On Wed, 10 Feb 1999, lance davis wrote:
> But, now that you've brought it up, I am thinking about it, and my
> hackles are raised. OK, fine, let's put Mike in the club. In fact, let's
> put him in the Top Ten. No, no: Top Three. After all, his influence
> alone, would, indeed justify it.
Well, that *was* what the list was about, right?<g>
> The mass-market-shackled, lowest-common-denominating drivel that Jackson
> has ridden into Swiss Bank Accounts and the Beatles back catalog is so
> influential that modern R&B still suffers by and for it. If disco put
> the pop in funk, Mike put the pop into disco--like that needed to
> happen--and almost single-handedly ruined black music.
I like Mike just fine -- particularly from "I Want You Back" through
Thriller, which is a mighty long stretch of time. The bubblegum soul of
the J5 always puts a smile on my face, and jesus, that kid could sing.
Furthermore, I'll stand on David Cantwell's coffeetable and say that Off
The Wall and Thriller are two of the finest pop albums of the past 20
years.--don
