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new book about working with MJ during HIStory

innuendo141 said:
I actually always questioned why k*ke was used, but he used the word brother instead of n*gger. I dont think the controversy would have been anywhere near as bad, but using just one very no no slur against a different race or religion.

I think if MJ had used the N word, it would have been so powerful coming from Michael Jackson, in a song highlighting the injustices minorities face. It's powerful already, I just thought it was an odd choice to hold back when referring to his own race when it would be a lot more closer to home for him.
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Maybe with the word "brother" he wanted to focus on the connection between people/his connection to the black community. And I am sure he wanted the controversy - in the end it was a little too much though.
 
innuendo141 said:
MJ could not grasp that just because he didnt mean to hurt people doesnt mean that people were not hurt.
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But nobody was? It's just manufactured controversy to make people listen to the song. People didn't complain, it's just that the TV told you that people did.

innuendo141 said:
My eyebrows have yet to come down from the top of my scalp as to Dan suggesting the HIStory album title and MJ going with it. I can't just accept that.
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I was interested in this part too. Maybe it's just creative license.
 
It bothers me a bit how he drones on and on about the lyrics but in the same breath he says Wacko ***** had racist connotations and never bats against that one. As if Michael had solved racism with Thriller.
 
innuendo141 said:
I think if MJ had used the N word, it would have been so powerful coming from Michael Jackson, in a song highlighting the injustices minorities face. It's powerful already, I just thought it was an odd choice to hold back when referring to his own race when it would be a lot more closer to home for him.
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The media would have attacked him for it too, you know how they like to say he didn't want to be black and was trying to turn himself into a white man...

R1chard said:
But nobody was? It's just manufactured controversy to make people listen to the song. People didn't complain, it's just that the TV told you that people did.
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Yeah, the media really created a problem where there was none. Nobody thought that song was controversial until the media decided that it was, despite knowing perfectly well what Michael meant. They were purposefully trying to turn Michael's words into a weapon against the very people he was trying to defend. Hurtful for Michael AND the Jewish community. If the media cared about Jewish people, they would have just clarified Michael's true intentions instead of being all like, "Look, Michael Jackson hates you!"
 
I've read a story about the TDCAU lyrics that sounds like total fabrication. Re-recorded lyrics that were only used on a single?

The only edits I've ever heard are the sound effects and the "sue-sue me". I think there's a clip on Youtube of MJ throwing things in the studio but it certainly doesn't look like this dramatised story from the book.

The lyric misunderstanding was plain ignorance from those who chose to be offended - it's clear as day what he is saying and what the intention is.

That said, I think the sound effects have always sounded cool.
 
innuendo141 said:
Yes I have some issues with Dan's opinions about some of the artistic choices for the HIStory era, as someone who loves the cover I think the cover fits well with the concept of the album. Nothing compares to the HIStory era for me, artwise.

My eyebrows have yet to come down from the top of my scalp as to Dan suggesting the HIStory album title and MJ going with it. I can't just accept that.

Then again, I do appreciate at times that Dan also represents people who weren't MJ fans, so I can see his point of view also. HIStory wasn't supposed to be marketed to MJ's fans that never left him, it was the ones that lost interest over the years due to X, Y or Z. I can see why a marketing person would be less than thrilled with some of MJ's ideas in 1995.
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"Dan Beck.. Thank you for your input and HIStorical thinking" - I always thought this was in regards to the name.
 
dam2040 said:
I've read a story about the TDCAU lyrics that sounds like total fabrication. Re-recorded lyrics that were only used on a single?

The only edits I've ever heard are the sound effects and the "sue-sue me". I think there's a clip on Youtube of MJ throwing things in the studio but it certainly doesn't look like this dramatised story from the book.

The lyric misunderstanding was plain ignorance from those who chose to be offended - it's clear as day what he is saying and what the intention is.

That said, I think the sound effects have always sounded cool.
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No re-recorded lyrics were ever used, but there are several mixes@

LP edit: A very poor cut and paste job taking phrases from other parts of the song "Sue me, sue me everybody do me; Kick me, Kick me don't you black or white me". Its awful.

Alt edit: The album version but with the sound effects heard in the music video added in

Single mix: The mix used in the music videos - Sound effects, added percussion throughout and added claps at the end of the song. This version was also used as the base for the live performance.

