Michael Jackson Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! PreviewAdvancedSpecial charactersHelpHeadingLevel 2Level 3Level 4Level 5FormatInsertLatinLatin extendedIPASymbolsGreekGreek extendedCyrillicArabicArabic extendedHebrewBanglaTamilTeluguSinhalaDevanagariGujaratiThaiLaoKhmerCanadian AboriginalRunesÁáÀàÂâÄäÃãǍǎĀāĂ㥹ÅåĆćĈĉÇçČčĊċĐđĎďÉéÈèÊêËëĚěĒēĔĕĖėĘęĜĝĢģĞğĠġĤĥĦħÍíÌìÎîÏïĨĩǏǐĪīĬĭİıĮįĴĵĶķĹĺĻļĽľŁłŃńÑñŅņŇňÓóÒòÔôÖöÕõǑǒŌōŎŏǪǫŐőŔŕŖŗŘřŚśŜŝŞşŠšȘșȚțŤťÚúÙùÛûÜüŨũŮůǓǔŪūǖǘǚǜŬŭŲųŰűŴŵÝýŶŷŸÿȲȳŹźŽžŻżÆæǢǣØøŒœßÐðÞþƏəFormattingLinksHeadingsListsFilesDiscussionReferencesDescriptionWhat you typeWhat you getItalic''Italic text''Italic textBold'''Bold text'''Bold textBold & italic'''''Bold & italic text'''''Bold & italic textDescriptionWhat you typeWhat you getReferencePage text.<ref>[https://www.example.org/ Link text], additional text.</ref>Page text.[1]Named referencePage text.<ref name="test">[https://www.example.org/ Link text]</ref>Page text.[2]Additional use of the same referencePage text.<ref name="test" />Page text.[2]Display references<references />↑ Link text, additional text.↑ Link text=== Themes and genres === [[File:Michael Jackson1 1988.jpg|thumb|alt=Black and white photo of Jackson holding a microphone and singing.|Jackson during his [[Bad (tour)|Bad World Tour]] in Vienna, June 1988]] Jackson explored genres including pop,<ref name="allmusic" /><ref name="Jet">{{cite magazine |title=Michael Jackson Turns 30! |magazine=Jet |volume=74 |issue=35 |date=August 29, 1988 |page=58 |issn=0021-5996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L70DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA58}}</ref> [[Soul music|soul]],<ref name="allmusic" /><ref name="Bio2" /> [[rhythm and blues]],<ref name="Jet" /> [[funk]],<ref name="Help">{{cite web |first=M. |last=Heyliger |title=A State-of-the-Art Pop Album: Thriller by Michael |website=Consumerhelpweb.com |quote=Not many artists could pull off such a variety of styles (funk, post-disco, rock, easy listening, ballads)... |url=https://music.consumerhelpweb.com/artists/jackson/thriller.htm |archive-date= December 4, 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081204150926/https://music.consumerhelpweb.com/artists/jackson/thriller.htm}}</ref> rock,<ref name="Jet" /><ref name="Help" /> [[disco]],<ref name="AMOFW">{{cite web |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |title=Michael Jackson – Off the Wall – Overview |work=AllMusic |access-date= June 15, 2008 |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/off-the-wall-mw0000190332}}</ref> [[post-disco]],<ref name="Help" /> [[dance-pop]]{{sfn|Palmer|1995|p=285}} and [[new jack swing]].<ref name="allmusic" /> Steve Huey of [[AllMusic]] wrote that ''Thriller'' refined the strengths of ''Off the Wall''; the dance and rock tracks were more aggressive, while the pop tunes and ballads were softer and more soulful.<ref name="allmusic" /> Its tracks included the ballads "The Lady in My Life", "[[Human Nature (Michael Jackson song)|Human Nature]]", and "[[The Girl Is Mine]]",<ref name="AMThriller">{{cite web |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |author-link= Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=Michael Jackson – Thriller – Overview |work=AllMusic |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/thriller-mw0000056882}}</ref><ref name="Thriller">{{cite magazine |first=Christopher |last=Connelly |title=Michael Jackson: Thriller |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=January 28, 1983 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/thriller-19830128 |access-date= September 4, 2017 |archive-date= July 2, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150702093257/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/thriller-19830128 |url-status= dead}}</ref><ref name="Slant">{{cite web |first=Eric |last=Henderson |title=Michael Jackson – Thriller |work=[[Slant Magazine]] |date=October 18, 2003 |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/michael-jackson-thriller}}</ref> the funk pieces "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'",<ref name="AMThriller" /><ref name="Thriller" /> and the disco set "[[Baby Be Mine (Michael Jackson song)|Baby Be Mine]]" and "[[P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)]]".<ref name="Slant" /> With ''Off the Wall'', Jackson's "vocabulary of grunts, squeals, hiccups, moans, and asides" vividly showed his maturation into an adult, [[Robert Christgau]] wrote in ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]'' (1981). The album's title track suggested to the critic a parallel between Jackson and [[Stevie Wonder]]'s "oddball" music personas: "Since childhood his main contact with the real world has been on stage and in bed."{{sfn|Christgau|1981|loc=Consumer Guide '70s: J}} With ''Thriller'', Christopher Connelly of ''Rolling Stone'' commented that Jackson developed his long association with the subliminal theme of [[paranoia]] and darker imagery.<ref name="Thriller" /> AllMusic's [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] noted this on the songs "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".<ref name="AMThriller" /> In "Billie Jean", Jackson depicts an obsessive fan who alleges he has fathered her child,<ref name="allmusic" /> and in "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" he argues against gossip and the media.<ref name="Thriller" /> "Beat It" decried gang violence in a homage to ''[[West Side Story]]'', and was Jackson's first successful rock cross-over piece, according to Huey.<ref name="allmusic" /><ref name="Bio" /> He observed that "[[Thriller (song)|Thriller]]" began Jackson's interest with the theme of the [[supernatural]], a topic he revisited in subsequent years. In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the charity anthem "We Are the World"; humanitarian themes later became a recurring theme in his lyrics and public persona.