Remember the Time
Michael Jackson is irrelevant in the world of pop music.
Ten, 15 years ago, such a statement would be preposterous. This was a
man who, in 1992, debuted a music video on network television. His world
tours always sold out. There was never a question that his albums would
go platinum; the question was how long it would take.
Besides, his songs were incredible. No one could write off a musician
with such a fantastic back catalogue.
And yet, it happened. Only nine years after the success of
Dangerous Jackson is a showbiz pariah, a reclusive kook ignored by fans and celebrities alike.
But MJ isn't ignored because of the 1993 child molestation allegations.
After all, Roman Polanski does OK, and he fled the country while
facing criminal charges of raping a 13-year-old girl, not a flimsy civil suit.
It isn't the eccentric behavior that keeps Jackson from selling records. He's
always been a big weirdo.
The difference is the songs. It's not just that his Jackson's material pales in
comparison to his old stuff. It's that the recent material is flat-out
terrible. We expect so much more from someone who consistently produced
the best material in the Top 40.
There's the sheer, giddy intensity of the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back,"
encapsulated in an adolescent Michael's soaring vocals. "Thriller" gave
horror a beat, and you could dance to it. Only the most wilted of
wallflowers couldn't keep from getting down to the joyous disco beats of
"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough." "Billie Jean," "The Way You Make Me
Feel" and "Smooth Criminal" were all fun, bubbling pop confections that made
you want to jump out of your chair and dance.
Even Jackson's message songs — "Beat It," "Man in the Mirror," "Leave Me
Alone" — have an ebullience completely absent from his recent output, especially 1995's HIStory.
Overproduced and dull, HIStory's original songs were either
angry, profane diatribes against Jackson's critics ("Scream," "This Time
Around," "D.S.") or sappy ballads ("You Are Not Alone," "Childhood")
indistinguishable from everything else on the R&B charts. There isn't a
good song on this disc, a single one worth listening to twice.
And "You Rock My World," from Invincible, hardly sounds
promising.
Jackson hasn't had a good song since 1992's Dangerous. And while that
disc had its brilliant moments of pop gold, such as "Remember the Time," it
had its low points, too. "Heal the World," anyone? It's been more than a
decade since he produced a consistently great album. You almost forget why he
became such an influential figure in music.
Instead of sticking with what he knows works, Jackson has tried to
reinventing himself like Madonna. He's hired hot producers like Dallas
Austin or Rodney Jerkins to work on his albums, creating
less-than-stellar results.
Most tellingly, the Jerkins-produced "You Rock My World" dropped to No.
51 in its ninth week on the Hot 100 while Alien Ant Farm's surprisingly
faithful cover of "Smooth Criminal" rests comfortably at No. 24 in week 11.
And that's exactly why Jackson's tumbled. Everyone has forgotten why they
loved Jackson because his music changed from exciting to excruciating. The world is tired of bowing down to the King of Pop when everyone except for him can see that the emperor has no clothes.
— Stephanie Kuenn (smkuenn at gmail dot com)
