At last, some more of that postmortem Michael Jackson craziness we've been hoping for. While things have been relatively normal as the world remembers the King of Pop, we're happy to report that the legend may have written and recorded the soundtrack for the classic Sega game, Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
The Guardian points to quotes from composer Brad Buxer, who told the French magazine Black & White that MJ was heavily involved with the game's soundtrack.
"Michael called me at the time for help on this project, and that's what I did," Buxer said. "At the time, game consoles did not allow optimal sound reproduction, and Michael found it frustrating. He did not want to be associated with a product that devalued his music... If he is not credited for composing the music, it's because he was not happy with the result sound coming out of the console."
These comments echo statements made by Sega executive Roger Hector in a 2005 interview with GamesTM Magazine.
"Michael Jackson was a very big fan of Sonic... and he wanted to record a soundtrack for the game," Hector said. "He came to [Sega] and met with the team to discuss the design theme, story and feel of the game. He then went away and recorded an entire soundtrack that covered all of the worlds. It was fantastic... We had it all ready and integrated into the game when the first news stories came out accusing him of child molestation, and Sega had to back away from this collaboration."
Over at Sega-16, writer Ken Horowitz has compiled an extremely in-depth look at the question of whether Jackson was involved or not. If you're really curious and have nothing better to do, read through it here. A sample of the Sonic 3 music is available below.
The Guardian points to quotes from composer Brad Buxer, who told the French magazine Black & White that MJ was heavily involved with the game's soundtrack.
"Michael called me at the time for help on this project, and that's what I did," Buxer said. "At the time, game consoles did not allow optimal sound reproduction, and Michael found it frustrating. He did not want to be associated with a product that devalued his music... If he is not credited for composing the music, it's because he was not happy with the result sound coming out of the console."
These comments echo statements made by Sega executive Roger Hector in a 2005 interview with GamesTM Magazine.
"Michael Jackson was a very big fan of Sonic... and he wanted to record a soundtrack for the game," Hector said. "He came to [Sega] and met with the team to discuss the design theme, story and feel of the game. He then went away and recorded an entire soundtrack that covered all of the worlds. It was fantastic... We had it all ready and integrated into the game when the first news stories came out accusing him of child molestation, and Sega had to back away from this collaboration."
Over at Sega-16, writer Ken Horowitz has compiled an extremely in-depth look at the question of whether Jackson was involved or not. If you're really curious and have nothing better to do, read through it here. A sample of the Sonic 3 music is available below.
