My Tribute to The King of Pop.
I'm just a little late in writing this, following everyone else who did theirs like the day after, but I've needed some time to gather my thoughts and figure out what I wanted to say and how to say it. In the entry I posted after initially hearing the news, I did point out how it's hard not to see how much of an influence he has been in pop culture--being one to create, basically, the soundtrack to everyone's lives, revolutionizing the way a music video was seen, changing it from promotional tool to artistic outlet, and by being one of the main influences in the majority of public figures we see today. On a more personal level, though, he has done the same in my own eyes.
Anyone who knows me should know how much of an important figure Michael Jackson has been in my own life, especially throughout my childhood. To say that I was absolutely obsessed with him would probably have been an understatement.
People say that in order to really know what kind of superstar and legend-in-the-making Michael was, you would have had to been alive during the "Thriller" days. And only if you had been alive and aware when the would-be best selling album of all time was released would you be able to understand the fandom that was associated with this man--the type of fanatical accounts that could only combat against what someone like The Beatles would have seen. No, I was not alive to witness firsthand the craziness that surrounded "Thriller." I was not alive to remember waiting for the world premiere of his videos, to say that I stayed home from work or school to watch the premiere, to witness MJ performing the moonwalk for the first time while singing "Billie Jean" at the Motown 25th Anniversary Special. And I don't feel as if I needed to be alive to witness these things happening live to understand what kind of performer and showman Michael was. If there's one thing about Michael, it's that his music bridges the gap between generations, his dance moves and videos outstanding the test of time--all of what he did could be enjoyed years after first being viewed and listened to--his music, dating back to the Jackson 5 in the '60's still being enjoyed today... and not just because of his death, but because that's just the type of music MJ made--music that never grew old, music that couldn't possibly just stay in its own time period.
When I was younger, and I'm talking about the ages of 2 or 3, I have memories of two specific artists that I listened to. One of them was Black Sabbath, with the other being Michael Jackson--the first of which being because this is what my father listened to, so of course I would be exposed to the same music he enjoyed. When it came to Michael, though, he was the first artist that I chose to listen to and wanted to listen to, not just out of anyone else's influence on me. Listening to him would forever change the course of my music history.
The first music video I ever remember seeing was the video for "Black or White," and note that this was not only the first MJ video I had ever seen, but the first video period. (I also have a distinct recollection of Van Halen's "Jump," but that's neither here nor there. :p) I was absolutely mesmerized by all the different dances and styles and I wanted to be able to dance like all of the people in the video and, of course, be like Mike and be able to dance so differently, yet so perfectly when it came to mastering all of the different styles exhibited in the video. I knew right away, at the age of 3, that seeing one man able to dance so differently and with such passion meant that he was his own style--of both music and dance. After seeing the ending of the video with the metamorphosis technology (again, something completely new--courtesy of Michael), and then after the ending of the video, when it goes into the shot of Michael dancing on top of the car, being destructive and performing the infamous crotch grab--everything from beginning to end of the video was just something completely new to me and it was all something I had never seen before and it left me stunned and amazed.
It was around this time that VH1 had Michael's movie "Moonwalker" in full rotation, so I watched that every single chance I could. Of course this movie focused mainly on "Bad" and "Smooth Criminal," so these quickly became my new obsessions--especially the latter of the two. I seriously would not miss a showing of the movie and each time the music videos in them were played (Oh! And how can I forget Michael's version of "Come Together"?!) they just never got old to me--I was amazed with them every single time. It was around this time that I was convinced and had my heart set that I would marry Michael Jackson. Yes, that is how obsessed I became with him--at the age of three. More than loving his music and innovative dance moves, I wanted to marry him. I even named a pillow I used to sleep with "Michael." Eventually, that pillow would be lost and left in a hotel room in Canada. :(
The good thing about being so young when I was first exposed to him was that I was too young to understand or even be aware of all the allegations that he was accused of at the time. It was like this whole childlike innocence thing--which is funny because, even looking at him--a man 30 years of age at the time--that's what I saw, and still see in him, too. Being influenced by him at such a young age meant I could focus solely on his musical legacy he was in the midst of leaving and be continually astounded by his music, his videos, and his dance and not be blinded by false allegations and the media's perception and nagging of him.
In the midst of first exposed to him, it was a few months before Halloween. Once Halloween season hit, VH1 had begun playing "Thriller." OH MY GOD. Everyone should have the same reaction to first seeing the video--just a big "OH MY GOD" because no other words could possibly describe it. Yes, it was a huge spectacle when it first premiered in 1983 (rightly so, duh), but seeing it for the first time, 10 years later in 1993, did not diminish my amazement. I had never seen anything like it--not the concept of the video, not a video that was more like a mini-movie, not a song like it, and certainly not the dance moves. I remember after seeing it, every time it was played thereafter, I would rush to the television--even waiting for it to come on at times--and I'd just spend hours memorizing the dance moves.