Dan seems to be adamant that vocals were re-recorded, and was flabbergasted when he heard the sound effects. (allegedly...)

And I agree about the effects... The single mix is my go to version!
 
Chapter 16 was about a meeting where all the marketing ideas for History were presented to MJ by important people at the label.

DB begins the chapter recalling the tension of a 'company wide presentation' with nearly all the Sony and Epic execs following two months of marketing plans. DB suggested that each department present their own ideas for the campaign, he refers to this as 'unprecedented', and comments how despite their senior positions, some of these figures were daunted as they were not used to having direct contact with their act. All this was DBs brainchild, and the goal was to encourage MJ to 'complete' and 'surrender' the album in time for Xmas sales in 94. He perceived of MJs 'trepidations' about how this album would be received, and he felt if the label could 'dazzle' MJ with all their marketing plans, MJ would realise that the label believed in him and this would increase his own confidence in completing the album. DB lists Joy Gilbert and Lori Lambert as being instrumental to this meeting. DBs role was arranging the meeting and to introduce these speakers, each allocated with 3-4 minutes for a 90 minute to 2 hour presentation. There were about 40 execs.

MJ entered the meeting looking like a 'superstar' and DB notes how the energy level in the room increased. MJ gave quick hugs to JG and LL following their warm welcomes, DB said hello with a 'reassuring' nod. DB describes the room as square shaped with long tables arranged along each side. MJ sat on one side along with his team, including SG, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and David Foster. DB stood in the middle of this square arrangement to begin the meeting and passed the mic along for each member to introduce themself. DB remarks that 'If Michael was impressed', he expected others to be 'blown' by all this, as the scale of the meeting had never been seen done before.

The first speaker went over the market research of the strengths and weaknesses of MJs demographic, while the negatives were glossed over the trend of a strong female audience (particularly the older black female audience) and a weak male audience were highlighted. DB remembers how MJ leaned over with 'intrigue' and was not 'defensive' as this information was presented. The sales team came next. They understood that MJs OTW and Thriller album had not been originally released on CD, and expected this older audience would return for a greatest hits CD, while the new music on the album would potentially attract a new audience.

The album package ideas followed with Nancy fronting this, she used words/phrases like 'nothing like this has been attempted before' to appeal to the what DB refers to as 'the King of Pops runaway fantasy and symbolic perception' that underpinned his visions for the album. Nancy's ideas included comemerative coins as well as leather bound limited editions. RW talked about the History teasers role to excite 'frenzied anticipation' of the album, DB quotes RW as saying 'it will be about as large as anything you have ever seen' comparing it to Liberty weekend, DB explains this as the 200th anniversary of Independence in 1976. DB recalls how this 'indulgence' got to him, and he bought the attention to the the album meeting the release date for the trailer to have meaningful impact.

There was a plan in place to market the album on the internet and this was 'another piece of the first-time-ever candy' to satisfy MJs cravings. Harvard graduate Barry Johnson explained this aspect, his ideas included digitising the teaser to make it more accessible to the global audience. Describing the internet as a 'global city' he explained that people could access the History teaser by downloading it. DB reflects how BJ was effectively schooling them on the idea of digitising music and he even hinted that the middle man would be cut out and physical items like the CD would no longer be needed in the future. But this was a too 'pie in the sky' concept in 1994 for many at the meeting who started to glaze over as BJ went on. DB pondered whether MJ questioned the idea of giving away the teaser for free as 'Michael liked to sell things'.

DB remembered how MJ listened to it all attentively, acknowledging speakers/ideas with nods, thumbs up and 'enthusiastic' laughs.

DB recounts the advertising concepts centred around the concept of 'HIStory begins on November 15'. This included special mock ups of newspapers with the album as the headline to be distributed to retailers. DB, JG and LL had worked on a surprise for this moment and young actors dressed as newsboys theatrically entered the meeting room handing out these mock newspapers calling 'Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Michael Jackson makes HIStory!' while they jumped over and under tables delivering the mock ups. He remembers that MJ nearly 'jumped out of his seat with excitement' and the energy in the room was 'electrified'.

During a break segment MJ quietly requested for 'warm oatmeal cookies' from JG. DB quotes JG as she recalls being freaked out at this unexpected request, she recounts how she attempted to figure out where to get hold of these in the middle of this high powered meeting. JG reflects how she realised it was all too overwhelming for the 'creative soul' that was MJ, that he was a like a 'child' and would've happily chosen 'milk and a nap' over all this.

