Stranger in Moscow
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| “Stranger in Moscow” | |||||
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| Single by Michael Jackson from the album HIStory - Past, Present and Future, Book I |
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| Released | November 4, 1996 (Worldwide) August 1997 (U.S.) |
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| Format | CD single | ||||
| Recorded | 1994 | ||||
| Genre | Ballad/R&B | ||||
| Length | 5:44 (Album Version) 4:10 (Radio Edit) |
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| Label | Epic Records | ||||
| Writer(s) | Michael Jackson | ||||
| Producer | Michael Jackson | ||||
| Michael Jackson singles chronology | |||||
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| Michael Jackson's Visionary chronology | |||||
| "They Don't Care About Us" (2006) |
"Stranger in Moscow" (2006) |
"Blood on the Dance Floor" (2006) |
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| HIStory track listing | |||||
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"Stranger in Moscow" is a single by singer-songwriter Michael Jackson released in November 1996 (November 1996 was the general worldwide release date; it was released in August 1997 in the U.S.).
"Stranger in Moscow" was written in 1993 during Jackson's Dangerous World Tour in Moscow. He mentions that outside his hotel room, all he could see was "a sea of faces of fans chanting and screaming" and that he felt "all alone", like he was "the last person on the planet". It was this particular instance (on that particular day) that "Stranger in Moscow" came together.
The song's music video shows Jackson walking down a street while everything except himself and other primary subjects are moving in slow motion. Rod Temperton, Jackson's songwriter in his early career, believes this is his best song.
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[edit] Song information
Contrary to belief and what is shown on the single cover, the black-and-white video for "Stranger in Moscow" wasn't shot in Moscow nor was it intended to look like it. It was filmed in Los Angeles. It depicts a typical American city on a rainy day.
Toward the end of the song, a low background male voice speaks Russian and says the following: "Зачем ты приехал к нам, враг от Запада? Признайся! Он приехал, чтобы украсть у нас великие достижения народа, великие труды рабочих" (translation: "Why did you come to us, you, enemy from the West? Tell the truth! He came to steal the great achievements of the people, the great accomplishments of the workers"). Many Russian-speaking Jackson fans in the CIS found this and some other lines in the English language lyrics to be Cold War clichés that were incongruous and obsolete in the mid-1990s.
An inconsistency in the lyrics to "Stranger in Moscow" is in the lines "KGB was doggin' me, take my name and just let me be...". The KGB (the secret police of the USSR) was disbanded simultaneously with the dissolution of the USSR (1991), i.e. years before the release of the song. Another inconsistency with the song lies within the lyrics "Kremlin's shadow belittlin' me, Stalin's tomb won't let me be". Joseph Stalin (1878 — 1953) does not lie in a tomb; he is buried in a grave near the Kremlin Wall next to the graves of other heads of the Soviet State. The embalmed body of the founder of the USSR, Vladimir Lenin, not that of Joseph Stalin, is still in a tomb called Lenin's Mausoleum in the Red Square.
Some have noted that the song sounds similar to the ending music of the game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on Sega Genesis [1]. A few other songs have similar chords to some of Michael Jackson's songs from the previous Dangerous album as well. It has since been revealed that at one point, Michael Jackson was to compose the soundtrack for the game, but his 1993 allegations of child molestation made Sega drop the deal. His keyboard player remained as the head songwriter for the game. It is possible that some of Jackson's music still remained in the Sega Genesis version of Sonic 3. Therefore it is questionable who wrote the game's music despite its credit to the songwriters.
The song's lyrics contain the phrase "Armageddon of the brain", the same phrase Jackson used in 1994 (a year before the release of the album) in an interview with Ebony Magazine to describe the 1993 allegations.
[edit] Chart performance
The single was a success in Europe, reaching the top of the charts in Spain, Italy and #4 in the UK, where it stayed in the top 40 for five weeks during the Christmas period. It was the least successful single release from the HIStory - Past, Present and Future, Book I album, but maintained the trend of continuous top 5 hits in the UK, where the album proved to be Jackson's most successful singles album to date.
Due to the remixes made for the song it reached #1 in the UK Dance Chart (staying at the top for 5 weeks), #1 in the UK Club Chart, and #1 on the official Euro DJs chart. This meant that it was Jackson's biggest club hit and one of the biggest club hits from a mainstream commercial artist.
