![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
There's no such thing as being as famous as Michael Jackson.
As I'm sure you all know, Michael Jackson's memorial was held earlier today. So hopefully this is okay timing for me to post this long, disjointed and YouTubealicious entry in which I try to explain why I have been so upset over his death.
I was thinking the other day that if I hadn't sought out his music for myself, I might only have ever heard four or five of his songs. So if one of you, through this entry, finds and enjoys a song you've never heard before, then I'll feel like my job is done. :)
· · ·
I don't remember the first time I listened to Thriller, which I know is practically blasphemy. My first memory of Michael Jackson is that my dad used to play "Beat It" and "Bad" for preschool!me to dance to while he did work on the computer. For the longest time those were the only two songs of his that I knew (those and their Weird Al versions, haha). When I was about nine years old I decided I was going to properly listen to more of his music, and that started an obsession that lasted over a year (a long time for a kid to keep interest in one thing, right? ;) ). I only listened to his music - and sometimes Janet's. I read his autobiography twice, I watched The Wiz in its entirety, I watched all the videos we had of him a ridiculous number of times, I put all his CDs onto cassettes so that I could listen to them in my room. I had the E.T. storybook and actually listened to the entire tape that came with it. When we went on vacation, I kept a journal in which I compared each day of the trip to a different MJ song (the only one I can remember without pulling the thing out is "Today was long and boring, like 'In the Closet.'" Extra hilarious because I love that song now!). When we moved, I insisted that MJ be played in the car for the entire drive; I can remember sitting in the backseat listening to "Stranger in Moscow." There are a couple of words I will always associate with the MJ songs I learned them from. I even kept a very makeshift scrapbook of newspaper articles about the Jackson family, although it's pretty funny to look back on now because I was collecting articles without realizing what they were actually about. The result is that pretty well the only positive article in that collection is actually about Janet. xD;
Anyway, I include the above paragraph so that nobody expresses surprise at my apparently sudden admiration of Michael Jackson. Believe me, there is a basis for it. ^^;
My most lasting memory of Thursday, June 25 will probably be of refreshing Google News over and over again, waiting to be assured that reports of his death had been a hoax. I tried to get onto LiveJournal to see if other people were paying attention to this news, but it wouldn't load (apparently because so many people were slamming![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
ohnotheydidnt). When I did finally believe it, I was determined to be practical about it, determined not to get upset about the death of someone I'd never met and whose music I had only occasionally listened to over the past few years. But I was distracted at work that night and I couldn't focus on anything the next day. When I started cutting out the front page article of Friday's newspaper as a final addition to my fourth-grade scrapbook, I just started bawling. I guess I had kind of figured that one day I would be saving such an article, but it just felt way too soon. And - I mean - Michael Jackson can't just die! How can the King of Pop be taken down by something so everyday as a heart attack??
As I said in a previous entry, I've never before been so upset by the death of a celebrity, and I doubt I ever will be again. As was said so many times in today's memorial, there will never be another Michael Jackson.
· · ·
He was an incredible performer with a distinct vocal style and ever-evolving dance moves. He was the writer or co-writer of a huge number of successful songs across several different genres. His album Thriller is the world's best-selling album and, with a fifty million unit lead, is likely to keep that title for a very long time. He was the first black artist to have a music video played on MTV and, soon after, he completely changed the way music videos are made. His influence can be seen in so many of today's performers all around the world (Justin Timberlake, Usher, BoA), a trend that I hope will continue.
If you've read any MJ posts in recent days, odds are you've already been linked to this video (his performance of "Billie Jean" on Motown's twenty-fifth anniversary special), due in part to the fact that it was the first time he ever performed the moonwalk (at 3:38). But what I love most about watching this performance is listening to the audience. The first time I saw this clip was soon after his 2005 trial, so it blew my mind to remember this time when everybody loved him so much. I mean, he practically gets a standing ovation before he even starts singing!
A rumour I hadn't heard until recently tells that Michael started wearing the one white glove in order to hide the signs of vitiligo that had begun to appear on that hand. This also blows my mind, that this iconic image of Michael at his peak might've only come into creation because of the skin disorder he was suffering from. Could you imagine??
