Published on Aug 6, 1997
I had to be very gentle with one of my friend-enemies at school
when I found out that he still thought Jacko … err, Jackson was
the King of Pop. So I empathically counted off the reasons why I
hated
HIStory off on my fingers and found myself thinking, infront
of my speechless friend, this would make a review decent enough for
Mr. Thelen. So Jong-Hak-ah, I hope you’re reading this.
The twenty-something dollars are not a total loss; I do like
Disc One, which is a greatest hits package. And we all know that
Jackson does have oodles of great hits. I’ve always thought of
“Billie Jean” as a potential “Papa Don’t Preach” and admired his
computer tailoring in “The Way You Make Me Feel” plus others.
Jackson is a very rare artist who can actually make computer music
sound like, um, computer music, and we will be forever grateful for
his role in bringing multi-texturing to a new overproduced
level.
And it’s undeniable that Jackson goes all the way (strange way
of putting that; the world has turned into a mob of would-be
Michael-haters). He doesn’t have an energetic voice but “Wanna Be
Starting Something” and “Beat It” (of course) have a strong edge to
them. His vocal technique sickens me in “Heal The World” and “Rock
With You” but it’s thrilling in “Black Or White” and “Man In The
Mirror”. His ballads range from the horrific (“She’s Out Of My
Life”, and DO I blame you MJ) to the passable (“I Just Can’t Stop
Loving You”). Oh yeah, and the laughable stupidheaded-ness of “The
Girl Is Mine”.
Ah, Disc Two. (JB rubs his hands; sparks fly)
So, Michael; WHAT HAPPENED??? I mean, is it Lisa Marie (“Your
being provides the star that brightens my galaxy and the force that
strengthens me. Love, Michael” – liner notes; I’m not kidding!) or
something? This new-found depression is scarier than
“Thriller”.
Now that I got the snide remarks out of the way, allow me to be
more specific. One: “Scream”. Two people with the wimpiest voices
in pop tackle a heavy scream fight with a
pseudo-political-awareness theme and the result is a track that
“really … makes me … want t-” (sorry)
Two: “They Don’t Really Care About Us”. I still can’t believe
they blotted out “Jew” and “kike”. This song is SUPPOSED to be
race-conscious. Sure I winced when I heard the word “inkhead”, but
it’s a necessesary evil; certain people may have done more damage
than they think. It’s typical of Jackson’s style (his better style)
and it would’ve been even better if they had edited out that
annoying series of hooting he does along with the “anti-semitic”
lyrics.
Three: “This Time Around”, “D.S.”, “Money”, “Come Together” and
“2 Bad”. Five songs to portray Jackson’s new outlook on Real Life.
Complete with the word “shit”, gunshots, and pro-materialism; it’s
always sad to see innocence lost (or so I gather).
Four: “Childhood” and “Tabloid Junkie”. First, an appealing
approach. Then a dissing approach. They both don’t work; tabloids
will forever love Jackson (the higher you are, the more fun it is
for other people to watch you fall). “Childhood” is way too
saccharine for me to believe it (and I’m a Mariah Carey fan, too)
and “Tabloid Junkie” is too obvious.
Five: “HIStory”, “Little Susie” and “Smile”. The three are
pathetic attempts at, respectively, sampling, awareness, and
remaking.
But Michael Jackson is an artist in the end. “Stranger In
Moscow” is an honest account from within laid over a beautifully
visual setting. “Earth Song” is what “Heal The World” should’ve
been; less naive and more epic (it’s a huge planet). For once even
the hooting seems to be in place.
It’s fashionable to bash Michael Jackson these days (number
three under Mark Fhurman and the Spice Girls) and Jong-Hak did
playfully bash Carey sometime back (I NEVER forget, nor
forgive, these instances; just so you’d know). And I admit
that it looks very immature and unprofessional, how I laid out
these “One, Two, Three” reasons. But this album has had its share
of hype (there’s a commentary by Jackie O herself in the booklet,
for pete’s sake) and I see no serious hurt in flaunting my
no-wisdom youth once in a while (I ask you: how long would I get to
do it?).
If you feel nauseated, I’m sure that Mr. Thelen, who’s
slightly more mature than I am, will be back tomorrow.