The Year 2019 in Music

Matt Lynn Digital began reviewing music in 2019, in part motivated by the guest post offered by friend of the blog Cobra in June. Today’s post is a walk down memory lane for posts more musically inclined through the year, whether they be album reviews or book reviews.

The year in music officially began for us with the book review of Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s Unmasked: A Memoir on January 5th. Folks interested in a more classical music sound infused with rock and roll, the 1960s, or Phantom of the Opera will appreciate this autobiographical look into the early career of Lloyd Webber.

(Andrew Lloyd Webber and the autobiographical Unmasked: A Memoir was reviewed in January).

Fans of Bruce Springsteen will enjoy that we took three looks into the career of the boss this year, beginning with the autobiography of Born to Run on March 20th. We added the album review of arguably the best album of his career, with a look into the album Born to Run on July 27th. We then looked into his Springsteen‘s tribute to September 11th, 2001 with The Rising on September 11th.

(Bruce Springsteen and the autobiography Born to Run was a courageous and revealing look into the boss. We reviewed the book in March).

Cobra offered us an album review of Southeastern by Jason Isbell on June 17th. Many a country music fan will enjoy this selection.

(Jason Isbell and the album Southeastern was guest reviewed by Cobra in June).

Arguably the most popular musicians of the 20th century, if without a doubt the 1960s, was the band from Liverpool named The Beatles. Abbey Road was originally published 50-years ago this year, and still holds up as a playful mixture of the personality of songwriters John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

(Abbey Road by The Beatles was playful album showcasing the personalities of Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Our review was published in August).

Earning the moniker the King of Pop, the breakthrough album for many in Michael Jackson‘s solo career was the album Thriller. We looked into the album in October, as that album in many ways feels like autumn for us. That Paul McCartney of The Beatles was a contributor to a song on the album is gravy for us.

(Thriller by Michael Jackson included songs like Beat It, Billy Jean and Human Nature, in addition to the self-titled mega hit song named Thriller. Our review was published in October).

Our next musical look came with the self-titled album The Cars by The Cars in November. Perhaps the best single example of the album oriented radio model that was big in the 1970s, we were happy to see the band inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame before Ric Ocasek‘s death earlier this year.

(The Cars by The Cars launched a new wave of Rock & Roll when released in 1978. Our review was published in November).

Our final musical post touched on a more jazzy, crooner approach to Christmas music with Harry Connick Jr.‘s When My Heart Finds Christmas in December. Introducing new music and new interpretations of known classics, the album offered a much appreciated offering for the season.

(When My Heart Finds Christmas by Harry Connick Jr. offers an enjoyable jazz infusion into the holiday season. Our review was published in December).

This look into the musical blogs of Matt Lynn Digital has offered a smattering of the year 2019 from our corner. It has been my pleasure walking down this memory lane over time. Know that you are getting to know us through our tastes, and the joy we’ve taken in the music produced by those we’ve highlighted through this year.

Matt – Saturday, December 28, 2019

 

 

Michael Jackson and the album ‘Thriller’

There perhaps isn’t an album that says October or perhaps autumn to me more than Michael Jackson‘s album Thriller. A post-disco album characterized with elements of pop, rock and funk, this collaboration with Quincy Jones as producer is ranked as the 20th Greatest Album of all time by a May, 2012 Rolling Stone article. An April 2019 Business Insider article posits Thriller as the second best selling album in the United States while an Official Charts ranking from the same month puts Thriller as the sixth best selling in the United Kingdom. Thriller, an unquestionably popular album, won eight Grammy Awards.

(The album cover from Michael Jackson‘s Thriller).

This review offers links to the nine songs of the albums while offering highlights for how this album made Michael Jackson the King of Pop after the album’s release. Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin is the opening song of the album, as well as the fourth song released as a single from the album. Keeping with the disco feel of Jackson‘s album Off the Wall, Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin addresses rumors started by strangers attempting to prompt a fight in a time before the world had a notion of social media or the Internet as we know it today.

The song Baby Be Mine scores as the second song on the album with synthesizer, drums, trumpet, flugelhorn and other horn arrangements that is perhaps the most musically produced song of the album. The song itself is the first romantic song of the album aimed at winning a girl that Michael Jackson as singer fancies.

(Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson sang on The Girl Is Mine).

The Girl Is Mine (a duet with Paul McCartney) returns to the notion of romantic and boyish dreams of love with a rhythm and blues sensibility. The song feels like two school boys both taken with a girl and being diplomatic and logical about how they feel and wish to carry on.

(Michael Jackson in the video for the 14-minute video and movie for the song Thriller).

Thriller was a song, an album, and an almost 14-minute combination movie and video directed by John Landis and featuring a voice-over by Vincent Price. The song itself ends side one of the vinyl pressing of the Thriller album. Michael Jackson becomes a zombie in the video portrayal of the movie and song, which in part really launched the successful part of MTV as a network for music on television. The red jacket worn by Jackson in the video, as well as the dance, became two iconic and memorable items to come from the video that was on heavy rotation with the network.

(Eddie Van Halen and Michael Jackson both were instrumental in the song Beat It).

Beat It opens side two of the vinyl pressing of the album and perhaps is the most Rock and Roll song on the album. Featuring a guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen, the video features Michael Jackson reconciling two gangsters, who he encourages to leave (or beat it) through the power of music and dance.

(Michael Jackson in the video for the song Billie Jean).

The second single released from Thriller was Billie Jean, a song that in certain ways expressed the interpersonal worries that would land in Jackson‘s later music. The song itself describe a woman, Billie Jean, who claims that the Michael is the father of her newborn son. As the singer and narrator of the song, Jackson denies being the father. There has been much talk that the baseline for Billie Jean was taken from the Daryl Hall & John Oates song I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do).

After producer Quincy Jones had reportedly heard a demo of the song Human Nature through Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro, the song came to the Thriller album’s creative brain trust to become the nighttime song of desire that we know today. The song relies heavily on synthesizer and percussion with lyrics of lust, what I take as distrust of the underlying feelings, and the awareness and liking she has for his interest.

(Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones in happier days before disagreements between Jackson‘s estate and Jones following Michael’s death).

P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) is an upbeat, bridge song leading to the album conclusion. Perhaps the most funk and disco song on the album, P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) invites dancing and energy that reportedly resonated with Jackson in the recording studio. In this Rolling Stone article, Jackson said “I love ‘Pretty Young Thing…I liked the ‘code’ in the lyrics, and ‘tenderoni’ and ‘sugar fly’ were fun rock & roll-type words that you couldn’t find in the dictionary.”

Thriller concludes with The Lady in My Life, a somber song of the closeness of intimacy of male and female love. A song in a style of rhythm & blues and borderline funk, the song continues a theme begun with Baby Be Mine and The Girl Is Mine that carries through Human Nature and P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing). The lyrics offer suggestions of a fantasized love that are feelings based and, as far as this subject matter goes, clean and honorable. The uplift of this message is clear, and brings about a high yet mellow feel in concluding a popular and successful album.

There you have what in many ways is and was a truly pop and popular album. I grew up in the MTV era where I was young enough to get the popularity of Michael Jackson while not being old enough to see him in concert. There are definitely more hits than misses on this album, whatever your default album preference.

Matt – Wednesday, October 2, 2019