Thursday, 16 December 2010

Analysis of 80's music

Michael Jackson – Thriller (82)

 Thriller, written in 1982, was Michael Jackson’s 6th album as a solo artist and is quite arguably one of his best ever. Coming off the back of ‘Off The Wall’ Jackson does still use similar musical themes such as disco, rock and just pure pop.

He said that before writing the album he wanted every song to be a hit, with songs such as ‘Billie Jean’, ‘Thriller’ and ‘Starting Something’ on one album he seems to have hit his mark. This is not to mention tracks as big as ‘Human Nature’ and ‘Beat It’ this is one of the 80’s greatest albums, never mind one of Michael Jackson’s.

 Although, there are some ‘filler’ songs which aren’t up to the standard of the obvious singles such as ‘Baby Be Mine’ and ‘P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing)’. These tracks, given to another artist may have been better hits but for Thriller, for me, they are sorely lacking.

Startin’ Somethin’ 

 A funky disco track in 4/4 with a very prominent, relentless bass line in E major. Married with the bass line, the use of drum machines and percussionist Paulinho Da Costa keep a beat that is driving and make the song ‘danceable’. Although there is an electric guitar it is used sparingly and is fairly low on the mix and mainly follows the bass riff. The keyboard adds the most harmony to the melody and gives the song a little more colour in the second half of the verses and chorus, just about when the bass riff may be becoming a bit irritating. Colour is also added by the horn which has a sharp riff which lifts the song and breaks some small monotony.
            Bass line Riff.

 The use of technology is used sparingly in this track, as it is only used in the drum machine, keyboard and multi layering the vocals, with a little reverb effect at times. But in aspects of what technology could do, there are no real technological advances in this track.

 The song is about people and the media in general trying to start arguments and stories when there is nothing there in the first place. This is kind-of echoed later in ‘Beat It’.

 It is regularly seen as one of the strongest tracks on ‘Thriller’ and it kicks off with a definite bang and sets the ball rolling for a truly great album.

Baby Be Mine

 Another funky disco song in 4/4 which again has a prominent bass line, yet again showing Michaels’ roots to Motown. A very thick composition because of the warm, clean toned guitars and keyboard, but yet has a lift with the brass and quiet strings in the background. The gospel backing also showing his background as the close harmonies add to the thickness and warm feeling in the song.

 The song almost has 2 choruses as half way through the verses the lyric ‘Need to hold you’ and the respective lyrics in the other verses, changes the feel of the song and becomes another hook halfway through. The quick change of chords after this adds to the hook to show this is an important part in the song but it does add a little tension after the 4th time with the quick chord changes. The chorus then eases the tension and becomes a sweet melodic pop hook after the use of a perfect (5-1) cadence in the melody.



            The perfect cadence in the melody from ‘So’ to ‘Baby’.

 As the title suggests, this is a love song with Michael asking a girl to be his saying ‘I’ll give you all I’ve got to give’. He is telling the girl that everything will be all right when they get together and that they will touch the sky and climb the highest mountains through their love.

 Technology isn’t really used here, in studio techniques as such but used in guitar effects and the keyboard/synthesizer. Possibly a little reverb added to instruments at times, but generally it is technology free in terms of studio technique.

 I see this as a fairly weak song in relation to the others and would definitely see it as more a filler than a ‘thriller’. But having said that, it is still a good solid pop song with a good groove and a nice, if not cliché lyrical sentiment. And I believe that if this song were on any other record it may be noticed a bit more as I believe the second hook is quite ingenious. But in with the ‘Thriller’ album for me, a definite lull occurs after ‘Starting Something’ when you listen to ‘Baby Be Mine’.

The Girl Is Mine

The feel of the record starts to change here, it isn’t funky at all and seems more soulful than the other two tracks. Still in 4/4 and has the clean guitar tone but the brass has gone and the prominent bass line has succumbed to the strings and the sweet harmonies of Michael and guest vocalist Paul McCartney. The pace of the album has definitely dropped from ‘Starting Something’, which is almost anticipated, as the relentless speed would be hard listening throughout.

 The song is full of melodic hooks, the verse is just one big hook in itself and is immediately hummable and the chorus is equally repetitive but being predictably catchy but not yet mundane. The song is written in an AABA form of-sorts, possibly influenced by McCartney as he has had so much success with the formulae notably with ‘Yesterday’.

 The song obviously is about two men fighting over a woman and them speaking to each other and the girl about it. So the lyrical content isn’t ground breaking and musically, the chords have being used in previous Michael Jackson songs such as ‘Why Cant I Be’.

