talk "Dangerous, Michael Jackson & Mark Ryden, pop music & Fine Arts" by Isabelle Petitjean

This is fascinating stuff, I wish it was available in a more "approachable" form though - and this is in no way a criticism towards the creator, but it would be fantastic and I think even "marketable" if someone tech-savvy could make a synchronised and more smoothly illustrated version, that would make the information more easily "digestible" (sorry for the lack of better expressions).
 
ozemouze;4291081 said:
Interesting theory. I'm not quite sure I agree with it, but it's food for thought and to look at the song in a more complex view for sure.

Absolutely. There’s a fine line between an in-depth look and overinterpreting. I had a few of those moments when I read Susan Fast’s book on the Dangerous album, where I thought some details of her interpretation to be a bit far-fetched. But nothing seems to ever be one-dimensional with MJ, so there’s usually more than one layer to discover in everything. I wouldn’t agree that the “Kick the Can” interpretation is the only meaning, but this angle sure gives the whole song more depth.

ozemouze;4291081 said:
What's interesting, and made me a bit emotional now, haha: Spielberg remade this story in "Twilight Zone: The Movie" in 1983 (when he still had his sparkle, his "inner child" and everything that made him special and authentic).

The series wasn't shown in my country so I wasn't familiar with it (not even with its existence), but the movie was available in the local vidéothèque and I borrowed it many times. I don't know how oldschool fans of the series regard the movie version, but I loved it very much. It contains four stories (one by John Landis, dealing with everyday racism). I loved every stories but "Kick the Can" was my favourite (I didn't remember the title though, so it was great to recognize the story in this clip).

Spielberg's version was very, well... "Spielbergish", full of emotions and magic :) (so I guess critics hated it :D, but I thought it was great as a child).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_Zone:_The_Movie

I have to admit, I never watched anything from this series or movie. It’s been on my list for far too long now. Have some catching up to do, I guess. :blush:

ozemouze;4291086 said:
This is fascinating stuff, I wish it was available in a more "approachable" form though - and this is in no way a criticism towards the creator, but it would be fantastic and I think even "marketable" if someone tech-savvy could make a synchronised and more smoothly illustrated version, that would make the information more easily "digestible" (sorry for the lack of better expressions).

Yep, it feels very academic, like something you’d expect to hear at a university. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing – in fact, right now I feel like it’s a nice counterbalance to the decades of tabloid nonsense – but certainly there’s room for improvement in terms of mass appeal. If that’s the objective, that is.
 
ScreenOrigami;4291126 said:
Yep, it feels very academic, like something you&#8217;d expect to hear at a university. That doesn&#8217;t have to be a bad thing &#8211; in fact, right now I feel like it&#8217;s a nice counterbalance to the decades of tabloid nonsense &#8211; but certainly there&#8217;s room for improvement in terms of mass appeal. If that&#8217;s the objective, that is.

I started watching the embedded video here but I see on her channel that it was indeed a university talk. It's not a bad thing for sure, on the contrary, I just think it's such an interesting content that could attract a wider audience. So yes, I definitely think it would be a great idea to aim for mass appeal! It wouldn't replace the original but could approach those who might be interested but wouldn't sit through a one and a half hour talk (I also watch it in parts :blush:).

It also reminded me of how exciting it was to grab the Dangerous album, not just because of the music but to browse through the cover art, discover the small details, guess the originals... MJ didn't always have the best album covers, haha, but he made up for that with Dangerous for sure.
 


There was a whole set of these videos but I can't find them anymore...only non-English language versions. I think I saved the originals years back.
 
ozemouze;4291130 said:
I started watching the embedded video here but I see on her channel that it was indeed a university talk. It's not a bad thing for sure, on the contrary, I just think it's such an interesting content that could attract a wider audience. So yes, I definitely think it would be a great idea to aim for mass appeal! It wouldn't replace the original but could approach those who might be interested but wouldn't sit through a one and a half hour talk (I also watch it in parts :blush:).

She appeared in Yoann Bomal&#8217;s documentary &#8220;Lettre d&#8217;amour à Michael Jackson&#8221; &#8211; that film is in my opinion a perfect example of how to get these topics out to the masses. I hope he&#8217;ll do more in the future, and hopefully we&#8217;ll see Isabelle Petitjean in them again. :)

ozemouze;4291130 said:
It also reminded me of how exciting it was to grab the Dangerous album, not just because of the music but to browse through the cover art, discover the small details, guess the originals... MJ didn't always have the best album covers, haha, but he made up for that with Dangerous for sure.

