Shit, it's been a crazy week in the MJ world, and it didn't take me long to figure out what the MJ Song of the Weekend would be. I've been battling whether to do a happy, uplifting song or a "I hate the world" kind of song due to recent bullshit events. :sigh: But I chose the high road and the winner is.............
Jam is one of those songs that I loved while growing up on the East Coast, but I never really looked at the lyrics. The beat was enough for me and I would scream "GO WITH IT, GO WITH IT, JAM!" around the house. I really thought the song was for the movie Space Jam, and being that young, could you blame me? They played that freaking song all the time on NBA games! Plus the short film with the Other MJ, I was sold.
It wasn't until much years later that I looked at the lyrics and realized how groundbreaking the song was. This was a time where Michael was going in new direction with his career, breaking with the Quincy Jones formula and taking a risk with an up and coming producer. While Bad was an album centered around escaping to different worlds and experiencing new things, Dangerous was a mirror on the world, reflecting all the good and bad that was going on: isolation, depression, anger, war, love, injustice, and peace. It is my favorite album because he wasn't afraid to take risks: It's one thing to write songs that are catchy and get people on the dance floor, but if you can make people THINK in the process--even when they assume they are only dancing to an awesome upbeat song--then you're just a freakin' genius.
The first thing I notice is the glass smashing, starting the song at an alarming don’t-sleep-on-your-laurels- kind of thing. I can imagine someone buying the album and Jam is the first song and they go, “Woah, what is that?” The glass smashing to me isn’t just Michael’s attempt to just throw it in there; rather it could be letting people know to wake up, time is limited on this earth and you better do it know before it’s too late. People can become so wrapped up in their lives and what they want that it takes a little shake up--or shattered glass--to wake them up and Michael did that in just a few seconds.
Michael’s vocals in Jam is what makes the song soar: they are quick and efficient, he huffs, yells, says “woo” as if he has reached that point of harmony and wants everyone to go along for the ride. You can’t help but join in and dance. He also has a sense of urgency when saying the lyrics, I didn’t realize how much he says until I actually read it and I’m like wow, that’s a lot to say. Now some may say he says too much and it gets lost with the horns blowing and music, but I disagree. If he slowed down then the song would've been 10 minutes long and wouldn't connect with the music. There are certain parts where yes he barely even breaths when he gets the words out but he does pause and the music goes down when he says certain things, certain phrases that I just love. Maybe it wasn't meant for the listener to remember every lyric, maybe it was just the certain phrases. I think because if he slowed it down it would sound a bit too preachy, speed it up, say what you gotta say and pause at the right moments and people will understand exactly what you mean.
Nation To Nation
All The World
Must Come Together
Face The Problems
That We See
Then Maybe Somehow We Can Work It Out
I Asked My Neighbor
For A Favor
She Said Later
What Has Come Of
All The People
Have We Lost Love
Of What It's About
I Have To Find My Peace Cuz
No One Seems To Let Me Be
False Prophets Cry Of Doom
What Are The Possibilities
I Told My Brother
There'll Be Problems,
Times And Tears For Fears,
We Must Live Each Day
Like It's The Last
Seriously, the first lines of the song remind me of something straight out of a civil rights speech, a desperate plea for humanity to come together as one. Then he asks his neighbor for a favor and she dumps his request. Now this line reminded me of a bible quote: Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself [Romans 13:9]. So he assumes that his neighbor will help him out not because he asks but because she seems him as a reflection of herself and his request is denied. Michael’s able to put this story as an example of how the world is going, they don’t care about anyone except themselves and would rather turn up their nose to their neighbor because they won’t get anything in return. Then he discuss that they are ‘false prophets’ and it’s up to him to figure out where he can get some peace; he’s disconnected from the world, tuned out and doesn't want to deal with people anymore. Michael is saying that isn't the way, yes humanity is pretty crazy sometimes and you just want to be a hermit, but it isn't the way. Michael then says the last lines “We must love each day/like it’s the last.” and it’s just him with very little music, he’s making a point that hey, wake up! Now’s the time to start living and that’s by helping your fellow man and woman. And then there’s the “Times and tears for fears” lyric. I did some research and found that it’s actually a psychological theory developed by the American psychologist Arthur Janov. In his theory Prisoners of Pain Janov suggested tears as a replacement for fears, basically the fright-or-flight syndrome. To me Michael is saying, “Don’t just sit there and cry about what’s going on, DO something.”
The World Keeps Changing
Rearranging Minds
And Thoughts
Predictions Fly Of Doom
The Baby Boom
Has Come Of Age
We'll Work It Out
So again we have a mixture of the world evolving but also the “Armageddon is upon us” sense of urgency. Michael still keeps his upbeat perception that humanity will ‘work it out’ but you can tell he’s still a bit worried that we won’t get it in time. By the time he gets to this part of the song, he’s whipping himself up into a frenzy, no more time for the happy stuff, he’s about to get real.
I Told My Brothers
Don't You Ask Me
For No Favors
I'm Conditioned By
The System
Don't You Talk To Me
Don't Scream And Shout
The tables get turned, now he’s telling his brothers/neighbors to get lost, he’s been consumed by society that he’s lost his way, he’s giving up trying to be the good guy. He is numb and immune to society’s plight, kind of like he has given the middle finger to the whole Man in the Mirror message.
She Pray To God, To Buddha
Then She Sings A
Talmud Song
Confusions Contradict
The Self
Do We Know Right
From Wrong
I Just Want You To
Recognize Me
In The Temple
You Can't Hurt Me
I Found Peace
Within Myself
I’m assuming the “she” is the neighbor and look what has happened? She goes from one religion to the other praying for redemption. I’m not sure if this because she feels she has done bad or a futile attempt to be whole again because hey, the world is coming to an end soon. Time is ticking away. With the lyric “Confusions contradict the self/do we know right from wrong”, it seems that there’s this internal battle to follow whatever religion you believe, but in a world where everyone is out for themselves, it can get confusing.
Michael slows down again with another favorite lyric, he wants “you” (neighbor/religious entity/the world?) to recognize him in the temple, I’m assuming that he’s saying when he’s gone from the world God or whatever religious deity will know him and welcome him into heaven/bliss, etc. “You can’t hurt me, I found peace within myself.” is such a powerful statement. I feel like he’s talking to evil directly, no matter what’s thrown at him he’s found that peace and nothing is going to take that away.
The title “Jam” itself is incredibly genius. One may think it’s just Michael having a jam session with the music. But looking at the definition of jam it could mean many things:
Jam : To drive or wedge forcibly into a tight position. It could mean that people feel they cannot escape the madness that is society, that they are stuck where they are with no room to move. It’s like, “Hey I live like this and it won’t change so that’s how it’s going to be.” This can be used any time when people are going through a difficult time they can’t move up or down and thus in a jam.
Or it could mean this:
Jam today: The principle of living for the moment.
I'm going to go with #2.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to put on my clothes backwards and enjoy this 90's style.
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