The video promo person resumed the meeting and informed how MTV logo would be changed to MJTV as part of the first video launch. The sales strategy expressed their pride and support for MJ and offered 'to do everything possible to help you make new history ' in exchange for the promise of the release date. Plans to target over twenty one thousand retails locations were presented, and DB retrospectively remarks how these extravagant plans were the last good days of such marketing schemes for CD music releases but they were unaware of this at the time.

Radio airplay was to be secured by providing exclusive photos to 'monopolise' radio station play for the first 4 weeks. Independent radio promoters were targeted too, including the indie ones who held the most away and DB hinted these deals may have been 'seedy'. There was also a focus on repairing MJs image following the damage done by the allegation. Mock up magazine covers of recognised magazines were shown as possibilities. DB quotes La'Verne Perry, one of the few execs of colour as saying 'Everybody [in the company] Black, white or green loved Michael' and enthusiastically emphasizes how MJ could have gotten any cover he desired from the urban mags, and that black media always supported MJ.

Lisa Kramer detailed the plans for the international market, that a meeting was to be held in New York with directors responsible for each foreign market, and the head for each area would be responsible for implementing the strategy, and that MJ had a larger outreach in Europe. On hearing this, SG asked that a meeting similar to the one they were sat in be held for global marketing. LK agreed. DB quotes LKs regular comments about how 'International just accepted him as theirs. He didn’t belong to the U.S.'.

SG then makes a comment that DB describes as having stunned everyone into 'stone silence'. SG relates that MJ had a goal of selling 100 million albums. DB describes this as 'ludicrous', and remembers how the 'high' everyone felt from this meeting dropped following the realisation of MJs and SG unrealistic expectations, which reduced all their collective efforts to a 'pipe dream'.

DB relates MJs speech as the meeting concluded, noting how MJ spoke softly with confidence and enthusiasm and emitted motivational speaker vibes towards the end. MJ thanked everyone and encouraged them to dream in the 'impossible' as he did, that selling the biggest selling album had been a life long dream of his that he realised with Thriller. And he believed they could all work together to make 'HIStory historical'. Everyone applauded.

DB remembers how they all felt the added sense of challenge when the meeting ended.

My commentary:

This was a lengthy chapter with information overload! I felt tired just reading about this meeting, I can't imagine having experienced it.

DB names this chapter 'the mega meeting' and it certainly felt very impressive and did convince me as a reader that the label were behind MJ and pulling out all the stops. However if MJ was feeling 'trepidation' as DB theorised, I questioned whether a meeting of such magnitude would only serve to increase such trepidation.

It was certainly fun as a fan to read about all the ideas. At one point DB notes the 'indulgence' was getting to him, as if he had forgotten he had planned it all. And if he found some of it too indulgent, then the theatrical performance of the newsboys that he was part of was equally indulgent, but he represents it as a highlight of the meeting.

As a reader I found it curious that following on from the references of megalomania, this elaborate 'unprecedented' meeting had been arranged. If MJ was a megalomaniac, then this type of thing was feeding it. I feel DB is missing the irony of complaining that MJs visions for History were too much while they were also doing too much. The fact that they tried to appeal to the very sensibilities that they criticise him for came across disingenuous too.

I noticed a pattern of repeated infantilisation going on with how the label treated MJ. They spent over $100,000 just on ideas for album covers, they gave MJ permission for a trailer, and now this. It's like they were flashing shiny new toys at a child holding onto a lollipop in an effort to extract the sweet, but in MJs case that sweet was the album. They were treating him like a child but then criticising him for not responding like an adult.

JG seemed to be the only one who had the insight to realise they were all scaring MJ and it was all too much for him. MJ had just recovered from a hellish experience and now infront of important people he had the pressure of finishing an album to match their grand ideas. DB doesn't acknowledge this retrospectively in any way.

As shocked as everyone at the meeting was by SGs comment at the end, I felt the over the top number was fitting for such an over the top meeting.

The references to how CDs would become obsolete was interesting, this was 1994, the online music industry would have infiltrated the market within a decade. And it is revealing and comical how a room full of the most forward thinking music people marketing for the most forward thinking musical artist were very much in the dark about this in 1994, and even glazed over at the very idea.