"Smooth Criminal" is one of my favourite Michael Jackson songs, and definitely my favourite of his videos. I am going to be a horrible feminist here and admit that the fact that the song is about a woman being attacked has no effect on my enjoyment of it, nor on my agreeing with the Nostalgia Critic when he says, in his review of Moonwalker, that the "Smooth Criminal" video is "about as close to perfection as a music video can get" - and also "the coolest fucking thing I've ever seen in my life." ;D (That review is hilarious, btw, and hopefully not only to those of us who have watched Moonwalker more times than anyone really should. ^^; )
My favourite moment in the video comes at 6:36, when the odd intermission ends and the dancing resumes in pure awesomeness. If you've never seen this video before, don't miss the anti-gravity lean at 7:15 - and, before you ask: yes, that one dance move did cause me my fair share of faceplants as a child. :3 (You might consider this version of the video to be a little long, but the shorter version they play on TV is such a total joke that I refuse to even link you to it. xD )
"Say Say Say" was Michael's second collaboration with Paul McCartney, and, according to Wikipedia at least, it "introduced dialogue and storylines to music videos." Mainly I link to this video because I find it adorable and didn't even realize it existed until a couple days ago; let's momentarily ignore how their friendship fell apart in later years.
I suspect this is the sort of abstract video Michael was rebelling against from Thriller onwards - the Jacksons' "Blame it on the Boogie." My knowledge of the Jackson Five is actually pretty bad, and my knowledge of the Jacksons even worse, to the extent that I think I'm only just now realizing what a large body of work Michael already had behind him by the time he finally broke away for good. But yeah, I quite enjoy this song. It's disco!! >xD
I confess I'm guilty of only listening to Invincible once, and I even remember that when "You Rock My World" was getting a lot of airplay I found it really annoying! (I think mostly because I would get it stuck in my head despite the fact that I only actually knew one line. ^^; ) But as an old EW article I read recently says, even MJ's average stuff is better than most people's best. Too bad I am such a loser of a fan that it took his death before I would let the songs from Invincible start to grow on me. :(
· · ·
He was an icon of the 1980s and, on a smaller scale, the early '90s. He starred in commercials, a Simpsons episode, and a Disney theme park attraction (although when I was in in Disneyland at the age of seven, I was too afraid of the 3-D effects to actually watch it). He made appearances in other people's songs, provided a gorgeous song for Free Willy, and, uh, maybe this was just me, but it took me years before I realized that his version of "Come Together" was a cover. :X Unlike recent years where he was easy to ignore, it used to be you could not avoid him. Ridiculous as it might be to say this, listening to my younger co-workers discussing MJ's death made me glad to be the age I am. Being born in 1987, I at least got to have a taste of what it was like in the days when he all but defined pop culture. I also think this is one of the reasons I've been so upset about his death - how can you not feel like a large part of the culture you grew up in is suddenly gone?
This crazy montage opens the VHS of MJ's music videos that I used to watch so often I'm surprised it's still intact. It's a pretty good summary of how big he used to be back in the day, fainting fangirls and all. ^^; I've actually seen a couple news programs making use of this montage this past week, although interestingly enough they decided to replace the music with something a little lighter than "O Fortuna." xD;
One of the Pepsi commercials Michael and his brothers did in the mid-'80s. I can't get over how lame these rewritten lyrics are!! Not half as ridiculous as the rewritten "Bad" lyrics, but ugh, still. MJ is super adorable in this, though, and apparently the main kid would grow up to become Carlton in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I mean I knew Michael knew a lot of famous people, but this is just crazy!! ;D
Here's something I didn't know existed! Michael provided his speaking voice for the Simpsons episode "Stark Raving Dad" but he didn't do any of the singing, either because it wasn't in the contract or because he wanted to play a prank on his family and see if they could tell it wasn't him. Either way, apparently at one point he did make a recording of "Lisa, It's Your Birthday," and here it is.
I seriously never watch The Simpsons but I remember watching this one when I was very young, and I remember Mom telling me it wasn't actually Michael doing the voice, just someone impersonating him. Now of course I'm glad to say that I never quite believed her. ;)
· · ·
He was a humanitarian who gave millions to various charities (both in life and in his will) and founded several of his own. During his sold-out Bad world tour, he made sure seats were reserved for underprivileged children. He worked with the Make a Wish Foundation, doing hospital visits and regularly hosting events at his ranch for terminally ill children (a practice which would eventually end badly for him). Among his many music-related Guinness World Records, he also holds the record for the most charities supported by a pop star. Even in the years when everyone was against him, he spoke out against racism in the music industry. You all know "We Are the World" and "Black or White," but those are only two out of the many songs he wrote about the world's social problems.
Soon after Obama commented on MJ's death, I was reading a comments thread discussing how, when he's alone, Obama probably totally rocks out to "Man in the Mirror." I will never again be able to believe that he doesn't.
To me, this song is quintessential Michael Jackson and is also horribly nostalgic. I think both of these reactions stem from the fact that the above video is actually the beginning of Moonwalker, and thus one of the first videos I saw after I decided I was going to find out more about Michael's music.
