As we all know very well by now, this past week the greatest entertainer of our generation passed away in a tragic death at an age in which he was too young to go. Michael Jackson would’ve always been too young to go for me. I could easily get into a sentimental mood about this man and everything that he meant to me, but I will pass on doing so as I’ve already been extremely saddened by his death.

I was actually surprised to realize how much the death of someone I had never met effected me. I think it had to be because when he died I felt that a large part of my childhood went with him, that the largest seam of our pop culture had unraveled, and that the man lived a tragic life in which he deserved better; he was robbed of his childhood and now he has been robbed of his old age. He gave us so much with his entire life, and by entire I mean exactly that, from the age of 5 when he joined the Jackson 5 till the age of 50, when he left us. And in the end we hung him for accusations that probably destroyed him.

When I think of Michael Jackson, I always think of being around 7 or 8, when my father bought my sister and me “Bad”, and then a few weeks later surprised us with “Thriller”. The first albums in the house that were actually “ours”. It is all we listened to and after dinner we would dance around to those two CDs in the living room like crazy people. I was so obsessed that I even had a Michael Jackson birthday party. For that I was decked out in a fake white glove, jean jacket, a Michael Jackson t-shirt, in my best effort to emulate the King of Pop. And now the King is dead. But long live the King, as he will do so in our hearts, memories, and the music that will be played on long after we are gone. Because it is ironic in that his death he found what he was seeking, a comeback. Everywhere you go in New York you hear Michael; in bars, in restaurants, on the streets and in the cabs. His music has been sold out in almost all stores, he holds the top spots on iTunes, Amazon, the internet almost crashed with traffic related to him, thousands of articles have been written about him. It the end we all knew where he really stood in our hearts.

For this feature I am going to skip the usual portion of where I discuss the original, because lets be honest, you don’t really need me to do so. The original will be there for you to listen to you, however. Also, I want to note that no Michael Jackson song ever needs to be remixed, because nothing anyone does would be able to compare to what he has done himself. But it’s always enjoyable to listen to others’ interpretations.

.Michael Jackson – “Smooth Criminal”

.“Smooth Criminal” – Telemitry Remix
Smooth Criminal was one of the earliest MJ songs I can remember. Off of “Bad” it was by far one of his greatest music videos too. Taken from a scene of his movie “Moonwalker” and set in a 1920s-like speakeasy, it was infamous for his famous leaning dance move. Telemitry does an amazing remix to this track with some serious build up. He speeds it up super fast; it’s amped up on energy drinks, coffee, speed, whatever you can think of. The beginning starts off great with a thick drum punch, MJ’s lyrics cut up and repeated “As he came into the…Are you ok, ok?” then backed with the echo of “I don’t know” followed by distorted synthesizers, cymbal splashes and eventually with subtle robotic bleeps. The real gem of the mix is how Telemitry handles the vocals.

.Michael Jackson – “I Want You Back”

.“I Want You Back” – DJ Z-Trip Remix
My all time favorite Jackson 5 song. Z-trips remix is beautiful. The beginning focuses on the famous guitar riff of the song, but it is re-done in a blues-y soul style. It is then followed by the equally famous bass line of the song, until, what I believe, is Berry Gordy’s voice that cuts in saying “Alright, stand by, I’m going back up to the top”, which brings a nice intimate, in-the-studio feel to the track. You can almost see the young brothers recording the song. Then most of the guitar is removed, the bass riff is thick and heavy, the drums splash and pound, setting the tone for the mix, and then a young Michael Jackson’s voice with soul sings the well know line, “When I had you to myself, I didn’t want you around”.

.Michael Jackson – “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)”

.“P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” – Marquis Remix
This is a harsh and loud mix of the song. This is one you’d thrown on the turntables late in the evening, when the place is crowed, the drinks have been heavy and everyone is just about completely mental. The mix kicks off with the guitar riff of the song, chopped up, covered by Michael’s heavy breathing, an over dubbed percussion layer, then more guitars, louder and firmer, than the original. The background vocals kick in “Na, na na, na na na”, followed by MJ’s vocals coming in. The “Uh” of the song is splattered throughout with some bongs for a nice respite of music, and than the original, vocorized and sequenced portion of the track plays in. This is a maniacally fun mix.

