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Musical Parallels Thread

Mister_Jay_Tee

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What's your favorite musical "parallels"?

For me, it's a pick between The Hurt from Victory & Hollywood Tonight having the same backing vocals.

A more recent one is We've Had Enough and Who Do You Know having the same vocal melody in parts of the song. Which is a very cool element.

What are some examples of moments like these you particularly like?
 
Two minor ones:

- The melody of “Remember to always think twice” (“Billie Jean”) and “I love you, Liberian girl” (“Liberian Girl”) being the same. There’s a third that I can’t remember off the top of my head as well.
- The bridges of “Elizabeth I Love You” and “Alright Now” sharing the same melody.
 
AlwaysThere said:
- The melody of “Remember to always think twice” (“Billie Jean”) and “I love you, Liberian girl” (“Liberian Girl”) being the same. There’s a third that I can’t remember off the top of my head as well.
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That is a great example, that I am so glad I picked up now because that's so cool.
 
Another minor one

The melody from Another Part Of Me ''You're just another part of me'' and ''But you're no damn lover friend of mine'' from Dangerous sound the same. It was Michael himself that pointed this out at the 1994 Dangerous Deposition. I Highly recommend iistening to it cause Michael talks in great detail on how he created his songs.
 
These 'reversed' melodies feel similar to me and very 'MJ':

Someone put your hand out > I'm begging for your love
But she's a P.Y.T. > A pretty young thing
Lisa, it's your birthday > Happy birthday, Lisa
She's giving me Joy, Joy, Joy > That girl she brings me Joy
 
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Somehow these lyrics also sounded (somewhat) similar to me:

Chicago 1945: 'You can’t hide the truth, so won’t you turn on the light?'
Behind The Mask: 'You sit behind the mask and you control your world'
 
Victorious said:
Somehow these lyrics also sounded (somewhat) similar to me:

Chicago 1945: 'You can’t hide the truth, so won’t you turn on the light?'
Behind The Mask: 'You sit behind the mask and you control your world'
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Could you elaborate on this one, please?
 
Not sure if this one counts since it was posthumously produced and released, but the remix of A Place With No Name samples the bassline from Leave Me Alone. I'm fairly certain this was a deliberate choice.

Also, the lyrics of Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' mention Billie Jean.
 
DangerousGal91 said:
Not sure if this one counts since it was posthumously produced and released, but the remix of A Place With No Name samples the bassline from Leave Me Alone. I'm fairly certain this was a deliberate choice.
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I'll allow it. Lol

In that case there's the working day and night samples
 
There's a lot of small, specific little musical references that I like, but the most prominent thing is probably the nod to I Am A Loser & Days in Gloucestershire essentially being musical prequel/sequels to one another. The songs are (for the most part) in the same keys, share a lot of the same synth sounds and have similar chord sequences and structures that align pretty well. As an example, see the little clip I've put below (headphones probably best for this one lol):

 
Agonum said:
Could you elaborate on this one, please?
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Well I think these lyrics just sound similar, especially the way he sings them. This might also indicate they were recorded around the same time!

'You can’t hide the truth, so won’t you turn on the light?'

'You sit behind the mask and you control your world'
 
Teddy Riley said 'Remember The Time' was inspired by 'Rock With You' and I must say they could work great as a mash-up!
 
DangerousGal91 said:
I just remembered another one. They Don't Care About Us has the same drum rhythm as Will You Be There. I always found this interesting given what a different energy these songs have otherwise.
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To that same extent, They Don't Care About Us has the same guitar rhythm as Beat It. As does Dirty Diana, and the Refugee Camp Mix of 2 Bad borrows the bass line from Beat It also.
 
A few examples in this thread I never thought of before and it's really cool you notice that something is the same. Guess you just don't notice when everything around it is different. I do think a few examples in this thread are reaching just a little though lol.
 
"Ain't nobody's business but mine"
All Nignt Dancin' (The Jacksons)
The Way You Make Me Feel

One More Chance (Jackson 5, The Jacksons, solo)

You Can't Win (12" version)
Can't Get Outta The Rain

I don't know if this counts:
All I Do Is Think Of You (Jackson 5)
All I Do (Tammi Terrell, Stevie Wonder - Mike is one of the background singers on Stevie's version)
 
There are parallels between Billie Jean, Price of Fame, and We've Had Enough.

