For a long time, “Human Nature” was not my favorite song on Thriller. It took me many years to wise up to how awesome it is. Maybe it’s a gender thing. I played it for Anna last night and she swooned instantly over the delivery, arrangement, melody, the whole thing worked for her. I’m slowly opening up to it too. I was amused to learn that it was written by Steve Porcaro and John Bettis of Toto. I don’t know if they or Quincy Jones thought up the synth intro and outtro, but both are gorgeous.
There’s a cool scene in the TV Movie “The Jacksons – An American Dream” showing Michael in the studio recording “Human Nature.” It’s at around 6:58 and unfortunately the sound isn’t lined up too closely.
Here’s a cool fan video:
SWV samples “Human Nature” for their song “Right Here (Human Nature Mix.)
“Human Nature” is extensively quoted, if not actually sampled, in Tupac’s “Thug Nature.”
Miles Davis played it a lot his last few years, unfortunately not while he was at the peak of his game. Still, it’s intriguing to hear his interpretation.
A sample of “Human Nature” runs under the verses in Nas’ song “It Ain’t Hard To Tell.”
The track was produced by Large Professor. It also includes samples of “NT” by Kool and the Gang, “Why Can’t People Be Colors Too?” by the Whatnauts, “Slow Dance” by Stanley Clarke, “What Do You Want From Me Woman” by The Blue Jays, “Long Red” by Mountain and “Sorcerer Of Isis” by Power Of Zeus. Nas himself sampled “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” in his later song “Nas Is Like”. He isn’t the only one. “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” has been sampled in “Killing Fieldz” by Gravediggaz, “Invasion” by Jeru the Damaja, “Survival Of The Fittest” by Mobb Deep, “Half Man Half Amazin” by Pete Rock and others. Here’s a diagram of all the samples Nas used on Illmatic:
Where else is “Human Nature” out there in pop culture? Any other samples or covers I should be aware of? Hit me in the comments.
Here’s a mashup including many of the tracks mentioned in this post:
Human Nature Megamix by ethanhein
And here’s a mashup with Björk’s “Human Behaviour.”
You’ve got me. Sounds like it would be a pretty easy sample to pull though.
So I’m into MJ remixes at the moment & have to ask, have you done/considered/know of a good remix of Who Is It – I’ve always thought the bass was kick-ass but couldn’t stand the way he sang it (not into the crying/hiccuping thing too much).
The other remix I’m looking for is the bass from Threatened – not sure if you’ve seen This Is It, but the best part was when Thriller transitioned to Threatened; sounds positively gangsta – starts around 4:10 here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lcVtN6zNes
Flattery will get you everywhere. Glad you’re enjoying the tracks. They’re a labor of love.
If you click through the link and let the whole thing load, you can save it by clicking File->Save. Alternately, you can right-click the download link (option-click on Mac) and it’ll save to your desktop automatically.
OMG I love your remix – I’ve loved this song since it first came out & have hunted down every cover/sample/remix and this is far the best! You’re my hero tonight : )
I’m not sure if I’m doing anything wrong but I’m not able to download your files when I click the download links – it just plays in the player. Is it supposed to be like that? I’m digging the Bittersweet remix as well!
I should add that I tried to figure out the song on acoustic guitar. The chords are simple but the rhythms are demanding. Hats off to Billy Crawford for wanting to interpret it.
Human Nature & Wanna Be Startin Something have always been my favorite songs by Michael. I’ve read your post on Startin’ Something; it was said to be one of his favorites & was almost always the first song in his set list for his concerts.
There is a pretty good acoustic cover of Human Nature by Billy Crawford
I also thought John Mayer’s rendition at the memorial was good.
I never saw an MJ concert and wish I had, I bet they were intense. TV and movies are cool but probably don’t do them justice.
I’m no great John Mayer fan but I agree, his rendition at the memorial was beautiful.