My Newfound Appreciation for "Threatened" on "Invincible"

BadAtGames42749

The one, and only, Le Sha'mone!
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After not liking the song for years, I gave it a better listen and found out that it truly is an amazing song. The instrumental, the vocals, the lyrics, the harmonies, it's all amazing. The songs on the album are better than anything today has to offer. Better than Kanye, Drake, Lil Darkie, etc. (In my opinion.) So, what do you feel about this song?
 
“Threatened” is awesome. I’ve never really agreed with the complaints about Rodney’s overproduction, especially with this one. The live instrumentation is great and all, but the feel of the original track is just unmatched. Though the ending (“It’s the beginning…”) is a very retrospectively ominous way to cap MJ’s main catalog.
 
After not liking the song for years, I gave it a better listen and found out that it truly is an amazing song. The instrumental, the vocals, the lyrics, the harmonies, it's all amazing. The songs on the album are better than anything today has to offer. Better than Kanye, Drake, Lil Darkie, etc. (In my opinion.) So, what do you feel about this song?
I personally don’t connect with it- I’ve found the lyrics to be vague and slightly nonsensical (mostly applies to the verses). The vocal, while definitely not the worst on Invincible by any means, is still overly aggressive and labored. You mentioned harmonies, but there aren’t really any- the chorus is doubled in octaves, there’s no chord progression or development. Production wise, there’s too much going on, but this is the case with most of Invincible. All that aside, the biggest issue I have is the track just doesn’t groove. It’s this forceful rhythm that demands attention. It’s on the verge of being something great, but it’s weighed down by various sounds that make it un-dancable. It’s hard to describe it any other way.
 
I love how Michael uses irony in Threatened to set things straight. He did it before in Is It Scary, but Threatened is more to the point with the allegations when you look at Rod Serlings part:
A nightmare, that's the case
Neverneverland, that's the place
 
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I personally don’t connect with it- I’ve found the lyrics to be vague and slightly nonsensical (mostly applies to the verses). The vocal, while definitely not the worst on Invincible by any means, is still overly aggressive and labored. You mentioned harmonies, but there aren’t really any- the chorus is doubled in octaves, there’s no chord progression or development. Production wise, there’s too much going on, but this is the case with most of Invincible. All that aside, the biggest issue I have is the track just doesn’t groove. It’s this forceful rhythm that demands attention. It’s on the verge of being something great, but it’s weighed down by various sounds that make it un-dancable. It’s hard to describe it any other way.
Still, with what I have heard, I loved it. I understand your point of view, though! Have a great day.
 
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