True. I like all the other album covers, but they sure aren&#8217;t as innovative and complex as the music. But then it&#8217;s also true that album sleeve art is often something that the record company wants at least some control over &#8211; for the better or worse &#8211;, and now I need to try very hard to not take this thread :eek:fftopic: again by posting a relevant Spinal Tap video. :D
 
ChrisC;4291133 said:
There was a whole set of these videos but I can't find them anymore...only non-English language versions. I think I saved the originals years back.

Can you perhaps upload the originals if you still have saved them? Subtitles are great, but I wish they had just used YouTube&#8217;s subtitle feature instead of butchering the video. :)
 
ScreenOrigami;4282702 said:
Yoann Bomal&#8217;s documentary focuses on MJ&#8217;s inspirations and reveals how they influenced his music, dance, and short films. Yoann is a filmmaker, and his film is way more than a mega-vlog (as he calls it) &#8211; it&#8217;s a piece of art in itself. Also, zombies!

It&#8217;s in French, but you can select to watch it with English subtitles. :)

I really loved this. The guy has a real talent for how he communicates his thoughts and theories. I learned some new stuff.

I wondered, that painting he had done...is it possible to buy prints of it?
 
ChrisC;4291144 said:
I really loved this. The guy has a real talent for how he communicates his thoughts and theories. I learned some new stuff.

I wondered, that painting he had done...is it possible to buy prints of it?

I don&#8217;t know, but you can ask him on Twitter. He responds to questions. :) @YoannBomal
 
ScreenOrigami;4291146 said:
I don&#8217;t know, but you can ask him on Twitter. He responds to questions. :) @YoannBomal

Thanks, I'll do that.

I'm uploading what I managed to save from that Academia project btw. Links will be here shortly.

Edit: Links below

https://mega.nz/file/fUcUBSQK#YUJz0ZoV3Vn6h3zqzrLz2vjBAvinbQnXIdxotFrLk5g

https://mega.nz/file/rUci0KiS#0TzEPtcQldhd_oxZKKtnS-nXpD0t8D3KSahieo3qDKk

https://mega.nz/file/6AEyFKzI#K-sci4-9H7EcT10_PyTzGVjvIPXX3na3qjqYn76mpcQ

https://mega.nz/file/zYdWiCpQ#vnH-jzNB3tDJ-5vcuAObUtNmVslzIS9zM4XsfFx_X4o
 
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Taj is going to discuss the Lost Children & Kick the Can video today in his live stream! :love:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Make sure to watch this really great video before the livestream(tomorrow) on Monday. I will be discussing this among many other things.<a href="https://t.co/nTp32LlLN4">https://t.co/nTp32LlLN4</a></p>&mdash; Taj Jackson (@tajjackson3) <a href="https://twitter.com/tajjackson3/status/1264750774015258624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Now I’m excited! :clap:
 
ChrisC;4291147 said:
I'm uploading what I managed to save from that Academia project btw. Links will be here shortly.

Edit: Links below

Thank you very much! :) What can we know about this Academia project?

ScreenOrigami;4291213 said:
Taj is going to discuss the Lost Children & Kick the Can video today in his live stream! :love:

Ha ha, interesting. He reads us! :D
 
This is fascinating stuff, I wish it was available in a more "approachable" form though - and this is in no way a criticism towards the creator, but it would be fantastic and I think even "marketable" if someone tech-savvy could make a synchronised and more smoothly illustrated version, that would make the information more easily "digestible" (sorry for the lack of better expressions).


Perhaps you can check out my article on the Dangerous album cover. My goal was to make it approachable and easy to read through. Let me know what you think :)!

Link: www.artofdesignonline.com/dangerous

You can also check out the other album covers if it piques your interest.

Off the Wall: www.artofdesignonline.com/off-the-wall

Thriller: www.artofdesignonline.com/thriller

Bad:www.artofdesignonline.com/bad

HIStory:www.artofdesignonline.com/history1

BOTDF: www.artofdesignonline.com/blood-on-the-dance-floor

Invincible:www.artofdesignonline.com/invincible
 
MoeJack;4291297 said:
Perhaps you can check out my article on the Dangerous album cover. My goal was to make it approachable and easy to read through. Let me know what you think :)!

Link: www.artofdesignonline.com/dangerous

You can also check out the other album covers if it piques your interest.

Off the Wall: www.artofdesignonline.com/off-the-wall

Thriller: www.artofdesignonline.com/thriller

Bad:www.artofdesignonline.com/bad

HIStory:www.artofdesignonline.com/history1

BOTDF: www.artofdesignonline.com/blood-on-the-dance-floor

Invincible:www.artofdesignonline.com/invincible

Wow, that&#8217;s a lot to read! Added to my reading list. :)
 
Perhaps you can check out my article on the Dangerous album cover. My goal was to make it approachable and easy to read through. Let me know what you think :)!