This song is kind of fascinating to me right now just because who else writes this kind of music? I mean, he is essentially telling his listeners that they need to try to be better people. Who else can get away with that? Who else can see a song like this become a number one hit? Add to that that it recharted this past week, twenty-two years after it was first released, and all I have to say is omg AMAZING. <33
"They Don't Care About Us" is perhaps Michael's most controversial song. It also gets stuck in my head with alarming frequency. There were two different videos made for this song: the prison version embedded above, and the version filmed in the streets of Brazil. I actually prefer the latter, but it's really interesting to see the ways in which the two videos are different and yet still very similar.
If you've seen the last footage of MJ rehearsing (and if you own a TV, how could you even avoid it?), you might recognize this song as part of the medley that they're performing in that clip. I daresay that through that clip, "They Don't Care About Us" has gotten a hundred times the airplay this past week that it ever got when it was released as a single. I guess overall I'm not really sure what to think about that ... :/
Moving on! I won't bother to link to the video for "Earth Song" since I can't find one with its audio intact, but here's the song itself. It's actually a pretty cool song and I used to be so obsessed with it. Also, a song that has no video: Why You Wanna Trip on Me. That one combines two of MJ's favourite topics - social ills and his frustrations with the media.
· · ·
I definitely know that an artist's work is not necessarily indicative of their personality, but I still find the gap between onstage!Michael and offstage!Michael to be so huge it's almost unbelievable. Offstage he was soft-spoken, painfully shy (you could seriously play a drinking game based only on the number of times he looks like he wants to run away from whoever's interviewing him), humble and polite. Onstage he could be loud, aggressive, thriving on attention and exuding the sort of confidence that offstage he obviously did not have. That these two seemingly opposing sides could exist within the same person kind of blows my mind!
I recently read an old EW article where the author expressed surprise at finding out that MJ had a sense of humour. Well, apparently he had at least enough for a fan to put together this compilation of funniest moments! I link you to part two because the section from 0:25 to 1:30 made me lol irl. xD
The music video for "Dirty Diana" is essentially a performance with a few extra clips thrown in. But what a performance! This is definitely among my favourite Michael Jackson videos and this time I think I'll try to let it speak for itself. But don't miss the move at 4:03! Seriously, the toes of MJ's shoes must have been made of steel for him to be able to do stuff like this. SO COOL. <3
· · ·
He was incredibly troubled, if you'll allow me to be Captain Obvious for a second here. Fundamentally broken. As a child he was forced to spend the large majority of his time working, and was physically and emotionally abused by his father. He had to pretend to be asleep while his older brothers had sex with groupies in the same room. By the time he was ten years old he was famous, and the spotlight never left him. As a teenager, he had such terrible acne that he couldn't bear to look at himself; in his twenties, at the height of his popularity, he was diagnosed with vitiligo, which was causing the loss of pigmentation in his skin, and lupus, although it was in remission. For the rest of his life he would wear heavy make-up to even out his skin tone; he also had to wear hats and long clothing so that he would not sunburn. While filming a Pepsi commercial around the same time, a mistimed explosion caused his hair to catch fire. His scalp was badly burned and, at least for a time (but probably also for the rest of his life), he had to wear wigs to hide that his hair hadn't grown back. This incident also led to a painkiller addiction that, if recent headlines are to be believed, may have continued until - and perhaps caused - his death. It's speculated that he suffered from body dysmorphic disorder, likely brought on by his father's constant insults about his appearance (as well as, perhaps, a desire to look less like his abuser), which drove him to have numerous plastic surgeries. This only brought him more insults, this time from the public and the media, as did his reclusiveness. He was accused twice of child molestation - crimes that, though he was never found guilty (the first time, he reluctantly settled out of court; the second time, he was acquitted), he was vilified for. He had two failed marriages, a surprising amount of debt, and he once called himself the loneliest person in the world.
Add all of this together and it's hard to believe he was able to keep going; it's even harder to believe he was ever truly happy. One of the reasons his death is so impossibly frustrating to me is that it isn't fair that a man who gave so much to the world may himself have only had a tenuous grip on happiness. It's one thing to say that all great artists are deeply troubled; it's quite another to see it playing out in front of you. I guess I just wanted him to have some sort of happy ending, some sort of redemption. He didn't even get to go on his final concert tour. He never got to see what the world could be like without his father in it. He won't get to see his children grow up. And almost as soon as he was gone, photos of his children with their faces unobscured started pouring out of media outlets, new rumours as to their origins started circulating, and I predict these kids are never going to be left alone - something Michael worked so hard to try to prevent.
