"Stranger in Moscow" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Michael Jackson | ||||
from the album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I | ||||
B-side | "Off the Wall" (Junior Vasquez Mix) | |||
Written | September 1993 [1] | |||
Released |
| |||
Recorded | January 1994 [1] | |||
Studio |
| |||
Genre | R&B | |||
Length |
| |||
Label | Epic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Michael Jackson | |||
Producer(s) | Michael Jackson | |||
Michael Jackson singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Stranger in Moscow" on YouTube | ||||
Audio sample | ||||
"Stranger in Moscow" |
"Stranger in Moscow" is a song by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson from his ninth studio album, HIStory (1995). The song was released as the sixth and final single worldwide on November 4,1996 by Epic Records. [2] It was not released in the United States until July 7,1997. [3]
The song's music video depicts the lives of six individuals,including Jackson,who are left isolated and disconnected from the world around them. "Stranger in Moscow" charted highly in the top 10 of numerous countries music charts worldwide,including Austria,the Czech Republic,Denmark,Hungary,Italy,New Zealand,Spain,Sweden,and the United Kingdom. However,it only peaked at number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100,becoming Jackson's lowest peaking on the chart. The song was performed on the HIStory World Tour in 1996–1997. The song has been covered a few times by other artists.
"Stranger in Moscow",like several other HIStory tracks,was Jackson's response to recent events in his personal life. [4] In 1993,the relationship between Jackson and the press soured entirely when he was accused of child sexual abuse. Though not charged with a crime,Jackson was intensely scrutinized by the media during the criminal investigation. Complaints about the coverage and media included using sensational headlines [5] and headlines that implied guilt, [6] accepting stories of Jackson's alleged criminal activity and leaked police material in exchange for money, [7] [8] deliberately using unflattering pictures of Jackson, [6] and a lack of objectivity. [6]
The coverage upset Jackson,and damaged his health;Jackson's health had deteriorated such that he canceled the remainder of his Dangerous World Tour and went into rehabilitation. [9] [10] The media showed him little sympathy. The Daily Mirror held a "Spot the Jacko" contest,offering readers a trip to Walt Disney World if they could correctly predict where the entertainer's next appearance would be. [9] A Daily Express headline read,"Drug Treatment Star Faces Life on the Run",while a News of the World headline accused Jackson of being a fugitive. These tabloids also falsely alleged that Jackson had traveled to Europe to have cosmetic surgery that would make him unrecognizable upon return. [9] Geraldo Rivera set up a mock trial,with a jury made up of audience members,even though Jackson had not been charged with a crime. [11]
"Stranger in Moscow" is an R&B ballad [12] [13] with a tempo of 65 beats per minute,making it one of Jackson's slowest songs. [14] Guitars were played by Steve Lukather while keyboards,synthesizers and bass are credited to David Paich and Steve Porcaro. [15]
Jackson used Russian imagery and symbolism to underscore the track's sense of fear and alienation. [16] It concludes with a narrative,spoken in Russian,by a KGB interrogator (Ed Wiesnieski). [17] The narrative,translated into English is,"Why have you come from the west? Confess! To steal the great achievements of the people,the accomplishments of the workers..." [18]
The song was written in September 1993,while on the Dangerous World Tour stop in Moscow. [1] The song is based on the credits theme of the 1994 video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 ,which Jackson and his tour keyboardist Brad Buxer were hired to compose for. [19] [20] According to Buxer,Jackson called him to his hotel room in Moscow during the Dangerous World Tour. Thinking he wanted to hear his new game cues,Buxer played several songs on the piano in the room,including the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 credits theme cue. Buxer and Jackson worked together on developing the chords and changes for the rest of the song over an hour and a half. [21] Conflicting accounts state that Jackson either dropped out of the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 project following the sexual abuse allegations around this time or,chose to be uncredited in-game because of his dissatisfaction with the limitations of the Sega Genesis sound chip. [22]
Originally,HIStory was planned as a greatest hits album,with a few new tracks. However,Jackson and his collaborators were so pleased with the result of "Stranger in Moscow" that they decided to give HIStory a full studio album as the second disc. [23]
"Stranger in Moscow" received praise from music critics and producers. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic noted of HIStory,"Jackson produces some well-crafted pop that ranks with his best material... 'Stranger in Moscow' is one of his most haunting ballads". [24] Tom Molley of the Associated Press described it as an "ethereal and stirring description of a man wounded by a 'swift and sudden fall from grace' walking in the shadow of the Kremlin". [25] Longtime collaborator Bruce Swedien,has described "Stranger in Moscow" as one of the best songs Jackson had ever done. [23] Fred Shuster of the Daily News of Los Angeles described it as,"a lush,pretty minor-key ballad with one of the album's catchiest choruses". [26] Chris Willman of Los Angeles Times stated:
