Michael Jackson: A Tribute (or as close as I can come to honoring someone)

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Michael Jackson: A Tribute (or as close as I can come to honoring someone) You would think that writing a tribute on the King of Pop would be as easy as A-B-C, 1-2-3, but it isn't. Sure, I will touch on some wonderful memories and accomplishments, but I will also touch on the fact that he touched little boys so let this be your warning. Stop reading now if the only Michael you want to remember is the black Michael. I remember as a child idolizing MJ. My father is a huge Motown/R&B guy so my sisters and I were raised on the Jackson 5 and afterwards the solo careers of Michael, Janet and, yes, even Tito. I followed LaToya's Playboy career, but that was without the guidance of my father. I remember my dad driving us around town in our 1978 VW Van and playing Off the Wall. With my dad it was Michael, with my mom it was opera so you know I'm well rounded. Off the Wall was fun, but I was 8 and too young to get into any Discos (where it was being spun continuously) so I was screwed. I had to enjoy it for what it was. Thriller came out when I was in 5th grade (yeah, I'm old what of it?) and it influenced me in many ways. I didn't sport a glove or anything, but I did grab my crotch a lot. Ok, that didn't have as much to do with Michael Jackson as much as it did with me being in 5th grade, but you get the point. That album made me pay attention to music. I cared about the whole phenomenon as did my friends. I will never forget sitting in class reading the album liner notes/lyrics when my teacher came over to me, took the album sleeve out of my hands and proceeded to rip it up in front of the entire class. I was doing something wrong and I never felt more cool. No one could believe what had just happened and I loved it. I wore out that album and then the cassette after that. The man had Vincent Price, Eddie Van Halen and Paul McCartney all on one album! How could you not wear it out? Michael Jackson didn't change any musical stylings, but he changed music through his innovative and, mostly strange, music videos. He made MTV and for that all of you Hills fans should be eternally grateful. I challenge you to imagine music videos without the thumb print Michael left on them. Thriller? Black or White? Without the "story line" video concept Lady CaCa's Paparazzi video would cease to exist. Not sure if that's a blessing or a curse... Regardless, if you ask anyone my age they will all say the same thing: The Thriller video on MTV was appointment viewing. MTV would have a countdown and would let you know exactly when the next airing would take place. It scared the shit out of me, but I watched it every time it came on. Then IT happened. 1993. The same network that Michael Jackson made gave him a platform to defend himself against Evan Chandler's child molestation accusations. MJ went on air to discuss in detail about how grueling it was trying to fight these allegations. He talked about having his genitals photographed and how humiliating it was. I myself was just amazed that he even had genitals with all of those notes that he was able to hit. The charges were later dropped, but since he settled with the Chandler family for $22 million in a civil suit, things didn't look good for the King of Pop and this began his downfall. On a more personal note, the Chandler family can suck it. As someone who was molested I can honestly say that I wish I had been molested by Michael Jackson instead of the apartment dwelling shit head that took my childhood. At least the cat had animals and carnival rides. Plus, I would have $22 million to put towards therapy. After these accusations things would never be the same: Neverland Ranch, Bubbles the monkey, the Elephant Man's remains, the Jesus Juice, the sleepovers, screwing Paul McCartney out of The Beatles royalties, dangling babies over balconies, naming them Blanket, covering them up in public, the whole Vitiligo thing...everything was under scrutiny and rightfully so. Speaking of vitiligo, if it really don't matter if you're black or white then why did he try so hard to become white? You can see why it is so hard to honor a man who so desperately tried to sabotage himself at every corner. "Accuse me once, shame on...shame on you. Accuse me....can't get accused again." All of his idiosyncrasies aside, I will always remember the Michael Jackson as the artist that brought a lot of joy into my life through his music. May my karaoke version of The Way You Make Me Feel bring joy to the crowds that hear it and also to the ears of the King of Pop himself. RIP you PYT.