That he finally had children of his own and that they loved him was probably enough happiness for him. (If I hadn't already been crying while watching the memorial, Paris' moment at the microphone definitely would've gotten me started. I hope so much they can make it through this okay.) But it still hurts that people around the world are genuinely mourning him and missing him and he's not here to see it. Apparently, when the tickets for his London concerts sold out within minutes, he was surprised to learn he still had fans at all. :(
Before there was Chris Crocker, celebrities had to fend for themselves. (Ba-zing!) And so here is yet another video from Moonwalker, "Leave Me Alone." It's actually a pretty fun and creative video, made up of scenes based off of a lot of the rumours that were floating around in the late '80s. Watch for the Pirates of the Caribbean reference at 1:49! Oh, and Bubbles is in this too, for those of you who care. I've never actually found Bubbles all that interesting. :X
It's kind of weird to watch this video now, knowing that at the time the tabloids were practically going easy on him. I read a comment recently to the effect that, in later years, Michael probably wished they would write about how he sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber. :( (Hey, by the way, what is up with two of my favourite male celebrities sleeping in chambers?? It certainly doesn't seem to have helped either of them. D: )
(And btw, as you may have noticed already, yes I do very much love the Bad era. xD )
I've linked to "Scream" before, but it is so awesome I am linking to it again. It's the first track on the second disc of HIStory, a disc whose songs seem to have been almost entirely inspired by what Michael went through the first time he was accused. It's a huge shame that he and Janet never performed this song together - and also that they did not collaborate more often, assuming all of their collaborations could've been this epic.
"Who Is It" is not the best song Michael ever wrote, but that hasn't stopped me from listening to it on repeat this past week. It has an instrumentation that I find quite interesting, this mix of heavy bass with orchestral instruments and even a bit of a chorus. (And apparently it was composed by MJ beatboxing into a tape recorder!) I link to it here because its lyrics are from the point of view of someone who is lonely and losing his ability to trust others - two autobiographical complaints.
And because I feel Blood on the Dance Floor - the last album one might consider part of my elementary school obsession - should have some sort of representation in this entry, here is the music video for "Ghosts," everyone's favourite song from it. This video is actually pieced together from the half-hour film of the same name that Michael made. I watched it for the first time last night and, though it's obviously not as iconic as the similar "Thriller," it's pretty interesting, and I was super impressed that MJ's acting was good enough that I didn't realize until the end credits that he played like five different characters! >xD;
· · ·
I feel like there are a million more things I could say and a million more amazing songs I could link to, but this entry is getting long enough so I guess I will have to be content with feeling that it's incomplete. But I want to link to two of the first entries I read after the news of MJ's death: Cleolinda's and Fourfour's. I also feel the need to type these words I never thought I'd type: I have been spending so much time lately in the MJ threads ofohnotheydidnt, because everyone there has been so nice about the whole thing and all the threads of random clips and gifs have been totally amazing. I'll confess I'm one of those who'll be glad when the media storm is over, because the Jackson family doesn't need it and Michael's memory doesn't need it, but at the same time I'll ... kinda miss it. Savour this ridiculous MJ media frenzy, you guys, it could be the last time it ever happens.
Feel free to comment on this entry with anything you like, be it good or bad. Because if there's one thing I'm really hoping right now, it's that the MJ-enjoying-Internet-drama gif will live on for a long, long time. xD
Rest in peace, MJ.
· · ·
Edit a day later: Okay, this gif is way too fantastic not to steal.
