TS: Billie Jean vs. Little Red Corvette

absolutely

I dunno how anyone can listen to "Bad" (the song) and not hear it as a totally desperate, almost comically inept manifestation of masculine insecurity. Everything from that point onward became by turns hamfisted and/or disturbing, whether he was singing about skin color not mattering (hmm gee wonder what's going on there) or fantasizing about fucking Diana Ross. Delivered by a manchild in a military uniform that builds giant statues of himself. Even typing this out makes me lol at the baldly ridiculous (and ultimately very sad and tragic) insanity of this guy's output. He was not a happy guy working through his problems; his catalog is a funhouse mirror of denial, delusion and solipsism. I don't really get how people relate to it.

― Οὖτις, Thursday, September 18, 2014 4:20 PM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

If the content of his music strikes any kind of chord in you its has to be because on some level it does resonate with you. The lack of filter on his presentation of these themes can be pretty jarring but you can't be looking very far inward if you've never felt comically inept in your posturing masculinity (I mean, that to me is a big part of what makes "Bad" so fun), or found your own conception of race and skin colour disturbing, caught yourself fantasizing about weird or inappropriate sex (maybe not Diana Ross...) and built edifices of yourself in your dreams (ymmv with that one).

I mean of all the ways in which a human being can manifest as outlandishly weird, unhappiness, denial, delusion and solipsism strike me as pretty universal (outsider music is an interesting tag I'd never considered). You may not necessarily be able to relate directly to it, but is it really that much of a stretch to see where it comes from and empathise with it?

voted "Little Red Corvette" I love how the song builds tension, climaxes, and then fades. In truth, I'm way too biased for this poll.

I appreciate "Billie Jean," but I think it mostly relies on the great sound it has. It has that moody/haunting vibe going on throughout the song.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Wow! Everyone came out for this one, huh?

Clearly songs that generate strong feelings in all of humanity. Impressed with how close this was.

Simple: I called my relatives and asked them to vote. Black Panther guards protected them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlY0H6PTIrc

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/07/obituaries/leon-ndugu-chancler-versatile-drummer-is-dead-at-65.html