Riding off on a rocket ship with his pet
chimpanzee, Bubbles, all a while being pursued by dogs wearing corporate suits.
Just one bizarre scene depicted in Michael Jackson's video epic,
'Leave Me Alone',
that sorts to present the chaotic and claustrophobic
carnival Jackson's life had become by the late 1980s,
having successfully climbed to the very center of the pop culture universe.
An outcry of frustration fueled by paranoia and a desire to be left
at peace by various corners of the media, the overall track has largely been
overshadowed by its music video. Demonstrating Jackson's continued
confidence and excitement to further master the visual art form. Once again
utilizing special effects techniques both old and new.
A departure from his previous dance
centered narrative videos, they are mere glimmers when compared
to the sheer variety of visual imagery conjured up in the short film.
From chattering comedy teeth, the Elephant Man's dancing bones, and even
carefully cut pieces of his glamorous showbiz pal, Elizabeth Taylor.
Although it emits lightheartedness,
the video conveys Michael Jackson's torrid reality.
The price of fame, expressed through his
anger in the track as well as through its remarkable animation.
Written by Michael Jackson himself and produced alongside his longtime
collaborator, Quincy Jones, 'Leave Me Alone' was released as the 8th
single from the singer's 1987 LP, 'Bad', as a bonus track that was only
available on the compact disc release of the album.
The song has not only gone on to be
remembered for showcasing Michael at the peak of his creativeness regarding
technology, but also, perhaps, as his first major attack
on the exploitative mainstream press and their relentless pursuit of him.
This is the story behind the inspiration, production and commercial reaction to one
of Michael Jackson's most iconic releases, 'Leave Me Alone'.
Here's the detail
the Inspiration.
Originally written as a farewell track
to a lover who keeps dogging him around, 'Leave Me Alone' was recorded alongside
hundreds of others as potential cuts for the Bad album.
The track's lyrics portray a frustrated
Jackson, tired and exhausted from all the tribulations that the recipient of his
words has put them through, with the chorus repeating a clear cut
message outlining that the person in question should leave them alone.
However, for an artist whose romantic pursuits and their subsequent heartbreaks
were virtually nonexistent to the public, 'Leave Me Alone' would soon start to present
another type of torturous love affair, that of Michael and the media.
Having grown up in the spotlight,
experiencing fame and press exposure from a young age, Michael Jackson was no
stranger to being the subject of media interest.
However, following the meteoric success of 'Thriller',
the singer ascended from being a well respected performer to one of the most
recognizable and popular faces on the planet.
Such a status doesn't bring solely positives, and the drawback of this
increased attention came in the form of the tabloid press,
who developed an insatiable taste for strange and bizarre headlines
involving Michael that often painted the elusive star in a negative light.
By the mid 1980s, a week would hardly go by without Michael Jackson being splashed
across the papers with headlines describing all sorts of bizarre scenarios
and situations that the superstar had supposedly gotten himself into.
Jackson acknowledged this in his 1988
memoir, Moonwalk. The price of fame can be a heavy one.
The media prints whatever you say, they report whatever you do.
I think my image gets distorted in the public's mind.
They don't get a clear or full picture of what I'm like.
For an artist who relentlessly pursued
the trappings of fame, commerciality and industry dominance,
with 'Leave Me Alone', Michael may very well be expressing an internal battle
he faced. The desire for an ever increasing
global presence and notoriety within the worldwide press,
but disappointment and frustration with the lack of control he held and how
the media would present him in this pursuit.
Upon review of the lyrics,
Jackson recounts a parasitic relationship. One that's toxicity means
he wishes he could run away from it.
But ultimately realizes his existence relies upon it, and in turn, theirs on him.
The Production
As part of the track,
Michael Jackson played several roles, writer, solo and background vocalist,
rhythm and vocal arranger and vocal synthesizer.
The recording of 'Leave Me Alone' took place
between 1985 and 1986, alongside many other tracks
that ultimately didn't end up on the Bad album.
The reason as to why it appeared only as a bonus track on the CD release is unclear.
Kevin Fenney of the American Statesman claimed the lack of storage capacity
on vinyl and cassettes as the reason for the song's admission.
Some rumors spouted that the then
relatively new CD format was released to help boost overall sales of the Bad LP,
with Michael Jackson's star appeal bound to help increase the new mediums profile.
However, none of these potential reasons
have ever officially been confirmed. For fans,
they may have believed that a release of this song as a single would never have
been possible, as back in the late 1980s, bonus tracks were often seen as throwaway
cuts, not being worthy enough for inclusion on the main album.
For Michael, an artist known for breaking convention, he would not only release
'Leave Me Alone' as a single, but would go on to create one of the most
memorable and iconic music videos of his career for the project.
The music video
Writing in British Vogue in 1987, Barney Hoskins described the infamous tabloid
image of Jackson as despicable and distortions.
Stating that Jackson's quote inability to enjoy meaningful relations with anyone
except animals, small children and cartoon characters has become ridiculous.
