Pay attention to the bridge, where Michael Jackson throws a fit about “everybody” gossiping. He rants to himself, his words loud enough for us to hear but not distinguishable enough to understand, over a pulsating beat with news reports rattling-off in the background. By the end, he’s not even making sense. He’s just caught-up in the music.

It’s an unguarded display of artistry, the type that probably would’ve never seen the light of day before the History album; a song set that follows several months of public hoopla regarding the well-publicized child molestation charges he vehemently denies to this day. It also follows years of scrutiny about him being a “strange” man in general.

Some people still believe he sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber or that he made an offer to buy The Elephant Man’s bones. Both rumors are addressed here. It’s Michael Jackson’s official response to the Tabloid Junkie; anyone so hooked on reading and watching tabloid journalism that it’s gotten to the point where they believe the stories to be true.

my rating : 4 of 5

1995