"Stranger in Moscow", is a step removed from the focused paranoia of much of the rest of the album, more akin to the deeper, fuzzier dread of a past perennial like "Billie Jean". Jackson imagines himself alone and adrift in a psychic Russia, pre-glasnost, hunted by an unseen KGB: "Here abandoned in my fame / Armageddon of the brain", he sings in the somber, constricted verses, before a sweeping coda kicks up four minutes in and the stalkee suddenly breaks his cool to wail about a desolate, inconsolable loneliness. Here, in this song, is the real genius—and probably real personhood—of Michael Jackson. [27]
A reviewer from Music Week rated it five out of five, picking it as Single of the Week. The reviewer added, "More melodic than most of HIStory's new, uptempo tracks, this has a somewhat old-fashioned feel, being closer in spirit to 'Rock with You' than 'Scream'. It isn't quite vintage Jacko, but the song is irresistible." [28] The magazine's Alan Jones stated that the Todd Terry remix "works like a dream, and guarantees Jackson another substantial hit." [29] Jon Pareles of The New York Times stated, "The ballads are lavishly melodic. 'Stranger in Moscow', with odd lyrics like 'Stalin's tomb won't let me be,' has a beautiful chorus for the repeated question 'How does it feel?'". [12] Further praise came in 2005 when it was felt that the song had successfully portrayed "eerie loneliness" and was characterized as beautiful by Josephine Zohny of PopMatters . [30] Rod Temperton, one of Jackson's songwriters from earlier in his career, believes that "Stranger in Moscow" is Jackson's best song. [31] James Hunter of Rolling Stone commented:
[Jackson is] angry, miserable, tortured, inflammatory, furious about what he calls, in "Stranger in Moscow", a "swift and sudden fall from grace"...HIStory feels like the work of someone with a bad case of Thriller nostalgia. Occasionally this backward focus works to Jackson's advantage: On "Stranger in Moscow" he remembers the synth-pop '80s while constructing wracked claims of danger and loneliness that rival any Seattle rocker's pain. [32]
Patrick Macdonald of The Seattle Times described "Stranger in Moscow" as "a pretty ballad interspersed with sounds of rain." [33] David Sinclair from The Times viewed it as "a dolorous ballad". [34]
The song's accompanying music video was shot in July 1996. It was directed by photographer Nick Brandt, and filmed in Los Angeles, is focused around six unrelated people living in isolation in a cityscape on a dark, cloudy day while the rest of the world moves around them in slow motion (introducing the so-called 'bullet time' effect). [35] The first half of the video introduces these figures. Five of the figures are: a bald man looking down at the city from his apartment window, a woman sitting alone in a coffee shop, a homeless man lying on the damp street, a well-dressed man feeding pigeons, and a teenage boy watching a street game of baseball. The sixth figure is Jackson himself, seen walking the city streets while he sings. Special effects are used to show birds and wasps flying, glass breaking and coffee spilling, all in slow motion. [36]
In the second half of the scenario, heavy rain descends on the city and the citizens try to flee, all again seen in slow motion. From the safety of shelter, the six "strangers" watch everyone's futile attempts to avoid the sudden change in weather. Eventually, they decide to go outside, where they look up at the sky and allow the rain to soak them. The video ends with Michael whipping his hair. During this scene, a soft Russian voice is heard, a reference to Moscow. [37]
The music video also appears on Jackson's video albums HIStory on Film, Volume II and Michael Jackson's Vision . It was published on YouTube in October 2009. The video has amassed more than 69 million views as of November 2022. [38]
Jackson's biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli has stated that the video is based on Jackson's real life. He used to walk alone at night looking for new friends, even at the peak of his musical popularity. The 1980s saw him become deeply unhappy; Jackson, as a teenager, explained in an interview, "Even at home, I'm lonely. I sit in my room sometimes and cry. It's so hard to make friends... I sometimes walk around the neighborhood at night, just hoping to find someone to talk to. But I just end up coming home." [25] [39]
The song was performed during the HIStory World Tour (1996–1997). [40] [41]
|
|
As per the liner notes of The Ultimate Collection : [44]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [75] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a 1994 platform game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. Like previous Sonic games, players traverse side-scrolling levels while collecting rings and defeating enemies. They control Sonic and Tails, who attempt to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds to stop Doctor Robotnik from relaunching his space station, the Death Egg, after it crash-lands on a mysterious floating island. Sonic 3 introduces Knuckles the Echidna, the island guardian, who lays traps for Sonic and Tails.