It also performed well in many other European countries, peaking at #5 in Switzerland and #9 in Denmark. It also peaked at #6 in New Zealand and at #14 in Australia. However, it flopped in the United States, reaching only #91.
[edit] Choreography
The song was performed on the HIStory World Tour, replacing "Human Nature". Jackson incorporates a mixture of robotic and popping dance moves during a set and almost always opens the song with his "four-corner moonwalk" step in which Jackson moonwalks while pivoting his heels in a circular motion. He also usually showcases a variety of floating steps. Much like in the style of "Billie Jean", the song is extended at the end with a revamp of the drum line. Here, Jackson often does the moonwalk (a move generally set aside for use in "Billie Jean" only) followed by a spin and a pose stricken on the downbeat which closes the song.
[edit] Covers
This song has also been covered by Transformer di Roboter, employing the famous Macintosh startup chime as the bass-line throughout.
[edit] Track listing
[edit] Original release
[edit] UK single #1
- Stranger in Moscow" (Album version) – 5:44
- Stranger in Moscow" (Charles "The Mixologist" Roane - Full Mix w/mute Drop) – 4:30
- Stranger in Moscow" (Tee's Light AC Mix) – 4.26
- Stranger in Moscow" (Tee's Freeze Radio) – 3:36
- Stranger in Moscow" (Tee's In-House Club Mix) – 6:43
- Stranger in Moscow" (TNT Frozen Sun Mix-Club) – 6:41
[edit] UK single #2
- Stranger in Moscow" (Album version) – 5:44
- Stranger in Moscow" (Hani's Extended Chill Hop Mix R&B) – 6:01
- Stranger in Moscow" (Hani's Num Club Mix) – 10:15
- Stranger in Moscow" (Basement Boys Radio Mix) – 4:03
- Stranger in Moscow" (Spensane Vocal Remix R&B) – 4:42
- Stranger in Moscow" (12" Dance Club Mix) – 8:18
[edit] U.S. single #1
- Stranger in Moscow" (Album version) – 5:44
- Stranger in Moscow" (12' Dance Club Mix) – 8:18
- Stranger in Moscow" (Hani's Num Club Mix) – 10:15
- Stranger in Moscow" (Danger Dub Mix) – 6.34
- Stranger in Moscow" (Hani's Num Radio) – 10.12
- Scream" (Def Radio Mix) – 3:20
- Scream" (Naughty Radio Edit with Rap) – 4:30
- Scream" (Dave 'Jam' Hall's Extended Urban Remix) – 4:35
[edit] U.S. single #2
- "Stranger in Moscow" (Tee's Radio Mix) – 4:12
- "Stranger in Moscow" (Charles Roane's Full R&B Mix) – 5:04
- "Stranger in Moscow" (Hani's Num Radio Mix) – 10:15
- "Stranger in Moscow" (Tee's In-House Club Mix) – 6:43
- "Stranger in Moscow" (Basement Boys 12in Club Mix) – 4:31
- "Stranger in Moscow" (Hani's Extended Chill Hop Mix) – 7:12
- "Off the Wall" (Junior Vasquez Remix) – 4:57
[edit] Visionary single
- CD side
- "Stranger in Moscow" (Album version)
- "Stranger in Moscow" (Tee's In-House Club Mix)
- DVD side
- "Stranger in Moscow" (Music video)
[edit] Mixes
- Album version - 5:44
- Radio edit - 4:10
- Hani's Num Club Mix - 10:10
- Hani's Num Radio Mix
- Hani's Num Dub
- Hani's Dub Hop Mix
- Hani's Extended Chill Hop Mix
- Basement Boys 12" Dance Club Mix - 8:18
- Basement Boys Radio Mix
- Basement Boys Bonus Dub Beats
- Basement Boys Danger Dub
- Basement Boys Lonely Dub
- Basement Boys Bonus Dub Beats
- Basement Boys Spensane Vocal Remix
- Tee's Freeze Mix-Club - 8:15
- Tee's Freeze Radio
- Tee's Mission Mix-Club
- Tee's Radio Mix
- Tee's In-House Club Mix
- Tee's Bonus Beats Dub
- Tee's Light AC Mix
- Tee's Capella
- TNT Frozen Sun Mix-Club
- TNT Danger Dub
- Charles Roane Full Mix
- Charles Roane Full Mix with Mute Drop
[edit] Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 | 91 |
| Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 50 |
[edit] Credits
- Written and composed by Michael Jackson
- Produced by Michael Jackson
- Keyboards and Bass by David Paich
