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Yep, Bill Bottrell talked about it on the GearSlutz site. Michael also came up with Blood On The Dancefloor back in '88 "We may deify or demonize them but not ignore them. And we call them genius, because they are the people who change the world." |
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[/img]I did this a few weeks ago and posted it at the other MJ thread before it was closed:
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Interesting. | |
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"We may deify or demonize them but not ignore them. And we call them genius, because they are the people who change the world." |
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When I was younger and I listened to HIStory, to me, there seemed to be a story going on. Like, it starts out with extreme anger, loneliness, & frustration in Scream, TDCAU, and etc. Then we get to a message of hope & love, looking for someone to connect/reach out to in YANA & Childhood. After that he comes out to warn us in about how people try to screw you over in Tabloid Junkie, 2Bad, History, and Little Susie. Then we get back to while life is hard, cruel, and you should watch your back, remember to face it all with a smile on your face rather than a frown. It starts off of on a negative and ends on a positive.Though I guess, one could argue that Smile and Little Susie do kind of feel a little left field from the overall sound of the album, but thematically, I thought they did fit. So, even though the material was a lot heavier and in some cases way more depressing, I always found this to be my most favorite album by MJ, well right after Blood on the Dancefloor.
I will say that HIStory was the album that took me a good long while to listen to again, after he passed away. To me, it seemed to be the one where he was being completely emotionally honest. Personally, I find it hard to express myself so honestly. When I communicate through my own art it's sort of behind a bit of a facade, because I find it difficult to expose myself as he did. So when I listened to this album it kinda felt like he was really baring his soul, a lot. Something like that isn't always easy to do. Even in Childhood, I know something like that must have been really hard to write, because you really have to reach down there and try to be honest with yourself. He's not the only person to have done something like that, but I do respect him for having the courage to do so.
Though, I will admit that I hated on Childhood for a loooooooong time b/c of those lyrics, also probably because of that Disney-ish sound it has going for it. Being older I have come to respect that song a lot more. Then again I have the same kind of respect for some of his later works people can't seem to stand, such as The Lost Children. (I love that song also & Heal the World. I know I'm a sap.) I also find it kind of funny that some criticized the album, complaining about the fact that he was complaining so much, but...isn't that what MJ did in a lot of his own penned work? I mean going as far back as Blues Away in the Jacksons debut album w/CBS? I always felt that his art was the one place he could communicate so freely with everyone. Everyone argues so much about what kind of person he was and who he was, but I felt that he was always telling us. In each one of his own songs, he revealed that much more. In his music videos, he exposed his own fantasies and wishes that he had.
Recurring themes in one's art reveals a lot about the artist imho.
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LMAO! GTFOH! The songs are nice, but they just didnt fit the overall FEEL of HIStory. All his songs were him taking his anger out on the media and people in general. Then these 2 emo ass records come on at the closing of the album, and it's like WTF! I like the songs, but NOT on HIStory. | |
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To be honest, I didn't like Little Susie for a long time. I freaked me out when I first heard it but as I've gotten older, I've grown to like it. Similar to how I felt about Morphine (which I love the hell out of these days)
Now if there's a song that sticks out like a sore thumb, it's that muthafuckin' Come Together I don't even have it part of the album on my iPod, but the audio rip from Moonwalker
They Don't Care About Us, Come Together, Little Susie, and Earth Song are all songs from earlier sessions
They Don't Care About Us- as early as 1989 Come Together- 1985 Little Susie- as early as 1979 Earth Song- as early as 1989
I may have to put the album in this order one of these days
Scream They Don't Care About Us Stranger In Moscow This Time Around (the last part of Biggie's verse hypes me so much I wanna go and slap the shit out of someone Earth Song Morphine DS Money Why Childhood Tabloid Junkie 2Bad HIStory Little Susie Is It Scary "We may deify or demonize them but not ignore them. And we call them genius, because they are the people who change the world." |
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we already had Come Together from Moonwalker, and again for the bside to Remember the Time in 1992. MJ was shoving that song down our throats! That was better off on Bad. Morphine should have MOST DEF been on HIStory .. I could do without Is It Scary and Ghosts being on there but that damn Susie and Smile just throws off my vibe .. here i am, getting pissed off,ready to cuss Tom Sneddon out and ready to slap anyone that does ANYTHING for MONEY, then, Little Susie brings her sad ass into the room... | |
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One day I'm gonna do a mix of the songs I think fit the album and these will be as follows:
Scream They Don't Care About Us Stranger in Moscow This Time Around Earth Song Morphine D.S. Money Childhood Tabloid Junkie Is It Scary
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tell me you didn't leave off 2bad on purpose! | |
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Shaq ruins the song for me... somewhat. [Edited 8/14/10 1:31am] | |
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HiStory
A lot had changed for Michael Jackson when HiStory was released. No longer was he seen as the creative genius, but rather as at best a target of tabloid journalists and at worst a potential child abuser. But whilst the years leading up to the release of HiStory were traumatic and filled with a lot of unanswered questions, Michael did what Michael knew best to do and that was break the media silence with an album that for the most part was his point of view on what most people took as fact and as the title suggested offered His side of the Story – the best way Michael knew how, through music.
