Michael 1958-2009
I'm just..stunned that Michael Jackson is dead. It's like a whole section of the soundtrack of my life has faded away and it PAINFULLY reminds me of my own mortality. MJ was only 3 yrs older than me.
When I was a little black girl growing up in Cleveland, my cousins Cathy and Mona would spend the weekend with me over my grandmother's house. We did what most little black girls did back then, did our hair, squeed over "Sixteen Magazine", "Tiger Beat" and "Right On!", watched Soul Train and American Bandstand while trying to mimic the steps the big kids on the tv did. Of course I had ALL their albums and 45s, watched the cartoon, their tv specials and any and all appearances elsewhere. Really they beat the hell outta the Osmonds, although Donny was HOT.
Bit o' trivia - did you know the Jacksons had the first variety show hosted by a black family? Think about that, think about how they contributed to that small bit of OUR history.
We each had our favorite brother. Cathy liked Jermaine, Mona LOVED Marlon and I was ALL ABOUT Michael. So there were no arguments over "who got who". The arguments were about who was the cutest or the best singer. Well we all know now who was right :)
Anywho, I was about 8 or 9 (mebbe 10 or 11) when my mother took my cousin Debbie (5 yrs my senior and a Jermaine fan) to see the J5. It was all screaming, all the time. Being such a delicate, excitable flower at that young age I promptly fainted. Fangirl overload. My mother was mortified, hehe.
Of course the years went by, the serious fandom faded but I did keep an eye on my boy and his brothers.
During the late 70s after they had left Motown (and I had discovered dick and pot), the only album I enjoyed was "Destiny". Then of course came "The Wiz" which was fucking awesome. Really, it is in my top 5 favorite musicals and supercedes the original "Wizard of Oz" in my world. Unless you are familiar with the cast, you can't believe the amount of black talent crammed into that flick. LCpl Tyler and I sing and dance along with the dvd.
In the year I graduated from high school, Michael released "Off the Wall". What struck me about that album is really it's departure from the disco era. More of a transition from disco to 80s music. Still dance music, but not disco. Bubblegum? Sorta. But music even a young adult could enjoy. Most of all, it was a "Fuck YEAH" moment, this was MJ after all. What did you expect?
The 80s for me was one long nightmare because I was married to a fuckwad. Mtv really didn't even register for me at first. It was all about survival. Then "Thriller" came out. OMFG and GODDAMN! I watched that til I could almost do the moves with my fat preggo butt. Truly, that was a tour de force. At that point I knew MJ was going to blow shit out of the water. I also remember watching the "Motown 25" special with son #1 who was all of 5 mos old and thinking "what the FUCK is this and when the FUCK did MJ turn into SUCH a totally cool dude!"
The whole split from the family kinda went in one ear and out the other. My understanding from one who knows from the inside is that MJ decided to listen to the white folks around him and literally kicked his family to the curb. I guess he believed his own hype. Ah well, you live and learn, no? I've seen the exploited and abused by their father crap. In the words of Mr. Davis "Michael Jackson wasn't treated any differently than any other black kid, like you and me, growing up. He got his ass beat when he got out of line. Besides, how many black men are there that made their children millionaires?" Oooh. Changes the perspective don't it?
The years passed, "We Are the World" was another tour de force. Babies came, life rolled forward and MJ the freakshow began. (Of course, I have always maintained that had MJ married ME he wouldn't have had all these fucking problems.)
Most of that shit I read and just shook my head. Another "artiste" with a screw loose. Poor Michael. Demons in his head taking over. Blurred reality between his sex and his race, now that was some frightening shit. I continued to buy his albums and videos though. You have to give the man credit - he was a brilliant performer. He defined the 80s, he defined the video genre, he was avante garde for the times.
I dunno if I believe the pedo stuff. Maybe I just don't want to believe it. MJ is LCpl Tyler's #1 FAVORITE FUCKING SINGER EVAR(yes, all caps is how he speaks when he talks about MJ) so when the molestation shit came out, I asked Tyler what he thought. He said "Mom, I would LOVE to meet MJ, visit Neverland and all but I have better sense than to go in his bedroom and get in the bed with him." Case closed, no worries about Tyler's good sense on that one.
I dunno what to say about the 3 kids he has either. Actually I do. I have nothing to say. That was his private life and I'm not privy to it or where his head was at.
So when I was sitting playing the Sims yesterday afternoon and son #1 said "Why is someone texting me that Michael Jackson is dead", all tvs in the house immediately went to CNN. I called Tyler and let him know his boy was on his deathbed and to stay tuned. When it was finally confirmed, I called him and let him know MJ had passed. He said "I think I'm going to cry".
Yeah, son. Me too.
So here are my favorite top performances (that I can get a embeddable link for) from the J5 and MJ.
Rest in Peace Michael.