After ending the chapter I felt the whole military imagery was even more apt given the meticulous operation planned from the meeting.

Overall, I feel this is where DB shines, giving us detailed observations on a relatively unknown topic. As a reader and as a fan, I felt I had more insight at what went on behind the scenes during HIStory. I also liked how there were quotes from JG and LP providing alternative and sometimes conflicting perspectives to DB. I felt having alternative perspectives strengthened this chapter.

That's all folks!
As this was a long chapter, I will be back with more tomorrow.
 
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I have my copy of the HIStory CD from when it was launched. That's the original version of the song, and the only album version of TDCAU that I listen to. I count everything else as unofficial, and I couldn't really care less how it was changed afterwards.

One of the advantages of owning your own music instead of streaming, I guess.
 
Chapter 17 was about how the mega meeting was repeated and intensified.

DB begins this chapter recalling how the mega meeting was then repeated twice more in different locations minus the newsboys. He pondered at how 'perspective vanished when it came to Michael Jackson', that there was an interesting, logic-defying snowball effect of everything, whether good or bad, around anything MJ.

DB quotes LL referencing the label as in 'denial' over their anticipation of the albums success. And DB felt DG was 'indulging Michael' simply to 'extract the master'. At the end of one of these meetings, a PR veteran, Lee Solters remarked the plans were “the greatest war plan ever created” within the music industry and this served to only boost everyone's confidence. One of these meetings included the rigorous international marketing plans, at the end of which there was a surprise guest appearance by 'Mickey Schulhof, president of Sony U.S.' which cemented his seal of approval. Celebratory drinks were poured as international markets engaged in friendly banter about which country would outsell the other. DB sensed that MJ was onboard with the marketing as he greeted and shook hands with the 50 or so important people gathered there. Mickey Schulhof then made a promise to show the HIStory teaser at every Loew's movie theatre, although he hadn't seen the product at this point. DB remarks how MJ was thrilled and this was the highlight for him.

DB writes that he let out a 'silent groan', he and PA and DG were hoping to limit the teasers exposure as they anticipated backlash from the storyboards. DB ends the chapter questioning whether making promises before the seeing the product was just a strategy to get the product.

DB narrates how MJ called him to personally thank DB for all his work and requested to be informed of the Loews theatre promise.

My commentary:

This was a short chapter, but did adequately capture how everything was being blown out of proportion. And this is the first time that DB acknowledges that the label were solely responsible for this. Where I feel DB reflection falls short, is in not recognising the scale of all the meetings, including the initial one he arranged, were premature considering they had no promise of a product and didn't know it's content. Once again, through his carefully worded phrases it's hard to distinguish whether LL and DB hesitations stemmed from the time or was a later realisation. Sometimes I get the sense that DB is writing in response to the media narratives, and it's telling that out of all these people working at the label, he seems to be the only one picking up on these issues and bringing them to the attention of others.

DB questioning himself on how everything was essentially one big promise to lure MJ to surrender the master indicated the promises were all hollow, and wasn't critical of this method. I felt uncomfortable with the scale they went to just to manipulate MJ like this. It gave me a sense that they were setting MJ up, reminiscent of that meeting they invited him to but failed to provide a chair.

As a fan, knowing how much MJ wanted to break into the movie world, I can imagine the Loews movie theatre promise would have intoxicated him.

On a different note, I sometimes play a little game in my head where I try and capture a person's essence in one word. When I play this game with MJ in mind, I often come up with words such as: big, vast , immense owing to the fact that every aspect of his life, good or bad, had a way of being magnified beyond all proportions. So I felt a little validated reading DB saw this perspective too.

Overall, an interesting chapter. I enjoy reading DBs perspective as an observer but usually find his own commentary on things abit off, but here most of it did make sense. And I was relieved to see that DB indirectly acknowledged the extravagance depicted had nothing to do with MJ, this was all the labels doing. But there is that hint of MJ being set up that DB doesn't acknowledge as a problem.
 
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Chapter 18 was about the HIStory teaser.

DB begins the chapter stating that Hungary had been chosen specifically for it's architecture. And a deal was set up with the Hungarian army to feature soldiers as extras. Scott Spanjich and DB were put in charge to oversee the project to meet time and money bound deadlines. A million dollar budget was allocated for a teaser that would not feature any album music, and DB states that MJ ended up footing additional cost. DB saw it as another vanity project, noting it was 'simply hype for hype’s sake' and doubted whether it would have meaningful impact on album sales.