I was thinking the other day that if I hadn't sought out his music for myself, I might only have ever heard four or five of his songs. So if one of you, through this entry, finds and enjoys a song you've never heard before, then I'll feel like my job is done. :)
I don't remember the first time I listened to Thriller, which I know is practically blasphemy. My first memory of Michael Jackson is that my dad used to play "Beat It" and "Bad" for preschool!me to dance to while he did work on the computer. For the longest time those were the only two songs of his that I knew (those and their Weird Al versions, haha). When I was about nine years old I decided I was going to properly listen to more of his music, and that started an obsession that lasted over a year (a long time for a kid to keep interest in one thing, right? ;) ). I only listened to his music - and sometimes Janet's. I read his autobiography twice, I watched The Wiz in its entirety, I watched all the videos we had of him a ridiculous number of times, I put all his CDs onto cassettes so that I could listen to them in my room. I had the E.T. storybook and actually listened to the entire tape that came with it. When we went on vacation, I kept a journal in which I compared each day of the trip to a different MJ song (the only one I can remember without pulling the thing out is "Today was long and boring, like 'In the Closet.'" Extra hilarious because I love that song now!). When we moved, I insisted that MJ be played in the car for the entire drive; I can remember sitting in the backseat listening to "Stranger in Moscow." There are a couple of words I will always associate with the MJ songs I learned them from. I even kept a very makeshift scrapbook of newspaper articles about the Jackson family, although it's pretty funny to look back on now because I was collecting articles without realizing what they were actually about. The result is that pretty well the only positive article in that collection is actually about Janet. xD;
Anyway, I include the above paragraph so that nobody expresses surprise at my apparently sudden admiration of Michael Jackson. Believe me, there is a basis for it. ^^;
My most lasting memory of Thursday, June 25 will probably be of refreshing Google News over and over again, waiting to be assured that reports of his death had been a hoax. I tried to get onto LiveJournal to see if other people were paying attention to this news, but it wouldn't load (apparently because so many people were slamming
ohnotheydidnt). When I did finally believe it, I was determined to be practical about it, determined not to get upset about the death of someone I'd never met and whose music I had only occasionally listened to over the past few years. But I was distracted at work that night and I couldn't focus on anything the next day. When I started cutting out the front page article of Friday's newspaper as a final addition to my fourth-grade scrapbook, I just started bawling. I guess I had kind of figured that one day I would be saving such an article, but it just felt way too soon. And - I mean - Michael Jackson can't just die! How can the King of Pop be taken down by something so everyday as a heart attack??As I said in a previous entry, I've never before been so upset by the death of a celebrity, and I doubt I ever will be again. As was said so many times in today's memorial, there will never be another Michael Jackson.
He was an incredible performer with a distinct vocal style and ever-evolving dance moves. He was the writer or co-writer of a huge number of successful songs across several different genres. His album Thriller is the world's best-selling album and, with a fifty million unit lead, is likely to keep that title for a very long time. He was the first black artist to have a music video played on MTV and, soon after, he completely changed the way music videos are made. His influence can be seen in so many of today's performers all around the world (Justin Timberlake, Usher, BoA), a trend that I hope will continue.
If you've read any MJ posts in recent days, odds are you've already been linked to this video (his performance of "Billie Jean" on Motown's twenty-fifth anniversary special), due in part to the fact that it was the first time he ever performed the moonwalk (at 3:38). But what I love most about watching this performance is listening to the audience. The first time I saw this clip was soon after his 2005 trial, so it blew my mind to remember this time when everybody loved him so much. I mean, he practically gets a standing ovation before he even starts singing!
A rumour I hadn't heard until recently tells that Michael started wearing the one white glove in order to hide the signs of vitiligo that had begun to appear on that hand. This also blows my mind, that this iconic image of Michael at his peak might've only come into creation because of the skin disorder he was suffering from. Could you imagine??
"Smooth Criminal" is one of my favourite Michael Jackson songs, and definitely my favourite of his videos. I am going to be a horrible feminist here and admit that the fact that the song is about a woman being attacked has no effect on my enjoyment of it, nor on my agreeing with the Nostalgia Critic when he says, in his review of Moonwalker, that the "Smooth Criminal" video is "about as close to perfection as a music video can get" - and also "the coolest fucking thing I've ever seen in my life." ;D (That review is hilarious, btw, and hopefully not only to those of us who have watched Moonwalker more times than anyone really should. ^^; )
My favourite moment in the video comes at 6:36, when the odd intermission ends and the dancing resumes in pure awesomeness. If you've never seen this video before, don't miss the anti-gravity lean at 7:15 - and, before you ask: yes, that one dance move did cause me my fair share of faceplants as a child. :3 (You might consider this version of the video to be a little long, but the shorter version they play on TV is such a total joke that I refuse to even link you to it. xD )
"Say Say Say" was Michael's second collaboration with Paul McCartney, and, according to Wikipedia at least, it "introduced dialogue and storylines to music videos." Mainly I link to this video because I find it adorable and didn't even realize it existed until a couple days ago; let's momentarily ignore how their friendship fell apart in later years.
