Halloween Special: Thriller by Michael Jackson

So in honor of Halloween, I decided to go back in time a bit, and talk about something very near and dear to my heart, and this would be Michael Jackson. Specifically, his 1983 short film, Thriller. Widely considered a masterpiece of epic proportions, even those who have little to know understanding of Michael Jackson know of Thriller's existence. It's practically a staple of halloween. So, without further ado, I give you my review of....

Okay, so this is gonna be a different type of review for me, as a real, honest to god review would be me just going OMG THIS IS SO COOL!!!! over and over until you want to punch me in the face. So instead, as an official Michael Jackson expert, I thought I'd share some interesting things about the making of this video. 

Okay so the video opens with this disclaimer, which seems a bit odd because why would anyone think that in the first place? The reason why Michael put this in is because he was a Jehovah's Witness at the time and Jehovah's Witnesses are really strict about this kind of thing. So there's that out of the way. A disclaimer on the disclaimer, if you will. 

The guy on the left is John Landis, who was the director. He was known previously for doing some pretty kick ass movies, such as Blues Brothers and Animal House. After doing Thriller he went on to direct another Michael Jackson video called Black or White in 1991, which is also epic. 

The girl in the video, Ola Ray, was a playboy centerfold the year before. the book I have, The Making of Thriller refers to her as an actress, but refrains from mentioning that she hadn't done any real acting at that point, or how in the documentary had her talking about how she was found because of the centerfold. I don't get why, what's the big deal? Michael Jackson looked at dirty magazines, so what? if anything I imagine that would make people think of him as more of a human than as some sort of pedophile monster. Just saying. 

ANYWAY, the video was shot in four days, and the monster makeup took hours to apply. Michael said that none of it bothered him, except the yellow contacts. They made his eyes water. 

The prosthetics and make up artist was Rick Baker, who was also part of the film An American Werewolf in London, which John Landis also directed. 

The song was written by Rod Temperton (this was before Michael established himself as a songwriter) and it was initially titled starlight. Quincy Jones asked him to retool it to be a title track for Michael's album. The song then became Midnight Man. Then according to him, he woke up one morning and one word came to mind; Thriller. So it was retooled again, Quincy Jones got Vincent Price to do the rap type verse which is really just the icing on the cake, and that's how this song came about. In fact after doing a little digging, I found the demo for starlight. Here's the link if you want to check it out. 

The idea of a short film where he turned into a monster was his idea. It would be the crowning jewel of this album. Which of course is exactly what it became. 

Heartbreaker Breaks Hearts

Justin Bieber is doing this thing where he releases a new song every Monday for ten weeks, and his first one is simply titled Heartbreaker.

After listening to some of his recent work (see: Lolly) I assumed it would be another hot mess of a song. To my surprise, it turned out to be a ballad. A very, very, very slow ballad. Almost to slow, to be honest. I have mixed feelings about it, to be honest. Justin Bieber has a beautiful voice, and I stand by that despite knowing how much of a douche he's been in public recently. The lyrics are nice, expressing desperation for this girl back in his life, and then it slows down even more and he starts talking about how he still believes in love, still believes in us, and is standing under an umbrella calling your name. 

I feel like he could have picked a less generic beat, but its a nice song, I guess. Not my favorite, but his voice sounds good, the lyrics aren't bad, and after Lolly, I know that it can get much worse.

I also can't help wondering how his ex girlfriend, Selena Gomez, feels about this song. It has to be about her, as a few weeks ago he posted this picture with the caption 'heartbreaker' underneath.

Yeah that's not obvious at all. Subtle.

I also can't help thinking where this 'secret place that we can go' would be. Behind a dumpster in an alleyway? They're both super busy and super famous. I doubt either of them have very much alone time. 

It's sad when people break up though. I hope that he can somehow heal his broken heart, whether it's with Selena or someone else. 

I'm also looking forward to hearing the next nine songs. I'm hoping that perhaps he'll surprise us all somehow, with something other than a sappy love song pandering to his female dominated audience. That's not likely to happen, but hey, that boy is full of surprises. Just ask the staff at that restaurant where he urninated in mop bucket. 

Bangerz by Miley Cyrus: An Album Review

Miley Cyrus's album came out a few days ago and I've listened to it several times by now. I have some thoughts that I want to share while I go through all the tracks.

Adore You  The album opens with this song, which is a really nice ballad that compliments her voice. I like that she chose this to start instead of going straight to the dirty stuff. Out of all the other songs on the album there's none that works as an opener as well as this one.

We Can't Stop Pretty much everyone has heard by now (*cough cough* number 2 on billboard) but I personally am still not tired of hearing it. People have tried to say that it sounds depressing and lifeless but I can't say that I agree. It makes me want to lay in a pile of bread and kick around a french frie skull. If a song makes you want to do that, it succeeds in my world.

(SMS) Bangerz feat. Britney Spears This song makes me want to dance. The beat is so infectious and it makes me want to hug Mike Will Made It for producing this awesome specimen. I like Britney on this song too. I'm glad she didn't do her Lady Gaga impression on this one, that's for sure.

