{"id":1806,"date":"2018-12-05T20:53:44","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T20:53:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/parsons\/?p=1806"},"modified":"2018-12-06T17:20:03","modified_gmt":"2018-12-06T17:20:03","slug":"arachnophonia-mus-235-edition-rocks-backpages-michael-jackson-and-bruce-swedien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/parsons\/2018\/12\/arachnophonia-mus-235-edition-rocks-backpages-michael-jackson-and-bruce-swedien\/","title":{"rendered":"Arachnophonia – MUS 235 Edition: Rock’s Backpages, Michael Jackson and Bruce Swedien"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note:<\/strong> Arachnophonia<\/a> is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library<\/a>\u2018s collection.<\/p>\n

This special edition of Arachnophonia<\/a> features contributions from students in Dr. Joanna Love<\/a>\u2018s MUS 235 class: \u201cI Want My MTV: Music Video and the Transformation of the Music Industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question <\/a>or to additional relevant<\/a> information from<\/a> around the<\/a> web.
\nToday\u2019s installment of Arachnophonia is by MUS 235 student Patrick and features a retrospective article about Michael Jackson first published in 2009<\/a> that is available via one of the library’s online resources called Rock’s Backpages<\/a><\/strong>. Thanks, Patrick!<\/em> <\/p>\n

Rock’s Backpages<\/strong>: “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough: Bruce Swedien Remembers the Times with Michael Jackson”<\/em> by Daryl Easlea<\/a><\/p>\n

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In this article, Daryl Easlea<\/a> details Jackson\u2019s career from the 70s to the 90s in the context of Jackson’s recent (this article was written in the summer of 2009) death<\/a>. Elsea himself is a critically acclaimed author, radio broadcaster, and DJ. Easlea discusses Jackson\u2019s commercial success and offers a behind the scenes look at the musicality of Jackson\u2019s work, primarily by including excerpts from Bruce Swedien<\/a>, an audio engineer that worked with Jackson. This is important because it shows the range of Michael Jackson\u2019s discography. In addition, it highlights the public reception of Jackson\u2019s works while looking back on his life. While at times, Swedien himself gets bogged down in the specifics of the recordings, e.g. what microphone was used, this information can be crucial to artists influenced by Jackson\u2019s sound that look to produce the same quality of music as him (even if it is not exactly pertinent to my research). <\/p>\n

The range of Michael Jackson\u2019s discography, however, is essential to my research for this project. While being crowned the \u201cKing of Pop\u201d, Michael Jackson\u2019s endeavors in various other genres made him an influential artist well outside the scope of just \u2018pop\u2019. Being the multi-faceted artist that he was, Jackson delved into genres such as rock, soul, R&B, funk, and disco. Easlea discusses how Swedien handled Jackson\u2019s music with unprecedented care, which is portrayed in the crispness of the snare drum in tracks like “Billie Jean.”<\/p>\n

This article is also important because it details the history of those who worked with Jackson and helped him cultivate his sound. Jackson had worked with the likes of Quincy Jones<\/a> and Bruce Swedien<\/a> as early as 1977 on The Wiz<\/a><\/em>, but not exclusively on Jackson\u2019s work until his solo debut album Off The Wall<\/a><\/em> in 1979. <\/p>\n

\"Jackson,

L-R Michael Jackson, Bruce Swedien and Quincy Jones<\/p><\/div>\n

Both of these producers contributed to the genre-bending and futuristic pop sound of Off The Wall<\/a><\/em> that made it a coming of age story for the Motown prodigy. Easlea makes few references to the actual music itself, but when he does, such as when he describes the \u2018itching bass synth\u2019 in \u201cDon\u2019t Stop Til You Get Enough\u201d, they are chock full of description. Easlea\u2019s mention of Off The Wall<\/a><\/em> and its success is important to my project because this was the album that saw disco out the door in its waning years and also introduced dance-pop to the mainstream. \t\t<\/p>\n

From here, Easlea goes into great detail about Jackson\u2019s professionalism and what it was like working with him in the studio (at least from Swedien\u2019s perspective). Having recorded with acts like Count Basie<\/a>, Stan Kenton<\/a>, Dinah Washington<\/a>, the Chi-Lites<\/a>, Tyrone Davis<\/a>, Buddy Miles<\/a>, and Eddie Harris<\/a>, Swedien still puts Jackson at the top of this list, which says a lot about Jackson’s raw talent, but also their chemistry together. Swedien recounts studio sessions with Jackson, describing him as always punctual and prepared, having committed all the lyrics to memory so he would not have to read them whilst recording. As a result, legendary albums such as Thriller<\/a><\/em> were recorded in only three months with all the lyrics having been written before Jackson even entered the studio. Easlea describes the recording for Thriller<\/em> as a \u201cmagical time\u201d, with stars such as Rod Temperton<\/a>, Eddie Van Halen<\/a>, and Paul McCartney<\/a> featuring on the album and adding range and an experimental element to Jackson\u2019s music. <\/p>\n

Easlea makes important notes of peculiar instrumentation used in Jackson\u2019s recording sessions. One example is in the beginning of \u201cDon\u2019t Stop Til You Get Enough\u201d, where Michael Jackson and his siblings are playing soda bottles, by tapping sticks on the bottles. In the same manner, Jackson used a four by three piece of plywood with Masonite, known as the ‘bathroom stomp board’ on the Thriller<\/em>\u2019s opening track, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.” Jackson also had drum cases set up that he would use as musical instruments. The use of these makeshift instruments only added to the detail of Jackson\u2019s music and if anything comment on the ingenuity of his artistry. <\/p>\n

Easlea also frames the scene during the recording of Jackson\u2019s seventh studio album, Bad<\/a><\/em>, which was also the last time Jackson worked together with both Swedien and Jones. He describes it as a literal zoo, with Jackson bringing his chimp, Bubbles, and boa constrictor, Muscles, to the studio along with him. Future researchers may apply this information when trying to find out what kinds of in-studio influences artists may have around them, and how much these things (or animals) actually influence the music making process. <\/p>\n

\"Jackson

Jackson with pets Bubbles the chimpanzee and Muscles the boa constrictor<\/p><\/div>\n

It is interesting to note the transition Jackson undergoes in the making of these projects. Similar to Off the Wall<\/em>, there is an air of independence in the making of Dangerous<\/a><\/em>, as it was self-produced. Nonetheless, there was an emphasis on quality, as everything in this album was exaggerated from the moment the high energy drums hit on the album\u2019s opening track, \u201cJam\u201d. This focus on quality followed him into the recording of HIStory<\/a><\/em>, where Swedien states that \u201cthe musicality never wavered,\u201d no matter how much and how quickly Jackson\u2019s life was changing. <\/p>\n

Easlea shifts the focus to Swedien, who was still in mourning over the death of Jackson at the time, but was also excited to be working on Jackson\u2019s newer songs, which had no designated plan or destination. Swedien recounts Jackson\u2019s favorite song, and the one that best summarizes his work, “Smile”, which was a rendition of a Charlie Chaplin song<\/a>. This song was sung with a full orchestra, which Swedien states is a feat that very few pop singers are capable of. On looking back on his career and history with Jackson, Swedien declares Jackson as the best — as a vocalist and musician, due to his ability to use his voice to continually push musical boundaries all throughout his career. He describes his instrument as the studio, and Jones\u2019 instrument as Jackson\u2019s ideas, which are two sentiments that can be expounded upon if someone were to do research on the work of producers and sound engineers both in relation to, but also independent of whatever artist they may be affiliated with. <\/p>\n