I suspect this is the sort of abstract video Michael was rebelling against from Thriller onwards - the Jacksons' "Blame it on the Boogie." My knowledge of the Jackson Five is actually pretty bad, and my knowledge of the Jacksons even worse, to the extent that I think I'm only just now realizing what a large body of work Michael already had behind him by the time he finally broke away for good. But yeah, I quite enjoy this song. It's disco!! >xD
I confess I'm guilty of only listening to Invincible once, and I even remember that when "You Rock My World" was getting a lot of airplay I found it really annoying! (I think mostly because I would get it stuck in my head despite the fact that I only actually knew one line. ^^; ) But as an old EW article I read recently says, even MJ's average stuff is better than most people's best. Too bad I am such a loser of a fan that it took his death before I would let the songs from Invincible start to grow on me. :(
He was an icon of the 1980s and, on a smaller scale, the early '90s. He starred in commercials, a Simpsons episode, and a Disney theme park attraction (although when I was in in Disneyland at the age of seven, I was too afraid of the 3-D effects to actually watch it). He made appearances in other people's songs, provided a gorgeous song for Free Willy, and, uh, maybe this was just me, but it took me years before I realized that his version of "Come Together" was a cover. :X Unlike recent years where he was easy to ignore, it used to be you could not avoid him. Ridiculous as it might be to say this, listening to my younger co-workers discussing MJ's death made me glad to be the age I am. Being born in 1987, I at least got to have a taste of what it was like in the days when he all but defined pop culture. I also think this is one of the reasons I've been so upset about his death - how can you not feel like a large part of the culture you grew up in is suddenly gone?
This crazy montage opens the VHS of MJ's music videos that I used to watch so often I'm surprised it's still intact. It's a pretty good summary of how big he used to be back in the day, fainting fangirls and all. ^^; I've actually seen a couple news programs making use of this montage this past week, although interestingly enough they decided to replace the music with something a little lighter than "O Fortuna." xD;
One of the Pepsi commercials Michael and his brothers did in the mid-'80s. I can't get over how lame these rewritten lyrics are!! Not half as ridiculous as the rewritten "Bad" lyrics, but ugh, still. MJ is super adorable in this, though, and apparently the main kid would grow up to become Carlton in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I mean I knew Michael knew a lot of famous people, but this is just crazy!! ;D
Here's something I didn't know existed! Michael provided his speaking voice for the Simpsons episode "Stark Raving Dad" but he didn't do any of the singing, either because it wasn't in the contract or because he wanted to play a prank on his family and see if they could tell it wasn't him. Either way, apparently at one point he did make a recording of "Lisa, It's Your Birthday," and here it is.
I seriously never watch The Simpsons but I remember watching this one when I was very young, and I remember Mom telling me it wasn't actually Michael doing the voice, just someone impersonating him. Now of course I'm glad to say that I never quite believed her. ;)
He was a humanitarian who gave millions to various charities (both in life and in his will) and founded several of his own. During his sold-out Bad world tour, he made sure seats were reserved for underprivileged children. He worked with the Make a Wish Foundation, doing hospital visits and regularly hosting events at his ranch for terminally ill children (a practice which would eventually end badly for him). Among his many music-related Guinness World Records, he also holds the record for the most charities supported by a pop star. Even in the years when everyone was against him, he spoke out against racism in the music industry. You all know "We Are the World" and "Black or White," but those are only two out of the many songs he wrote about the world's social problems.
Soon after Obama commented on MJ's death, I was reading a comments thread discussing how, when he's alone, Obama probably totally rocks out to "Man in the Mirror." I will never again be able to believe that he doesn't.
To me, this song is quintessential Michael Jackson and is also horribly nostalgic. I think both of these reactions stem from the fact that the above video is actually the beginning of Moonwalker, and thus one of the first videos I saw after I decided I was going to find out more about Michael's music.
This song is kind of fascinating to me right now just because who else writes this kind of music? I mean, he is essentially telling his listeners that they need to try to be better people. Who else can get away with that? Who else can see a song like this become a number one hit? Add to that that it recharted this past week, twenty-two years after it was first released, and all I have to say is omg AMAZING. <33
"They Don't Care About Us" is perhaps Michael's most controversial song. It also gets stuck in my head with alarming frequency. There were two different videos made for this song: the prison version embedded above, and the version filmed in the streets of Brazil. I actually prefer the latter, but it's really interesting to see the ways in which the two videos are different and yet still very similar.
If you've seen the last footage of MJ rehearsing (and if you own a TV, how could you even avoid it?), you might recognize this song as part of the medley that they're performing in that clip. I daresay that through that clip, "They Don't Care About Us" has gotten a hundred times the airplay this past week that it ever got when it was released as a single. I guess overall I'm not really sure what to think about that ... :/
Moving on! I won't bother to link to the video for "Earth Song" since I can't find one with its audio intact, but here's the song itself. It's actually a pretty cool song and I used to be so obsessed with it. Also, a song that has no video: Why You Wanna Trip on Me. That one combines two of MJ's favourite topics - social ills and his frustrations with the media.