Of course, it was in the midst of learning the choreography and watching "The Jacksons: An American Dream" for the first time, that my mom has one of her favorite memories of me as a toddler--rushing up to her, exclaiming: "Did you know Michael Jackson used to be black?!" Hey, up until now, I had only been exposed to the "Bad" and "Dangerous" records and was only 3 or 4! But, all humor aside, it was after seeing "Thriller" when I decided I wanted to be a choreographer--especially after I learned how quickly I could catch on and nearly master all of the steps. Anyway, I'm not really on that whole choreography path now (but that does not diminish my love for dance), and still--while most children want to be vets, teachers, or astronauts, I wanted to be a choreographer. Later on, I'd also be inspired by Nsync and their choreographer, Wade Robson, who consequently, wanted to become a choreographer after seeing Michael Jackson for the first time, too, and even had his big break dancing for him.
After seeing "Thriller" and exhausting our television set just waiting for any one of his videos to come on TV (which brings to mention that watching "Thriller," to this day, is a yearly tradition to watch every year on Halloween), my parents soon got me all of his albums on tape. A new love was again born. Just hearing his music, a full album, and not having the beauty of a video to back up the song was a whole new experience--but the beauty of his music was certainly not lost. His music, his art was, in a number of ways, even more beautiful and spectacular. All I remember listening to were Michael Jackson records, specifically "Thriller" and later I had a special love for "Blood on the Dance Floor"--but I remember driving around in the backseat of my mom's car, singing along to "PYT."
From first seeing a Michael Jackson video to first hearing an album of his, nothing was short of amazing--especially to a child mystified at the ages of 3, 4, 5, etc. All of my childhood memories mainly revolve around Michael Jackson--whether it be seeing his videos, watching a TV special or movie, or dancing and singing to his music. No, I may not have been alive to witness the craziness surrounding the release and success of "Thriller," but I still grew up on Michael Jackson, with him the first big influence in my life. Even after he slowed down and I kind of moved on from my obsession--moved on from my obsession, not my love of having him be the first musical artist I ever liked--the new things I became in love with acknowledged him as a key-player in all of their personal lives and careers. Everyone from Nsync to Fall Out Boy, and of course JabbaWockeeZ and Super Cr3w all list him as their idol.
MJ- you will never be forgotten. You are truly an amazing performer and artist, master of your craft, innovator and icon. You were taken far too soon from this world, but I can only hope and pray that you will find peace in the afterlife and that your musical legacy will far outweigh the trash the media pulls up about you all for the sake of a story. Your impact will never be mistaken. You were my first idol, and then an icon to my idol's following you. R.I.P. &hearts
Anyone who knows me should know how much of an important figure Michael Jackson has been in my own life, especially throughout my childhood. To say that I was absolutely obsessed with him would probably have been an understatement.
People say that in order to really know what kind of superstar and legend-in-the-making Michael was, you would have had to been alive during the "Thriller" days. And only if you had been alive and aware when the would-be best selling album of all time was released would you be able to understand the fandom that was associated with this man--the type of fanatical accounts that could only combat against what someone like The Beatles would have seen. No, I was not alive to witness firsthand the craziness that surrounded "Thriller." I was not alive to remember waiting for the world premiere of his videos, to say that I stayed home from work or school to watch the premiere, to witness MJ performing the moonwalk for the first time while singing "Billie Jean" at the Motown 25th Anniversary Special. And I don't feel as if I needed to be alive to witness these things happening live to understand what kind of performer and showman Michael was. If there's one thing about Michael, it's that his music bridges the gap between generations, his dance moves and videos outstanding the test of time--all of what he did could be enjoyed years after first being viewed and listened to--his music, dating back to the Jackson 5 in the '60's still being enjoyed today... and not just because of his death, but because that's just the type of music MJ made--music that never grew old, music that couldn't possibly just stay in its own time period.
When I was younger, and I'm talking about the ages of 2 or 3, I have memories of two specific artists that I listened to. One of them was Black Sabbath, with the other being Michael Jackson--the first of which being because this is what my father listened to, so of course I would be exposed to the same music he enjoyed. When it came to Michael, though, he was the first artist that I chose to listen to and wanted to listen to, not just out of anyone else's influence on me. Listening to him would forever change the course of my music history.
The first music video I ever remember seeing was the video for "Black or White," and note that this was not only the first MJ video I had ever seen, but the first video period. (I also have a distinct recollection of Van Halen's "Jump," but that's neither here nor there. :p) I was absolutely mesmerized by all the different dances and styles and I wanted to be able to dance like all of the people in the video and, of course, be like Mike and be able to dance so differently, yet so perfectly when it came to mastering all of the different styles exhibited in the video. I knew right away, at the age of 3, that seeing one man able to dance so differently and with such passion meant that he was his own style--of both music and dance. After seeing the ending of the video with the metamorphosis technology (again, something completely new--courtesy of Michael), and then after the ending of the video, when it goes into the shot of Michael dancing on top of the car, being destructive and performing the infamous crotch grab--everything from beginning to end of the video was just something completely new to me and it was all something I had never seen before and it left me stunned and amazed.
