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"Stranger in Moscow" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson from his ninth studio album ''HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I''. The song was released worldwide in November 1996, but was not released in the United States until August 1997 by Epic Records. The track was written by Jackson in September 1993, at the height of the highly publicized child abuse accusations made against him, while on the Dangerous World Tour stop in Moscow. It was originally written as a poem by Jackson, then adapted into a song. The song's music video depicts the lives of six individuals, including Jackson, who are left isolated and disconnected from the world around them. This is Jackson's lowest charting song on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 peaking at 91. The song was performed on the HIStory World Tour in 1996–97. It was covered a few times by other artists. ==Context, production and music== In the book ''The Many Faces of Michael Jackson'', author Lee Pinkerton, like many other reviewers, noted that ''HIStory'' album tracks like "Stranger in Moscow" were Jackson's response to recent events in his personal life. In 1993, the relationship between Jackson and the press soured entirely when he was accused of child sexual abuse. Although never charged with a crime, Jackson was subject to intense media scrutiny while the criminal investigation took place. Complaints about the coverage and media included using sensational headlines to draw in readers and viewers when the content itself did not support the headline,〔Campbell (1995), p. 42–45〕 accepting stories of Jackson's alleged criminal activity in return for money,〔Campbell (1995), p. 77–80〕 accepting leaked material from the police investigation in return for money paid,〔Campbell (1995), p. 47–50〕 deliberately using pictures of Jackson's appearance at its worst,〔Taraborrelli, p. 500–507〕 a lack of objectivity〔 and using headlines that strongly implied Jackson's guilt.〔 At the time, Jackson said of the media reaction, "I will say I am particularly upset by the handling of the matter by the incredible, terrible mass media. At every opportunity, the media has dissected and manipulated these allegations to reach their own conclusions". The entertainer began taking painkillers, Valium, Xanax and Ativan to deal with the stress of the allegations made against him.〔Taraborrelli, p. 518–520〕 A few months after the allegations became news, Jackson had lost approximately 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in weight and had stopped eating.〔Taraborrelli, p. 514–516〕 Jackson's health had deteriorated to the extent that he canceled the remainder of his ''Dangerous'' World Tour and went into rehabilitation.〔〔 Jackson booked the whole fourth floor of the clinic, and was put on a Valium IV to wean him from painkillers.〔〔〔 The singer's spokesperson told reporters that Jackson was "barely able to function adequately on an intellectual level".〔 While in the clinic, Jackson took part in group and one-on-one therapy sessions.〔Campbell (1995), p. 89–93〕〔Taraborrelli, p. 524–528〕 When Jackson left the US to go into rehabilitation, the media showed the singer little sympathy. The ''Daily Mirror'' held a "Spot the Jacko" contest, offering readers a trip to Walt Disney World if they could correctly predict where the entertainer would appear next.〔 A ''Daily Express'' headline read, "Drug Treatment Star Faces Life on the Run", while a ''News of the World'' headline accused Jackson of being a fugitive. These tabloids also falsely alleged that Jackson had traveled to Europe to have cosmetic surgery that would make him unrecognizable on his return.〔 Geraldo Rivera set up a mock trial, with a jury made up of audience members, even though Jackson had not been charged with a crime.〔Campbell (1995), p. 104–106〕 "Stranger in Moscow" is an R&B ballad,〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Stranger In Moscow ) 〕 penned by Jackson in 1993 during his Dangerous World Tour stop in Moscow. The instrumental portion of the song is based on the end credits theme of ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3'' (1994), a video game which Jackson and his tour keyboardist Brad Buxer were brought in to compose music for. Jackson dropped out of the project after scandals involving him arose around this time. The lyrics for the song are based upon a poem written by Jackson. A background guitar was played by Steve Lukather while keyboards, synthesizers and bass are credited to David Paich and Steve Porcaro.〔George, p. 12〕 Originally, ''HIStory'' was planned as a greatest hits release, with a few new tracks. However, Jackson and his collaborators were so pleased with the result of "Stranger in Moscow" that they decided to give ''HIStory'' a full studio album as the second disc. Jackson used elements of Russian imagery and symbolism to help promote the concept of fear and alienation in the track, in a similar fashion to Simply Red's album ''Love and the Russian Winter'' several years later. It concludes with a narrative, spoken in Russian, by a KGB interrogator (Ed Wiesnieski).〔Jackson, Michael. ''HIStory'' booklet. Sony BMG. p 42〕 The narrative, translated into English is, "Why have you come from the west? Confess! To steal the great achievements of the people, the accomplishments of the workers...".〔Jackson, Michael. ''Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix'' booklet. Sony BMG. p 9〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Stranger in Moscow」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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