Song Of The Week - Who Is It

analogue

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Many fans consider this to be the greatest song that Michael Jackson has ever created.

 
I've never heard this song. What album is it on?
 
Thriller I think

I prefer the Pitbull version.

I jest of course, Who Is It is the finest song,not just from MJ's catalogue, but from any catalogue.

I NEVER tire of it and adore each one of it's entire 394 seconds, and even more on the demo version.

I've written the below on it before:

'Who Is It' begins with a haunting choral piece before breaking into a baseline to blow your mind. This was to be recreated in the infamous Oprah Winfrey interview where Michael blew our minds again with a beat boxing accapella intro that summed up genius in 30 seconds.

If 'Who Is It' was to be categorised into a genre, I suppose it's a soul epic, the last 2 minutes of which are pure pleasure as Michael adlibs his way over a repeated chorus with a voice that encapsulates heartbreak and unrequited love.

Because of Michael's success in terms of sales and innovation in terms of dance, his songwriting genius can get missed, but 'Who Is It' is a perfect example of why it shouldn't be and why his production skills shouldn't be overlooked either as he single handedly produced this. In my view the best song on the album, if not his best ever.


Add to this the fact that's it's then followed by Give In To Me & Will You Be There and you have the best 3 consecutive songs of all time on any album.
 
Who is It is most definitely the most greatest MJ song ever written. Stranger In Moscow is a very close 2nd. I remember first hearing the song on the night of the Oprah interview back in February of 1993. I was 13 years old then. And for many, many years I have been totally obsessed with that song. You might be surprised of all the different versions I have of that song. I probably have more versions of that song. More than any other MJ song I have different versions of. It was just last night I was listening to the extended version. And the extended version is over 8 minutes long. But I also have probably every single remix that was ever made for that song. And of all the Pepsi commercials Michael had ever made. The Pepsi Dreams commercial will always be my number 1 favorite of his. I just so totally love how Who Is It was played during that commercial. I think that is the most greatest Pepsi commercial that was ever made.
 
The lighting in the short film, Who Is It, gives the character's faces like store mannequins. eerie and artificial.

The whole idea links to this sense of being plastic and fake, not quite real. We can’t quite trust what they say because, although they seem human, they aren’t. And this extends to the words they say and the theme of the song. In terms of the lighting, I really enjoy the fact that the light seems drowned out by the encroaching darkness.

And of course, there are so many shots where only half of a face is illuminated, giving us a sense that the characters are being duplicitous and untrustworthy. Isn’t that what Who is It is all about? Who can we trust? Who has betrayed us?

There are numerous shots where a face is only partially lit, suggesting we don’t see that person completely – not their face, their motives, or their character. So even something as subtle as lighting reinforces the meaning of the film and the lyrics. Who can we trust?, as you say. And it isn’t just the shape-shifting female lead, the one who goes by so many different names (Alex, Diana, Celeste, Eve, … ). All of the characters are pretty shadowy – both psychologically and visually. It’s not clear that we can trust anyone.

The wardrobe and makeup artists employed to execute these spectacular acts of duplicity evoke the world of espionage, corporate or national security, and figures in the hundreds of millions or billions.

The Second World War was famed for its duplicitous female agents, using their womanly wiles to tempt secrets out of the (predominantly male) opposition. However, I also find it quite interesting that the character of the high-end sex-worker has a value far higher than the average viewer might expect. This is a character who obviously serves very wealthy clients and tends to their every whim.

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https://dancingwiththeelephant.word...-at-neo-noir-in-michael-jacksons-short-films/
 
Like most fans - I really love Who Is It.

I just wish he had performed it live. With beatboxing intro like the Oprah Interviews maybe. - And then no playback - the addlibs at the end.

Could have been his finest song performed live.

BUT - the song it self is great.
Haunting bass, some interesting melody changes, MJ's vocals are filled with despair and so much feeling.

Great great song.
 
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