Discovering and Rediscovering Michael's Music
Yes, it's about MJ again (a little essay of sorts)
I have to admit that I wasn't a die-hard fan of Michael Jackson before he passed away, but I still considered myself a fan. I always enjoyed his music, but I didn't realize how little I actually did know before his passing.
I was checking the news one morning on Yahoo, and saw that one of the headlines was that a new Michael Jackson song had leaked. Curious, I clicked the story to hear the song. The song was “A Place With No Name” and I thought it was great. I thought it was fun to hear a new Michael Jackson song. This was actually the start of a new journey of discovering and rediscovering Michael's music.
Shortly afterward I decided I wanted to add some more songs to my iTunes. Embarrassingly, the only song that I had by Michael on there was “Thriller.” So, at first I was just going to see what his hit songs were and add those to my playlist. I don't know what made me change my mind to seek out his other songs as well, but I'm glad I did. I just made a decision to track down and hear all of his songs. I happened to come across a list of all of them, including the unreleased songs. So, I went through-I made a decision that I would search for them on Youtube, listen, and add the ones I liked to my playlist. Thinking back now, I find it funny that I had the thought that maybe I wouldn't like some of Michael Jackson's songs.
Hearing all these new songs and rediscovering old ones was an incredible experience for me. Before Michael's death I knew about 25 of his songs, including the Jackson 5. A few of those songs were some I had heard often, but I had no idea it was Michael singing them. Several of those songs were also songs I hadn't heard for years, and I had just forgotten about them. For instance, “Will You Be There” was one of those. Discovering the new songs was a great joy to me. It was like uncovering buried treasure. I got to hear them all at once. Instead of say waiting with anticipation for a new album to come out to hear new songs, I got to hear them every day for about a week. That in of itself is exciting, but I realize there is something special about awaiting a new album. It's the buildup. Michael knew this well. Don't give the fans new songs too often because the longer you wait for and anticipate something, the more thrilling the pay-off will be once you get to hear those new songs. You know the saying: “Good things come to those who wait.”
Looking back in retrospect, finding all the new songs is now a blur to me. I now have trouble remembering what my feelings were starting from hearing the first note all the way to the last note of a new song. It's as though I feel like I've been listening to these songs for years now, even though it's only been 6 months. There is one song in particular that I do remember my thoughts about when I first heard it. The song is “They Don't Care About Us.” When I first listened to that song I was quite taken by surprise. It introduced me to a side of Michael I had never heard before. It was raw. It really tells it like it is. This song just about summed up my feelings I had had about society for years now. I liked it and I had no idea Michael sang songs like this. Upon my second listen, it became an instant favorite.
Out of all of the songs I listened to, there was only one I didn't add to my iTunes right away. That was “Little Susie” because it scared me. It's a really dark song. I think at some point of going through the the list of songs, I had the thought “Ah to hell with it. There isn't going to be a song that Michael Jackson did that I won't like. So I'm probably just going add them all anyway.” And that's still true. I love all of his songs each in their own special way.
I'm kind of sad now that my quest is mostly over (until more unreleased songs start coming out). I still wish I could have done this much earlier than I did, but I'm glad I did do it rather than never at all because I really would have missed out.
I have to admit that I wasn't a die-hard fan of Michael Jackson before he passed away, but I still considered myself a fan. I always enjoyed his music, but I didn't realize how little I actually did know before his passing.
I was checking the news one morning on Yahoo, and saw that one of the headlines was that a new Michael Jackson song had leaked. Curious, I clicked the story to hear the song. The song was “A Place With No Name” and I thought it was great. I thought it was fun to hear a new Michael Jackson song. This was actually the start of a new journey of discovering and rediscovering Michael's music.
Shortly afterward I decided I wanted to add some more songs to my iTunes. Embarrassingly, the only song that I had by Michael on there was “Thriller.” So, at first I was just going to see what his hit songs were and add those to my playlist. I don't know what made me change my mind to seek out his other songs as well, but I'm glad I did. I just made a decision to track down and hear all of his songs. I happened to come across a list of all of them, including the unreleased songs. So, I went through-I made a decision that I would search for them on Youtube, listen, and add the ones I liked to my playlist. Thinking back now, I find it funny that I had the thought that maybe I wouldn't like some of Michael Jackson's songs.
Hearing all these new songs and rediscovering old ones was an incredible experience for me. Before Michael's death I knew about 25 of his songs, including the Jackson 5. A few of those songs were some I had heard often, but I had no idea it was Michael singing them. Several of those songs were also songs I hadn't heard for years, and I had just forgotten about them. For instance, “Will You Be There” was one of those. Discovering the new songs was a great joy to me. It was like uncovering buried treasure. I got to hear them all at once. Instead of say waiting with anticipation for a new album to come out to hear new songs, I got to hear them every day for about a week. That in of itself is exciting, but I realize there is something special about awaiting a new album. It's the buildup. Michael knew this well. Don't give the fans new songs too often because the longer you wait for and anticipate something, the more thrilling the pay-off will be once you get to hear those new songs. You know the saying: “Good things come to those who wait.”
Looking back in retrospect, finding all the new songs is now a blur to me. I now have trouble remembering what my feelings were starting from hearing the first note all the way to the last note of a new song. It's as though I feel like I've been listening to these songs for years now, even though it's only been 6 months. There is one song in particular that I do remember my thoughts about when I first heard it. The song is “They Don't Care About Us.” When I first listened to that song I was quite taken by surprise. It introduced me to a side of Michael I had never heard before. It was raw. It really tells it like it is. This song just about summed up my feelings I had had about society for years now. I liked it and I had no idea Michael sang songs like this. Upon my second listen, it became an instant favorite.
Out of all of the songs I listened to, there was only one I didn't add to my iTunes right away. That was “Little Susie” because it scared me. It's a really dark song. I think at some point of going through the the list of songs, I had the thought “Ah to hell with it. There isn't going to be a song that Michael Jackson did that I won't like. So I'm probably just going add them all anyway.” And that's still true. I love all of his songs each in their own special way.
I'm kind of sad now that my quest is mostly over (until more unreleased songs start coming out). I still wish I could have done this much earlier than I did, but I'm glad I did do it rather than never at all because I really would have missed out.