83magic
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Michael was already showing his vocal range before the mid to late '80's.
you had the soaring falsetto of 'don't stop til you get enough'.
the urgency of 'say say say' and 'billie jean'.
the tenderness of 'human nature' and 'she's out of my life'.
of course, the aggression of 'beat it'.
that's just to name a few at the top of my head.
the only difference is that he took that aggression from 'beat it', multiplied it by 10, until it cancelled out almost everything else! it didn't add to anything.
'beat it' was crucial and genuine in its message; fighting to prove how tough you are is foolish. keep your dignity and walk away with your head held high. don't be a macho man. it tackled toxic masculinity before it was even a trending topic! Michael was the only man in that video that didn't follow the crowd. yet he ended up being the coolest one there by being himself. he united the feuding gangs through dance. this is key in what made him a role model for young people. the song was used in the president's wife's stop drink driving campaign. parents actually wanted their children to look up to him.
all of that changed with the next album..
despite the previous good that Michael did, he was criticised by some in the media and his 'peers' for being too soft. he admitted that he didn't like his 'goody-goody' image (though one could argue that it wasn't an image in the first place). which is why he changed it to become the very thing that he spoke out against; he started grabbing himself, he stalked and harassed women ('the way you make me feel'), violence was now the solution to solving problems ('smooth criminal'/'moonwalker'). he gave in to the ways of the world instead of standing strong in his convictions. people could see through the act though - which was why it wasn't taken seriously.
another reason why things became murky was because Michael began planting stories about himself in the tabloids (oxygen chamber/elephant bones). by cultivating such a reputation for himself, he consequently pushed his music and art into the background. despite complaining about the reaction he sought out in the first place, he continued such antics until a year before his death. it's a shame because he didn't need a persona, especially one that was so beneath him. he was already an interesting artist and person.
you had the soaring falsetto of 'don't stop til you get enough'.
the urgency of 'say say say' and 'billie jean'.
the tenderness of 'human nature' and 'she's out of my life'.
of course, the aggression of 'beat it'.
that's just to name a few at the top of my head.
the only difference is that he took that aggression from 'beat it', multiplied it by 10, until it cancelled out almost everything else! it didn't add to anything.
'beat it' was crucial and genuine in its message; fighting to prove how tough you are is foolish. keep your dignity and walk away with your head held high. don't be a macho man. it tackled toxic masculinity before it was even a trending topic! Michael was the only man in that video that didn't follow the crowd. yet he ended up being the coolest one there by being himself. he united the feuding gangs through dance. this is key in what made him a role model for young people. the song was used in the president's wife's stop drink driving campaign. parents actually wanted their children to look up to him.
all of that changed with the next album..
despite the previous good that Michael did, he was criticised by some in the media and his 'peers' for being too soft. he admitted that he didn't like his 'goody-goody' image (though one could argue that it wasn't an image in the first place). which is why he changed it to become the very thing that he spoke out against; he started grabbing himself, he stalked and harassed women ('the way you make me feel'), violence was now the solution to solving problems ('smooth criminal'/'moonwalker'). he gave in to the ways of the world instead of standing strong in his convictions. people could see through the act though - which was why it wasn't taken seriously.
another reason why things became murky was because Michael began planting stories about himself in the tabloids (oxygen chamber/elephant bones). by cultivating such a reputation for himself, he consequently pushed his music and art into the background. despite complaining about the reaction he sought out in the first place, he continued such antics until a year before his death. it's a shame because he didn't need a persona, especially one that was so beneath him. he was already an interesting artist and person.