"Billie Jean" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 3, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, Thriller (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Quincy Jones and co-produced by Jackson. "Billie Jean" blends post-disco, R&B, funk, and dance-pop. The lyrics describe a woman, Billie Jean, who claims that the narrator is the father of her newborn son, which he denies. Jackson said the lyrics were based on groupies' claims about his older brothers when he toured with them as the Jackson 5.
Thriller is the sixth studio album by the American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, released on November 29, 1982, by Epic Records. It was produced by Quincy Jones, who previously worked with Jackson on his 1979 album Off the Wall. Jackson wanted to create an album where "every song was a killer". With the ongoing backlash against disco music at the time, he moved in a new musical direction, resulting in a mix of pop, post-disco, rock, funk, synth-pop, and R&B sounds, and darker themes. Paul McCartney appears on "The Girl Is Mine", the first credited appearance of a featured artist on a Michael Jackson album. Recording took place from April to November 1982 at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, with a budget of $750,000.
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I is a double album containing the first non-Motown greatest hits album and ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, released on June 20, 1995. It was Jackson's fifth album released through Epic Records, and the first on his label MJJ Productions. It comprises two discs: HIStory Begins, a greatest hits compilation, and HIStory Continues, comprising new material written and produced by Jackson and collaborators. The album includes appearances by Janet Jackson, Shaquille O'Neal, Slash, and the Notorious B.I.G. The genres span R&B, pop, and hip hop with elements of hard rock and funk rock. The themes include environmental awareness, isolation, greed, suicide, injustice, and Jackson's conflicts with the media.
Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix is a remix album by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was released on May 20, 1997, by Epic Records, and is the second album also released by MJJ Productions, Jackson's own record label. The album comprises eight remixes of songs from Jackson's ninth studio album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995), and five new songs. Jackson was involved primarily with the production of the new material; the remixes were produced by other artists. Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix incorporates R&B, pop, industrial, hip hop, house, funk and new jack swing. It concerns themes such as drug addiction, sex, relationships, and paranoia.
"Scream" is a song by American singers and siblings Michael and Janet Jackson. It was released as the lead single off Michael Jackson's ninth album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. It was released as a double A-side with "Childhood", a solo song by Michael. The single was released on May 29, 1995.
"You Are Not Alone" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his ninth studio album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995). It was released on August 15, 1995, by Epic and Sony, as the second single from the album.
"Earth Song" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson, David Foster and Bill Bottrell. It was released by Epic Records on November 7, 1995, as the third single from Jackson's ninth studio album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995).
"They Don't Care About Us" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released in April 16, 1996, as the fifth single from his ninth album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995). It is a protest song and remains one of the most controversial pieces Jackson ever composed. In the US, media scrutiny surrounding allegations of antisemitic lyrics were the catalyst for Jackson issuing multiple clarifications, an apology, defense from director Spike Lee and re-releasing an edited version of the song. Jackson countered allegations of antisemitism, arguing that reviews had misinterpreted the context of the song, either unintentionally or deliberately.