DB and SS decided against travelling to Hungary in fear of being left vulnerable to financial mismanagement due to MJs inability to work within a budget. DB narrates how staying in the US gave them more control to handle such potential issues.

DB recalls how he raised the issue of diversity with RW before the shoot, emphasizing that 'Michael’s audience was global and encompassed every race and ethnicity', and stressed that they needed to look into making sure they represented this with the Budapest cast. DB worries about the teaser continued, he also raised the issue that any symbols used in the teaser had to be 'well researched' so not to cause any unintended offense. DB was assured everything was covered. Days before the shoot DB remembers receiving a late night call panicking about not being able to find any black people in Budapest, and the plan was to use Turkish people from Turkey as a replacement. DB insisted they find black people, and he laughed with the people at the main office at the 'lunacy' that came from late night calls from the MJ project. One of these calls was about flying out 20 black paratroopers from the UK for $15000-$20000 on a private plane which DB approved. DB reflects how no one shared overall responsibility for the finances, as certain expenses were approved from MJs people, while the late night panic call expenses were approved by DB. The shoot was extended by days and MJs people approved the enormous costs. DB writes about another late night call about the need for additional flags which totalled $75000, DB was shocked at hearing the amount and had suspicions of a 'scam' and made up a story of how a family member of his could make that order for $30000, and this trick appeared to have worked.

To add to the 'absurd' events, DB received news of further delays as the Hungarian soldiers were dispatched for the Bosnian war, leaving them to resort to using women, children and the elderly to make up the troops for the teaser. DB notes how MJ had a tendency to 'attract' all 'crazy' happenings.

By the time the teaser was completed, the budget had risen to 8 million, DB 'was staggered by the sheer waste', and concluded the 'value' the teaser would bring to the album was all in MJs 'head'. Although DB was relieved it wasn't the labels budget being blown, he felt it was a terrible financial decision for MJ.

DB describes how he and a few label people felt after watching the teaser for the first time and quotes his assistant as saying
'We all felt like we were going to vomit in that meeting. I’m surprised we didn’t do it'. The group were incredulous about what they were seeing and felt everything was 'sexualised'. DB writes how all he saw was a 'Nazi' like army with children screaming around a statue, and 'phallic helicopters'. DB writes how the teaser depicted a 'ghastly and ridiculous fantasy' Freud would've 'risen from the dead to study'. There was also a little 'orphan' boy saying he loved MJ, they felt this needed to be removed. His assistant questioned how they could show this.

DB ends the chapter pondering on the horror of all the people that they would have to share this teaser with on TV and radio, and how it would be subjected to intense scrutiny given MJs recent scandal. DB wondered 'if Michael’s idiosyncrasies were eroding his fan base' and how this teaser might result in making it more difficult for MJ songs to be played.

My commentary:

Wow! Just wow!
Out of all the ways the teaser could be described, I never expected to read the words 'sexualised' or vomit inducing.

Ofcourse, as @innuendo141 mentioned in an earlier post, the first thing I had to do was watch the trailer in light of all these comments.


I wanted to deconstruct DBs main criticism about this teaser.

Nazi like army:

I found these




Turns out the Hungarian parade uniform is very similar to what we saw in the teaser. I don't think anyone is accusing the Hungarian army of being Nazi-like for this. MJ chose a historical location in Hungary, what other army would've been suitable to use? Bearing in mind his original plan included hiring the Hungarian army as extras.

Children around a statue:
So this was an inaccurate conclusion, there were plenty of young women amongst the fans.

Phallic helicopters:
This was the one that I felt had no basis, the helicopters looked like average helicopters, I couldn't see how they could be construed as 'phallic'.

Orphan boy:
I fully agree that following on from the 93 scandal, this was completely the wrong decision by MJ, and should not have been included, and shows a disconnect to his image issues. Although I question how DB drew the conclusion it was an 'orphan' boy.

Everything sexualised:
I can see the topless men were sexualised, and a fan was caught in an unflattering manner but did not perceive it as particularly sexualised.

