The Record Crate

I have been privelaged to grow up in a house where music came second only to eating and breathing. This is why it’s weird for me to think that Michael Jackson was kind of an after thought to me when I think about what music influenced me the most. A bit of a retrospective on Jacko’s influence on me:

He was always one of those larger-than-life icons to me. I never struggled with liking or disliking him. It was a predisposition that everyone else liked MJ and so should I. I never had a problem with that. He seemed to be connected to everything that mattered to me back then: music and Free Willy. I can remember watching his live concert in Bucharest, Hungary in 1992 on HBO. Around that time, I was also a fan the Carly Simon’s live at Martha’s Vineyard tape that my parents had. Those two concerts seemed to be infinitely connected in my mind: both settings were a far cry from the traditional concert setting…little did I know then that these two settings were polar opposites. I still can’t explain this correlation that I had, but it makes sense to me in my head.

My Michael Jackson memories are divided amongst the houses I lived in when I was a kid. Here’s how it goes:

• 210-A Ridgefield Circle
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    • There’s a family video my parents have of myself and my sister singing to this song whilst setting up our christmas tree. Mom’s manning the old school video camera, probably wetting herself in laughter-knowing that she’s watching blackmail gold being made. I haven’t seen this video in a while. In fact, I’ve referenced this video more times on this site than I’ve seen it in the last decade.
  • I had a babysitter named Margaret when I was a kid. Oddly enough, I recently spoke with her a week ago. I can remember walking into the living room once day and seeing Jackson’s first disposition on TV. I’ll never forget it. Our living room and kitchen were only accessible through the front hall and you had to go down a set of 4 stairs, which seemed to go on forever at that age. The kitchen opened up to the right and the big sliding glass doors were right in front of me. The ceiling was 2 stories high, as the second story held a loft that looked into the living room. To the left was a coffee table (that i’m currently using as a foot rest), a couch and our (at the time) state-of-the-art television station. It was 1993.On TV was Michael Jackson giving his statement about how poorly he was treated while in custody. I didn’t realize what was going on at that point, all I remember thinking was “he must be so scared.”
• 310-D Ridgefield Circle
  • I tried making a tape of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” with a boom box I had recently recieved for christmas. I even set up my CD rack, tapes, CDs and boom box in my living room to pretend I was in a music studio. It failed and I don’t think I listened to his music for a solid three years at this point.
• My Current Address (saved for privacy)
  • I saw Kool ‘n’ The Gang’s video for “Misled.” Blatant rip off of “Thriller,” just minus the zombies. Form now until my blog ends, this is the setting for this post, but i’m taking away the bullet points (just don’t want to confuse anyone).

Since moving to Lancaster, my musical background has increased exponentially. Jacko, moreso than maybe anyone. Being older and wiser, I began to understand his life a little more. I saw the movie about the Jackson Famly about 5 times one day on VH-1 and when he goes to find his pet mouse and finds that he’s dead…man that part F*&^ed my S#!t UP!. I had read up on his scandals, his controviersies and listened to my Dad explain his psychological condidtions. However, I never thought of Michael Jackson the Goon as the same person as Michael Jackson the Revolutionary. Prince had an irregular homelife (reference: Purple Rain. The only proof I have) but his music was better for it. Many of the musicians I had taken a liking to as a kid had psychological disorders (Brian Wilson and more recently Max Bemis). On top of this, plastic surgery was omnipresent in the mainstream. None of this seemed out-of-the-ordinary to me.

He’s been the topic of so many satires and jokes that it all seemed old to me. I’ve doen my best to keep those separate from what’s really important: The music he’s made and his impact on the world. He came up with the concept for the All-Star song “We Are The World.” That’s the best example there is. He got all those people together after the AMA’s and got them to put their ego’s aside to be a part of something bigger than themselves. The best part? They did it for free. Even the studio time was donated. Oh…the music video features a certain diamond-studded glove. I’m trying to make one of those soon as a tribute.

Jackson WAS the industry for a period of time. He was a childhood star that took his spotlight and shone it on people other than himself-his sister Janet, the people he sang with, the people he tried to help. He owned the rights to most of the Beatles’ catalogue. What will happen to them now? He influenced so many people with his music. I remember seeing him to the Moon Walk at a Mowtown concert my Dad had taped. How can you not like him for that? His dancing skills, poetic genius, and the message he tried to send in his efforts just don’t belong to someone who is as terrible of a person that everyone says he really is. Wouldn’t you buy yourself out of a situation you didn’t want to be a part of and wanted to disappear? I would. In a second.

I have been appauled at the members of the human race’s actions in the last few days. How can you feel good about yourself making fun of a guy that is so mentally and physically unstable? Sending text message chains saying Farrah Faucett’s last wish was for the children of the world to feel safe and that’s why MJ died. You have to be kidding. He’s someone’s father. Someone’s son. Someone’s best friend. Someone’s idol. I’m not here to say he did or did not do what he’s been accused of. Like I said-that MJ is separate from the MJ i idolize. Maybe-for once-people can put take their heads out of their poop chutes and realize what we as a culture have lost. Maybe he hadn’t released anything relevant int he last 15 years. Just know that there will never be another “Thriller.” There will never be another musician that’s had such a profound effect on music that Michael Jackson had. Many people say his 50-show comeback in London scheduled for later this year was overkill. Maybe it was. Maybe it was his way of saying “I’m fucking back. What’s good?” Just another “what-if” that no one will ever be able to answer. I care. Do you?