The Police, Walking on the Moon, Live

Posted in The Police, Youtube Favs on March 18th, 2012 by Willie

Sting wrote this song while he was drunk in Germany, seems fitting considering the free floating riffs and subject matter.  “Walking on the Moon,” is an unparallelled Police classic, and an example of genuine 80s psychedelia, a sort of rare excursion for 80s pop groups.  Actually the song was originally titled “Walking Round the Room,” which Sting thought was rightfully stupid.  The live performance below is tight and hard edged featuring Sting in one of the worst jackets in human history.  The rest of the band is decked out in normal person clothes, and its easy to imagine what Copeland and Summers must have been thinking concerning the ego level of Sting when their gazes met his visage.  Despite Sting’s violent affront to common fashion sense, the Police are legends, and you’ll have no problem digging this awesome document of their musical power.

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Michael Jackson, Leave Me Alone

Posted in Michael Jackson, Youtube Favs on June 12th, 2011 by Willie

Soul week comes to a close with part 87 of my ever expanding youtube countdown.  Today, I have my favorite Michael Jackson cut of all time, “Leave Me Alone,” from Bad. Released in 1987, “Leave Me Alone” was actually left off the American version of Bad, but was later added as a bonus track.  This, I’ll never understand.  It was clearly the best song from the session, representing a clear, concise, and true message from the King of Pop.  It’s basically his banner, more than “Billie Jean,” or “Beat It,” and he should have played it at every live show.  Actually, I don’t think he ever performed it live, which is a shame, because its the hardest rocking piece of funk MJ ever came up with.  The thing that grabs me most are first few seconds.  That 80s snyth keyboard intro is nothing less than hardcore 80s psychedelia.  In fact, this whole song is the closest Jackson ever got to psychedelia.  It’s a swirling, paranoid, personal, foray into his inner demons set to pop music, and it rules.  Anyway, enjoy the music video, which is also one of Jackson’s best.

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