Michael Jackson - Beat It
Uploaded by sofresh305. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.
Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal
Uploaded by djoik. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.
When I was a little black girl growing up in Cleveland, my cousins Cathy and Mona would spend the weekend with me over my grandmother's house. We did what most little black girls did back then, did our hair, squeed over "Sixteen Magazine", "Tiger Beat" and "Right On!", watched Soul Train and American Bandstand while trying to mimic the steps the big kids on the tv did. Of course I had ALL their albums and 45s, watched the cartoon, their tv specials and any and all appearances elsewhere. Really they beat the hell outta the Osmonds, although Donny was HOT.
Bit o' trivia - did you know the Jacksons had the first variety show hosted by a black family? Think about that, think about how they contributed to that small bit of OUR history.
We each had our favorite brother. Cathy liked Jermaine, Mona LOVED Marlon and I was ALL ABOUT Michael. So there were no arguments over "who got who". The arguments were about who was the cutest or the best singer. Well we all know now who was right :)
Anywho, I was about 8 or 9 (mebbe 10 or 11) when my mother took my cousin Debbie (5 yrs my senior and a Jermaine fan) to see the J5. It was all screaming, all the time. Being such a delicate, excitable flower at that young age I promptly fainted. Fangirl overload. My mother was mortified, hehe.
Of course the years went by, the serious fandom faded but I did keep an eye on my boy and his brothers.
During the late 70s after they had left Motown (and I had discovered dick and pot), the only album I enjoyed was "Destiny". Then of course came "The Wiz" which was fucking awesome. Really, it is in my top 5 favorite musicals and supercedes the original "Wizard of Oz" in my world. Unless you are familiar with the cast, you can't believe the amount of black talent crammed into that flick. LCpl Tyler and I sing and dance along with the dvd.
In the year I graduated from high school, Michael released "Off the Wall". What struck me about that album is really it's departure from the disco era. More of a transition from disco to 80s music. Still dance music, but not disco. Bubblegum? Sorta. But music even a young adult could enjoy. Most of all, it was a "Fuck YEAH" moment, this was MJ after all. What did you expect?
The 80s for me was one long nightmare because I was married to a fuckwad. Mtv really didn't even register for me at first. It was all about survival. Then "Thriller" came out. OMFG and GODDAMN! I watched that til I could almost do the moves with my fat preggo butt. Truly, that was a tour de force. At that point I knew MJ was going to blow shit out of the water. I also remember watching the "Motown 25" special with son #1 who was all of 5 mos old and thinking "what the FUCK is this and when the FUCK did MJ turn into SUCH a totally cool dude!"
The whole split from the family kinda went in one ear and out the other. My understanding from one who knows from the inside is that MJ decided to listen to the white folks around him and literally kicked his family to the curb. I guess he believed his own hype. Ah well, you live and learn, no? I've seen the exploited and abused by their father crap. In the words of Mr. Davis "Michael Jackson wasn't treated any differently than any other black kid, like you and me, growing up. He got his ass beat when he got out of line. Besides, how many black men are there that made their children millionaires?" Oooh. Changes the perspective don't it?
The years passed, "We Are the World" was another tour de force. Babies came, life rolled forward and MJ the freakshow began. (Of course, I have always maintained that had MJ married ME he wouldn't have had all these fucking problems.)
Most of that shit I read and just shook my head. Another "artiste" with a screw loose. Poor Michael. Demons in his head taking over. Blurred reality between his sex and his race, now that was some frightening shit. I continued to buy his albums and videos though. You have to give the man credit - he was a brilliant performer. He defined the 80s, he defined the video genre, he was avante garde for the times.
I dunno if I believe the pedo stuff. Maybe I just don't want to believe it. MJ is LCpl Tyler's #1 FAVORITE FUCKING SINGER EVAR(yes, all caps is how he speaks when he talks about MJ) so when the molestation shit came out, I asked Tyler what he thought. He said "Mom, I would LOVE to meet MJ, visit Neverland and all but I have better sense than to go in his bedroom and get in the bed with him." Case closed, no worries about Tyler's good sense on that one.
I dunno what to say about the 3 kids he has either. Actually I do. I have nothing to say. That was his private life and I'm not privy to it or where his head was at.
So when I was sitting playing the Sims yesterday afternoon and son #1 said "Why is someone texting me that Michael Jackson is dead", all tvs in the house immediately went to CNN. I called Tyler and let him know his boy was on his deathbed and to stay tuned. When it was finally confirmed, I called him and let him know MJ had passed. He said "I think I'm going to cry".
Yeah, son. Me too.
So here are my favorite top performances (that I can get a embeddable link for) from the J5 and MJ.
Rest in Peace Michael.
Michael Jackson - Beat It
Uploaded by sofresh305. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.
Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal
Uploaded by djoik. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.
posted by greer at
8:43 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home