8 million budget:
This I was shocked by. I fully agree that the teaser did not warrant or justify such an enormous cost. The whole thing did look cinematic and I wonder if MJ went too far with it at the prospect of it being shown in theatres. Even so, I agree that the cost was not worth it. I noted how DB said there was no one particularly responsible for overseeing the overall cost, and I felt it foreshadowed the financial issues that would plague MJ in his final years.

Ineffective as an album promotion:
The content itself is about the unavailing of the statue, and the statue is on the album cover, so I can see it's not totally disconnected. I would notice the album cover after seeing a trailer like that. But I can see that as it was too long to be an advert, it didn't really have a role to play. It wasn't a music video that could be repeatedly played, so aside from being shown in the Lowes theatre for a short period of time, it's usage was limited, and it probably was best suited for the History home VHS. So yes, I partly agree that it was 'hype for hypes sake'.

Ghastly and ridiculous fantasy:
I think MJ was building on imagery he had already used. It seemed the more he was criticised, the more army imagery he used. I think MJ used the army imagery to symbolically represent power and protection/armour. I think he was sending a strong message showing he was back, bigger and better, and indestructible as a direct response to what he had just gone through. Similarly to how DB described the B&W video, noting the first half was great and the panther part was MJ overdoing it, I felt the army part was well done and beautifully shot, but the statue unavailing part was overdone. It was normal to see fan frenzy around MJ, but I admit it was odd seeing fan frenzy around a statue. I would add though, after reading the last couple of chapters, I felt the label played a role in encouraging ridiculous hype.

Although I feel DBs reaction was a tad bit over dramatic and just wrong at times, I can accept that the video was not the easiest thing to market for a struggling artist. But DB did comment that anything MJ would've done would have received relentless scrutiny. I think my biggest issue was that the storyboards had been shared, MJ was working with a director the label chose for him, so as they knew that everything MJ would do would be scrutinized, why wasn't anything done about it before Budapest? MJ comes across like a mad scientist that ran away with his crazy ideas, but MJ was working within their remit, and I don't see any accountability for that.

Although this chapter heavily criticises MJ, MJ doesn't actually appear in it at all. But I did notice the use of words such as 'crazy', 'absurd' and 'lunacy' and I was disappointed by seeing more media narratives played out. 'Financially irresponsible', 'out of touch imagery', and 'a disconnect with own image issues' I felt would've have been fairer criticisms of MJ.

I know @innuendo141 had something specific to share about this chapter, so I look forward to finding out about it.

That's all folks!
Will catch up tomorrow.
 
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jasmine.uddin said:
Chapter 18 was about the HIStory teaser.

DB begins the chapter stating that Hungary had been chosen specifically for it's architecture. And a deal was set up with the Hungarian army to feature soldiers as extras. Scott Spanjich and DB were put in charge to oversee the project to meet time and money bound deadlines. A million dollar budget was allocated for a teaser that would not feature any album music, and DB states that MJ ended up footing additional cost. DB saw it as another vanity project, noting it was 'simply hype for hype’s sake' and doubted whether it would have meaningful impact on album sales.

DB and SS decided against travelling to Hungary in fear of being left vulnerable to financial mismanagement due to MJs inability to work within a budget. DB narrates how staying in the US gave them more control to handle such potential issues.

DB recalls how he raised the issue of diversity with RW before the shoot, emphasizing that 'Michael’s audience was global and encompassed every race and ethnicity', and stressed that they needed to look into making sure they represented this with the Budapest cast. DB worries about the teaser continued, he also raised the issue that any symbols used in the teaser had to be 'well researched' so not to cause any unintended offense. DB was assured everything was covered. Days before the shoot DB remembers receiving a late night call panicking about not being able to find any black people in Budapest, and the plan was to use Turkish people from Turkey as a replacement. DB insisted they find black people, and he laughed with the people at the main office at the 'lunacy' that came from late night calls from the MJ project. One of these calls was about flying out 20 black paratroopers from the UK for $15000-$20000 on a private plane which DB approved. DB reflects how no one shared overall responsibility for the finances, as certain expenses were approved from MJs people, while the late night panic call expenses were approved by DB. The shoot was extended by days and MJs people approved the enormous costs. DB writes about another late night call about the need for additional flags which totalled $75000, DB was shocked at hearing the amount and had suspicions of a 'scam' and made up a story of how a family member of his could make that order for $30000, and this trick appeared to have worked.

