Michael Is Innocent!
updated 19 December 2004



The "MJ"-case starts in January 2005 and I still have doubts they'll believe him. I believe him.

I love his music. Here's an updated top-10 of the songs I think everybody should own.

It's all very personal and some songs don't end up higher, because I don't have a bond with them. These can be slicker or catchier, though. Or bigger hits, for that matter.

After many doubts, I decided to replace the former number 1. Don't get me wrong : I still love the song "Black Or White", but I found out I was intentionally keeping it in pole position, simply because I felt it unfair to replace the song as my favourite after 13 years (it's been my favourite since 1991). Then again, I thought who cares. No matter how high "Black Or White" actually scores in this subjective top-10, that won't make the song any worse.

"Give In To Me" is Michael Jackson's best song. Matthias Meersmans recommended it to me in January 2004 and look at this, almost a year later, I'm still not sick of it, despite an almost endless repeat in my discman. It's dangerous rock, which is a style Michael doesn't use enough. He has the voice, he has the rhythm, he has got an amazing talent for good lyrics and he knows what star-guitar player he needs to invite. Let it be Eddie Van Halen, Steve Stevens or Slash : the results are always mindblowing triphoppin' fantastic. What a song!


1. Give In To Me from Dangerous
- Fantastic text. Slash on the guitar, incredible solo inclusive. Breathtaking and atmospheric. A major audio tour-de-force.

2. Black Or White from Dangerous
- My (nostalgic) favourite. Why? The clip. The dance. The Mac. The theme. And because I 'imitated' the MJ on a local 'kiddie-thingee'. It was my first public performance. This is a very dear song to me, which takes me back to childhood-memories, laying in the hay, discovering the beauty of life. Oh, and it doesn't matter if you're black or white, indeed. If only Michael kept that in mind.

3. Thriller from Thriller
- This is probably the tune Michael is most famous for. "Thriller", from his second solo-album "Thriller" (which, to date, sold 47 million copies ... not bad, eh?), has one of the coolest videoclips ever. What do I say? "Thriller" invented the videoclip-genre. It's influence is of greater value than any other clip in history. But it's the song that's brilliant too, of course. And Vincent Price. This is, in short, a phat track!

4. Morphine from Blood On The Dancefloor
- One of the five new tracks on "Blood On The Dancefloor". "Morphine" has it all : a cut-through-your-throat, in-your-face-attitude Michael who does the percussion and the drums, Slash on the guitar, the Andrae Crouch Sisters-choir, the Jorge Del Barrio Orchestra, a sample from "The Elephant Man", a catchy refrain, a pumping noisy rhythm. Just when we thought he lost it (Earth Song didn't need a remix!), he was back. "Thriller" for the 90's.

5. Earth Song from HIStory (disc II)
- One of those goosebumps-songs. What a truly, groundbreaking triumph. Just LISTEN to the lyrics.

6. Dirty Diana from Bad
- As I said in the introduction : when MJ rocks, he rocks! Lyrics, riffs, drums, solo from Steve Stevens = "Dirty Diana" has it all and more. Essential.

7. Who Is It from Dangerous
- Long and boring? No! Long and impressive! Magnificent song!.

8. Stranger In Moscow from HIStory (disc II)
- Aaah ... this is so beautiful. Listen to the lyrics. Feel the real emotions. It's all in there and more. Michael's most personal song.

9. Billie Jean from Thriller
- I started Moonwalking with this song. Everybody did. The hat. The glove. Enough said.

10. D.S. from HIStory (disc II)
- A kick-in-the-butt for pain-in-the-ass Tom Sneddon, the judge who accused Michael in 1993 and who did it again.
"They wanna get my ass dead or alive ...". Indeed.

+ far too many quality songs to mention : Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', The Girl Is Mine, Beat It, Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Another Part Of Me, Man In The Mirror, Smooth Criminal, Leave Me Alone, Jam, Why You Wanna Trip On Me, In The Closet, Will You Be There, Dangerous, Scream, They Don't Care About Us, This Time Around, Money, Little Susie, Smile, Blood On The Dancefloor, Ghosts, Superfly Sister, Unbreakable, 2.000 Watts, Whatever Happens, Threatened
...


Julian, 19 December 2004