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Is it scary vs Stranger In Moscow.

Themidwestcowboy

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Both very, very personal songs and to me these tracks are prime examples of how much he had grown as a songwriter. I feel bad for the people who thinks that MJ stopped being great in the 80's. To me this is nearly an impossible task. I was also surprised to see that Jay-Z included Stranger In Moscow in one of his playlists.

"Am I amusing you or just confusing you am I the beast you visualized
And if you came to see eccentric oddities I'll be grotesque before your eyes"

Vs


"I was wandering in the rain, mask of life feeling insane.
Swift and sudden fall from grace, sunny days seems far away
Kremlins shadow belittling me, Stalin's tomb won't let me be"
 
I couldn't possibly choose between those two. Among the most personally insightful works he produced in my opinion.
 
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I was just going to answer "Stranger in Moscow" and move on, but I'm admittedly not as familiar with "Is It Scary" as I am with pre-Dangerous stuff-so I just went over to YouTube to listen.

I listened to it 3 times and for some weird reason I started crying-there are parts of the song where he sounds like the 21 year old that I fell in love with-and I'm still not understanding why people did not understand him and attacked him continually-it absolutely boggles my mind sometimes.Listening to songs like that make my heart hurt.
 
These completely different songs, but are still so personal. They both give you a different feel. There's really no comparisons here.
 
Both are great songs, but I like "Is It Scary" a bit more.
 
barbee0715 said:
I was just going to answer "Stranger in Moscow" and move on, but I'm admittedly not as familiar with "Is It Scary" as I am with pre-Dangerous stuff-so I just went over to YouTube to listen.

I listened to it 3 times and for some weird reason I started crying-there are parts of the song where he sounds like the 21 year old that I fell in love with-and I'm still not understanding why people did not understand him and attacked him continually-it absolutely boggles my mind sometimes.Listening to songs like that make my heart hurt.
Click to expand...

I definitely understand where you are coming from :)
 
Is It Scary... Stranger in Moscow is really really good - however, I'm in love with the edgier Michael :p .
 
Yes, they are both personal but to me SIM has a softer, lyrical, elegiac feel/tone to it, whereas IIS is more angry and confrontational/challenging in the vocals and the music. Both are very personal though.

I like this lyric in IIS: "But if you want to see/ The truth the purity/ It's here inside a lonely heart/ So let the performance start." "How does it feel?" is a softer question IMO than "Is it scary?" The intro to SIM "I was wandering in the rain" is so contemplative and introspective.
 
Love both, but I'd choose 'Is It Scary. The 'Thriller/Bad vocal transition in the verses leading to the 'Dangerous vocal shift on the hook is just incredible!.. Makes your hair stand up!
 
Both are definitely among my all time favorite songs and it's impossible to choose.. I remember first listening to Is it scary and being so impressed with that song, and especially lyrics like:

'So did you come to me to see your fantasies performed before your very eyes - but if you came to see the truth, the purity, it's here inside a lonely heart - I'm tired of being abused, you know you're scaring me too, I see the evil is you'

that really says it all ..beautiful & heartbreaking.
 
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