Whilst packaging the album as a double cd filled with greatest hits and new music was a smart marketing tool and way to reintroduce Michael to a weary public, what the fans longed to hear was the new material. We didn’t need to convinced of his legacy. What we wanted to hear was where he was going to take us next.
For many of the press there was speculation as to whether he would actually address what had transpired in the previous years, or would Michael retreat into a fantasy world of imagery and safe pop. Thankfully, Michael didn’t hide and instead delivered his most personal album of his career.
With the industrial distorted introduction of Scream blasting through the speakers it was almost like Michael was rebooting for a new chapter in his life. And for those who though Michael might tread lightly the first verse showed he was instead going to tackle things head on. With a hard hitting beat grounding the track Michael and sister Janet trade verses in a unified attack at the injustice, frustration, and pressure that being in the public light delivers. As if saying you want the truth you got it, lyrically it contains some of Michael’s most direct and confronting utterances. In both an attack, and plea for relief, the song throws down hard and doesn’t let up. This is Michael mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore. Scream still pumps hard and has become a favourite for many a fan wanting Michael to step up.
They Don’t Care About Us continues with the anger. Its pulsing rhythmic shunt lays a bare bone foundation for Michael to spit out his lyrics that for the first time dismisses the idea of being universally loved, and hits hard with reality that he might be hated by some, yet he challenges them to truly see what it is they are hating and what they base their hatred on – stories fed to them by someone “in a suit, on the news” where people are chewed up and spat out like “dog food” and everyone has an “allegation”. It’s almost like Michael is welcoming the aggression knowing that ultimately the truth will be his savour. And perhaps in the only moment that Michael truly addresses the labels people were now willing to sling in his direction he counters with “I’m tired of being the victim of shame, you’re throwing me in a class with a bad name”. Where this song could have easily drifted heavily into a hostile rant, Michael manages to salvage it with vocals that at times attack but in equal measures draw you in.
After the aural assault of the opening two tracks, Michael shifts gears with one his all time greatest tracks, the hauntingly beautiful Stranger in Moscow. Again he wears his heart on his sleave, but rather than play the victim he lets us into his experience of his “swift and sudden fall from grace” and how it feels to be “abandoned in my fame”. He opens himself up with honesty that let’s us feel his pain without him asking for us to pity him. Musically the track features some beautiful melodies that both underscore the sadness of the situation but yet still offers a moment of hope that “sunny days will drown the pain”. But rather than fully arrive at a happy ending, Michael stays with the reality of feeling alone and makes the song more powerful for it.
While the previous songs perhaps looked at the previous years with a focus on the media in general, This Time Around hits squarely at those accusing him. He unfurls their plans to “control him” and “get him” and “falsely accuse”. And with a tone of lesson learned, he also seems to deliver the lyrics as if having the last laugh. Once again Michael’s ability to draw you in with a vocal melody is present and it’s often not until you actually listen to the lyrics do you realise how harsh and attacking the song is.
