Is It Scary
"Is It Scary" is a song released in 1997 by Michael Jackson . The track was originally written for the 1993 film Addams Family Values , but due to contractual conflicts, the idea was discarded. So the song was finally used for Jackson's 1997 Blood on the Dance Floor - HIStory in the Mix album. "Is It Scary" was written and produced by Michael Jackson, James Harris III and Terry Lewis .
"Is It Scary" received mixed to negative reviews from its critics. Musically, the song shows the "darker side" of Jackson, according to some of the critics. Some of them compared the composition with material by Marilyn Manson . In November 1997, a radio edit of the song was released as a promotional single in the Netherlands . Promos containing remixes have been released in the US and UK .
background
Is It Scary , originally written for the film Addams Family Values by Michael Jackson, James Harris III and Terry Lewis , was eventually removed from the soundtrack due to contractual conflicts . Paramount Pictures had previously hired Jackson to write a song about horror. From there came "Is It Scary". A video for the song was originally planned as well. The track one of the songs, the 1995 for Jackson was also double album called HIStory - Past, Present and Future Book I came into question. However, it was then not used because it did not match the other tracks on the album. Eventually Jackson used the song in his 1997 short film , Ghosts . Jackson used parts of the lyrics for the title track of the film, which can also be found on Blood on the Dance Floor . Jackson, Harris and Lewis worked on the production of the track on Blood on the Dance Floor .
A remix of Is It Scary , called DJ Greek's Scary Mix , was released on the three track CD single that is part of the Ghosts Deluxe Collector Box Set. Remixes were also included on Jackson's ultimately unused single Smile . The radio edit was later used on the third disc of the Deluxe Edition of Jackson's Greatest Hits album King of Pop in the UK in 2008. The song could also be found on the Deluxe Edition in France . Samples of Is It Scary can be heard during the performance of Thriller in the 2009 documentary Michael Jackson's This Is It .
composition
The title is assigned to the genres R&B , Pop , Funk and Rock . Is It Scary was recorded and produced between 1993 and 1996. The song has a length of 5:35 minutes. The radio edit is 4:11 minutes long.
promotion
Is It Scary was never released as a commercial single. However, the track was given to radio stations and clubs to promote Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix . Promo singles on Radio Edit and 12 "singles with three remixes were released in the Netherlands. The US and UK received 12" promo singles remixed by Deep Dish , while the UK also received a 12 "promo single remixed by Eddie Baez called Eddie's Love Mixes . Since there was no promotion and the song was rarely heard on the radio, Is It Scary did not reach the chart.
Reactions
Is It Scary received mixed to negative reviews. Jim Farber of the New York Daily News noted that Is It Scary had some innovative sounds but no real melodies. Hartford Courant's Roger Catlin found Ghosts and Is It Scary the most startling couple, as Jackson asked the listener who read the tabloid stories about him if he was monstrous. Anthony Violanti of Buffalo News noted that Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix songs like "Superfly Sister", "Ghosts" and "Is It Scary" were programmed songs with a plastic soul how someone as talented as Jackson could produce tracks like this.
Jae-Ha Kim, a writer for the Chicago Sun-Times , felt that Is It Scary revealed an even darker side to Jackson than the tabloid press would have you believe. Neil Strauss, of the New York Times described "Is It Scary" as " sounding more like rocker Marilyn Manson than Motown prodigy Michael Jackson." J. Randy Taraborrelli , a longtime Michael Jackson critic, gave a retrospective analysis of Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix's reviews in the biography The Magic & the Madness (2004). Taraborrelli noted that in certain parts of the world there was more interest in Jackson's personal life than in his music.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Craig Halstead, Chris Cadman: Michael Jackson : The Solo Years . Authors OnLine, 2003, ISBN 075520091-8 .
- ↑ Blood on the Dance Floor liner notes Epic Records (1997)
- ↑ King of Pop: Deluxe Box Set Edition [Limited Edition - Box set ] . In: Amazon.co.uk . Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved March 1, 2010.
- ↑ Michael Jackson's This Is It [DVD] Sony Entertainment (2010)
- ↑ Jim Farber: The 'Thriller' is gone ... . In: NYDailyNews.com . Mortimer Zuckerman . May 19, 1997. Archived from the original on July 10, 2009. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
- ^ Roger Catlin (May 22, 1997) "Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix - Michael Jackson". The Hartford Courant
- ↑ Anthony Violanti "(May 23, 1997)." Lost Soul ... ". The Buffalo News
- ↑ Jae-Ha Kim (June 3, 1997). "King of flop Jackson's 'Blood' dies on charts". Chicago Sun-Times
- ^ Neil Strauss: Stars Adrift: Further Out, Further In . In: NYTimes.com . The New York Times Company . May 20, 1997. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
- ↑ Taraborrelli 610-611