To add to the 'absurd' events, DB received news of further delays as the Hungarian soldiers were dispatched for the Bosnian war, leaving them to resort to using women, children and the elderly to make up the troops for the teaser. DB notes how MJ had a tendency to 'attract' all 'crazy' happenings.

By the time the teaser was completed, the budget had risen to 8 million, DB 'was staggered by the sheer waste', and concluded the 'value' the teaser would bring to the album was all in MJs 'head'. Although DB was relieved it wasn't the labels budget being blown, he felt it was a terrible financial decision for MJ.

DB describes how he and a few label people felt after watching the teaser for the first time and quotes his assistant as saying
'We all felt like we were going to vomit in that meeting. I’m surprised we didn’t do it'. The group were incredulous about what they were seeing and felt everything was 'sexualised'. DB writes how all he saw was a 'Nazi' like army with children screaming around a statue, and 'phallic helicopters'. DB writes how the teaser depicted a 'ghastly and ridiculous fantasy' Freud would've 'risen from the dead to study'. There was also a little 'orphan' boy saying he loved MJ, they felt this needed to be removed. His assistant questioned how they could show this.

DB ends the chapter pondering on the horror of all the people that they would have to share this teaser with on TV and radio, and how it would be subjected to intense scrutiny given MJs recent scandal. DB wondered 'if Michael’s idiosyncrasies were eroding his fan base' and how this teaser might result in making it more difficult for MJ songs to be played.

My commentary:

Wow! Just wow!
Out of all the ways the teaser could be described, I never expected to read the word 'sexualised'.

Ofcourse, as @innuendo141 mentioned in an earlier post, the first thing I had to do was watch the trailer in light of all these comments.


I wanted to deconstruct DBs main criticism about this teaser.

Nazi like army:

I found these



Turns out the Hungarian parade uniform is very similar to what we saw in the teaser. I don't think anyone is accusing the Hungarian army of being Nazi-like for this. MJ chose a historical location in Hungary, what other army would've been suitable to use? Bearing in mind his original plan included hiring the Hungarian army as extras.

Children around a statue:
So this was an inaccurate conclusion, there were plenty of young women amongst the fans.

Phallic helicopters:
This was the one that I felt had no basis, the helicopters looked like average helicopters, I couldn't see how they could be construed as 'phallic'.

Orphan boy:
I fully agree that following on from the 93 scandal, this was completely the wrong decision by MJ, and should not have been included, and shows a disconnect to his image issues. Although I question how DB drew the conclusion it was an 'orphan' boy.

Everything sexualised:
I can see the topless men was sexualised, and a fan was caught in an unflattering manner but did not perceive it as particularly sexualised.

8 million budget:
This I was shocked by. I fully agree that the teaser did not warrant or justify such an enormous cost. The whole thing did look cinematic and I wonder if MJ went too far with it at the prospect of it being shown in theatres. Even so, I agree that the cost was not worth it. I noted how DB said there was no one particularly responsible for overseeing the overall cost, and I felt it foreshadowed the financial issues that would plague MJ in his final years.

Ineffective as an album promotion:
The content itself is about the unavailing of the statue, and the statue is on the album cover, so I can see it's not totally disconnected. I would notice the album cover after seeing a trailer like that. But I can see that as it was too long to be an advert, it didn't really have a role to play. It wasn't a music video that could be repeatedly played, so aside from being shown in the Lowes theatre for a short period of time, it's usage was limited, and it probably was best suited for the History home VHS. So yes, I partly agree that it was 'hype for hypes sake'.

Ghastly and ridiculous fantasy:
I think MJ was building on imagery he had already used. It seemed the more he was criticised, the more army imagery he used. I think MJ used the army imagery to represent power and defense/armour. I think he was sending a strong message showing he was back, bigger and better, and indestructible as a direct response to what he had just gone through. Similarly to how DB described the B&W video, noting the first half was great and the panther part was MJ overdoing it, I felt the army part was well done, but the statue unavailing part was overdone. It was normal to see fan frenzy around MJ, but I admit it was odd seeing fan frenzy around a statue. I would add though, after reading the last couple of chapters, I felt the label played a role in encouraging ridiculous hype.

Although I feel DBs reaction was a tad bit over dramatic and just wrong at times, I can accept that the video was not the easiest thing to market for a struggling artist. But DB did comment that anything MJ would've done would have received relentless scrutiny. I think my biggest issue was that the storyboards had been shared, MJ was working with a director the label chose for him, so as they knew that everything MJ would do would be scrutinized, why wasn't anything done about it before Budapest? MJ comes across like a mad scientist that ran away with his crazy ideas, but MJ was working within their remit, and I don't see any accountability for that.

