The Way You Make Me Feel

"The Way You Make Me Feel" is my favorite Michael Jackson song. It's my favorite for a couple of different reasons. One is that it has an upbeat sound, and is one of those songs that you cant help but dance to. Though tough to decide on "The Way You Make Me Feel" as my favorite Michael Jackson song, because I really love all of his songs, its probably my favorite because it has history with my family and I. I remember growing up and listening to the song because my parents would be playing it. Once, I heard it for the first time on my own, and recognized the lyrics, knowing that i must have heard it somewhere else before. Sure enough, because my family are big Michael Jackson fans, they have been playing this song since its been out. I even bought this song as a ringtone for my cell phone. It just is one of those songs that puts you in a good mood no matter what. The lyrics dont necessarily "speak" to me or anything like that, but they do get me moving, and I believe that that it part of what music is suppossed to do. It probably also helps that "The Way You Make Me Feel" is definitely one of Michael Jackson's more popular songs, so it is played and talked about more frequently than the others. That is why that specific song by Michael Jackson is my all time favorite.

The King of Pop

It's hard to say whether or not Michael Jackson demonstrates the values of our society today. In some ways he shows the more sexual and provocative aspects of our society through his dancing and his lyrical content. There has definitely been controversy about Michael's dance moves, although many of them classics. However, he was one of the first artists to comfortably show sexual moves through dance, just like Elvis Presley. In this sence, Michael Jackson shows how the values of our generation today are not as strict, and their is more room for expression.
Their could also be a valid argument that Jackson has in no way shown the values of our generation. Yes, he has performed within the last 10 years, however, his main time is definitely over. That is why some may say it is impossible for somebody who has barely been musically present in the past 10 years can even matter in means of discussing our current societal values. Even though Michael Jackson has not really been producing hit singles currently, its definitely not like his name has been forgotten or not brought up in the media. With all of the controversy about the changing the color of his skin, to molesting little boys, Jackson is the classic example of a celebrity gone wrong, but yet, he still and ALWAYS will be a legend.

Music Throughout History

Everthing we have done is class this week has taught be about how music has not only influenced our culture, but changed alot throughut history. The main example that I can think of is Elvis. He was a teenager whose theme was teenage rebellion, and probably is one of the biggest artists of all time. Elvis brought black and white music together, and even demonstrated this by covering a black song. This brought alot of controversy because many people were still really hung up with Jim Crow laws and segregation. He also crossed a line that nobody seemed to have crossed before by dancin with his gyrating hips, duck walk, and using his guitar as a phallic symbol. His rock and roll blurs the boundary between masculinity and femininity. Elvis started anew generation of rebellion and because of this teenage girls all over were obsessed with him. He was definitely a reason for the rise in rock and roll popularity, even though he was criticized by many for his provocative ways, however, I believe that is half the reason Elvis's popularity was so soaring. Overall, rock and roll plays a bigger role in the growth of our country than I ever could have imagined.