Michael Joseph Jackson left us all on June 25, 2009. It still feels weird saying how great of an entertainer he WAS. It just doesn't seem right that he's gone. I know everyone has their day, but MJ departed in such a shocking, abrupt way. Truth is, he was the inspiration for the name of my blog (along with Michael Jordan). He was a great and my initials are MJ as well, hence the "anothergreatmj" name for this blog. I didn't know Michael personally, but because we shared some things in common (love for singing, being visual artists, and being shy) and he was a MAJOR part of my childhood, he is synonymous with greatness to me.
I have so many memories of MJ. I remember being probablly four or five and staring at his "Off the Wall" album cover for what seemed like hours at a time. That album always sat in the front of our plastic crate in the living room. There was something about his eyes, simply magnetic. I remember watching Thriller, Beat It, and Billy Jean on BET and MTV. I was so afraid of that Thriller video, and it's still scary even today. The make up and special effects must have been spectacular for that time because I'm still impressed with them today. I was too young to lust over this man at the time (I was only four when Thriller came out), but I still loved him! As I grew older and as Michael's appearance changed more and more I was sooo puzzled! What happened to him? Why is his skin white now? I was way too young to understand what was happening to this guy who could dance so well. Fast forward 20 years later and I still never could figure out why he destroyed that beautiful face he had.
None of that mattered though, all that mattered was that MJ could dance his ASS off and his videos were the bomb! Smooth Criminal, Black or White, and Remember the Time were all videos and songs that I remember loving. Around those times I was in my pre teen years. Michael seemed to have faded into the background by the late 90s and he appeared far less often than before. His nose became the butt of endless jokes and no one could figure out what the hell was going on. His skin was so pale, I thought that he surely looked dead. Honestly, I thought that MJ looked like someothing out of a casket, just ghostly white. He said he had vitiligo, but I had my doubts about that. The extreme narrowing of his nose had me thinking twice about the vitiligo claim. Did he want to be white? Was he ashamed of his black features? That's what I always thought.
Still even after death my theory was that he hated the way he looked and didn't want to look like his father. That's actually what Latoya Jackson said and what I was thinking all along. I think he hated his appearance so much that he didn't want his kids to carry his genes.
These are my personal feelings about Michael Jackson. His life was such a mystery to me and extremely interesting. How must it have been to be a superstar from the age of 11? That's unreal to me and I have no idea how it felt. I don't want to know either and I actually felt very sorry for him. You could tell how sad of a man he was and he noted on several occasions that he was lonely. I always felt bad for him because there's no amount of money in the world that can bring you true happiness if you have internal demons.
But let me speak on the most phenomenal part of Michael Jackson's life; his music. MJ could crank out hits like no other artist of his time. Since his death, like many others I've felt a need to revisit his music. I always had my favorite MJ songs, but revisiting his music exposed me to a lot of his music that I had not heard in a while. Songs like Dirty Diana and Say Say Say I had not heard in years, maybe since I was a teenager! A lot of that music came from my early childhood, so by the time I was old enough to really appreciate music, those songs had aged and weren't played on the radio. Also MTV and BET just stopped showing videos (as much) and thus the end of the music video era. That was the era that made MJ a mega super star.
His music invokes so much emotion out of me. One thing I can say is that he put his all into recording these songs. You could hear the emotion in his voice. His sporadic yelps and "hee hees" are symbols of a true artist, totally guided by the music. He wrote many of his own song as well, which also makes his music genuine. There's nothing phony about it, unlike much of today's popular music.
It is just amazing how much of an ICON he is. I think about the artists of today and I can't think of anyone who will come close to leaving that type of impact. Michael Jackson wasn't just his name, but his name was a BRAND, unintentionally. Jay Z would probably tell you he is a brand, but he can't come close to MJ. Michael Jackson was the personification of originality. No one moved like him, sang like him, or dressed like him. You could make a list of things associated with Michael Jackson and that list would be ultra long. He had a distinct sound and moves..they can certainly be duplicated, but the fact that he was a true innovator is what makes his career so amazing to me.
So here's to an amazing artist who is gone, but eternally alive through his music. Michael Jackson you will be missed, but I know there must be an awesome party going on in heaven right now. Rest in peace my man.
Here are my top five favorite MJ songs. All visitors please leave your favorites too!
- Human Nature
- Another Part of Me
- I Wanna be Where You Are
- Smooth Criminal
- Lady in my Life
- Remember the Time
- Thriller
- Dirty Diana
- Say Say Say
- Smooth Criminal