I definitely know that an artist's work is not necessarily indicative of their personality, but I still find the gap between onstage!Michael and offstage!Michael to be so huge it's almost unbelievable. Offstage he was soft-spoken, painfully shy (you could seriously play a drinking game based only on the number of times he looks like he wants to run away from whoever's interviewing him), humble and polite. Onstage he could be loud, aggressive, thriving on attention and exuding the sort of confidence that offstage he obviously did not have. That these two seemingly opposing sides could exist within the same person kind of blows my mind!
I recently read an old EW article where the author expressed surprise at finding out that MJ had a sense of humour. Well, apparently he had at least enough for a fan to put together this compilation of funniest moments! I link you to part two because the section from 0:25 to 1:30 made me lol irl. xD
The music video for "Dirty Diana" is essentially a performance with a few extra clips thrown in. But what a performance! This is definitely among my favourite Michael Jackson videos and this time I think I'll try to let it speak for itself. But don't miss the move at 4:03! Seriously, the toes of MJ's shoes must have been made of steel for him to be able to do stuff like this. SO COOL. <3
He was incredibly troubled, if you'll allow me to be Captain Obvious for a second here. Fundamentally broken. As a child he was forced to spend the large majority of his time working, and was physically and emotionally abused by his father. He had to pretend to be asleep while his older brothers had sex with groupies in the same room. By the time he was ten years old he was famous, and the spotlight never left him. As a teenager, he had such terrible acne that he couldn't bear to look at himself; in his twenties, at the height of his popularity, he was diagnosed with vitiligo, which was causing the loss of pigmentation in his skin, and lupus, although it was in remission. For the rest of his life he would wear heavy make-up to even out his skin tone; he also had to wear hats and long clothing so that he would not sunburn. While filming a Pepsi commercial around the same time, a mistimed explosion caused his hair to catch fire. His scalp was badly burned and, at least for a time (but probably also for the rest of his life), he had to wear wigs to hide that his hair hadn't grown back. This incident also led to a painkiller addiction that, if recent headlines are to be believed, may have continued until - and perhaps caused - his death. It's speculated that he suffered from body dysmorphic disorder, likely brought on by his father's constant insults about his appearance (as well as, perhaps, a desire to look less like his abuser), which drove him to have numerous plastic surgeries. This only brought him more insults, this time from the public and the media, as did his reclusiveness. He was accused twice of child molestation - crimes that, though he was never found guilty (the first time, he reluctantly settled out of court; the second time, he was acquitted), he was vilified for. He had two failed marriages, a surprising amount of debt, and he once called himself the loneliest person in the world.
Add all of this together and it's hard to believe he was able to keep going; it's even harder to believe he was ever truly happy. One of the reasons his death is so impossibly frustrating to me is that it isn't fair that a man who gave so much to the world may himself have only had a tenuous grip on happiness. It's one thing to say that all great artists are deeply troubled; it's quite another to see it playing out in front of you. I guess I just wanted him to have some sort of happy ending, some sort of redemption. He didn't even get to go on his final concert tour. He never got to see what the world could be like without his father in it. He won't get to see his children grow up. And almost as soon as he was gone, photos of his children with their faces unobscured started pouring out of media outlets, new rumours as to their origins started circulating, and I predict these kids are never going to be left alone - something Michael worked so hard to try to prevent.
That he finally had children of his own and that they loved him was probably enough happiness for him. (If I hadn't already been crying while watching the memorial, Paris' moment at the microphone definitely would've gotten me started. I hope so much they can make it through this okay.) But it still hurts that people around the world are genuinely mourning him and missing him and he's not here to see it. Apparently, when the tickets for his London concerts sold out within minutes, he was surprised to learn he still had fans at all. :(
Before there was Chris Crocker, celebrities had to fend for themselves. (Ba-zing!) And so here is yet another video from Moonwalker, "Leave Me Alone." It's actually a pretty fun and creative video, made up of scenes based off of a lot of the rumours that were floating around in the late '80s. Watch for the Pirates of the Caribbean reference at 1:49! Oh, and Bubbles is in this too, for those of you who care. I've never actually found Bubbles all that interesting. :X
It's kind of weird to watch this video now, knowing that at the time the tabloids were practically going easy on him. I read a comment recently to the effect that, in later years, Michael probably wished they would write about how he sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber. :( (Hey, by the way, what is up with two of my favourite male celebrities sleeping in chambers?? It certainly doesn't seem to have helped either of them. D: )
(And btw, as you may have noticed already, yes I do very much love the Bad era. xD )
I've linked to "Scream" before, but it is so awesome I am linking to it again. It's the first track on the second disc of HIStory, a disc whose songs seem to have been almost entirely inspired by what Michael went through the first time he was accused. It's a huge shame that he and Janet never performed this song together - and also that they did not collaborate more often, assuming all of their collaborations could've been this epic.