This over the top salacious fantasy reality the media machine had built
for Michael Jackson would act as the visual inspiration for the song's video.
The director chosen for this project would be Jim Blashfield, his first collaboration
with Michael, but a name that was already synonymous with the music video format.
Blashfield had experienced great success with several of the short films he helmed,
including with bands such as Talking Heads and later on, Tears for Fears.
Filming for 'Leave Me Alone' would begin
in January of 1988 in Culver City, California.
Though unusually for a Michael Jackson project, completing this music video would
see the creative team embark on their longest process yet.
All sequences involving Michael were shot on 35 millimeter film.
This part of the process only took around
three days to shoot, but this was undoubtedly the easiest part.
Special effects and animation teams then got to work to craft the unique look
of the short film, a process that would take them nine months to complete.
Director, Jim Blashfield, explained
that quote each and every bit of it is made up of still images that are all
stacked on top of one another on a piece of glass.
Look in any one scene and look how many different things there are going on,
so each one of those had to have its own shot.
One of the trickier aspects of this
process was the cutting of the 35 millimeter film.
Certain members of the team were assigned
to cutting out Michael from the footage to be incorporated into the animated still
frames, all layered on top of each other to create the final product.
Blashfield has stated multiple times that elements such as the splash seen
throughout the video, as well as cutting out Michael's hair,
took the designated animator weeks to complete.
Through the animated style of the video, Jackson takes Hoskins criticism
to a garish extreme, surrounding himself with a world
of childlike cartoon imagery. Flipping the script of the media
mocking him, to mock the media itself for the absurdity of its claims.
Depicted singing from within the front pages of tabloid newspapers and dollar
bills, the video evokes a feeling of Jackson's entrapment and exploitation
by the worldwide press, which he sees as dehumanizing him
in pursuit of profit with their attention grabbing headlines.
One iconic element from the video is the ball and chain sequence,
where Michael, dressed in homage to the silent film star,
Charlie Chaplin, dances with the bones of the Elephant Man.
Playing on yet another tabloid speculation that MJ had wanted to purchase
the skeleton of Joseph Merrick himself. Blashfield stated that the sequence was
Michael's idea, coming to studio with a routine fully formed and ready to go.
The Charlie Chaplin-esque look continues
to display Michael's love of movies, particularly those from the golden age
of Hollywood. Expanding upon the film noir aesthetic of the 1940s
present in 'Smooth Criminal',
now being played out are the physical routines of silent cinema of the 1920s.
The theme of control is pervasive throughout the video,
with perhaps the most mesmerizing aspect arguably coming at its conclusion.
A giant sized Michael Jackson is depicted
held down underneath an amusement park that has been built around him,
symbolizing the media's desire to lock Jackson down and profit off him via
the sensationalized experiences he can provide. Breaking free from these bonds,
Michael, in a similar vein to literary classic Gulliver's Travels,
rises up destroying this fabricated world created by the suitwearing dogs, itself
denoting the animalistic nature of the press.
Standing tall amongst the wreckage and looking up to the stars,
he appears triumphant, rising above the constant noise thrown around him.
An upbeat conclusion to an otherwise scathing piece of art.
The Release
The music video
for 'Leave Me Alone' was first seen by fans as part of the film, moonwalker,
released on October 29th, 1988.
It serves as a conclusion for the film's first half,
a retrospective on Michael Jackson's career, with 'Leave Me Alone'
bringing the audience right up to date with the superstar
until that point. The video epic would premiere on MTV soon
afterwards and was eventually released as a single on February 13, 1989.
Despite not having a release
in the United States and Canada, 'Leave Me Alone' performed incredibly well
throughout Europe, cracking the top five in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain,
Greece, Ireland and the United Kingdom, at which it peaked at number two.
Critically, 'Leave Me Alone' was absolutely lapped up by the music industry.
Stephen Thomas Erwin of AllMusic
stating that 'Leave Me Alone' is the best track on the 'Bad' album, adding,
quote, Why are all of his best songs paranoid anthems?
The track also received six nominations
at the MTV Music Video Awards in 1989, for which it won viewers choice
and perhaps unsurprisingly, Best Special Effects. In 1990,
the song would then take the Grammy Award
for best short form music video, paralleling nicely with his sister Janet,
who won the award for best long form music video with Rhythm Nation 1814.
However, other strands of the wider press
took issue with the track's lyrical content and how Michael chose to depict
himself when it comes to his relationship with the media.
Harry Sambal remarking,
quote he would seem to have the right to detest the situation if he hadn't
created the park as much as the rest of us.
It appears that the press was all too
aware of the video's connotations, and as the 1990s rolled around,
the intensity of their coverage on Michael would only continue to increase.
Gene Armstrong commenting quote mystery breathes
rumor, and if Jackson didn't make a point
of being so out of reach and exotic, maybe we, the public,
wouldn't want so badly to reshape him into our own personal pet.
Indicative of a wave of Michael Jackson music that would sort to confront
injustices within the media and the world at large in a much more aggressive tone
than audiences had previously witnessed from the superstar.
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