Description
5 songs, 20 minutes, not the version with 4 songs
LAST COPY AVAILABLE!
Michael Jackson – Scream
Label: Epic 01-662022-14
662022 2
Format: CD, Maxi-Single
Country: Austria
Released: 31 May 1995
Genre: pop
Tracklist
1 Scream (Single Edit) 4:03
2 Scream (Def Radio Mix) 3:20
Producer [Additional] David Morales, Satoshi Tomiie
Remix David Morales
3 Scream (Naughty Radio Edit With Rap) 4:30
Rap Naughty By Nature
Remix Naughty By Nature
4 Scream (Dave “Jam” Halls Urban Remix Edit) 4:37
Producer [Additional] Nevelle Hodge
Remix Dave “Jam” Hall
5 Childhood (Theme From “Free Willy 2”) 4:27
Mastered By Bernie Grundman
Producer David Foster (tracks: 5), Janet Jackson (tracks: 1 to 4), Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (tracks: 1 to 4), Michael Jackson
Recorded By, Mixed By Bruce Swedien
Vocals Michael Jackson
Vocals [Vocal Duet With] Janet Jackson (tracks: 1 to 4)
Written-By, Composed By James Harris III (tracks: 1 to 4), Janet Jackson (tracks: 1 to 4), Michael Jackson, Terry Lewis (tracks: 1 to 4)
© 1995 MJJ Productions Inc.
Distribution Sony Music.
Made in Austria.
Barcode: 5 099766 202228
Matrix / Runout: 01-662022-14 22
Other (Mastering SID Code): IFPI L552
Rights Society: SACEM/SACD/SDRM/SGDL, BIEM
Label Code: LC 0199
Other (Distribution Code): CB 608
Other (Sony Code): 01-662022-14
“Scream”/”Childhood” is the lead single from Michael Jacksons ninth studio album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I where “Scream” is the first song and “Childhood” is the tenth song on the second disc of the album HIStory Continues. The A-side, “Scream”, is a duet with his younger sister Janet Jackson, while the corresponding B-side, “Childhood”, a solo piece. The single was released on May 31, 1995.
“Scream” is cited primarily as an aggressive, retaliatory song directed at the tabloid media and their coverage of the child sexual abuse accusations made against Michael Jackson in 1993. “Scream” was written, composed and produced by Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson; Michael played many of the instruments. It incorporates elements of pop, electrorock, new jack swing, dance-pop, and funk. Recording for Scream took place at the Hit Factory in New York City and at Flyte Tyme Studios in Edina, Minnesota in December 1994. The song was leaked to radio stations early, despite Epic Records’ attempt to keep it off air until the official release date.
Generally well received amongst critics, it has been compared favorably to other accomplished pieces by Jackson. It went on to be nominated for a Grammy Award and an American Music Award. The corresponding music video remains one of Jacksons most critically acclaimed pieces; it won numerous MTV Video Music Awards and a Grammy. At a cost of $ 7 million, it was listed in the Guinness World Records as the most expensive music video ever made, however director Mark Romanek has refuted the claim saying that there were two other music videos from the same era which cost “millions more” than the video for “Scream”.[2] The imagery in “Scream” has been replicated in several contemporary pieces, including “No Scrubs” (1999) by TLC, “Shawty Get Loose” (2008) by Lil Mama, “Stay the Night” (1999) by IMx and Walkin’ on the Moon (2009) by The-Dream.
“Childhood” is an auto-biographical song written and composed by Michael Jackson. The theme of the track centers around his difficult childhood experiences. It would become the main theme song for Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, continuing his association with the Free Willy series. The track appeared on several compilation albums, but was met with a mixed reception amongst critics. The songs music video, which had little in common with the supporting film, has been critically praised. “Scream”/”Childhood” would become the first single in the 37 year history of Billboard to debut at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked. It was a worldwide hit, reaching the top five in the vast majority of major music markets.
Michael performed the song on his 96-97 HIStory World Tour. Janet performed the song on her 2011 Number Ones: Up Close and Personal World Tour as a tribute to her late brother.
Background:
“Scream” is a song primarily directed at the tabloid press. As far back as the late 1980s, Jackson and the press had a difficult relationship. In 1986, the tabloids ran a story claiming that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow the aging process; he was pictured lying down in a glass box. When Jackson bought a pet chimpanzee called Bubbles, it was reported as evidence of increasing detachment from reality. It was reported that Jackson had offered to buy the bones of Joseph Merrick (the “elephant man”) and although untrue, he did not deny the story. These stories inspired the pejorative nickname “Wacko Jacko”, which Jackson acquired the following year and would come to despise. He stopped leaking untruths to the press, so the media began making up their own stories.
