First off let me say my heart goes out to the entire Jackson family, most of the world feels your loss and our prayers are with you. Yesterday was a shock to the world with the loss of superstar Michael Jackson. The moment I heard the news that he had suffered a heart attack, I had a bad feeling, and that feeling was soon confirmed with the announcement of his death.
My first memories of Michael Jackson were during the Thriller album. I remember seeing the video on MTV for the song Thriller and being frightened. For a 5 year old, the idea of dancing zombies is horrifying. I also remember being at the babysitters house, my brother and I were supposed to take a nap, we didn’t want to, so the sitter put on the album Thriller. We didn’t take the nap we were supposed to, but we were quiet, which was good enough.
The first Michael Jackson release I was truly anticipating was Bad. I was about 8 years old when it came out, there was no one cooler on the planet than Michael Jackson. I admit, I didn’t love the entire album, but I did pretty much fall in love with every song included in the film Moonwalker. I wore out a video tape of Moonwalker and almost wore out my copy of Bad.
I tried to dance like him, wished I could sing like him, wanted to dress like him (mostly how he looked in the Smooth Criminal video). Michael Jackson was the most important hero in my childhood until I discovered the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and even though Michael Jackson had been replaced as a hero in my life, he would still be a musical influence.
By the time Dangerous came out, I still thought of Michael Jackson as a great musician, even if I was picked on by other kids and even my parents for listening to him. I constantly had to defend the fact that I listened to Michael Jackson or if I thought I would be ridiculed, I would hide the fact that I was a fan from some people.
When History was released, I was a teenager and had moved away from Michael Jackson’s music for a few years. The only track from that album I fell in love with was Scream, with Janet Jackson. I got tired of the attention grabbing attempts he was trying, ie. his marriage with Lisa Marie Presley, the video they appeared in, the MTV VMA appearance, and the TV interview.
I really enjoy title track of his remix album, Blood on the Dance Floor. I didn’t actually hear this track until I was 19, so it had been out for a couple years. Again, I was teased for liking a Michael Jackson song, but I didn’t care, I had already gotten used to people telling me I had questionable taste in music, but that is the thing about good music, if it moves you, it doesn’t matter who made it or what other people think about it.
I picked up his last album, Invincible, and try as I might, I never really connected with that album. I felt bad for him that he felt Sony was not properly supporting him because he was black. I don’t believe color was the issue, I believe that Sony looks at all their artist as cash cows, and only invest small amounts at first until they start getting a return on their money. It’s sad that going double platinum was considered a failure for Michael Jackson, any brand new artist would have been proud to sell that many.
Michael Jackson introduced me to hip-hop, r&b, funk, and soul. It didn’t matter to me the color of his skin (or the fact that his skin color had changed over time). As I write this, I am listening to a playlist of my favorite Michael Jackson songs.
Michael Jackson – Selection
Blood on the Dance Floor
Scream
Leave Me Alone
Wanna Be Startin’ Somthin’
Rock With You
Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
Remember The Time
In The Closet
Jam
Speed Demon
Billie Jean
Bad
Dirty Diana
The Way You Make Me Feel
Smooth Criminal
Who Is It
You Rock My World
