Fluxblog Weekly #88: George Michael R.I.P.
As you almost certainly know by now, George Michael unexpectedly passed away on Christmas day. He was unquestionably one of the true titans of pop music in the 1980s along with Prince, Madonna, and Michael Jackson, but in recent years, he didn't get the recognition he deserved, and a generation essentially grew up with little knowledge of his once massively popular music. It's awful that he died so young at 53, but it has been heartening to see so many people show appreciation for his work, and his important place in pop culture history as a gay icon. There's been a lot of smart things written about George Michael in the days since his death, but I particularly recommend these pieces by Wesley Morris and Ira Madison III, both of which address the singer's complicated sexuality, and its impact on a generation of queer men and women.
This entire digest is devoted to George Michael's music. The first two are posts I wrote this week; the second two are things I wrote some time ago, one of them for Pitchfork's Top 200 Songs of the 1990s list back when I was a contributor to that publication.
December 27th, 2016
Don’t Need No Bible
George Michael “I Want Your Sex (Part One)”
If you’re in your late 30s or early 40s, you almost certainly heard this song on the radio or MTV as a kid around your parents and felt super awkward about it, even if you didn’t really know what sex was. I remember it being an “after hours” thing on pop radio at some point in the late ‘80s, but then, if I was listening to “after hours” pop radio when I was, like, 8 years old and it was probably around 9:00 at night, then what exactly was the point?
“I Want Your Sex” is one of the most musically and lyrically radical major pop hits of the 1980s; a sex-positive funk tune that shifts seamlessly between minimalism and maximalism, and effortlessly conveys a supremely horny vibe on a purely musical level. George Michael was running with ideas that Prince had introduced circa 1999 and refined with “Kiss,” which was a hit a little bit before this track was recorded, but his feeling is very different – confident and unabashedly sexual, but considerably more frustrated. The entire song is George Michael laying out a very persuasive and respectful case for why you should have sex with him. He’s basically saying “Hey, I’m so HORNY I’m gonna BURST but no pressure, OK, sex is a beautiful thing and I respect you and need your consent and want you to have a great time.” The miracle of this song is that it’s kind and generous and loving, but also makes you feel the urgency of George Michael’s raging boner. The sweet-talking is totally sincere, but so is this guy’s powerful urge to fuck, and so you get this song that’s seductive, sweet, and comical all at the same time.
Buy it from Amazon.
December 29th, 2016
No Hope To Speak Of
George Michael “Praying for Time”
“Praying for Time” is a song from 26 years ago, but its lyrics are extremely resonant in this rather dire time we’re entering at the end of 2016. George Michael is singing about a world in which empathy is in very short supply, but fear and greed is rampant, and there’s this pervasive feeling of dread because it seems clear that the worst is yet to come. But again, this song is 26 years old – it’s always been this way. And there’s some hope in that, because it shows us that there’s a future, even if that future is full of the same human failings that have plagued us for centuries. The chorus is about just that: “It’s hard to love, there’s so much to hate / Hanging on to hope when there is no hope to speak of.” George Michael had no answers, and wasn’t trying to tell anyone things would be OK. But he was imploring everyone to make an effort to be kind, and to lift up those who need help, and to make the best of what time we have left. I don’t think he was asking for too much.
Buy it from Amazon.
November 1st, 2010
There Are Things I Don’t Want To Learn
So much of the tension in this song comes from George Michael’s use of the word “teacher.” Taken literally or metaphorically, it makes it clear to the listener that the context for this heartbroken ballad is an imbalanced power dynamic. To take it as a metaphor — and this is reasonable since he extends it with phrases like “teacher, there are things I don’t want to learn” — they could very well be the same age, but the implication is the singer came into this now bitter romantic entanglement naive and new to the complexities of love and lust. This in turn makes Michael’s passionate, nearly melodramatic vocal performance seem all the more poignant, as it is basically the sound of a young man’s sweet earnestness turning to sour cynicism. It is absolutely gutting when he sings “so if you love me / say you love me / but if you don’t / just let me go.” He sounds used and confused, and just about to reach the point of emotional exhaustion. It’s notable that the musical arrangement is fairly static, a simple organ dirge paired with a spare drum machine rhythm and a bass line adding subtle dynamic changes — his mind is running in circles, but the prevailing mood is sad, flat and seemingly endless.
Buy it from Amazon.
79. George Michael
"Freedom! 90"
[Columbia; 1990]
Few songs express the anxiety of pop superstardom as well as "Freedom! '90", George Michael's last major worldwide hit. It's essentially about doing your best to follow your muse, and hoping that your fans won't abandon you the moment you move on to the next stage of your career. The knowledge that Michael did eventually end up losing a large chunk of his audience makes the song all the more poignant now, but it mostly resonates for conveying a true passion for music that transcends its singer's complicated relationship with his own success and celebrity. "Freedom!" endures as an anthem because its hooks are inclusive-- the verses are all about George Michael, but that all-in-together sing along chorus extends to anyone struggling with insecurity or a desire for independence.