"You can't close your... your mind!"
Michael Jackson songs were a lot of things: some were dance songs, some were love songs, some tried to save the world and others attempted to bring racial peace, but no matter the message his songs were, for the most part, fun. You could (and you wanted to) dance to them. Black or White, a song that I assume was trying to bring racial harmony to the world (and probably a bit biographical), in the end was just a fun song that made you want to move.
And that's what's so different about Man in the Mirror. A self help song if there ever was one, the lyrics can hit home if, say, you can't catch a break. Listen to this song, and you can't help but think, 'Hey, maybe it's me... I need to make a change!'
Man in the Mirror is an unbelievably well crafted song, starting off slow and letting Michael's voice shine with little background or arrangement help. It's a simple and subtle start and while the song builds a little bit over the first 2:30 or so, it also sounds a bit dated (a bit 80s if you will). But then at 2:52 the choir jumps in and pushes this song to another level... and Michael pretty much goes off doing Michael Jackson things with his voice.
However, no matter how well the song is arranged and how enjoyable the lyrics* are... the unintentional comedy scale hits near record highs when at the very end of the song as the music dies down and you think it's over Michael says/whispers, "Make that change." Never fails to crack me up... for all the obvious ironic reasons.
*even if it's obvious and cliche; the lyrics hit home.
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