MI on MJ
Geez...it's been a weird week. On one hand...a very successful week at work with a great show wrapping up production...but on the other hand...lots of bad news to digest.
One that totally came out of the blue...Michael Jackson's death...After the shock of hearing that he died, I got to thinking and realized how much he was part of my life.
As a child of the 80s, one couldn't sneeze without hearing Michael Jackson on the radio. I was addicted to MTV very early in the network's run and as a result got really hooked on Michael Jackson's music. I remember being SO mesmerized by the light-up sidewalk that Michael would dance on in the video to "Billie Jean." "Beat It" was one of those brilliant songs that had a hook you couldn't shake out of your head no matter what. And the video for "Thriller..." Heh...I'll confess that the video freaked the hell out of me...to the point where I didn't watch MTV for years.
In the summer of 1983, my family took a road trip from South Florida all the way up to San Francisco. As we traversed thousands of miles, I sat in the back of my parents' green Ford station wagon with my new Walkman listening to a cassette of Michael Jackson's "Thriller." The melodies of "PYT," "Wanna Be Startin' Something," "Human Nature," and "The Girl is Mine" became ingrained in my mind. I don't know that cassette ended up but it got a lot of wear and tear that summer...
As I grew up, I will admit that Michael Jackson became the punchline for a lot of hack jokes I wrote in a brief attempt at stand-up comedy. During the Harvard freshman talent show, a joke I did about his "You Are Not Alone" video gave me a reputation in the first few weeks of freshman year of being "that guy who did the Michael Jackson" joke. Even a few weeks ago at my ten-year reunion, somebody recounted hearing me tell that joke. Go figure...
Then. something interesting happened several years ago...His trio of albums that he did with Quincy Jones were remastered and re-released. Naturally, I bought them and it was then that I re-discovered how great these albums ("Off the Wall," "Thriller," and "Bad") are. It was then that I really looked past all the bizarre tabloid gossip and gained a greater respect for Michael Jackson as this music icon.
This especially happened as I listened to "Thriller" from beginning to end...probably the first time I had done so since that long car trip in the summer of 1983. In a way, it took me back to that simpler time when my biggest worry was if I had enough tokens to play Pac-Man and Dig-Dug at the Chuck E. Cheese.
A month ago, my friend Ken took me to the "American Idol" finale and there was a rumor going around that Michael Jackson was going to make an appearance. Even though it was a rumor, I had that twing of excitement brewing in my stomach...could I actually to finally have a chance to see the King of Pop live?!? Alas, it never happened...and it never will.
Fortunately, we have his music and videos to remember him by...here are a few MJ faves of mine that aren't as well-known as some of the bigger hits...
"We Are Here to Change the World" from "Captain EO," my favorite of the Disney theme park 3D movies
This is the full version of "Smooth Criminal." This always reminds me of the awesome Sega Genesis game "Michael Jackson's Moonwalker."
One of my ALL-TIME favorites..."Can You Feel It," this is the one that should have been a bigger hit than it was originally. I used this song as to warm up the crowds at the college game show I hosted
R.I.P. Michael Jackson, you'll be missed but not forgotten!
One that totally came out of the blue...Michael Jackson's death...After the shock of hearing that he died, I got to thinking and realized how much he was part of my life.
As a child of the 80s, one couldn't sneeze without hearing Michael Jackson on the radio. I was addicted to MTV very early in the network's run and as a result got really hooked on Michael Jackson's music. I remember being SO mesmerized by the light-up sidewalk that Michael would dance on in the video to "Billie Jean." "Beat It" was one of those brilliant songs that had a hook you couldn't shake out of your head no matter what. And the video for "Thriller..." Heh...I'll confess that the video freaked the hell out of me...to the point where I didn't watch MTV for years.
In the summer of 1983, my family took a road trip from South Florida all the way up to San Francisco. As we traversed thousands of miles, I sat in the back of my parents' green Ford station wagon with my new Walkman listening to a cassette of Michael Jackson's "Thriller." The melodies of "PYT," "Wanna Be Startin' Something," "Human Nature," and "The Girl is Mine" became ingrained in my mind. I don't know that cassette ended up but it got a lot of wear and tear that summer...
As I grew up, I will admit that Michael Jackson became the punchline for a lot of hack jokes I wrote in a brief attempt at stand-up comedy. During the Harvard freshman talent show, a joke I did about his "You Are Not Alone" video gave me a reputation in the first few weeks of freshman year of being "that guy who did the Michael Jackson" joke. Even a few weeks ago at my ten-year reunion, somebody recounted hearing me tell that joke. Go figure...
Then. something interesting happened several years ago...His trio of albums that he did with Quincy Jones were remastered and re-released. Naturally, I bought them and it was then that I re-discovered how great these albums ("Off the Wall," "Thriller," and "Bad") are. It was then that I really looked past all the bizarre tabloid gossip and gained a greater respect for Michael Jackson as this music icon.
This especially happened as I listened to "Thriller" from beginning to end...probably the first time I had done so since that long car trip in the summer of 1983. In a way, it took me back to that simpler time when my biggest worry was if I had enough tokens to play Pac-Man and Dig-Dug at the Chuck E. Cheese.
A month ago, my friend Ken took me to the "American Idol" finale and there was a rumor going around that Michael Jackson was going to make an appearance. Even though it was a rumor, I had that twing of excitement brewing in my stomach...could I actually to finally have a chance to see the King of Pop live?!? Alas, it never happened...and it never will.
Fortunately, we have his music and videos to remember him by...here are a few MJ faves of mine that aren't as well-known as some of the bigger hits...
"We Are Here to Change the World" from "Captain EO," my favorite of the Disney theme park 3D movies
This is the full version of "Smooth Criminal." This always reminds me of the awesome Sega Genesis game "Michael Jackson's Moonwalker."
One of my ALL-TIME favorites..."Can You Feel It," this is the one that should have been a bigger hit than it was originally. I used this song as to warm up the crowds at the college game show I hosted
R.I.P. Michael Jackson, you'll be missed but not forgotten!
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home