This paragraph and the last statement is crazy to me, but each to their own I suppose.
Are you saying you know what it's like to have photographers at your door? Seriously? You're saying you perfectly understand everything that's going through his head at that moment?
Gone Too Soon is literally about death of a loved one. It's universally relatable.
It's probably the least talked about MJ song period. Relatability has nothing to do with the artistry of the record and is not a weakness.
Bit surprised this song comes up out of the blue. And yeah, it's a song I love (literally the only reason I bought Babyface Unplugged).
But yeah, I'm not saying every sing has to be universally relatable (which is something that can be a weakness in itself - see Bon Jovi). Of course it's good to have some personal songs, but in some aspects of MJs life, things can go a bit too far. Especially if it's more than just one or two songs.
And again, I'm not saying it makes it a bad song, or that I don't like those songs. I'm just trying to have a mature, intelligent conversation about the pros and cons of each song.
Every song/album has pros and cons - don't jump on me and assume it's hatred.
Empathy?
(And some people can relate to various aspects of Michael's life, to various extents... even without necessarily being famous super stars...)
That's what I mean. Sure, I can empathize about getting strip-searched - it must be terrible. But do I
really understand it? No, of course not. I never could. And for that reason, it's not a song I could sing with conviction. It just wouldn't be right for me to stand on a stage and sing many of the songs from HIStory. I'd be faking it. And when other people do it you can tell they're phoning it in.
Artists have made careers writing personal songs, I think songs are usually better if they reach a sweet spot between personal (so that they are more than just rhymes) and universal (so that they can be understood).
Agreed. But bear in mind, for most people, including most singers, their range of experiences is pretty much the same as everybody else. It's only a tiny minority who live on their own ranch, achieved the things MJ did, owned the things MJ did, and got accused of the things MJ did.
Like, here's another example. I don't take drugs, and for that reason I can't relate to
Mr Tambourine Man (Bob Dylan) or
Mr Brownstone (GNR). That's not to say those aren't good songs, and it's not to say I don't like them. It's just that they don't speak to me or for me on a personal level.
It was actually great to hear a huge star like MJ having "some personal things to say"...
Agreed. Having personal things to say is what I want from the artists I listen to.
What I took from that users statement, and let me use TDCAU as an example, is that because the person hasn’t experienced racial injustice, police brutality and marginalization he doesn’t care about it. That line of thinking is crazy to me.
Pretty much. I'm not even going to pretend to understand these complex racial issues.
If I was in a band, I think it would be an insult to MJ if I were to try to play those songs. Those are
MJ songs - nobody else can pull them off and be honest about it.
I suppose the person falls into the “shut up and sing Rock with you kind of songs” camp that I’ve seen some fans champion.
Don't get me wrong, I like an album to have different themes (I got a Mariah Carey album once and was disappointed that it was just 12 generic love songs).