Although this chapter heavily criticises MJ, MJ doesn't actually appear in it at all. But I did notice the use of words such as 'crazy', 'absurd' and 'lunacy' and I was disappointed by seeing more media narratives played out. 'Financially irresponsible', 'out of touch imagery', and 'a disconnect with own image issues' I felt would've have been fairer criticisms of MJ.

I know @innuendo141 had something specific to share about this chapter, so I look forward to finding out about it.

That's all folks!
Will catch up tomorrow.
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I was waiting for this chapter. As someone who loves the teaser, I was initially quite shocked at some of the recations but I can actually see mostly from where Dan was coming from. The sexualisation stuff though, I neve ever once got that from a helicopter flying between his legs.

I do however appreciate that this was supposed to create hype and bring in more listeners - I loved it but I was already in the MJ camp in '95 waiting for music. I can see how someone who would not have liked MJ in 95 to see that and be like "sweet suffering Jesus...." because I had 2 friends that did not like MJ and HATED it (I got the HIStory Volume II VHS for my 11th birthday in '97 and they saw it on the box and knew they'd have to watch it later lol).

The film is insane, its egotistical and its self indulgent 100% - BUT if you're an MJ fan, you can see the bigger picture and what MJ wanted it to represent. The teaser does take several direct shots from the Nazi film "Triumph of the Will" and he completely turns them on its head by showing MJ (albeit, still in fascist imagery) representing peace and love. It's an insane piece of work, and I love it. Even when I was 9, I hated the bit of the boy saying "I love you".

Ah - the interesting point I did want to confirm of Dans was this - he said they struggled to get any black solider to take part in the clip because there were absolutely none in Hungary (they had to fly them in from elsewhere). I'm literally just back from Budapest because MJ planted the seed all those years ago - I got to Heroes Square, I ran the marathon past the statue of Turul, across the chain bridge and past Buda Castle - all part of the video and it was AMAZING but... I could nearly count on one hand how many black people I saw over 4 days (outside of the marathon race itself). It was surreal and strange, but when I read that part I was like "oh my god I know!". Ive never experienced that anywhere in Europe before.
 
It seems like everything was about the greatest hits part and not about the new songs/Disc 2..?
The imagery is all about history: monumental and epic and not about the allegations; the rage, loneliness, childhood etc.

It almost seems like the decision to make a new album was made after they thought up all of this history stuff..? Or that the second album isn't even considered a new MJ 'studio album' butl just a bunch of new songs..
 
Victorious said:
It seems like everything was about the greatest hits part and not about the new songs/Disc 2..?
The imagery is all about history: monumental and epic and not about the allegations; the rage, loneliness, childhood etc.

It almost seems like the decision to make a new album was made after they thought up all of this history stuff..? Or that the second album isn't even considered a new MJ 'studio album' butl just a bunch of new songs..
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At this point in the book, MJ won't turn in the album for another year or so. The label were crying for it and MJ didn't hand it in until late in the day.

Remember, this was filmed in Budapest in '94.
 
innuendo141 said:
At this point in the book, MJ won't turn in the album for another year or so. The label were crying for it and MJ didn't hand it in until late in the day.

Remember, this was filmed in Budapest in '94.
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Yes exactly! But for some reason I find it weird to realize that in the end all the promo/artwork was meant for the greatest hits album and not 'a new MJ album'
 
etoile 37 said:
I had the video of Michael throwing stuff in the studio, so I went to watch it again, and I just noticed the lyrics over the video (I had just never paid attention to what was written on the screen before, I was too busy watching Michael throwing stuff around :ROFLMAO: ). So were the revised lyrics "Chew me" and "Hike me"? If so, I can see why he was angry, I don't even know what "hike me" is supposed to mean.

This is the video:
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If I'm correct than Michael was angry about changing his lyrics because they were leaked (on purpose?) to the press before History's release to create a controversy, by someone from his own camp (David Geffen?), and then his own camp also didn't defend him enough when shit actually became a controversy..?

When I see the clip of Michael thrashing the studio it looks like a performance btw, he definitely did that for the camera
 
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