St. Joseph Notre Dame High School
With all the controversy surrounding Michael Jackson, his much anticipated new double album, "HIStory," has met with mixed reviews.
Some people think the album will do well, while others think controversial tracks will drive many potential buyers away from the album -- as well as from Jackson himself.
"The lyrics to the songs are really meaningful and it is amazing that an outstanding star like him is so humble and such a philanthropist," P.J. Jain, 16, said.
Aaron Fonseca, an employee of Tower Records, said, "The first album (old songs) is cool, but the second one has a lot of the same snare (drum) beats, and if I knew this before I would not have bought the album."
Vincent Wu, who was visiting Tower Records on the day the album was released, predicted that it would be a success. He also said Jackson's recent settlement in a child molestation case probably would not hurt record sales.
"It depends on whether the people were fans before the accusations were made," Wu said. Bill Little, 63, said he did not know if the album would be a success, but Jackson's past ordeal probably wouldn't affect sales because the pop star was extremely popular everywhere.
Jackson has sold more than 210 million records; "HIStory" is expected to do rather well. "HIStory" is already selling extremely well in local record stores. At Leopold Records in Berkeley, more than 200 copies of the album were sold on the first day it was released, store representatives said.
Employees of Tower Records in Stonestown Galleria reported that they sold 236 copies of "HIStory" -- more than half of that store's stock of the album.
One employee said the album was doing rather well for its cost. The retail price for the two compact discs is $33, and $24 for the cassettes.
But the album has also received criticism from people about the lyrics on several tracks. "Scream," the first release that debuted fifth on Billboard Music Charts, contains profanity. One customer thinks it is an attempt by Jackson to appeal to a younger audience.
Pete Jeno, a customer at Stonestown Mall, thinks Jackson is trying too hard to get his `new wanna be hard image.' He said Jackson is not the Jackson of old; he pretends not to be the sensitive `teary-eyed' person he used to be.
"They Don't Care About Us" contains what some feel are anti-Semitic lyrics. Jackson sings, "Jew me, sue me, everybody do me, kick me, kike me, don't you black or white me."
Jackson responded to these allegations by saying some of his best friends were Jewish and that racism was not in his heart. In his letter to the Anti-Defamation League, Jackson said, "My intention was for this song to say `no' to racism, anti-Semitism and stereotyping. I intend to include, in all albums that have not been shipped as of this date, the above paragraph so that no one can listen to my music and misconstrue my intentions. Just the idea that my lyrics could offend and hurt anyone's feelings is extremely painful to me."
Dianna Tate, a sophomore at St. Joseph Notre Dame High School, said people blew the lyrics to "They Don't Care About Us" way out of proportion. "The man said his intent was not racist, and still he apologized to the Anti-Defamation League, as well as on television," Tate said. "What more can he do to convince people that he is not racist?"
But Rebecca Weiner, who is Jewish, said, "Jackson isn't clear where he stands on racism. If a Jewish artist used the word `nigger' there wouldn't be any debate about it being racist. The media is treating him with the benefit of a double standard."