It was around this time that VH1 had Michael's movie "Moonwalker" in full rotation, so I watched that every single chance I could. Of course this movie focused mainly on "Bad" and "Smooth Criminal," so these quickly became my new obsessions--especially the latter of the two. I seriously would not miss a showing of the movie and each time the music videos in them were played (Oh! And how can I forget Michael's version of "Come Together"?!) they just never got old to me--I was amazed with them every single time. It was around this time that I was convinced and had my heart set that I would marry Michael Jackson. Yes, that is how obsessed I became with him--at the age of three. More than loving his music and innovative dance moves, I wanted to marry him. I even named a pillow I used to sleep with "Michael." Eventually, that pillow would be lost and left in a hotel room in Canada. :(
The good thing about being so young when I was first exposed to him was that I was too young to understand or even be aware of all the allegations that he was accused of at the time. It was like this whole childlike innocence thing--which is funny because, even looking at him--a man 30 years of age at the time--that's what I saw, and still see in him, too. Being influenced by him at such a young age meant I could focus solely on his musical legacy he was in the midst of leaving and be continually astounded by his music, his videos, and his dance and not be blinded by false allegations and the media's perception and nagging of him.
In the midst of first exposed to him, it was a few months before Halloween. Once Halloween season hit, VH1 had begun playing "Thriller." OH MY GOD. Everyone should have the same reaction to first seeing the video--just a big "OH MY GOD" because no other words could possibly describe it. Yes, it was a huge spectacle when it first premiered in 1983 (rightly so, duh), but seeing it for the first time, 10 years later in 1993, did not diminish my amazement. I had never seen anything like it--not the concept of the video, not a video that was more like a mini-movie, not a song like it, and certainly not the dance moves. I remember after seeing it, every time it was played thereafter, I would rush to the television--even waiting for it to come on at times--and I'd just spend hours memorizing the dance moves.
Of course, it was in the midst of learning the choreography and watching "The Jacksons: An American Dream" for the first time, that my mom has one of her favorite memories of me as a toddler--rushing up to her, exclaiming: "Did you know Michael Jackson used to be black?!" Hey, up until now, I had only been exposed to the "Bad" and "Dangerous" records and was only 3 or 4! But, all humor aside, it was after seeing "Thriller" when I decided I wanted to be a choreographer--especially after I learned how quickly I could catch on and nearly master all of the steps. Anyway, I'm not really on that whole choreography path now (but that does not diminish my love for dance), and still--while most children want to be vets, teachers, or astronauts, I wanted to be a choreographer. Later on, I'd also be inspired by Nsync and their choreographer, Wade Robson, who consequently, wanted to become a choreographer after seeing Michael Jackson for the first time, too, and even had his big break dancing for him.
After seeing "Thriller" and exhausting our television set just waiting for any one of his videos to come on TV (which brings to mention that watching "Thriller," to this day, is a yearly tradition to watch every year on Halloween), my parents soon got me all of his albums on tape. A new love was again born. Just hearing his music, a full album, and not having the beauty of a video to back up the song was a whole new experience--but the beauty of his music was certainly not lost. His music, his art was, in a number of ways, even more beautiful and spectacular. All I remember listening to were Michael Jackson records, specifically "Thriller" and later I had a special love for "Blood on the Dance Floor"--but I remember driving around in the backseat of my mom's car, singing along to "PYT."
From first seeing a Michael Jackson video to first hearing an album of his, nothing was short of amazing--especially to a child mystified at the ages of 3, 4, 5, etc. All of my childhood memories mainly revolve around Michael Jackson--whether it be seeing his videos, watching a TV special or movie, or dancing and singing to his music. No, I may not have been alive to witness the craziness surrounding the release and success of "Thriller," but I still grew up on Michael Jackson, with him the first big influence in my life. Even after he slowed down and I kind of moved on from my obsession--moved on from my obsession, not my love of having him be the first musical artist I ever liked--the new things I became in love with acknowledged him as a key-player in all of their personal lives and careers. Everyone from Nsync to Fall Out Boy, and of course JabbaWockeeZ and Super Cr3w all list him as their idol.
MJ- you will never be forgotten. You are truly an amazing performer and artist, master of your craft, innovator and icon. You were taken far too soon from this world, but I can only hope and pray that you will find peace in the afterlife and that your musical legacy will far outweigh the trash the media pulls up about you all for the sake of a story. Your impact will never be mistaken. You were my first idol, and then an icon to my idol's following you. R.I.P. &hearts