Why Dangerous Is My Favorite Michael Jackson Album (& HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY!)
With the 25th year anniversary of the release of Dangerous and the current #Dangerous25 social media campaign being held by the estate, I was inspired to share some of the reasons why Michael Jackson’s Dangerous album has been (and probably always will be) my favorite.
When you love something so much, it's often difficult to explain why. But I always pull from significant times in my life and try to understand where the feeling comes from. If I narrow it down to three different things, I would say that the tour, the Dangerous era campaign moments, and of course- the music, are all reasons why Dangerous is my favorite Michael Jackson album.
The music.
My top 3 songs are "Keep the Faith," "Give In To Me," and "Remember the Time".
(And I'll throw in a bonus, a song that almost made it on the album, "Someone Put Your Hand Out".)
Believe it or not though, I have memories associated with every song on Dangerous
“In the Closet” is one of the first songs that made me realize how much work Michael put into his art. This is the track I would listen to at full volume on my Sony discman. If the Dangerousalbum was a bakery and every song a different item, “In the Closet” would be a 7-Layer Cake. Between the glass shatters, the beatboxing, chains, and heavy breathing, “In the Closet” is the real deal when it comes to intricacy and being a song you can really get lost in.
Last December, I invested in a set of Bose headphones and my listening experience was totally heightened with the change of equipment.
I would highly recommend all fans listen to this song with a higher quality audio device, if the opportunity is there. Here's a link to the ones I have- if you're curious: http://amzn.to/2gx6c1W
“She Drives Me Wild” is another one of the songs I fell in love with and identified with a lot. One of the most important communities I’ve ever been a part of was MJJForum (now MJJCommunity). This was the web page I visited during my lunch hour in high school and the one I was on for 5-6 hours a day during the trial. From the discussion, to fan meetups, to links to high quality photos and stories about meeting Michael, I really enjoyed it there. When I first joined, I used a generic username “MJsLiberianGirl”. After I made a few friends and felt like I wanted to show a little more personality. I wanted to show that my favorite album was Dangerous and listened to the entire CD 3x through until I could decide on a username.
My favorite part of the song is when he sings “Satin Lace and a Paisley Cut Top, The Girl Is Wastin’ Over and She Knows She Looks Hot! …” I had no idea what a mojo was (or what wastin’ over is…) but, that girl sounded like everything I wanted to be!! From then on, my alias on MJJForum was PaisleyCutTop. It paid to be creative- I’ve always gotten lots of compliments on it!
And then there’s “Heal the World”.
This wasn’t a song that I listened to a lot growing up. Maybe the content was too tame for that teenage angst I experienced when I first got into the Dangerous album. I was into the upbeat songs but, also the more deeply emotional ones towards the end.
But hearing a story about this song, kind of warmed my heart towards it. A friend of mine from summer camp was in the Brooklyn Children’s Choir that sang this song at the 30th Anniversary show. She told me how much she admired Michael and how much it meant to get his “wave and nod of approval” at the rehearsals. Hearing personal experiences like my friend’s story always gives a song so much more meaning for me.
The tour.
As a child, I spent every weekend at my grandparent’s house. On Thursday nights, I would pack a small backpack in preparation to head to my secondary home. My grandparents’ house was where many of my first Michael Jackson memories were made.
There were lots of awesome things about my weekends growing up.
Sleeping in, watching block marathons of my favorite shows on Cartoon Network, eating endless bowls of cereal… You know… all the things that kids love. Most importantly though, I also watched the Dangerous Tour almost every single weekend I spent away from home.
My father taped Michael Jackson Live in Bucharest from HBO, including about 15-20 minutes of the teaser that aired prior to the show. The tape was played every time I was there. Sometimes I would even watch it twice in a row. To me, everything about the Dangerous Tour was amazing.
I still have the VHS tape my father recorded!
The breakdown at the end of Billie Jean. How funky the dance break sounded on Thriller. The freeze at the end of "Workin' Day and Night" before the magical disappearing act at the end. The smoke, the green lights and miming at the end of Human Nature. And then there's my favorite- the grand exit Michael made. You couldn’t have told me that it wasn’t Michael strapped to that jet pack and making a sharp left to exit the stadium. He was the coolest person alive to me and I simply loved watching that HBO special.
It was through the Dangerous tour, that I grew an affinity towards the album.
The moments.
The Dangerous short films DVD was gifted to me the Christmas of my freshman year in high school. Just a few months after the 30th anniversary shows, before YouTube, and long after the album had been released. The behind the scenes footage was all brand new to me. I especially loved watching , the footage for the making of "Jam" and "Black or White". It was fun to watch Michael interact with other celebrities and in this instance, watch him play practical jokes, laugh, and be playful.
The Grammy Legend Award presentation from 1993 was an awesome addition to that DVD. After watching it once, this quickly became my favorite "Michael" moment. Everything about that night seemed magical to me. Michael's white military jacket adorned with pearls and crystals. The black sequin gloves. His sister Janet presenting him with the award. The video montage. His speech.
Michael's speech that night taught me a lot about who he was "as a person and not a personality," to put it in his own words. I think every fan should watch it.
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Dangerous is the album that I listen to and feel most connected to Michael Jackson. I feel like the album collectively helped me know and understand myself a lot better.
I'm thankful for that!!!
All of us fans have reasons why we connect to songs, eras, and albums. I've always been partial to ones I can "feel" or relate to.
When I was overjoyed, when I was feeling defeated, during moments of celebration, times when I felt alone - the album was there for me. A musical escape- that’s what Michael Jackson’s Dangerous album means to me.
Before I end this post.... can I share some fun news??
Combining my love for Japan and my love for the Dangerous album,...
All of my readers will have the chance to win an authentic and original Dangerous Tour Japan Tourbook** from 1992 AND an exclusive SOMEONE PUT YOUR HAND OUT cassette tape.
Note:
The tourbook I am giving away has some minor creasing but is in very good condition and is a rare collector's item!
Enter below for a chance to win!
Good luck and until next time, xoxo
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