Earth Song, whilst originally written for inclusion on Dangerous seems better suited here. As a moment of reprieve from his personal world, Michael turns his attention to the world at large and the plight we are leaving this earth in. With an epic arrangement that starts soft and simple and builds with every passing bar to a raucous gospel tinged plea for action, Earth Song has a truth to it that was lacking in a song like Heal The World. Rich and lush productions means that almost every time you listen to it you hear something new, it might be the trickling strings, it might be the weeping guitar, of the bed of vocal harmonies that surround you. Bombastic? Maybe. But there is a sense of urgency and power to the song that can’t be denied and makes it one of Michael’s most gifted musical arrangements.
D.S. is a curious song for a few reasons. One because of its subject matter; a thinly veiled attack on Tom Sneddon. And two, because it is potentially the weakest track on the album. Maybe it was a cathartic move for Michael to include it, and perhaps the music sample of “Owner of Lonely Heart” by YES was another jab. I remember listening to it and thinking Michael was playing with fire (and history might suggest he was) but more I kept wanting the song to take me somewhere, instead it just seems to follow the one attacking path with almost 2 minutes of continuous rants that “Tom Sneddon is a cold man”.
Thankfully Money brings the focus back on track, and is the soundtrack to all the people willing to make a quick buck and sell another out. No one escapes the wrath of Michael here, from those who use him for the money, those you preach one thing then do the other, to insurance companies that force settlements, to those who will betray you for a dime, or sell you out, and swear on a lie. Of course, Michael makes it all so irresistible with one of the catchiest chorus on the album especially in the way he teases out “money” and even tells those making a quick buck on his dime to actually go out an earn an honest living like people like “Trump, Morgan, Rockefeller, Getty”. For me, this was standout track on the album and should have been a single. It remains to this day a must have on any compilation.
Come Together was another odd inclusion of new material as it had already been featured in MoonWalker, featured as a bonus track on Jam (and in some countries on Remember the Time). So to see it here on HiStory was a little perplexing. There was a bit of sadness in it no longer being a rare collectible b-side. And whilst it is my favourite Beatles song it did feel out of place on the album for a long time. But as a cover version goes it’s pretty cool.
Despite You Are Not Alone going down in the history books as being the first single ever to debut at number 1, it was a song that just never really grabbed it. For some reason it seemed to be an R&B ballad done by the numbers and never really felt like an MJ song until he takes control of it during the last few minutes.
Following up You Are Not Alone with Childhood probably wasn’t the best sequencing of tracks. Part broadway musical, part sacharrine Disney ballad it just felt too soppy to really be taken seriously. Though over time the song has grown on me, it doesn’t captivate me in ways I hoped it would. What does wow me though, is that the vocal performance we hear is (minus a pickup line) a one take recording done whilst the orchestra played, which makes you appreciate Michael’s vocals even more.
Just when I felt like HiStory was fading at the mid point Tabloid Junkie came in to save the day. Once again Michael is in the role of media victim, but this time the is standing up against the machine. Starting with a role call of the weird stories that begam synonymous with his celebrity, the song shifts into a hard hitting, vocal spitting groove that mixes anger in the lead vocals with an alluring softness in the harmonies of the backing vocals. And once again showing his prowess in being able to meld a catchy pop melody with an attacking vocal the chorus lands its message of fact versus fiction where “just because you read in a magazine or see it on a tv screen don’t make factual”. Michael also cleverly layers in various pieces of gossip through the song around the typical speculation over him being homosexual, to a newsreport about Bubbles getting married. Again, this is a song that deserved to be a single, not just for it’s sure chart success but because it was convincing response to the media madness that revolved around him.