.Michael Jackson – “Thriller”

.“Thriller” – Louis La Roche Remix
This one makes me smile. It starts off with a rework of the disco beat to the song, which is futuristic, metallic, robotic? I’m looking for a word. And then the infamous tune comes in, but it’s splashed around with electro grunge, heavier bass beats, thicker percussion, and it’s all slightly chopped. It’s loopy and fun. And to add to that fun the maniacal laugh of Vincent Price from the original silences everything and then, boom, all the music jumps back in. No vocals here, just a clever and fun electro rework of the music from the original.

.Michael Jackson – “Beat It”

.“Beat It” – Kid Nexus Remix
This mix opens with amplifier noise followed by the signature guitar lick of Eddie Van Halen from the original, though more distorted and grungy. The vocals to the track are subdued and heard a little lower. The mix is fairly slow and repetitive, its main attempt being to focus on the powerful guitar riff of the song. Some electronic bleeps are added for diversity in the end that follow nicely on more chopped up guitars.

.Michael Jackson – “Billie Jean”

.“Billie Jean” – Mihalis Safras
A quiet and soft remix. The Billie Jean tune is subdued and muffled to almost a silence. It plays in the background. Chopped up vocals hop around, which aren’t even words. And then there are many creative layers added on. Sequencers used to create various beats, many that sound tribal inspired with a touch of Ibiza house. They bleep and bounce over the tune. The mix stays at this tempo and it works incredibly well. Kind of makes your head bop.

.“Thriller” – DiscoTech Remix
This is a pretty good take on the horror song. It starts off brilliantly, better than the rest of the mix. It re-works the bubbly, disco music of the original, speeds it up, adds in some electro and house beats, features softly the lyrics from MJ’s “Rock With You”, and then the music and vocals of the original kick in. The song from there is fairly similar to the original, only sped up with add ins of kazoo like instruments.

.Michael Jackson – “Rock With You”

.“Rock With You” – Frankie Knuckles Remix
This is hardly a remix, more of a ballad. It’s the opposite of what a remix does. Instead of speeding up the song or adding to it, Frankie Knuckles strips it bare. The original is a disco, funk filled jam, with smooth beats, disco jives, and funk bass guitars. This mix is all of that gone, just a slow, delicate piano to the vocals. A few minutes in the song picks up with a house beat; but it’s subtle and soft, and the melody of the song is played via piano.

.“I Want You Back” – Rogerseventytwo Remix
Rogerseventytwo’s take on this is completely skewed in the other direction of the original, which is the right way to go when taking on such a beloved song. He keeps Michael’s vocals completely in check (though slightly echoed) but transforms and layers the track with funk filled bass lines and house beats. It brings out a stadium, anthem feel to the song.

.“Thriller” – Villains Remix
I know I have done quite a few Thriller remixes in this post, but they are the most prominent and the best. So I won’t say much here. This is mostly an instrumental mix, which stretches the vocals to work like an instrument, and the typical electronic fare is placed all over the mix. I love this one.

–

Rest in peace, MJ.

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There is no name more recognized the world over than Michael Jackson. Just over two months before his 51st birthday, the King of Pop was rushed to the hospital for cardiac arrest and pronounced dead yesterday, June 25, 2009. His career began four decades ago with The Jackson 5 and blossomed into a rich and successful solo careers spanning decades. Five of his solo studio albums are among the world’s best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982) with over 100 million copies sold, Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995).

It should come as no surprise that many are calling Michael Jackson the Elvis Presley of our generation. Personal trials and tribulations aside, Michael Jackson was a great entertainer and earned the title King of Pop. He will undoubtedly live on in our hearts and minds. Read what some have to say about the late, great Michael Jackson:

“We will always love you, Michael, always.” – Jermaine Jackson

“Just as there will never be another Fred Astaire or Chuck Berry or Elvis Presley, there will never be anyone comparable to Michael Jackson. His talent, his wonderment and his mystery make him legend.” — Steven Spielberg

“He was deep.” – reader Gladys

“R.I.P. to Michael Jackson my music god. R.I.P. MJ: he lives forever in my heart. I will never forget the day he came to see me in the studio and I played him music.” – Wyclef

“It’s taken me a moment to grasp this … I understand life and death are part of the same magnificent cycle. But I literally stopped and broke down When I received ‘that’ text . Mike’s music lives in my DNA. It’s bigger than tabloids. That music shaped me. The frequency is real. My heart and artistry are truly influenced and forever impacted. Thank you Micheal for your hard work , dedication, philanthropy, and the sacrifice of your young spirit. Your vision and imagination live through us.” – Erykah Badu

