Wednesday, May. 07, 2008

Thriller' lacks original thrill

By Jeremy Dutton

Ever had a dream shattered? And I’m not talking about Santa Claus here -- that’s just part of growing up. More like someone you’ve idolized. Many a Little Leaguer can identify with the recent steroids inquisition ... but mine popped up again last week with the 25th anniversary release of Thriller.

It was Christmas in 1988 when the only thing I wanted was a jacket that resembled Michael Jackson’s badass leather getup he wore in his zombie dance. I couldn’t believe it, but I got it -- a black, Members Only-style jacket with way too many zippers and red trim on the shoulders. I was thrilled to slip it on, then moped when I realized I didn’t have a shimmery glove to complete the look.

I envied the kids featured on the TV tours of Jackson’s Neverland who got to schmooze with Bubbles the chimp and watch movies in a massive in-home theater. I thought, “Man, they are soooo lucky.”

Years later, a harsh reality set in. Michael Jackson went on trial for molestation. Wow, maybe those kids weren’t so lucky. And my admiration quickly soured when Jackson settled the case for God knows how much.

But listening to the reissued album made me think about how Paul McCartney must feel. Their duet on The Girl is Mine featured two of the best-selling artists of all time battling through lyrics to claim the love of a girl. Then Jackson swindled control of the entire Beatles catalog from him. And while commercials certainly benefited from the deal, a litany of Beatles tunes were vulnerable to be pillaged from companies that put in the highest bid.

Thanks, Michael.

So it’s with mixed feelings that I bought the Thriller reissue.

The best-selling album of all time now comes complete with five remixes of the most well-known tracks on the album sans the title song. And all but one utterly suck. Akon’s slow piano ballad version of Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ may actually cause you to play it more than once or elicit its inclusion on a mix tape hyping your cool.

But trying to give the album more flavor by dumbing it down with today’s artists putting a half-hearted spin on it defeats the sole reason the album reached such heights. It defied that era’s pop conventions, definitively crowning Jackson the King of Pop. And a watered-down rehash of that prior magic only serves as a reminder of why Jackson moved to the United Arab Emirates -- tucked away from media examination -- only his legend lives on.

Oscar’s song choices

Three songs by Alan Menken composed for Disney’s Enchanted will be up for Oscar nods Sunday. I didn’t see it, but I grabbed ahold of the soundtrack and was blown away by the lack of any real emotion these songs displayed. The Academy also probably picked the least meaningful song in all of August Rush -- and it just happened to be one of the few with lyrics. Go figure. Each of the instrumentals put together by picker virtuoso Kaki King more aptly capture many of the rollercoaster of emotions this movie takes you on. But what’s a song without lyrics, right?

But none of that really matters because the only song of the five nominated that should even have a chance of winning is Falling Slowly from Once. I can’t recall a movie that wasn’t a Broadway-type musical that relied so heavily on songs to tell a story. Without this song the movie would have been a classic and tired version of boy meets girl. With it, the soundtrack conveys an amazing story that can be felt without ever sitting in front of a screen for and 11/2 hours to see it play out.

- Jeremy Dutton: 582-1525; jdutton@tricity herald.com