4x4 feat. Nelly As much as I appreciate Nelly as an artist, I really don't like this one too much. It's not his fault, nor is it really Miley's fault. I just don't like the beat or the lyrics really. I just find them kind of annoying (round and round, and away we go, round and round and away we go) I'm assuming this song is an excuse to sing about how southern they are, which is a decent reason, I guess. It just doesn't appeal to me. It's not the worst song on here, however. That would be the next one.

My Darlin' feat. Future I really can't stand future. That's the main reason I hate this song. His voice is an auto tuned hot mess. I don't like his normal stuff either, but when he tries to get soulful, it's the worst thing in the world. Other than that, the song is actually really nice. It samples Stand By Me by Ben E. King, and it uses it very well. It's about her wedding day, which I'm guessing was recorded when she was engaged. But Future and his stupid wailing ruin it completely. If she had done this song with ANYONE ELSE I would have liked it a lot more.

Wrecking Ball I wrote a review of the music video, which I like very much. The song is beautiful. It's vulnerable, it's honest, and it feels real, which is more than you can say for some ballads on the radio (I'm looking at you, Katy Perry).

Love Money Party feat. Big Sean It's so CATCHY and it makes you wanna sing along to it's awesome chorus. Of course I also love Big Sean and I like his verse. Definitely one of my favorites. There's not much else to say.

#GETITRIGHT The whistling in the background doesn't bother me, but it is noticeable. It kind of reminds me of Kiss by Prince, which makes sense as she obviously is trying to portray herself as a sexy person who has all kinds of sex. It's easy enough to groove to.

Drive It feels very real and achingly so. It's obviously about a very vulnerable time, and she finds it hard to go home without her boyfriend's love. It makes the place where my heart should be ache slightly.

FU feat. French Montana I've heard mixed reviews for this songs, but I don't really get why. The way I look at it, it seems very theatrical and self aware. Kind of like Stupid Hoe but more aggressive. It's supposed to be over the top. That's the whole point. I also like French Montana's verse.

Do My Thang It's good. I like that line where she says I'm a so-southern belle, crazier than hell. A+

Maybe You're Right I like hearing the conflict going on inside her head over leaving. Part of her thinks she's doing the right thing, but a part of her is self-doubting. I think that's a cool subject to sing about. It seperates itself for sure.

Someone Else Is a lot like Drive but BIGGER. The part towards the end has this huge climax and her voice just goes SO HARD. It's such a good song.

Rooting for My Baby It's a very relaxing song, which is basically what it's supposed to be. It's her playing the role of supportive girlfriend/fiance/wife/whatever (I know, I know, that you go through a lot/ I know, I know, that the pressure makes you hot) I would love to hear an acoustic version of this, I imagine it would sound quite nice.

On My Own Basically 90 percent of Kelly Clarkson's songs but better and more bad ass. Yeah.

Hands in the Air feat Ludacris I think this song is a good conclusion to the album. It sucks you in sort of like Believe on Justin Bieber's album. The only part of it I don't really understand is when Ludacris starts bragging about all of his accomplishments. That's not what the song is about, it has nothing to do with it, but it 's a decent verse I guess. It just feels weird.

Over all, I give this album an 8.5/10, which I think is about a B+. I really love it but it's not perfect. I'll probably listen to it a thousand more times before I get tired of it. I definitely recommend.

Top Seven Songs That Make Me Want a Boyfriend

Music has the power to make you feel all the things. This includes making you feel all warm and mushy inside like a rotting pumpkin. Here are some of my top songs that make me feel warmth in the place where my heart should be.

All About Us by He is We feat. Owl City
I can see this being played at weddings alot. Some of the lyrics are a bit corny ("do you hear that love? they're playing our song.") but I still like it quite a bit. There's also a version featuring Aaron Gillespie,which is also very nice. I imagine a live performance of this would sound great.

Ours by Taylor Swift
All I ever wanted was for Brittany to sing this song to Santana on Glee. And what did I get instead? Santana singing Mine to Brittany and then breaking up with her. oh the irony. It's a nice song, it's alot like Mine except more soft and detailed. I like it.


Hazy by Rosi Golan ft. William Fitzimmons
It's just so lovely and perfect and delicious. It's like floating on a pink cloud that smells like sunshine. I've never heard anything else by either of the artists but I'm going to hunt for some of their other stuff now.

To Be With You by Mr. Big
This song makes me feel all the things. A lot of acoustic ballads by rock bands are sappy and stupid but this one is genuine enough to make you feel warm inside It's sad how the lyrics talk about a line of guys this chick apparently has and he wants to be lucky enough to spend a little time with her. He knows that he won't be her first or her last.


For All Time by Michael Jackson
I forced myself to not make half this list Michael Jackson songs because his is a voice that does it for me. This is my most played song on itunes, and it's actually a cut track from Thriller. But it's still so good. And I cut "Lady in My Life" for this so that tells you how good it is alone.

Dress and Tie by Charlene Kaye and Darren Criss
Their voices go so well together it's ridiculous. I've seen this performed live about three times and twice was with Dylan O'brian instead of Darren and it was also very good. It's a really cute upbeat song.

More than Words by Extreme
Ironically both Mr. Big and Extreme were then unknown rock bands that became famous for acoustic ballads. I really like this one. I think that I love you is an overused thing to say and I like that this songs narrator just wants proof that she loves him, and tells her how easy it is to do.