zinniabooklover
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Girls, I can feel an essay coming on so apologies in advance. Yesterday's frustration has calmed down a lot but is still simmering. I have to get this off my chest. It's the usual stuff - interviews and all the things we never learnt about Michael because of the stupid stuff people asked him to talk about.
Couple of days ago I bumped a really old thread from 2010 which included an article from Bass Player magazine. There was an interview with Alex Al (bass player for TII) and assessments of all the bass players Michael worked with through his adult solo career. I was thrilled, it's a really good piece. I just about lost my mind over it. I want to quote a few bits over here:
"There's a revealing exchange about five minutes into This Is It, the documentary about the late Michael Jackson’s planned world tour, in which the Gloved One is encouraging his keyboardist to play the answer riff to the penetrating bass line of “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” funkier. “It’s not there yet,” he says gently, before singing the entire two-measure groove flawlessly in the pocket, while playing air bass. Real bass seems to have always been at the forefront of Jackson’s music, whether it came from studio savants in Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York, or his landmark use of synth bass that remains in vogue to this day." (Bass Player mag; emphasis added)
After Michael says 'It's not there yet', he goes on to say, still in a very gentle tone of voice - 'We'll get there'.
You can see what he said, right? OK, so most of the reviews I saw were positive but there was one which had a huge mistake (misrepresentation?). The journalist quoted Michael as having said, 'Well, GET there'.
I'm just gonna leave that there.
"What kind of bass directions would Michael give?"
"It was usually more performance-oriented than specific. So even on a steady, repetitive part like “Billie Jean,” he would say, “You know, Alex, it doesn’t necessarily have to feel the same at the end as it does in the intro.” (Alex Al; BP magazine)
I love this little anecdote. This is exactly the sort of little insight I'd be hoping for from my fantasy series of interviews. Just little details that give us a better picture of Michael at work, how his mind works etc.
"Michael had a term he would use a lot: Keep the rock funky and keep the funk rockin’." (Alex Al; BP magazine)
This made me laugh. This isn't included in TII, at least not in the original cinema version, but I can almost hear Michael saying this. Love it.
"Personally, we’re talking about someone who would come in each day and ask me if it was okay to put his towel on my keyboard rack!" (Alex Al; BP magazine)
And there he is, lovely Michael, being so polite, so sweet, so thoughtful. The man had so much grace, not just physical but in every sense.
And just to wrap this up, a lovely little anecdote from Louis Johnson:
"What I’ll always cherish is the fun and excitement of playing live together on the Off the Wall sessions—Michael and everybody laughing, knowing we were making magic. After a take we’d all race to the control room, knocking each other out of the way for the best seat, while yelling, turn it up!"
(Louis Johnson; BP magazine)
That's how I like to think about Michael, working hard but having fun. Being with his team, his little gang. People who understood him.
Anyway, I'm done. I suppose one day I'll be able to be very Zen about all of this and not be consumed with ridiculous levels of frustration. It's not even a good use of my energy or time. I'm not there yet. I'll just have to let it play out, I guess.
As you were!
Couple of days ago I bumped a really old thread from 2010 which included an article from Bass Player magazine. There was an interview with Alex Al (bass player for TII) and assessments of all the bass players Michael worked with through his adult solo career. I was thrilled, it's a really good piece. I just about lost my mind over it. I want to quote a few bits over here:
"There's a revealing exchange about five minutes into This Is It, the documentary about the late Michael Jackson’s planned world tour, in which the Gloved One is encouraging his keyboardist to play the answer riff to the penetrating bass line of “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” funkier. “It’s not there yet,” he says gently, before singing the entire two-measure groove flawlessly in the pocket, while playing air bass. Real bass seems to have always been at the forefront of Jackson’s music, whether it came from studio savants in Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York, or his landmark use of synth bass that remains in vogue to this day." (Bass Player mag; emphasis added)
After Michael says 'It's not there yet', he goes on to say, still in a very gentle tone of voice - 'We'll get there'.
You can see what he said, right? OK, so most of the reviews I saw were positive but there was one which had a huge mistake (misrepresentation?). The journalist quoted Michael as having said, 'Well, GET there'.
I'm just gonna leave that there.
"What kind of bass directions would Michael give?"
"It was usually more performance-oriented than specific. So even on a steady, repetitive part like “Billie Jean,” he would say, “You know, Alex, it doesn’t necessarily have to feel the same at the end as it does in the intro.” (Alex Al; BP magazine)
I love this little anecdote. This is exactly the sort of little insight I'd be hoping for from my fantasy series of interviews. Just little details that give us a better picture of Michael at work, how his mind works etc.
"Michael had a term he would use a lot: Keep the rock funky and keep the funk rockin’." (Alex Al; BP magazine)
This made me laugh. This isn't included in TII, at least not in the original cinema version, but I can almost hear Michael saying this. Love it.
"Personally, we’re talking about someone who would come in each day and ask me if it was okay to put his towel on my keyboard rack!" (Alex Al; BP magazine)
And there he is, lovely Michael, being so polite, so sweet, so thoughtful. The man had so much grace, not just physical but in every sense.
And just to wrap this up, a lovely little anecdote from Louis Johnson:
"What I’ll always cherish is the fun and excitement of playing live together on the Off the Wall sessions—Michael and everybody laughing, knowing we were making magic. After a take we’d all race to the control room, knocking each other out of the way for the best seat, while yelling, turn it up!"
(Louis Johnson; BP magazine)
That's how I like to think about Michael, working hard but having fun. Being with his team, his little gang. People who understood him.
Anyway, I'm done. I suppose one day I'll be able to be very Zen about all of this and not be consumed with ridiculous levels of frustration. It's not even a good use of my energy or time. I'm not there yet. I'll just have to let it play out, I guess.
As you were!