In 1989, Jackson released the song and music video “Leave Me Alone”, a song about his perceived victimization at the hands of the press. The video shows Jackson poking fun not only at the press but also the situation he was in. In the video, there are images of shrines to his friend Elizabeth Taylor, newspapers with bizarre headlines, Jackson dancing with the bones of The Elephant Man, and an animated nose with a scalpel chasing it across the screen.
In 1993, the relationship between Jackson and the press came to a head when he was accused of child sexual abuse. Although never charged with a crime, Jackson was subject to intense media scrutiny while the criminal investigation took place. Complaints about the coverage and media included using sensational headlines to draw in readers and viewers when the content itself did not support the headline, accepting stories of Jacksons alleged criminal activity in return for money, accepting confidential, leaked material from the police investigation in return for money paid, deliberately using pictures of Jacksons appearance at its worst, a lack of objectivity and using headlines that strongly implied Jacksons guilt. At the time, Jackson said of the media reaction, “I will say I am particularly upset by the handling of the matter by the incredible, terrible mass media. At every opportunity, the media has dissected and manipulated these allegations to reach their own conclusions.”
The singer began taking painkillers, Valium, Xanax and Ativan to deal with the stress of the allegations made against him. Jacksons health had deteriorated to the extent that he canceled the remainder of his tour and went into rehabilitation. Jackson booked the whole fourth floor of a clinic and was put on Valium IV to wean him from painkillers. A few months after the allegations became news, Jackson had lost approximately 10 lb (4.5 kg) in weight and had stopped eating. The singers spokesperson told reporters that Jackson was “barely able to function adequately on an intellectual level”. While in the clinic, Jackson took part in group and one-on-one therapy sessions.
When Jackson left the U.S. to go into rehabilitation, the media showed him little sympathy. The Daily Mirror held a “Spot the Jacko” contest, offering readers a trip to Disney World if they could correctly predict where the entertainer would appear next. A Daily Express headline read, “Drug Treatment Star Faces Life on the Run”, while a News of the World headline accused Jackson of being a fugitive. These tabloids also falsely alleged that Jackson had traveled to Europe to have cosmetic surgery that would make him unrecognizable on his return. Geraldo Rivera set up a mock trial, with a jury made up of audience members, even though Jackson had not been charged with a crime.
“Scream”/”Childhood” and HIStory were Jacksons first releases since the allegations, and the press was waiting to see if the album would sell well. One analyst for SoundScan expressed the opinion that the press were out of touch with the public when it came to Jackson; the public liked him, while the press did not. He believed that “naysayers” in the media would be left surprised with the commercial reception to the HIStory campaign.
In the UK, on 24 June 1995, “Scream (David Morales Remix)” was released as a single peaking at number 43, dropping to number 57 a week later. It remained on the charts for only 2 weeks.
Video:
The 4:46 minute music video for “Scream” was choreographed by Travis Payne, LaVelle Smith Jnr, Tina Landon in May 1995, and Sean Cheesman, directed by Mark Romanek, with the production being designed by Tom Foden. Jackson did not create the “concept” for the video, which he had often done in the past, but left it to Romanek. Jackson later described the making of “Scream” as a collaborative effort. The song and its accompanying video are a response to the backlash Jackson received from the media in 1993.
Foden commented, “Mark had written the treatment and the general idea was that Michael and Janet were on this large spacecraft. And they, were alone…They were getting away from Earth, and the different sets were the different environments on the spacecraft where they could have a little bit of fun and where they could relax”. Production of the music videos 13-piece set were restricted to a one-month period and is produced by Foden art directors Richard Berg, Jeff Hall, and Martin Mervel. Foden describes the assignment as a “military operation” explaining, “The idea was to give each of the art directors three sets: a complicated one, a not-so-complicated one, and one of the smaller, easier vignettes.” Jackson was happy to work with his sister again, explaining that as they still had a passion for dancing it reminded him of “old times.”
In the video, Janet Jackson takes on a darker persona, previously unseen in her own music videos. Jim Farber of the New York Daily News described her as “Sporting a thick thatch of wig hair, and eyes darkened by coal-black makeup…sullen and arty…Janet, however, never looked tougher, or more in control.” In the video, Janet sports a skimpy bikini in some scenes, grabs at her breasts, gives the camera a middle finger and simulates male urination. (In the out-takes, there is a still color photograph of Michael also giving the camera the middle finger.) The video has influences of Japanese sci-fi Anime, and the editing sometimes intensified the imagery in the dance routines, several clips of the Zillion anime series and the movie Akira can be seen in the background screens.
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