"The Girl Is Mine" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson and English singer and musician Paul McCartney for Jackson's sixth solo album, Thriller. The track was written and co-produced by Jackson and produced by Quincy Jones. The song was recorded at Westlake Studios, Los Angeles, from April 14 to 16, 1982 and was released on October 18 of that same year as the album's first single. The year before, Jackson and McCartney had recorded "Say Say Say" and "The Man" for the latter's fifth solo album, Pipes of Peace (1983). Although "The Girl Is Mine" was released as a single, Jackson and McCartney never performed the song live.
"Blood on the Dance Floor" is a song by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, released as the first single from the remix album Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix (1997). Jackson and Teddy Riley created the track in time for the 1991 release of Dangerous. However, it did not appear on that record and was worked on further for its commercial release in 1997. One interpretation of the song describes a predatory woman named Susie who seduces Jackson before plotting to stab him with a knife. The composition explores a variety of genres ranging from funk to new jack swing.
"You'll See" is a song by American singer Madonna from her ballads compilation, Something to Remember (1995). She wrote and produced the song with Canadian musician David Foster. "You'll See" was released on October 23, 1995, by Maverick Records as the lead single from the album. An acoustic pop ballad, "You'll See" features instrumentation from percussion, tremolo guitar and piano, while lyrically it speaks of independence after the end of a love affair.
"Cry" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson that appears on his tenth studio album, Invincible (2001). The song was written by R&B singer-songwriter R. Kelly, who had previously written Jackson's 1995 single "You Are Not Alone". "Cry" was produced by Jackson and Kelly. It was released on December 5, 2001, under Epic Records as the third single from Invincible, and is Jackson's final single from a studio album. "Cry" is an R&B ballad with lyrics that highlight problems with the planet. The lyrics also urge people to unite to make the world a better place. Thus the track recalls previous Jackson songs that promote peace and environmentalism.
"HIStory" is a 1995 song by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It was composed by Jackson, James Harris III and Terry Lewis, and was included on his album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. Although the original version of "HIStory" was not released as a single, it was later remixed in 1997 as part of Jackson's remix album Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix. These remixes would be released as part of "HIStory" / "Ghosts", a double A-side single with the newly recorded song "Ghosts" as the second single from that album.
"Childhood" is a 1995 song composed and recorded by American singer Michael Jackson. It was released as a track on Jackson's 1995 studio album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, and was released as a double A-side with Jackson's single "Scream".
"Ghosts" is a 1997 song by American singer Michael Jackson, written, composed and produced by Jackson and Teddy Riley. It was released as part of "HIStory" / "Ghosts", a double A-side single with remixes of the song "HIStory" from Jackson's 1995 album as the second single from Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix. The Ghosts music video was a five-minute clip taken from a longer film, Michael Jackson's Ghosts. The song was a top five hit in the UK and Belgium.
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture. Jackson influenced artists across many music genres. Through stage and video performances, he popularized street dance moves such as the moonwalk, which he named, and the robot.
"D.S." is a song by Michael Jackson, released on his 1995 album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. It is a rock song that conveys themes such as bitterness, mistrust and corruption within law enforcement. It was written, composed and produced by Jackson and includes an instrumental accompaniment and guitar solo by Slash.
Bradley Buxer is an American keyboardist and composer, known for his many collaborations with the American musician Michael Jackson. In addition to recording with Jackson, Buxer was also the musical director for Jackson's tours for many years. Prior to that, he was a session musician for artists such as Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson and a member of the new wave band the Jetzons with Bruce Connole, Damon Doiron and drummer Steve Golladay. In the 2000s, he reunited with Connole with the Suicide Kings.
Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created and owned by Sega. The franchise began in 1991 with Sonic the Hedgehog, a side-scrolling platform game, and has expanded to include printed media, animations, feature films, and merchandise. The music of Sonic the Hedgehog has been provided by a number of composers, ranging from Sega sound staff to independent contractors and popular bands. It covers a wide array of genres, including pop, funk, rock, metal, ska, punk, hip hop, R&B, jazz, electronica, dance, breakbeat, drum and bass, techno, ambient, orchestral, and lo-fi.