Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know this is a little late but I wanted it to be proper and not just a sentence or 2 and 1 song. Nothing against those that did that but as a blog with a main focus on music I think this post deserved more attention.
For most of us soul music fans, aficianados and DJs the last few weeks has been somewhat emotional to say the least. I just wanted to take a couple minutes to reflect. I'll start by saying that I wasn't an obsessed fan like some people are but that I appreciate good music for what it is no matter who it's by. I can say that Michael did have a considerable influence on me as a young kid and of course as a DJ. When I was 6 years old I remember trying to recreate the video for 'Bad' with my friends and play that album back to back on my friends' boombox that was literally about the size of us.
As a DJ of course Michael got PLENTY of play. I think most DJs would agree that the MJ requests did get a bit ridiculous at times and you wished you could go a few gigs without playing anything by MJ. But at the same time you loved making all the ladies happy and also loved playing the forgotten MJ & Jackson 5 songs or just playing their classics in different ways. Don't lie..you know you've played New Edition's 'Candy Girl' just before or after 'I Want You Back'. The point is that there was no escaping the genius of Michael Jackson, he was THAT good! Most of you DJs reading this have probably worn out at least 2 copies each of Off The Wall and Thriller. The constant stream of excellent remixes also kept him at the forefront for many DJs and admittedly, I usually only played remixes of certain songs more than the originals. The 4 Hero remix of ♪"Get It Together", the Todd Terje remix of ♪"I Can't Help It" and the Sean Smith vs. Karu remix of ♪"The Mirrors" are a few of my favorites.
There is no denying that Michael Jackson was a weird guy and struggled with a lot of inner conflict and pain. Yet through all of his personal pain he always gave back to the world. Essentially, he sacrificed his life to giving enjoyment to others through music. No matter what he did, he always gave a lot too the world and was genuinely a good person. Perhaps to his disadvantage he was not too good at explaining himself in interviews. True, he shouldn't need to explain himself but when in the spotlight he was very different off stage. Unfortunately the American tabloids and 'news' media helped to crush his main stream popularity here in the US which caused him to spend a lot of time in other parts of the world.
From the first allegation in 1993, the child molestation charges damaged him severely and I think hurt him immensely. I never believed it. As weird as he was, he was no child molester. Michael Jackson is a man that devoted millions of dollars and thousands of hours of personal time to do good things for children and especially children who had special needs. Children meant the world to him and he truly just wanted to help kids to be kids and prolong a period of innocence. He was often critical of the media for corrupting children too young and honestly just wanted to do for others what he was not able to have as a youth. Every sunday at his Neverland ranch was a free day for children, often from hospitals and charities, to come there and just be kids and feel loved. No individual has personally donated more and been involved with more charities than Michael Jackson. (most famous people are not donating personal money) The American media usually neglected to speak of all the good things the man did around the world...good news isn't really 'news' in America anymore. I can't imagine how hurt I'd be knowing that I only did good in the world and to then be villified. Behind the plastic surgeries, drug addiction and stardom was a good human suffering inside.
The man was a musical GENIUS..absolute prodigy. Most brilliant minded people experience some suffering so maybe it's no surprise that Michael Jackson was a bit 'out there'. It's well known that, similar to Motzart, he heard entire songs in his head before they were recorded and would tape record himself beatboxing, humming and describing every nuance. Even more amazing was his humility and respect for people he worked with and is also known as being one of the best people in music to work with.
Selfishly, most of us would like to have seen MJ live a full life. At the same time people can find solace knowing that he is not suffering. Michael Jackson dedicated his existence to the world through music and humanitarian efforts and we can all learn from his examples, both the good ones and the bad ones. On that note, here's some of the hundreds of great examples of his musical genius.
A great forum of people sharing stories about Michael Jackson > HERE <
Here's a good clip of MJ showing his process of how he starts a song and his writing/anti-writing process...dude was an ILL beatboxer! check it out > HERE <
?uestlove's 132 Michael Jackson memories is good too. Check it out HERE.
Artie Wayne, life long friend of Michael Jackson and all around everything man (seriously, Artie Wayne has done more than you ever will) has posted some good stories and even a lost song he did with Michael.
The Jackson 5 “Body Language” video
In no particular order:
I Want You Back by The Jackson 5
I Wanna Be Where You Are by Michael Jackson
It's Great To Be Here by The Jackson 5
The Mirrors by The Jackson 5
Workin' Day And Night by Michael Jackson
Baby Be Mine by Michael Jackson
I Can't Help It by Michael Jackson
Human Nature by Michael Jackson
We're Almost There by The Jackson 5
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