Remember The Time
With apologies to anyone getting tired of Michael Jackson talk, I barely scratched the surface of what I wanted to say about him in my previous post, so there’s more to come.
It’s mainly due to the surreal realization that I’ve never heard Michael Jackson spoken about with such respect, admiration and compassion in all the years I’ve been a MJ fan than I have these past few days after his death. I never used to try explaining to non-fans what I liked about him because I felt people were uninterested at best, and actively hostile to him at worst. Now the mass media is awash with tributes and while I understand why most tributes concentrate on the same obvious things like I Want You Back, Don’t Stop Til’ You Get Enough, the Thriller video and the Motown 25 performance of Billie Jean, these don’t actually match my own list of what I will remember him most fondly for.
So, the next few posts will loosely represent a personal highlight list of sorts. Fans will already know them, but I’m hoping that anyone else who comes across these posts, perhaps newly interested in him since his death, will find something there to enjoy. Based on the title of this post I should end by embedding that funfest of a video, but I’m feeling pensive and this lovely song from 1975 matches my mood better.
- Only Human (Michael Jackson, 1958 – 2009)
- Remember The Time
- Remembering Michael Jackson ( Part 1): Billie Jean After Motown 25
- Remembering Michael Jackson (Part 2): Beatboxing and Songwriting
- Remembering Michael Jackson (Part 3): Not Just A Dancing Machine
- Remembering Michael Jackson (Part 4): Actually, A Total Freaking Dancing Machine
ok. making me cry.
and tell me about it. The surreal world where people are now sympathetic to MJ…in *gasp* America, nonetheless! It’s still on the news 24/7. He’s still on covers of newspapers. Magazines. Most of the news is sympathetic towards MJ. Where was the love a month ago, a year ago, 5 years ago??
I have to say I’m one of those who’re guilty of appreciating Michael as a whole only now that he’s gone, although I’ve always been a fan of his pre-80’s output by extension of my interest in funk and soul music. And that period of music remains what I love best about Michael, even though I grew up in the ‘Bad’ and ‘Dangerous’ era and didn’t get into the Motown stuff until I was way older. Oh, and I breakdanced in front of the entire school to ‘Jam’ for some family day thing, just so you know.
I was always very fond of the music, and I think he was an amazing performer, in his heyday. I’m still not sympathetic about the stuff Kelly is referring to, (though none of it was ever proven, and I understand the reasons behind the unusual behaviour, pressures of fame since he was very young, and all of the other problems that caused him), but now he’s gone there’s no gain from making a fuss about it.
As for “where was the love a month ago”, he did just sell a million tickets at £75 ($S 200 ish?) a piece in 24 hours, so the media isn’t being any more hypocritical than usual. But I think it’s a terrible shame he’s gone just before his chance to show he could still perform.
Also, I’d like to see a similar outpouring of emotion when Quincy Jones dies.
I remember the Remeber the time video.
It had one of the most goosebump inducing moments of pop I ever experienced.
The bit where the music drops, and he’s going “on the phone! you and me! till dawn! two or three! what about us girl! do you! do you! do you! do you! do you! in the park! on the beach! you and me! in spain! what about! what about!”
and by then all the friction of the phrases have built up the point where the only logical thing to say next is
“PURR-RAP! PUP-PUP PUP! PURR-RAP! PUP-PUP! PUP!”
it’s the lyrical/vocal equivalent of an orgasm and MJ’s delivery bristles with more sexual energy than the dirtiest lyrics of the dirtiest songs.
famazing.
Kelly: Aw, sorry about the crying. It’s amazing, I’d somehow actually forgotten One Day In Your Life existed but the day he died the song came right back into my head and it hasn’t left.
Benny: I adore Jam, but I would have thought you would go with something more old school! You must show me your moves some time. :)
Matt: The ticket sales were to fans and opportunistic touts, I imagine, so I don’t know what that has to do with the media. I think the point Kelly is making, and which I agree with, is that until he died the tone of almost any Michael Jackson coverage you saw anywhere, or any of the comments you’d encounter about him in daily life, was overwhelmingly cynical and very dismissive. Some of this was of course due to his own insistence on doing things that made him look weird. But even allowing for that, he very rarely got fair coverage. Dumb things he did were blown up, and great things he did were buried. What is amazing to most MJ fans now is that for the first time, we see people attempting to be fair.
Don: That is now officially one of my favourite comments ever left on this blog.