ᴴᴰ PART 02 | STRANGER IN MOSCOW ♥ღ Michael Jackson: The Story Behind The Song

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PART 02: The Story Behind The Songs: STRANGER IN MOSCOW

Accompanied by a few notes on the piano, the song ends with a KGB interrogation, completing what the musician David Paich calls the “sound design” of the piece. It was recorded by his Russian brother-in-law: “Why have you come from the West? Confess! To steal the great achievements of the people, the accomplishments of the workers.” The highly experienced Bruce Swedien perfected the mixing on what he believed was one of the best songs that Michael Jackson had ever composed.

THE SHORT FILM
Director: Nick Brandt
Producer: Bridget Blake-Wilson
Leading actor: Michael Jackson
Shoot date: 2 July 1996
Shooting location: hangars at Van Nuys airport, Los Angeles Duration: 5’33

Genesis and production
The short film, Stranger in Moscow, was the last of the trilogy that photographer and director Nick Brandt produced for the HIStory album. He chose to make a simple, uncluttered video with unusual photography shot on a blue-screen background: “I suggested the idea to Michael and he agreed. That’s how it always was. I only ever made one suggestion, and if that didn’t suit him, I had nothing else. So I was very lucky to work with him so many times."
Michael Jackson and a few extras all appear to be shut in behind a wall of solitude. They are moving at normal speed in a world where everything else is in slow motion. The contrasting visual effects are superb. They dramatically render the theme of nostalgia and the very intimate message that the singer is sending. On this project in particular, the director showcases his photographic skills. The images are so meticulously reworked and sophisticated that a kind of gloomy stillness and timeless aura seems to emanate from them. The one-time rebel of Beat It had minimal involvement in the video, no longer appearing to want to contribute new and visionary ideas to his short films, content merely to go along with the director’s vision and approach. In this black-and-white film, Michael Jackson wanders the city streets like a normal person. The camera captures specific moments on his journey, with several scenes that are subtly reworked to turn ordinary everyday events into works of art. The melancholic and downbeat feel is expressed in the rhythm of the singer’s steps, which were filmed on-set on a baggage belt in a hangar at Van Nuys airport. His hands in the pockets of his long black coat, he looks haggard, as he endlessly roams the streets, destination unknown. A purifying rain then falls, bringing to life all the characters trapped in their solitude. One by one, they raise their faces skyward, as if there they can somehow see a solution to their angst. The artist also comes to life and stamps on the wet ground as if rebelling against his depression: “Michael…was singing in the fake rain, in front of a blue background. As he sang, he stamped on the ground. But he stamped so hard that the artificial asphalt disintegrated under his foot! He demolished the stage set.”
Stranger in Moscow is a visual confession like no other in Michael Jackson’s career. Both the video and the song are quite different from anything else Jackson has done, and are a part of his HIStory that still moves his most ardent fans.

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