With a powerful 1-2 punch 2BAD kicks off with a Run DMC sample from King of Rock before launching into a blistering groove complete with bass and horn blast attacks. Once again Michael goes on the attack, targeting all those who scramble to get a piece of his fame and money and those who “tried to bring me to my knees”. One of the songs greatest features is the way Michael uses the backing vocals mixing both high notes with brooding low ones. This is perhaps the one song that has the most amount of backing vocals in all of Michael’s recordings, with them evening accompanying most verses. The only downside to the track is once the frenetic breakdown hits we have Shaq doing a rap which sadly doesn’t have the bite that Michael’s own lyrics have. The one saving grace in the rap is the way in which the live horns are treated and manipulated to have a sharper edge. Musically this song has so many elements in the mix that you need to listen to it over and over (and with headphones on) to truly appreciate the intricate layers in it.
With a symphonic introduction you just know that HiStory is going to verge on being overproduced, but somehow it holds under the weight of its ambition. Using samples from through out great moments in history (including his own “I don’t sing it if I don’t mean it” grab from an early Jackson 5 interview) the track acts in total duality mixing the hard and ready verses with almost Disneyesque sappy tendancies in the singalong style chorus. This mix of hard with oh so soft, makes History a song that has many loving and hating it simultaneously. Though once heard it is hard to get the hook of the chorus out of your head. And it’s only in the final few minutes do I normally give up wanting it to be harder and just go with the beautiful melody that is woven throughout it. Here Michael uses his own struggles to try and inspire while still pushing a focus on the struggles of the world. With it’s bombastic crescendo and historic moment role call it’s almost as if HiStory closes out the album.
The joyous climax of HiStory is undercut with the more sombre Little Susie which in composition borrows heavily from Sunrise Sunset yet has Michael reworking this beautiful arrangement to punctuate the sadness of tale contained in the lyrics. A bretheran to Childhood in its musical production for me Little Susie is more listenable as I am more drawn into the story unfolding and enjoy seeing the way Michael sings continuously as lead vocal and without the reliance of chorus refrain in the true sense of the word.
Like Little Susie, Smile feels a little like an afterthought on the whole concept of the album, as if they might have worked better as hidden or bonus tracks. That sad, his take on the Charlie Chaplin penned song is beautiful and even more impressive when you learn it is (for the most part) a one take recording, done live with orchestra present. It seemed fitting at the time for Michael to record this, as if to say in the face of all the world has thrown at me I am still going to smile and get on with things. Of course nowadays, it has become a song that many a fan finds comfort in, whilst others feel it strikes too strong a chord with his passing. But just hearing Michael whistle and laugh as the song closes makes me feel like the lyrics of the song have served their purpose.
On a whole HiStory was the album Michael needed to make. He couldn’t hide from what had been going on around him for fear that critics (and fans) would have claimed he was retreating more into a musical fantasy world. Of course, many feel this is Michael’s “angry” album, but I welcome it. The writing is honest and personal and in many instances more relatable than his bigger flashier hits. It is, for the most part, a cohesive and consistently great album packed with killer songs and the one or two filler tracks, and reminded us all of the genius Michael has when he enters the recording studio.
To this day HiStory remains a solid favourite album of mine.
Swa
"I'm not human I'm a dove, I'm ur conscience. I am love" | |
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I'd choose Shaq anyday over Fats | |
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MJ wanted to release BOTD as a five track EP. The remixes to the singles from HIStory were fairly successful in the European club scene and so Sony talked Michael into adding the 5 new songs to a remix album, which also helped tie it in with the HIStory album promotion, which was still underway at the time of BOTD's release. | |
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Great post.
Michael was in a no win situation for some. If he wrote a personal album people were like ok enough already move on, and if he didn't then it would have been why isn't he facing up to everything that went down.
As I mention in my discussion of the album, it remains one of my favourites for the sheer personal tone it takes.
Love your take on it too. "I'm not human I'm a dove, I'm ur conscience. I am love" | |
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My top ten:
1. Who Is It Dark, haunting masterpiece. The best song he ever recorded.
2. Morphine Probably the edgiest thing he's done and the most autobiographical song ever recorded by any mainstream pop artist. Utter genius.
