1958-2009
As I turn up the collar on/My favorite winter coat/This wind is blowin' my mind/I see the kids in the street/Without enough to eat/Who am I to be blind/Pretending not to see their needs?
Michael Jackson's public and private memorial ceremonies will be held today, putting to rest what's been a mournful last two weeks in the world of iconic pop culture. Mournful and tragic for so many reasons.
Despite your personal opinion on the controversies that overshadowed the legend, the extreme talent in his later years, there's no denying that no child-prodigy-turned-mega-superstar burned brighter than Michael Jackson at the peak of his career.
Despite his huge success as the Jackson 5's front-boy wonder, that peak started after he broke away from his brothers and released Off the Wall in the late 70s, earning him his first grammy for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough." There would be many more firsts for this musical genius throughout the 80s--a decade he dominated like no other. Perhaps that's why I'm so sad he's gone.
Make fun of the big hair and the shoulder pads all you want, but coming of age in the 80s had its perks. And make no mistake, Michael Jackson was one of them. My memories are vivid of watching Michael light up the floor in "Billie Jean". The Michael Jackson Special Commemorative Edition of Time describes this groundbreaking video best:
"'Billie Jean,' the first video off Thriller, snapped the neck of everyone who saw it. ... The video is a straight-on display of Jackson's star quality. Any pavement flagstone his feet land on glows a magical green. His moves are no less radiant. The spins, the strutting and the hunching, show what Broadway missed out on when Michael decided to make pop music instead."
I remember Michael's debut of the moonwalk, not to mention his single rhinestone-studded white glove. He made high-water skinny pants and penny loafers look cool with scrunchy white sequined socks.
When we watched "Beat It", we disected his every dance move. And if Michael's moves weren't enough to have us glued to the TV, we couldn't take our eyes off the screen for the split-second possibility of catching Eddie Van Halen leaning against the wall waaaay in the background at the end of the video. Did we ever confirm that was really Eddie?
So by the time "Thriller" hit the airwaves, it was official. We were Michael Jackson maniacs. Add to this I spent quite a bit of time in a dance studio back in those days, five days a week to be exact. His chart-topping music, his signature moves and his brilliant choreography were a force of nature that forever altered the worlds of music and dance--entertainment as we know it.
From dancers in the studios to the streets, we were all trying to imitate him back then. No doubt, Michael was partially responsible for my aching muscles, cramping feet, and my black and blue knees from all those knee spins!
Again, to quote Time's commemorative issue:
"Put Thriller on right now and you'll be amazed at how easily the troubling last years of Jackson's life melt away. For Generation X the magic is partly nostalgic; everyone between the ages of 35 and 45 remembers exactly where they were when they heard "Beat It" for the first time."
And so it goes. An ode to lost youth. Michael's music will forever hold the magic to transport me and my fellow Gen-Xers back in time. Music has those kinds of triggers. Funny how the memory remembers what it wants to.
Fast forward to today ... My kids and I have been dancing a lot lately in the living room to Michael's greatest hits. And my ever inquisitive four-year-old chatter box has been asking a lot of questions about death due to all the media coverage since Michael's passing.
"Mommy, Michael Jackson's up in heaven, right? He's performing for God, right?" Alex asks. "Michael Jackson was so famous, everyone knew who he was, right? Even Daniella (his 23-month-old sister), right?"
When I respond, "No, Daniella doesn't know who he is," my son in his infinite wisdom says, "But someday she will, right?"
"That's right, someday she will," I tell him.
So tonight, gotta leave that nine-to-five upon the shelf/And just enjoy yourself/Groove and let the madness in the music get to you/Life ain't so bad at all, if you live it off the wall
My buddy Will was an absolute nut about Thriller...he wore out that cassette that summer (while I really would've rather been listening to The Clash or The Jam) and I guess that's the specific memory I choose to retain in the wake of MJ's sad demise.
Posted by: Jake P | 07/07/2009 at 09:16 AM