 I see this as a very poor song and again is more filler material in comparison to the rest of the album. There is little inventiveness and the album at the end of the track has seemed to have lost its way as the edgy “Startin’ Somethin’” has long since faded. Also, the talking between McCartney and Jackson is at first listening, cringing to say the least and it doesn’t really ease much after more listens.

Despite this, the leading single was awarded the platinum certificate in the US for selling more than one million copies. Showing that what the fan bases of two ‘mega stars’ can do for a average at best pop song.

Thriller

The record has kicked off again. After two, in relation to the album, very poor songs Thriller has yet again showed its brilliance and Michael Jackson’s obvious genius.

Thriller starts off with just sound effects; a creaking door, wind, footsteps, a wolf howling. The Halloween theme has begun, then the keyboard and the bass line kicks in. Like “Startin’ Somethin’” the prominent bass line is back and drives the song on with the keyboard and guitars adding the necessary harmony with the brass adding the punctuation with sharp blasts. Cleverly, the brass and keyboards use the melody to the chorus just before the melody starts, this allows the listener to become familiar with the chorus before it has even begun and would be more memorable when the chorus starts.



The melody in the verses is catchy as; in like “Baby Be Mine” there is almost a chorus in the verses in the start of the third and fourth lines. For example in the first verse it is “You start to scream…” and “You start to freeze…” this is highlighted by multi-layered vocals for these parts. The chorus uses the riff played by the brass and keyboard at the beginning to reiterate the chorus’s hook “Thriller, thriller night”. The listener is familiar with the hook because it has been played before and can easily sing along later in the song and chorus when the riff is played, making them more likely to buy the record.

After the 2nd chorus, there is a bridge to just throw the listener a little. It stops the song becoming very predictable and slightly slows down the flow of the song. The verse then comes back to sooth the listener and in to the chorus to completely smooth over any tension built up.

The talking/rapping end is done by Vincent Price, a big star in the horror industry at the time notable for his ‘spooky’ voice and chilling laugh. Jackson’s producer chose Price as he had just done a film with him in and wanted to do a song with a talking ending, Price fit the ‘Thriller’ bill perfectly. The talking is done over ad lib Jackson and a synth-sounding keyboard adding tension, and excitement to the song.



Thriller video (Shorter due to copyright)

Obviously, when talking about “Thriller” you have to talk about the iconic video. The Halloween themed video with the walking dead and werewolfed and zombied Jackson add to the song, giving a much greater visual aid to the song. While Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” is seen as the first real music video, it is “Thriller” which is consistently regarded as one of, if not, the best video of all time.

Directed by John Landis, the video is credited to have really started the MTV generation to some extent controversially, style over substance. To have a good video could sometimes make up for a poor song, but in this case it simply made it better. The video made the gap between music video and film somewhat blurry, as the make up and just the general set up was just so similar to film of the time. “Thriller” won two Grammy awards in 1984 and 1985 and won the ‘100 Greatest Music Videos Ever Made’ competition by MTV in 1999.

Like anything that does so well, there are sketches or parodies of the iconic dance screen with the zombie Jackson and his other “dead” friends. There are scenes from a prison and even a wedding where all the bridesmaids and groomsmen along with the bride and groom dance along to the track.

“Thriller” for me musically, is genius on its own. The hooks and combination of sound effects, instrumentation and the ‘rap’ at the end make it as close to a perfect pop song as you could get. Jackson’s vocal range is extraordinary, coupled with his trademark ‘he he’s and accentuated breathing it just oozes class. The video is just an extension of this, there is a reason why it is seen as one of the best ever videos, simply because it is. The iconic dance scene is crisp and is just thoroughly well done; the make up and the individual scenes are made ‘just so’. People could argue that it is now romanticised since Jackson has passed away, and maybe so, but the class still shines through the rose tinted spectacles. Here is, in my opinion, Thriller’s crowning glory.

Beat It

This song is one of the most ‘rocky’ songs Jackson ever did and is most certainly the only ‘rock’ song on the album. Initially Jackson wasn’t too over-awed at ‘Beat It’ but his influential producer Quincy Jones pursued with the idea for a ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ song.

The verses are just ‘power chords’ from the guitar and a simple rock beat from the drums, here the bass is just paying root notes rather than a more complex bass line in ‘Thriller’ and ‘Startin’ Somethin’. This shows Jackson’s ability to hold the melody without more substantial backing such as keyboards, he does overdub his voice in parts to give extra depth to the record but the main melody is still there.

The guitar riff is unmistakable and leads the chorus throughout; it is almost as catchy as the melody. Sometimes you have to listen to who is leading who in the chorus, as both parts are so good. Here the bass is following the guitar riff, having the most movement of its part in the song.


