Song Of The Week - They Don't Care About Us

Earth Song
Who Is It
Will You Be There
Smooth Criminal
They Don't Care About Us

These are the songs. These are the ones where 20-30 years on, I can still recall that spine tingling, hair raising, heart-jumping moment when I first heard it.

These are the songs that 'only Michael Jackson' can make.

These are the songs, that answer the question 'was Michael Jackson a genius?'

I mean, that syncopated drum beat, the snarling, spitted lyrics, the guitar at the end. The same man that wrote this, wrote songs as different as Heal The World?!

I think I've listened to this more times than any other MJ song. I also love the Dallas Austin remix that has the choir at the end.

The Short Film - I adore the Brazil one by far. He looks so good. The addition of Olodum is just genius. It's like adding great cheese to an already great burger. It just gives it that lift.

Scream, TDCAU, Stranger in Moscow. The Opening 3 to HIStory. Honestly, if Michael Jackson had started his career in 1995, released those 3 songs as an EP & then disappeared again, I think he'd still be my favourite artist of all time.

I actually still get stupidly excited when writing stuff like this about my most favourite MJ songs, so good are they that even thinking about them enhances my life & makes me happy.
 
For a long time this was my favourite track on HIStory - I bought CD1 and CD2, and the USA import. Back in the day I was surprised that it didn't chart higher than #4 in the UK, but I guess it's not particularly radio friendly so didn't get much radio play, especially after that unnecessary fuss over the 'anti-semetic' lyrics (which were NOTHING of the sort).

Chris Evans was hosting the Radio 1 breakfast show at the time the song was released and played TDCAU and even took some stick for it live on air. when challenged he just said "What? I like it!" and kept playing it. I can't recall whether he was challenged because it wasn't on the official playlist or because the other presenter(s) didn't like the song.

I also thought there were some fantastic remixes for this song that really should have got more attention. I can't remember which one my favourite was because it's probably been 15 years since I last listened to it, but it featured a gospel choir. I think it was on the USA CD single import that I bought from HMV but I might be wrong. It could have been on one of the UK singles. I really must go and see if I still have it somewhere. EDIT I See it was Dallas Austin remix according to the post above :)
 
They Don't Care About Us just look at the words below this say it all

Skin head, dead head
Everybody gone bad
Situation, aggravation
Everybody allegation
In the suite, on the news
Everybody dog food
Bang bang, shot dead
Everybody's gone mad
All I want to say is that
They don't really care about us
All I want to say is that
They don't really care about us
Beat me, hate me
You can never break me
Will me, thrill me
You can never kill me
Sue me, Sue me
Everybody do me
Kick me, kick me
Don't you black or white me
All I want to say is that
They don't really care about us
All I want to say is that
They don't really care about us
Tell me what has become of my life
I have a wife and two children who love me
I am the victim of police brutality, now
I'm tired of bein' the victim of hate
You're rapin' me of my pride oh, for God's sake

Michael was a pure genius and like it was mention only Michael can do a song like this the song had a message in it it what going on in the world today. I can hear this song today and i feel that pain that ppls are going through the song has touch me in so many ways that why i love it. The short film of the song is excellent and locate of where the short film was done was also perfect. It is still a powerful song today.
 
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One of my favourite songs ever, by anyone.





This song alone makes HIStory MJ's best album to me, that's how highly I rate it.




I love both the videos and also I love the choreography on the HIStory tour. More than anything though, I love the fact that the song has resonated far beyond its initial single release in 1996. It's more relevant in 2017 than it's ever been and speaks to any group of people who have felt oppressed, frustrated and voiceless.




I don't listen to it much, which is a conscious choice, as the song is sacred to me. Every time I do listen to it, it gives me chills. Such a powerful song.

An A+ comment.:yes:
 
Great song! One of his best in my opinion. This was my first MJ song (and the prison version was my first MJ music video). Everytime i hear the song or see the video, I remember the days when i used to watch it over and over as a seven-year-old.
 
My favorite song. To me its the Anthem for Michael Jackson. The Immortal version is great as well. Just play the fricken song it speaks for itself. Pure genius!
 
One of my favourite songs.
This was the first Michael Jackson song I ever heard. I was two years old, and I was unwell, and I was lying on the sofa, grizzling. The Brazil version came on the TV, and as soon as the music started, I sat up, I shut up and I just stared at the screen.
Even now, I still refer to it as the "drummer drummer song" :)

Of course, as I got older, I understood the message and it's so powerful and still so prevalent, perhaps even more so today.
 
Just a small point.

Many people are surprised that a lot more of MJ's songs didn't get to #1 in the UK and US.

I firmly believe that this was down to his albums being soooo successful. MJ was an 'albums seller' for a lot of his career, where other artists were 'singles sellers'. I would guess that an awful lot of people, like me, just went and bought the album.

Fantastic song though. Love it now more than ever. As others have said, perhaps it is even more relevant now than ever before.
 
Definitely one of my favourite MJ songs of all time (it also helps he looks so good in the video, heheh:angel:) The message in that song is so powerful that like others have siad it still is extremely relevant today. Actually, I was thinking a few months back someone on here was talking about how it was used in Black Lives Matter protest/ performance piece/march thing and people got really mad about it? I can't remember fully what happened it's just that the song is so "controversial" it caused problems, which is wild to me how can a song that speaks truths be considered ~controversial~?
 
I think this song is probably the best song he's ever written.
It's an incredible song, his vocal performance is strong and insanely good.
It translated wonderfully into a live stage performance, the drills both in History and This Is It were fantastic.
 
I grew up with TDCAU being as I was 9 when it came out. I knew the song like the back of my hand as played so so much when I was 9 to about 15. Then one day when I was probably 15/16 I played it for the first time in a while and it was the first time I'd ever heard the song as in its message and the anger and just everything. My mind was blown that day and I distinctly remember being shut in my bedroom with some badass headphones on playing it on loop very very loud! I can't recall a moment like it with any other song in my life, it was mad!

Since that day this is one of my favourite favourite MJ songs. Agree that nobody else could write this song and execute it the way Michael did. The drill is a massive personal favourite of mine too!
 
TDCAU is in my top 5 favourite MJ songs. This is one of those songs that definatly deserved to be performed in full live. I always hated that it was thrown in as part of a melody. TDCAU deserved better than that.
 
TDCAU might be the song that took me from being more of a casual fan to a lifelong dedicated fan. Before hearing it, I didn't know Michael sang songs like that. Michael put his heart and soul into this song and it is powerful and raw. Definitely in my top ten Michael songs.
 
Amazing song.

Strong vocals, great lyrics - forever relevant, - unfortunately.
 
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