It probably depends on the country you're from, but I don't get the impression at all that his 90s work doesn't count to people. I remember back in 1997 when I was 12 (almost 13) and in the hospital, one of the guys who worked there went to a HIStory concert. Our entire station was excited that he would go. We had 1 huuuge MJ fan, she was 17. But we all acted the same, telling him to absorb as much as he can to tell us later
There was one group room with sound system and trust me, HIStory was played everyday for hours so loud the entire station heard it, even though it started to annoy the hell out of the staff :dancin:
The guy came back with a tour book for that fan
Anyway, I find it hard to believe that all those people who were my generation acted the way they did even as nonfans and wouldn't appreciate his work during those days nowadays. Not possible. MJ left a mark on all of them, I'm sure.
Another example a few weeks ago I wanted to show my Dad a certain Heal the world performance, but only had the vid for the entire show. So I kept skipping and pausing and all that. One time I hit the play button again the very same second I asked to myself "Is that Heal the world?" I was mumbling to myself the moment I hit play, but my Dad (who is NOT into MJ, but very respectful and listens whenever I have a fan moment
) IMMEDIATELY said "yes". He didn't need 2 seconds to listen, he knew. MJ's 90s work lives well, just like all the other decades.
I think it's just because Thriller is so big and supposed to be the one and all. But when you actually talk to people, they are well aware of all the other work he's done
Maybe it's a generation thing? Like
some people who grew up with J5 will sure miss those days and therefore not appreciate MJ's later work as much anymore. Same with Thriller era. Heck, same with Invincible.
But every generation takes something with them. Those people I was in the hospital with sure remember the awesome 90s with MJ, even if they might not be
the fan today.
And IMO all those generations in general melt together and give the full picture to the future.