Alien Ant Farm Cover Of "Smooth Criminal" C/D?

xoxo

But what isn't?

Smooth Criminal = meh. Can't get too upset about it either way.

Alien Ant Farm - the only portion of the song/video I've caught are the 15 second MTV spots they use to promote the video. Lead singer looks like Ed Grimley without the hair & fashion sense. The grab crotch / window explosion bit is pretty amusing (though it can't even come close to the original). Burn the rest. Just for that ass band name, burn.

But I think I feel this way about all MJ covers. His performances actually tend to distract you from how great his songs are, whereas shifting them to a new context really makes them shine.

RIP

they were no Lit

they were no Disturbed

Fixed.

Funny thing: this song is still 219 times better than "(Move Like) Michael Jackson" by The Mitchell Brothers ft Calvin Harris

Bands need to start singing inside boxing rings again. That's what's wrong with emo, nobody's singing inside a boxing ring.

Quarishi RIP

You know, I've actually been waiting for someone to bring this up -- somewhere, anywhere in my daily life -- so that I can say: I think it's sort of sweet. Yes, a lamentable pickup on the punch-up-an-80s hit trend; yes, a band I can't imagine has done anything else worthwhile, even; and yes, somehow deeply un-special -- but something about the tight production and the hypnotic repetition (with key changes every three seconds) of the song itself makes it pretty cool.

I agree with this. At the time I was fiercely annoyed by Alien Ant Farm (their really bad other single, "Movies" didn't help) but hearing "Smooth Criminal" recently, it really kinda works. WAY better than the Bizkit "Faith," it seems to be going not for the dumbass shock of that track, but instead a sort of genuine delight in the song. The "woah, 80s, hilarious!" factor is in play, sure, but it's not nearly as vexing as that horrible pop-punk song where the guy is like

Remember the time we wrote our names up on the wa-aaaall
REMEMBER THE TIME WE REALIZED THRILLER WAS OUR FAVORITE SONG??

And they manage to have fun with the song while still getting the kind of wiry tension that makes the original so great. You want to punch the smirking lead singer in the face, but it's really not so bad. Next: can someone breathe new life into "Who Is It?"

Bands need to start singing inside boxing rings again. That's what's wrong with emo, nobody's singing inside a boxing ring.

This leads nowhere but Papa Roach.

Spiritual son: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgmL2LeuhY4

The main problem with a cover like this is that it reminds you how much better the song they're covering is than their own songs.

is singer from fall out boy bald or something? he wears hats a lot.

Is that Buster from Arrested Development in there?

he'll probably become bald if he doesn't stop wearing hats 24/7

The main problem with a cover like this is that it reminds you how much better the song they're covering is than their own songs.

^^^^ Truth nuke

The video for the original "Smooth Criminal" is referenced when the band members do the video's choreographed lean.
Various objects and sidewalk panels lighting up is a reference to the video for "Billie Jean." Additionally, an editing technique utilizing several split screens and freeze frames mirrors a similar sequence in "Billie Jean."
The scene where lead singer Dryden Mitchell stands on a car and screams while its windows explode is taken from the controversial ending of the video for "Black or White".
Several references are made to "Thriller", including the dance by the old men, the werewolf mask worn by the girl jumping into the pool, and the end of the video where a man turns to the camera with cat's eyes.
The chimpanzee is a reference to Michael Jackson's pet chimp Bubbles. In addition to that, the chair Mitchell is sitting on during the scenes with the chimp is shaped like a gloved hand.
The Japanese school girls in uniforms holding the sign reading "We love AAF" is a reference to Michael Jackson's idol status in Japan.
Lead singer Mitchell rips a ventilation shaft grill from the ground, releasing steam. This is a combined reference to the video for the song "Bad", in which Jackson pulled a grill from a subway wall as well as another scene from the controversial ending of the video for "Black or White" where Michael Jackson dances in steam rising from the ground.
Michael Jackson-like vocalizations can be heard, including a high-pitched "Whoo!" several times in a row.
The lead singer Mitchell pulls up his pants to expose his socks, much like Michael Jackson.
Drummer Mike Cosgrove wears one white studded glove.
Bobby Edner performs a dance similar to the dance moves of Michael Jackson. He wears an E.T. shirt, a reference to the E.T. storybook album narrated by Jackson. In an alternate version of the video, he is wearing a surgeon's mask, as Jackson often does in public.
One man has a tattoo of Elizabeth Taylor on his back. In 1989, Taylor proclaimed Jackson as the King of Pop.

I'll go ahead and say classic, it's a great song and it's fun to hear them going for it. Besides, it had to be done sooner or later (does anyone have another band that they would prefer to have done it though?).
― Jordan, Monday, 16 July 2001 00:00 (7 years ago) Permalink

L7.
― Tracer Hand, Monday, 16 July 2001 00:00 (7 years ago) Permalink

Truth supernova

lol 2001

Do I smell a reunion tour?

"6 months pass..." makes that post so much funnier

In light of recent events, something smells.

I wouldn't mind hearing this song today.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/9396138a24fa23d5553762d39a990730/tumblr_mkwlrl6YPu1s5ryq1o1_500.gif