3. They Don't Care About Us His vocal delivery, the beat, the video, the strings, the harmonies, the lyrics. It's just perfect.
4. Don't Stop Til You Get Enough This song is so brilliant. The spoken word intro, then bam "aaaoow" and those awesome strings kick in. Funky as hell. If this song doesn't make you wanna move then there's something wrong with you!
5. Walk Right Now My favourite Jacksons song. Such a great melody and arrangement. Brilliant vocal delivery. I love it when Michael uses his songs to tell a story. This is also probably his first femme fatale song.
6. You Are There There's just something about this song, it's so melancholic and Michael's voice was so pure back then. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Beautiful.
7. Billie Jean I know it's a predictable choice, but no matter how many times I hear it I never get tired of it. You don't need me to tell you how perfect this song is.
8. Little Susie Who else could write this song but Michael? Beautiful, sinister and mournful. Another great storytelling song.
9. Wanna Be Startin Somethin This song is so alive. Mentally it conjures up memories of all the fantastic live performances he's done of this song over the years. That rhythm is so funky it just makes you want to move. The lyrics are jibberish but in a strange way, it gives the song it's charm. And the chant at the end is something only a true genius would come up with.
10. Earth Song It's just epic, isn't it? How can anybody not watch his live ad-libs at the end of the WMA performance from 1996 and not be amazed by how talented this man is???
Other honourable mentions: Beat It (man, that solo!), Push Me Away, We've Had Enough, Jam, Smooth Criminal, Man In The Mirror (it killed me not including that in my top ten), History, Speechless, Monkey Business, Give Into Me, On The Line, To Make My Father Proud.
[Edited 8/14/10 1:56am] | |
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These two are some of my favourites on the album. I adore these songs. "When Michael Jackson is just singing and dancing, you just think this is an astonishing talent. And he has had this astounding talent all his life, but we want him to be floored as well. We really don´t like the idea that he could have it all." | |
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If this Tour and the Triumph-Tour will ever, ever see the daylight on official HQ dvd | |
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[img:$uid]http://i37.tinypic.com/qrj87m.jpg[/img:$uid]
[img:$uid]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m294/Niece5/4-11.jpg[/img:$uid] "we make our heroes in America only to destroy them" | |
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I agree wholehearted, especially at the bolded part. Some people are like that when it comes to expressing themselves. They express it through their art and music because it's hard for them to articulate it. MJ has always been a controversial person, since I could remember, growing up in the 70's. He is the most misunderstood celebrity ever. He was always talking, but who was listening? It's funny how through the years, I bought his albums solely to just jam and relax to, but listening to the "History" album, I've actually listened to his lyrics and felt his anger and pain. I bought the album at the time of my life when I, too was going through changes in my life. Today, I appreciate MJ and his art even more. | |
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Ugh. Carosel. ***shudder*** Thank GOD that was left off the album. Sweet Jesus, that songs upsets me. Grown ass man singing about popcorn and candy and clowns. Prince esta muerto...
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It definitely messes up things. Thriller had the right sequencing.
Take it up with Mike Sembello. lol. | |
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I think I want to cry
MICHAEL JACKSON
R.I.P مايكل جاكسون للأبد 1958 | |
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Erykah Badu speaks out on Michael's death and legacy (and what she says is so true too!):
Check me out and add me on:
www.last.fm/user/brandosoul "Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." -Bob Marley | |
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Well, for me, of course there are too many really. I could say how after going years without thinking much about him i could be blown away by his artistry. I could say the moment I was rushing to catch a bus when the Beat It video came on and I stopped and was entranced but I think I will say the Grammy's when everyone bowed down, when the commercials and speeches happened. I don't think life was ever as sweet as a Michael fan or for Michael himself. | |
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"we make our heroes in America only to destroy them" | |
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I love Carousel. "When Michael Jackson is just singing and dancing, you just think this is an astonishing talent. And he has had this astounding talent all his life, but we want him to be floored as well. We really don´t like the idea that he could have it all." | |
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"we make our heroes in America only to destroy them" | |
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