wren, she/he, HIStory era baby (adult, won't follow back minors) this is my place to celebrate michael jackson :-) @abbathevisitors is my personal sideblog (for anything non-mj related) blog runs mostly on queue
"Faces" is a compelling unreleased Spoken Word and instrumental song written by Michael Jackson and recorded in 1994. Intended for the 1995 HIStory album, the song is themed around human unity through breaking down man-made barriers such nationalism, racism and ethnicity-centered bigotry. It is inspired by Nelson Mandela's reformative work in South Africa, as he is mentioned directly, and the instrumental includes a vocal chant and African-inspired percussion in its beat. It has also been speculated that the song was meant to include additional lyrics and vocals by Michael and a spoken intro by Mandela himself, but it remained incomplete and the two did not meet in person until 1996.
I have transcribed Michael's spoken word intro under the cut:
These are the worst of times, and these are the best of times.
Racism, bigotry, ethnocentrism, prejudice, hatred and violence are breaking the heart of our planet, and strangling its soul,
and yet, we are coming alive, as never before.
Nelson Mandela: a Black man, a former symbol of subjugation and slavery, guides South Africa.
Democracy and freedom flourish as never before, and a new consciousness proclaims the dawn of the Age of Enlightenment,
where survival of the fittest is replaced by survival of the wisest.
Let us dream of the great and sudden splendor of a new tomorrow.
Let us dream of the full flowering of a new collective consciousness.
Let us dream of a tomorrow where we can hold our heads high and stretch our arms toward perfection.
Let us dream of a tomorrow where we no longer fragment and fracture our global village with narrow domestic walls,
where tribalism no longer surfaces under the pretense of nationalism and patriotic fervor,
and where we can truly love from the soul, and know love as the ultimate truth at the heart of all creation.
Let us dream of tomorrow, where our children are nurtured and protected and nourished, and our elders revered and honored and venerated.
Let us dream of peace and harmony and laughter. Let us dream of joy and ecstasy. Let us dream of dancing the cosmic dance.
And as we dream, let us remember, those who dared to dream before us,
and sacrificed their yesterday, so we could have our tomorrow.
fashion culture is one of my passions. i love creating looks for people and imagining them on the runway. that’s why i wanted to share my illustrations of michael jackson in his bad era — one of my all-time favorites. this style has always struck me with its intensity, charisma, and undeniable magnetic energy.