Link: www.artofdesignonline.com/dangerous

You can also check out the other album covers if it piques your interest.

Off the Wall: www.artofdesignonline.com/off-the-wall

Thriller: www.artofdesignonline.com/thriller

Bad:www.artofdesignonline.com/bad

HIStory:www.artofdesignonline.com/history1

BOTDF: www.artofdesignonline.com/blood-on-the-dance-floor

Invincible:www.artofdesignonline.com/invincible

I've only had time yet to skip through these, they look really interesting and exactly what I was looking for. Thank you very much! :)

It's great you covered all the album designs! I remember I was a bit "meh" at the Invincible album cover, but a friend who is a typographer/graphic designer was all enthusiastic how clean and modern it was. :D I'm looking forward to read your take on it too.
 
OK I was too curious and read Invincible already. :D

I realized that apart from Dangerous I haven't looked much into the covers' background before, and with Invincible it was basically all new information for me, so thanks again, it certainly makes me appreciate it more and view it with a more open eye.

You also mentioned the typography, here's what my friend said about that as a tiny addition, from a very typographical view :cool: : there's a beautifully executed, clean contrast between the traditional font type and the pixelated digital one (as a sort of combination of old/traditional and new/modern), and the motive reflects back in the photo with MJ's eye. Basically this, and the perfect simpleness was that made him very enthusiastic about the design.

At the time this seemed to me a bit too "experty", but now that I look at it and evoke the album's sort of digital sound it's starting to make sense. :D
 
OK I was too curious and read Invincible already. :D

I realized that apart from Dangerous I haven't looked much into the covers' background before, and with Invincible it was basically all new information for me, so thanks again, it certainly makes me appreciate it more and view it with a more open eye.

You also mentioned the typography, here's what my friend said about that as a tiny addition, from a very typographical view :cool: : there's a beautifully executed, clean contrast between the traditional font type and the pixelated digital one (as a sort of combination of old/traditional and new/modern), and the motive reflects back in the photo with MJ's eye. Basically this, and the perfect simpleness was that made him very enthusiastic about the design.

At the time this seemed to me a bit too "experty", but now that I look at it and evoke the album's sort of digital sound it's starting to make sense. :D


I'm glad you found it informative :)! Yea, I agree with your friend. There's a contrast between the more traditional font design and the modern pixelated one. To me it represented Michael taking the heart and warmth of the music we were used to and bringing into the future with more modern techniques and sounds. I've learned so much about these album covers too while doing the research, and I feel like I've learned to appreciate them alot more because of it.
 
An article on Billie Jean from The Guardian (UK) today was originally added here. ( The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 6, Michael Jackson &#8211; Billie Jean)

The writer was Dorian Lynskey, a music writer for the Guardian and Observer as well as magazines including Q, GQ and Mojo, and the author of '33 Revolutions Per Minute: A History of Protest Songs' (Faber).

The article included approx 4 sentences referring to the MJ allegations, and I had not seen the instruction to refrain from posting such articles in this thread. Despite the allegation references (probably mandatory in The Guardian), the article discussed Billie Jean at some length. I've now removed the main content from here and referred it back to the LN thread.

Interestingly, when the author shared his article on Twitter, he received (to date) probably more positive feedback than negative, eg. this:
''I wish I had the brain power to analyse songs so deeply....such creative use of our beautiful language is rarely seen these days!
I however, am shallow, and if it gets me moving and I can&#8217;t stop singing along, it&#8217;s a YES from me''.

and this:
'It&#8217;s very well written Dorian. It is one of the greatest singles of all time.'
 
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Don&#8217;t reward this trash with clicks. We&#8217;re feeding it.

Also, please leave this thread to constructive discussions about the art itself. We don&#8217;t need yet another thread to rant about trash.
 
ScreenOrigami;4291828 said:
Don&#8217;t reward this trash with clicks. We&#8217;re feeding it.

Also, please leave this thread to constructive discussions about the art itself. We don&#8217;t need yet another thread to rant about trash.

Thank you for your message. A simple 'Please remove this article' would have sufficed.

I have now moved it.
 
myosotis;4291849 said:
Thank you for your message. A simple 'Please remove this article' would have sufficed.

I have now moved it.

My wording was a bit too harsh. I&#8217;m sorry about that. Please don&#8217;t take it personal. I love the articles you post. I just don&#8217;t want this thread to turn into another rant thread, that&#8217;s all. :)
 
Vincent Paterson discusses some aspects of the dances in the Black or White short film. :)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zz9RoL0g53I" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I don&#8217;t think I have even seen this before.
 
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