Example One:

Billie Jean: "People always told me be careful of what you do And don't go around breaking young girls' hearts"

Price of Fame: "Father always told me you won't live a quiet life If you're reaching for fortune and fame"
Example 2:

Billie Jean: "This happened much too soon She called me to her room"

We've Had Enough: "There's nothing that can't be done If we raise our voice as one"
 
ZeconMusic said:
There's a lot of small, specific little musical references that I like, but the most prominent thing is probably the nod to I Am A Loser & Days in Gloucestershire essentially being musical prequel/sequels to one another. The songs are (for the most part) in the same keys, share a lot of the same synth sounds and have similar chord sequences and structures that align pretty well. As an example, see the little clip I've put below (headphones probably best for this one lol):

Click to expand...
Brad Buxer is one of the best collaborators MJ has worked with and the songs that they did in the 2000's are simply one of my favorites. Brad speaks really fondly of those sessions and it makes me deeply sad that the songs were never finished.
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
Musical Parallels Thread
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Hey, some weeks ago, I was thinking of a similar thread, but rather about extremely random and unexpected brain-made associations between MJ's works and other unrelated artists... I thought of many but never made a thread...

Some examples I had:
  • Be Not Always (the Jacksons) <> Part III (Bad Religion) - I always link those, obviously because of some lyrics/theme and both are from early 80s... zero musical similarities though.
  • Sometimes, when I hear Michael's "Wooooooohoooohoooh" at the beginning of I Want You Back (the Jackson Five), I expect the next lyrics to be "How many roads must a man walk down..." <- Blowin' In The Wind (Bob Dylan).
  • Already mentioned on this forum: The beginning of Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008 <> Bummed Out City (Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros)

Coming back to strict MJ content:
  • There is a "I don't want to talk about it" line in Behind The Mask (Mike's mix) that sounds similar to some line in Ghosts Is It Scary. (I haven't actually re-listened to Ghosts Is It Scary recently nor to 2010 version of BTM.)
 
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Victorious said:
'Sit down girl, I think I love ya' No, get up girl, show me what you can do'
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Now I remember that one... Clearly a reference.

Also (lyrics or topic) :
- Keep Your Head Up <> Slave To The Rythm
- Breaking News <> Tabloid Junkie , and it mentions Boogie Man (the Jackson Five)
- Monster <> mentions 2 Bad, Hollywood... , Off The Wall, "Fall" is said in head voice more or less as in Fall Again... Mentions looking in a mirror, as in Man In The Mirror , and something in it reminds of Threatened, "But they're gunnin' for the money" as in Money , "Mama say mama" more or less as in Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' , "'scape it" as in Xscape + Beat It , "Everybody wanna be a video star" clear reference to the Jackson 5 super hit cover of Everybody Is A Star (Sly And The Family Stone) , "And they ear you soul (like a vegetable)" more or less as in Wanna Startin' Somethin' again, "Yeah Yeah Yeah" as in Yeah (Eddy Murphy), the rap part uses vocabulary similar to Thriller and even mention Thriller, "the King has risen" is obviously a tribute to Dead Kings Rise by the Misfits, Dream the Dreamer because Michael sang the he would always be a Dreamer (the Jacksons), I can feel it in the air can refer to both Can You Feel It and Thiller I think. And I certainly forgot stuff! Literally the song that unites them all!
(I apologise if anyone needs to be reanimated after reading this.)
 
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Victorious said:
Well I think these lyrics just sound similar, especially the way he sings them. This might also indicate they were recorded around the same time!

'You can’t hide the truth, so won’t you turn on the light?'

'You sit behind the mask and you control your world'
Click to expand...
I found the same connection, but with the BTM line:

"I try to find the truth but that's your hiding place"
 
Anyone link these?
Kinda feels like MJ finally found a use for this...

Free:
"Yesterday was when I felt down..."

Elizabeth I Love You:
"Through all the heartache, when they put you down..."
 
There is also this specific background sound that is in (at least) three of his songs, sounds like a car brake or something lol.
Is it possible these songs were created during the same sessions..?

Here it is (very soft!) starting at 0:05, then again at 0:09 etc.:
Here it is at 0:09, then again at 0:14 etc:
And here it is at 3:30, then again at 3:47:
 
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The Jacksons - Everybody

Oh, everybody, get down on the floor
I love the way you shake your thing
You make me want some more

and Get on the Floor

So get on the floor And dance with me
I love the way you shake your thing
 
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