<ref name="allmusic" />[[File:Michael Jackson's "Bad" Jacket and Belt.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A black jacket with five round golden medals on its left and right shoulders, a gold band on its left arm sleeve, and two belt straps on the right bottom sleeve. Underneath the jacket is a golden belt, with a round ornament in its center.|Jackson's ''Bad'' era jacket on display at the [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] [[Guinness World Records#Museums|''Guinness World Records'' Museum]]|193x193px]]In ''Bad'', Jackson's concept of the predatory lover is seen on the rock song "Dirty Diana".<ref>{{cite news |first=Jon |last=Pareles |title=Critic's Notebook; How Good Is Jackson's 'Bad'? |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date= May 31, 2015 |date=September 3, 1987 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/03/arts/critic-s-notebook-how-good-is-jackson-s-bad.html}}</ref> The lead single "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a traditional love ballad, and "Man in the Mirror" is a ballad of confession and resolution. "[[Smooth Criminal]]" is an evocation of bloody assault, rape and likely murder.<ref name="Time2" /> AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that ''Dangerous'' presents Jackson as a paradoxical person.<ref name="Dangerous">{{cite web |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |title=Michael Jackson – Dangerous – Overview |work=AllMusic |access-date= June 15, 2008 |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/dangerous-mw0000674875}}</ref> The first half of the record is dedicated to new jack swing, including songs like "Jam" and "Remember the Time". It was the first Jackson album in which social ills became a primary theme; "Why You Wanna Trip on Me", for example, protests world hunger, AIDS, homelessness and drugs. ''Dangerous'' contains sexually charged songs such as "[[In the Closet]]". The title track continues the theme of the predatory lover and compulsive desire. The second half includes introspective, pop-gospel anthems such as "[[Will You Be There]]", "Heal the World" and "Keep the Faith".<ref name="NYT Dangerous">{{cite news |first=Jon |last=Pareles |title=Recordings View; Michael Jackson in the Electronic Wilderness |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 24, 1991 |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/24/arts/recordings-view-michael-jackson-in-the-electronic-wilderness.html}}</ref> In the ballad "[[Gone Too Soon]]", Jackson gives tribute to Ryan White and the plight of those with AIDS.<ref>{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Harrington |title=Jackson's 'Dangerous' Departures; Stylistic Shifts Mar His First Album in 4 Years |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 24, 1991 |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1096962.html |archive-date= November 3, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121103024117/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1096962.html}}</ref> ''HIStory'' creates an atmosphere of paranoia.<ref name="AMHIStory">{{cite web |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |title=Michael Jackson – HIStory – Overview |work=AllMusic |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/history-past-present-and-future-book-i-mw0000123992}}</ref> In the new jack swing-funk rock tracks "Scream" and "Tabloid Junkie", and the R&B ballad "[[You Are Not Alone]]", Jackson retaliates against the injustice and isolation he feels, and directs his anger at the media.<ref name="RSHIStory">{{cite magazine |first=James |last=Hunter |title=Michael Jackson: HIStory: Past, Present, Future, Book I |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=August 10, 1995 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/history-past-present-future-book-i-19950810 |access-date= September 4, 2017 |archive-date= August 18, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160818143623/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/history-past-present-future-book-i-19950810 |url-status= dead}}</ref> In the introspective ballad "[[Stranger in Moscow]]", Jackson laments his "fall from grace"; "Earth Song", "Childhood", "Little Susie" and "Smile" are operatic pop songs.<ref name="AMHIStory" /><ref name="RSHIStory" /> In "[[D.S. (song)|D.S.]]", Jackson attacks lawyer [[Thomas W. Sneddon Jr.]], who had prosecuted him in both child sexual abuse cases; he describes Sneddon as a white supremacist who wanted to "get my ass, dead or alive".<ref>{{cite web |title=Thomas W. (Tom) Sneddon Jr. |publisher=[[National Defense Authorization Act]] |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.ndaa.org/ndaa/profile/tom_sneddon_jan_feb_2003.html |archive-date= June 27, 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060627020903/https://www.ndaa.org/ndaa/profile/tom_sneddon_jan_feb_2003.html}}</ref> ''Invincible'' includes urban soul tracks such as "[[Cry (Michael Jackson song)|Cry]]" and "The Lost Children", ballads such as "[[Speechless (Michael Jackson song)|Speechless]]", "Break of Dawn", and "Butterflies", and mixes hip hop, pop, and R&B in "2000 Watts", "Heartbreaker" and "Invincible".<ref>{{cite web |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |title=Michael Jackson – Invincible – Overview |publisher=AllMusic |access-date= September 9, 2007 |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/invincible-mw0000011263}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |first=Mark |last=Beaumont |title=Michael Jackson: Invincible |magazine=[[NME]] |date=November 30, 2001 |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/michael-jackson/5780}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page