            Guitar riff which bass also followed.

‘Beat It’ is also notable for the metal influenced guitar solo, famously done by Eddie Van Halen for nothing. Although, his band members thought he were being used Van Halen knew what he was doing. Using pinched harmonics, sweep picking and just general fast playing, Van Halen transformed ‘Beat It’ from a good song into an excellent one giving another side to Jackson that had previously not really been explored.

Technology isn’t really used in great detail here, only with studio effects such as over dubbing vocals for more depth, and turning down the distortion on the guitar solo as it was too hard for the song. But other than small uses, it isn’t a great technical exercise compared to other tracks.

The song is about courage, and the courage not to fight when the opportunity arises. ‘Don’t be no macho man’ is saying that fighting doesn’t really prove anything and could be half a jibe at ‘macho’ men. It could also be referring to Jackson’s father who abused him in his childhood, saying he doesn’t need to be a ‘macho man’.

The video to ‘Beat It’ shows two gang leaders who are going to fight with knives while their free hand is tied together. Jackson tells them that they don’t need to fight and uses dance to calm the scene down; this gives way to a huge choreographed dance scene which had become a Jackson trademark. It was given many awards including Best performance by a male artist, Best use of video to enhance a song and interestingly, Best video to enhance an artists image.


Billie Jean

One of the most recognizable Jackson songs ever, if not the album. A simple snare, hi hat and kick drum intro with a funky bass riff coming in after 2 bars. The bass riff drives the song forward along with the drums, giving a strong backbone. The keyboard then comes in 8 bars into the song with short crotchet stabs to add extra texture and harmony.


            Bass riff.

The vocals then come in giving the song its melody, Jackson repeats one melody but then extends it to keep interest in lines “Who will dance on the floor…” and then changes again with “She says I am the one” to keep it fresh. But cleverly he reverts back to the first extension’s melody for the second half of the line “…who will dance…”

Cleverly in the second verse, there are only 3 lines of lyrics and just 2 bars of instrumental before changing key into the bridge. For the bridge, the keyboards come in on the first beat and sustain throughout the bar instead of just the crotchet stab. The melody also expands to follow the change of the bridge, also trumpets come in which add different texture and variation in the frequency of the song.

In the chorus, the music is the same as the intro, with the same stabs of the keyboard; also the drumbeat has kept the same throughout the song and continues to do so. In fact the only difference in the accompaniment is that a clean guitar comes in and plays some stabs on the single chord to give some variation in the background. It is Jackson’s vocals, which give the most definition to the part as changing his melody line to show that it is the chorus. To fill in some gaps of the 1 melody line to the next, Jackson uses some accentuated breathing and ‘he he’s again showing his trademark sound.

The song then has two verses and then repeats the chorus 11 times in some form or another. With breaks for guitar riffs and a slight guitar solo as well as some ad lib vocals so it breaks the monotony, while the main lyrics always focus around the chorus lyrics.



First use of moonwalk

The video is iconic for one main reason, the light up floor. When making the video the director was told they only had a certain number of touch light pavement, and he told Jackson of the problem. When it came to the iconic scene where Jackson is just dancing, he simply was told where they were spaced and Jackson hit every one, and through clever camera angles nobody ever knew.

But it is also important for the reason that MTV wouldn’t play the video just because Jackson was black. This sparked justified outrage to Jackson and his people, Walter Yetnikoff  (president of Jackson’s label CBS) even said that if they didn’t show it they would pull everything off air that they owned. Needless to say, MTV played the video on heavy rotation and it is regularly voted in the top 20 videos of all time from music professionals and lovers alike.

The song is about a stalker who claimed that Jackson was a father of one of her twins, so it is a very personal song to Jackson. Maybe it is a reason why his vocal performance is so powerful in this song?

Human Nature

The album has definitely calmed down after Billie Jean. Human Nature is a soft, easy listening R&B ballad which soothes the listener after the driving Billie Jean as the half common time signature would help this. It is less harsh and has more of a glide to it.

The keyboard and simple bass introduce the song, with a clean guitar which sounds like it is using a neck pick up as it is so warm. The intro is much shorter than Billie Jean using 4 bars as opposed to 15; this could be deemed to be seen as more radio friendly.

The bass line in this song isn’t as prominent as it has been in previous songs, although it is still quite high up in the mix the actual line isn’t as stand out. The keyboard adds the most harmony in this song, as it has a thick texture which fills the song out well, also the guitar is playing very simple licks and just follows the vocals on the line ‘tell them that its human nature’. This is a clever trick to make the song title stand out more and it shows very good musicianship by the writers Steve Porcaro and John Bettis (Toto).