"Who Is It" is not the best song Michael ever wrote, but that hasn't stopped me from listening to it on repeat this past week. It has an instrumentation that I find quite interesting, this mix of heavy bass with orchestral instruments and even a bit of a chorus. (And apparently it was composed by MJ beatboxing into a tape recorder!) I link to it here because its lyrics are from the point of view of someone who is lonely and losing his ability to trust others - two autobiographical complaints.
And because I feel Blood on the Dance Floor - the last album one might consider part of my elementary school obsession - should have some sort of representation in this entry, here is the music video for "Ghosts," everyone's favourite song from it. This video is actually pieced together from the half-hour film of the same name that Michael made. I watched it for the first time last night and, though it's obviously not as iconic as the similar "Thriller," it's pretty interesting, and I was super impressed that MJ's acting was good enough that I didn't realize until the end credits that he played like five different characters! >xD;
I feel like there are a million more things I could say and a million more amazing songs I could link to, but this entry is getting long enough so I guess I will have to be content with feeling that it's incomplete. But I want to link to two of the first entries I read after the news of MJ's death: Cleolinda's and Fourfour's. I also feel the need to type these words I never thought I'd type: I have been spending so much time lately in the MJ threads of
ohnotheydidnt, because everyone there has been so nice about the whole thing and all the threads of random clips and gifs have been totally amazing. I'll confess I'm one of those who'll be glad when the media storm is over, because the Jackson family doesn't need it and Michael's memory doesn't need it, but at the same time I'll ... kinda miss it. Savour this ridiculous MJ media frenzy, you guys, it could be the last time it ever happens.Feel free to comment on this entry with anything you like, be it good or bad. Because if there's one thing I'm really hoping right now, it's that the MJ-enjoying-Internet-drama gif will live on for a long, long time. xD
Rest in peace, MJ.
Edit a day later: Okay, this gif is way too fantastic not to steal.
no subject
I've been slowly reaidng through this post at work, and adding the videos to my list of things to watch when I get home. At work we're absolutley covered in MJ magazines, there seems to be a few good ones. If you don't have them did you want to add them to your collection? I can go through and choose a few of the good ones for you if you like ( Ie: People magazine has a double issue out on him right now.)
Little known facts: During Michael's trials concerning the alleged molestation I acted as a moderator to a Michael Jackson forum online. When I was a kid, I had a dance routine to Black and White. I never owned any of his CDs so I listened to my brothers. These days, the live video to Dirty Diana is one of my top 10 (#1 being Smooth Criminal) fav. videos.
no subject
He looks so happy in the last gif you posted, it's unreal.
I know! When I was younger I didn't really like "Speed Demon" but now it's seriously growing on me, just because of all the gifs people are making from it. He looks like he had a blast making that ridiculous video. xD
(and I love his coat)
bahaha who doesn't? xD
I heart you for mentioning magazines! I actually went on a huge magazine run today; I got the People double issue, the Time special issue (with a "Thank you, Michael" Pepsi ad on the back cover, omg ;_; ), the Entertainment Weekly special issue, the Maclean's special issue, and the Hello! Canada with him on the cover. I'm trying to stay classy and avoid the more tabloidy magazines, although my goodness there are a lot out there. D: I might get the Rolling Stone when it comes out (... today?), and I'd been hoping to get the Newsweek too but then I realized I don't actually know where to find Newsweek. :// Which is especially frustrating because I kept seeing it in Calgary this past weekend but didn't buy it because I figured I'd just get it when I got home. Whoops! ^^;
I acted as a moderator to a Michael Jackson forum online.
Oh my goodness I can't even imagine. I bet you got a lot of trolls during that time. D:
I had a dance routine to Black and White.
That is pretty awesome!! xD I remember I used to be so in awe of "Black or White" because it was the only song I could never resist dancing to. xDD Recently I heard someone talking about how they thought the guitar riff in that song was annoying, but I am pretty sure they are WRONG. >xD!
no subject
I was scouring my mp3 playing the other day, replacing uninteresting stuff and condensing my folders, etc., and thanks to this entry I put my first MJ tune on there. I've had it a year and it's been untouched by MJ.
Song: Smooth Criminal. (Because of Daniel Radcliffe? I don't know - but I like to think so.)
DanRad Seal of Approval
Re: DanRad Seal of Approval