Rowdy Music at Ocean State

The other day I was in Ocean State Job Lot picking up some random item I knew I could find for dirt cheap.  I made the mistake of wandering through the aisles so I ended up leaving with a bag full of cheap stuff when I only intended on buying one cheap thing.

While glancing through the selection of imported cookies from Slovenia and the pink pens that looked like they were stolen from a dumpster behind Building 19 I heard a semi-familiar song on the radio.

The song was "Give In To Me" by Michael Jackson.  The song was an officially released single from the 1991 Dangerous album.  You probably remember tracks from the album like "Jam," "Remember the Time," "Black or White."  It was strange to hear the song because even though it was released as a single, it never got much playing time in the US.  New Zealand love it though.  There it remained at the number one spot for four weeks!(1)

At the checkout counter an older lady sighed and asked me, "Do you like this music?"

"Yeah I do!" I said.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It's Michael Jackson from the Dangerous album."

She was surprised and said, "Michael Jackson?  I didn't know he got that rowdy.  Well, we aren't fond of it here."

A few interesting things about the Dangerous album and that song in particular.

• Dangerous contained a mixture of hip hop elements and R&B called "New Jack Swing."  This was a genre of music that came about in the late 80s and early 90s.  The best examples I can give are Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" and Boyz II Men's "Motownphilly."
• Like he did with "Beat It" on Thriller, MJ collaborated with a well-known rock guitarist to produce some of the licks and riffs on Dangerous.  Slash from Guns n' Roses played the guitar for the song "Give In To Me."
• Lyrics for "Give In To Me" are different from songs on his previous albums because they have more of a sexual connotation and deal with tension in relationships.  Other songs like that on Dangerous are "Who Is It," "She Drives Me Wild," and "In the Closet."

The reason why the Ocean State lady said the song was "rowdy" is simply because its lyrics are in fact edgier, and the song is categorized as both heavy metal and hard rock.

If you have not listened to some of the lesser known tracks on Dangerous including the song "Dangerous" itself, I encourage you to do so.  It is a fantastic album.  The critics say the peace on earth ballads are corny.  To some extent they are, but they still sound great. I learned there were a bunch of unreleased tracks for this album.  Most of them are sub-par except for Monkey Business.  Check it out!

(1). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_In_to_Me