Vocals and guitar unison.

The lyrics are often pointed out as a main part of the song with a line such as ‘the city winks a sleepless eye’, this is poetry. The song explains how Jackson must have felt about the city, presumably New York due to ‘if this town is an apple, let me take a bite’. It could be said he feels trapped by his fame and would love to ‘take a bite’ but cant, as he would get mobbed by fans and press alike. Also, the lyrics use a clever personification of the city making out that the city is alive with ‘the city’s heart begins to beat’ and the fore mentioned ‘…winks a sleepless eye’. With these lyrics, it is of no surprise that the lyrics are seen as an integral part of the song.



(Live video due to copyright)

For me, it is interesting that the video doesn’t really show Jackson. There are pictures of him but he doesn’t really make an appearance. Also, the use of ‘cartoon’ drawing of him with the colours chosen show how soft the song is. There isn’t any bright lights or amazing dance moves, it is just ‘nice’ video to go with the song.

For me though, this although this song is very good, it has great lyrics to accompany it and very good chart positions, it doesn’t stand up as a single compared to the other tracks. I wouldn’t put it on the same level as ‘Thriller’, ‘Beat It’ or ‘Billie Jean’ because I don’t think it is as special. I think it would be a good song for somebody else to sing, such as Toto who wrote the song. But this is Michael Jackson, and this is Thriller. If Jackson really wanted to make every song special on this album, I think he shouldn’t have put this on.

P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing)

Another almost forgettable song on Thriller, the R&B side of Jackson has truly taken over ‘for the worse’ seems harsh but you would get the general idea.

The bass line is back with a little more prominence, but is nothing compared to ‘Thriller’ or ‘Billie Jean’. The tone sound similar to ‘Ghostbusters’ at certain times and I can only think of that when it plays. The guitar part is playing the now customary quaver patterns plus small variation, with only the bridge showing something close to ‘Beat It’s raw guitar sound. It makes the listener wanting for something more that never really comes.

Jacksons vocals are well constructed and do almost save the song by themselves. Defining the sections well and they are catchy with well written hooks which compensate for the poorer song. Also, interestingly I can hear songs from Take That and Jamiroquai using small parts of the melody which shows not all of this song was that poor.

The lyrics are pretty much self explanatory, it is about Jackson wanting a girl who he calls a P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing). He describes how sweet she is and how good looking she is, with very little else to be frank. In the 'breakdown' he uses call and response with 'Na na na' using his sisters LaToya and Janet to reply, this could be seen as part of conversation between Jackson and the P.Y.T.

Although I think it is a very poor song, it did do well in the charts at the time being 11th in the UK and 10th in the US. But I believe that since Jackson never performed it live says that he didn't really rate the song himself either.

Lady In My Life 
Thriller ends in a damp squib of filler material with this slow to mid tempo ballad which becomes mundane and predictable after the first chorus.

There is no real hook that you can really grab onto in the verses, and although 'lady in my life' is repeated through the chorus, it just seems 'wet'. The vocals are too smooth when the backing vocals come in, Jackson also doesn't really power through the song either and seems to be holding back at times.

The keyboard backing does add a lot of harmony but it doesn't mask up for the poor song. At the beginning the guitar is a little distorted but fails to really impress, playing simple melodies rather than catchy riffs which pull you in. The bass has little runs here and there, but like the whole song, it fails to impress as it does in previous songs.

It is fair to say, that this isn't Jackson's best song ever or even on the album and that it pretty much clear that it is just filler material. A poor song and a disappointing end to what is overall a great album.

The Album Cover
Cover to Thriller

 
Thriller's cover shows Jackson just laid down on the ground in a white suit and black shirt unbuttoned to about the 3rd button down. Here Jackson looks every bit a cool, good looking young man who has the world at his feet. It is obviously before the extensive plastic surgery which saw him become just a poignant result of a mixture of fame and fortune and misguided advice leading him away from what he was on Thriller.

The text on the cover is handwritten in gold marker pen as if an autograph from Jackson, showing the cut of the album as Jackson would put his signature on it as a seal of approval. Also, because it is written in gold it gives it a more 'premium' feel, perhaps Jackson could be saying that it is a 'premium' album and a cut above the rest.

There is also a slight glow from the Jackson's suit, giving him an almost halo effect. This could be Jackson saying he was above and bigger than everyone, because of how good the album is. Although, during this period it could be said that he was bigger and better than everyone and that he was the biggest thing since The Beatles some 15/20 years before.