Michael Jackson And The Sign Of The Times

I watched a bit of the music television today and saw that another pseudo-rock band was doing a cover version of a Michael Jackson tune. With Alien Ant Farm treading similar ground back in '01, this will make two such creatures out in the world today.

Frankly, I would love nothing more than to spit venom at this sort of thing, but I can't bring myself to do it. They're just not that bad. A weird choice of material to be sure, but the rendition is pretty faithful, and the sound pretty good for what they are. Not really my cup of tea, but nothing I can point to as a criminal act or more evidence of selling out either.

But it does signal something lurking on the horizon. A change in the generations that strikes fear into the aged musical types like myself You see, when I growing into the fine specimen I am today, the musical fodder for song covers was far different. You had old blues covers and songs by Dylan and those like him being taken to court by modern artists attempting modern sound. Hell, taking songs by the Bee Gee's and covering them was considered living wild.

Nothing has changed in terms of perspective. Oh sure, technology's improved, what's considered modern has definitely changed, and the sheer quantity of suck has doubled, at least in this author's opinion. Still, the tactics are the same. Classic songs are still popular and covers of those songs still sell.

But it's the time and era that has changed. No longer are folk musicians and hippie-induced love bands considered reasonable material. The new artist has set his sights, and now the 80's are fair game.

Michael Jackson has already become a target, and the material has garnered some success. It won't be long now before Lionel Richie gets approached. "All Night Long" will soon be a dark metal track, layered with growly vocals and a techno beat. How about a slicked up R & B version of Cindi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun?" I'm surprised Lindsey Lohan or any of that derilict bunch haven't already hopped on it and sucked it for all it's worth.

In a few years time, Celine Dion will even be considered reasonable.

And I'd love nothing more than to pin this on the new karaoke world that American Idol has created, but it just wouldn't' be true. Much as I hate to admit it, it's just those wacky young people calling music I grew up with "classic." Michael Jackson made his name with the song "Beat It "some thirty five years ago. Thirty five years! More than enough time for these young upstarts to consider that stuff "grandpa music." Natural progression at its finest, and I'm actually alive to see it. It's strange, I can almost understand the look in the eyes of my parents when I blasted Guns N' Roses performing "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" at full volume. That sense of horror, that some stranger could take something so meaningful from their time, and desecrate it with loud guitars and nasally voices. I can imagine that they lost great sleep in those days, knowing that everything they celebrated was slowly being dissolved away by my generation.

I probably won't lose much sleep over this. First off, this isn't epic poetry or storytelling at its finest, it's fucking Michael Jackson. It's catchy, groovy, and sometimes even fun. But it's still very easy to dismiss. Don't mean to knock on the man, but let's face it, he didn't set out to reinvent the wheel. Most people won't be using his name in the same sentence as Led Zeppelin or the Beatles (Well, Paul McCartney might, but his choice of words won't be very nice.)

And also, I think I'll sleep soundly tonight because I can accept that this is just the way things are. Musical evolution. Those that would inherit this place from us are starting to have their say about what sounds good, and about what part of our musical past is worth preserving. It only gets worse from here people.