The Lost Fingers – “Billie Jean”

“This has blindsided me. I feel strange. And sad. Reminders of how short life is. I’m going to profess my love to someone. you should too.” – Ingrid Michaelson

“I can’t stop crying over the sad news. I have always admired Michael Jackson. The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever! My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family. God bless.” — Madonna

“I was so excited to see his show in London. We were going to be on tour in Europe at the same time and I was going to fly in to see him. He has been an inspiration throughout my entire life and I’m devastated he’s gone!” — Britney Spears

“I would rather watch “Thriller” over and over than any other music video ever made.” – Shawn Fogel, Golden Bloom

“Heal the world make it a better place for you and for me and the entire human race.” – Ashlee Simpson Wentz

“Stop the gossip, stop the speculation. Take a moment for Micheal and remember his gift to us all. He was truly great. May he Rest in Peace.” – Joel Madden, Good Charlotte

“Not many people have long successful careers in the music industry, yet alone over a 30 year career. Michael Jackson did and earned his title ‘King of Pop”. I’ll never forget the first time I saw “Thriller”. His voice, songs, dance moves and ground breaking music videos will live on forever leaving a legacy where we answer ‘yes’ to ‘do you remember the time?’” – Stacy Clark

“America lost a little bit of its history today. So sad when a true genius dies! R.I.P. to the gloved one.” – Mona Shiekh, Popwreckoning

“Michael was undoubtedly a great entertainer and his popularity spanned generations and the globe. Maria and I join all Californians in expressing our shock and sadness over his death and our hearts go out the Jackson family, Michael’s children and to his fans worldwide.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

“No one better than brotha Mike.” – Q-Tip

“Michael Jackson showed me that you can actually see the beat. He made the music come to life! He made me believe in magic. I will miss him!” – Sean P. Diddy Combs

“I know we make light of me never getting sleep and overworking. But I’ll say that he didn’t go in vein. I will do my best to slow down as to not overwork myself to the point in which I can’t even enjoy life anymore. I’m  devastated over this but we all have memories. I just hope that he will get due justice in all the press memorials and whatnot. I know he was mired in controversy the last decade of his life but i think its time we let him rest in peace and learn to separate the ART and the ARTIST. –that is the MJ I will forever remember.” – ?uestlove

“Off the wall was my second record I ever bought.” – Margaret Cho

“His music is just as relevant now as it was the day they pressed record, I’m sure it will remain so for generations to come. R.I.P. Mr. Jackson” – Samantha Ronson

“There was no one like him.” – Greg Laswell

“We should never stop talking about Michael Jackson. I hope Michael will get the respect he deserved.” – Rev. Al Sharpton

“Raising a glass for Michael! Wow – I was obsessed with Thriller when it came out.” – Ariel Hyatt, CyberPR

“Michael Jackson was my inspiration. love and blessings.” -
Miley Cyrus

“Being asked to give a quote about all of this. so in shock I can’t find any words…” – Kid Sister

“Michael Jackson died? Seriously, as Wolf Blitzer said it, my stomach got knots.” – James Shotwell, Under the Gun blog

“I keep getting chills. This is crazy. Too much.” – Estelle

“Today is a very, very sad day for music. Whether you are familiar with his work or not, the impact Michael Jackson had on pop culture made him one of the most iconic artists of all time. As a fellow artist, you can see what his music did—it transcended generations; It created a movement. It’s something people only dream of doing. He was a musical genius, and by far, one of the greatest performers of all time. There will never be anyone like him—ever. Thank you for inspiring us the way you did. R.I.P.” – Tamar Kaprelian

“Thank you Michael Jackson for being my FIRST of many! My mother took me to my FIRST concert, I was only two years old. I fell in love. My fifth birthday party was M.J. themed, I insisted. My mother found a lookalike to come sing happy birthday and I KNEW he wasn’t MY Michael.” – Solange Knowles

“A strange story comes to an end. i do hope that history will remember jackson the artist/genius/pioneer.” – David Ford

“Rip MJ! Dream as if u’ll live 4ever, Live as if u’ll die 2day. U only live once, but if u do it right dats all u need! U did it Big MJ!!” – Reverend Run

Petra Haden – “Thriller”

