This is It

As Friday marked the 1 year anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death, I would like to reflect on my love for Michael Jackson.

I grew up in a household where Michael Jackson was loved. The Thriller album was “the best album ever” in my house, and I grew up thinking just that.  What could be bad about the album? Thriller was one of the most exciting and new things people had heard and, more specifically, seen. When I was 8 years old my mother took me to California and we went to Disneyland. One of the best/coolest attraction at that time was watching the Beat It video/mini movie in 3D, (an incredible technology at the time which is so passé now) and it is one of my fondest memories from that trip. My parents had just gotten divorced and L.A. had been an escape from my life at home. Beat it was an even more welcome escape. It was angry but exciting and, in a dancy-street-gang- fight way, expressed how I felt. Anyways, what I’m trying to say in a roundabout way is that I cared a lot about Michael Jackson, and I know he meant a lot of things to a lot of other people. Not only was his music loved, but he pioneered the music video/short film art in a way that was never done before. I’d like to talk about my top 5 Michael Jackson moments. 

1) Billie Jean- Yes Michael, we all know by now that Billie Jean is not your lover. She’s just a girl that thought you were the one. The other thing we know is that this song is awesome. For me, being able to tell a song by the first few notes is not something uncommon. Yet, I guarantee when anyone hears the first few notes of Billy Jean they immediately know what it is. And in this ode to an obsessed fan, we start to see the first real signs of Michael paranoia.

2) The Thriller Video- I know that I have mentioned this in other posts, but what this video did was change the face of music videos forever. Not only was this video its own mini movie, but it was entertaining and starred Vincent Price the creepiest of all men. It also invented a dance routine that many people would parody later on. As my mom always said, “that video was soo creepy”. Nowadays, the graphics are far superior to what they were in the 80's, but at the time that this video was released the graphics were so cool and interesting and scary that it even scared my mother.

3) Black or White- Song and Video- Yes, this is one of my favorite Micahel Jackson songs, and yes, I once again, love the music video. It’s not only because of Macauley Culkin, and it’s not only because Tyra Banks makes a small appearance. It is because the song is so catchy, and because the video is so all over the place bizarre. Macauley raises the amps so high that when he plays a guitar riff it sends his overbearing father to Africa only to find Michael Jackson and dancing tribe men? Now that is bizarre but still so fun to watch. The end of the video features a technique called morphing where people are dancing and singing and each face morphs into the next. It was pretty cool at the time and was only used in two other films before that point.

4) Smooth Criminal- Ok I do like the alien ant farm remake, but the original still holds a spot in my heart. This song is ultimately about extremely dark themes. Michael is making sure Annie is ok after being attacked and, yes, the incredibly fast beat doesn’t necessarily match the tone. But, it is because of the beat that the song succeeds. Many times when describing something awful a singer will use a very slow tune to evoke feelings of sadness and empathy. Michael does not do that here. Rather he almost makes it as if the song is from the point of a criminal who is fleeing the scene. Something interesting about the short film/music video is that it takes place in the 1930's and while the song is questioning if Annie is ok, it is actually a girl named Katie who is kidnapped and held hostage by 1930's mob boss (played by Joe Pesci). It is also one of his less believable short films, as he turns into a robot and spaceship, at the end of the video, to save everyone through the aid of a lucky star.

5) The way you make me feel- Does anyone else think of Center Stage when they hear this song, or is that just me? This song was written by Michael Jackson and produced by Michael and Quincy Jones. I love this song because unlike all the other songs I've listed, this song is happy and upbeat, and talks about expressions of love without being sappy or without having a slow tempo. I know that the love in this song is mostly superficial but it is still fun and expresses what is like to be crushing on someone. I also love all the high pitched random noises Michael makes in this song. I often try to imitate them but never succeed.

I could mention songs from the Jackson 5 and how I loved I want you back and ABC but those days were not really Michael's crowning moments in terms of changing the way we viewed pop/rock crossovers forever. I’m not sure Michael was aware of what his impact on music would be when he started working on the Thriller album. But he did change the way we view music videos, and he changed our expectations for all artists to follow. I know his out of music antics are less than desirable, but that doesn’t change the fact that Michael changed music and pop culture forever. RIP Michael. Your awesome tunes and amazing mini movies will always be cherished.