“Both parents on the phone asking me if I remember MJ inviting me to take a pix w/ him when I was a kid. I do. It was creepy. I refused.” – Annie Heckenberger

“Noooooooo! Michael Jackson was my childhood! I loved him. So so so so sad. So nearly saw him live. Just a couple of weeks. Crying.” – Imogen Heap

“Oh god…Michael Jackson just died. one of my childhood heros. moment of silence, sorrow and reflection on a massive talent & tragic life. let’s share a shrine/moment of silence @ 7:45 pm outside @thetroubadour tonight. if you’re coming, bring candles and flowers for the king.” – Amanda Palmer, Dresden Dolls

“We just cued up “Wanna Be Starting Something” in the office. What a great song. R.I.P.” – Diablo Cody

“R.I.P. Michael Jackson. Greatest performer ever.” – Talib Kweli

“Sad, sad day for the music world & for family/fans of Michael Jackson. he was my 1st favorite artist & 1 of the very best ever. RIP Michael.” – Earfarm blog

“Thriller” was the first tape I ever bought in a record store after I saw him go supernova on the Motown 25th anniversary special.” – Cary Brothers

“R.I.P. Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. what a tremendous loss in one day…. thoughts and prayers with their families and loved ones…” – Mandy Moore

“R.I.P. MICHAEL JACKSON: We’re in a state of utter shock. You’ll be sorely missed.” – The Music Slut blog

;_; – Diplo

“I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news. For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don’t have the words. Divinity brought our souls together on The Wiz and allowed us to do what we were able to throughout the ’80s. To this day, the music we created together on Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad is played in every corner of the world and the reason for that is because he had it all…talent, grace, professionalism and dedication. He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.” — Quincy Jones

Chris Cornell – “Billie Jean”

“RIP Michael Jackson . My love and prayers go out to the Jackson family…’you are not alone’.” – Lindsay Lohan

“I guess it’s legit now. RIP Michael Jackson. Shit.” – Archie Powell

“I haven’t hope in so long that news isn’t true.” – Pete Wentz, Fall Out Boy

“Reeling over the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett at the same time.” – BUST magazine

“I’m looking at pictures of my 14th bday party at Neverland Ranch, these memories will last forever!” – Kim Kardashian

Lightspeed Champion – “Thriller”

“We have lost a genius and a true ambassador of not only Pop music but of all music. He has been an inspiration to multiple generations, and I will always cherish the moments I shared with him on stage and all of the things I learned about music from him and the time we spent together. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones.” — Justin Timberlake

“In shock.” – Matt, The Music Slut blog

“Sad. Michael Jackson. Dead. Bum out.” – Eisley

“When we worked together on ‘Bad,’ I was in awe of his absolute mastery of movement on the one hand, and of the music on the other. Every step he took was absolutely precise and fluid at the same time. It was like watching quicksilver in motion.” — Martin Scorcese

“Listening to ‘Human Nature’ by Michael Jackson and I am crying.” – Trent Vanegas, Pink is the New Blog

“Feels hypocritical not caring about Ed McMahon or Farah Fawcett, and then being upset about Michael Jackson’s death. I didn’t know any of them.” – Paco Fish

The Gay Blades

“Dazed in the studio. A major strand of our cultural DNA has left us. RIP MJ.” — John Mayer

Robert Randolph – “Billie Jean”

“‘Let the madness in the music get to you, life ain’t so bad at all, if you live it off the wall’ – Thanks for the music, the moonwalk and my childhood.” – Ali Hussain, Popwreckoning

“Michael was a great and wonderful artist and performer. We were privileged and honored to record him and his brothers here at Philadelphia International Records.” – Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff

“I remember my brother and cousin in 1987 bringing the boom box out into the living room at my grandma’s house and performing a dance to “Billy Jean” they had made up. They had to be about 7 years old and doing the classic spin move and grabbing their crotches! My mom, aunt, ME and granny WENT CRAZY! Michael Jackson made the crotch grabbing move not raunchy BUT hot!” – Kaytea McIntosh, XO Publicity

Richard Cheese – “The Girl Is Mine”

“Sony Music Entertainment expresses deep sadness and sorrow at the unexpected passing of Michael Jackson and extends wishes of sympathy and condolences to all of Michael’s family, friends and fans around the world.” – Sony

We at Popwreckoning would like to extend our deepest condolences to Michael Jackson’s survivors. His musical legacy shall live on. Please feel free to share your thoughts with us.

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