DO YOU REMEMBER THE TIME??
My Michael memories
I can't remember a time when the music of the J5 wasnt a part of my life when I was a kid. My earliest memories are of cutting a copies of ABC and I'll Be There off the back of a Super Sugar Crisp box. Michael and The Jackson 5 were the biggest phenenom and a source of tremendous pride.
They were the first Black supergroup to rock the charts and the world (I don't count any of the "other" Motown rabble). I remember having a dance contest at my 10th birtrhday party to the song Dancing Machine. I also remember when I was 10 going to Olympia Stadium to see the Jackson 5. The opening act was the Commodores (you know, Lionel Richie's band?), who's only claim to fame at that moment was an instrumental song called "Machine Gun". But there they were, The J5 in all their glory, dancin their asses off in their sparkly jumpsuits and matching 'fros. I remember writing about how excited I was in my diary, especially when Michael did the robot!!! I screamed so much I was hoarse for at least a day!! "Rockin Robin", "Got to Be There" BIG songs for me "Looking Through the Windows"
Also a BIG BIG fave of mine and the Ben album with the titie song, of course, and J5's version of the Stylistics hit "People Make The World Go Round"
The next big impact was the Off The Wall album. "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" and "Rock With You" were the top songs blaring from the radio, but a monster was looming off the horizon. A monster that would change the ENTIRE music industry and the entire WORLD. That monster was Thriller.
CAUSE THIS IS THRILLER, Much to MTV's chagrin
When Thriller came along, no one expected the cultural firestorm that this album would generate. A firestorm that would burn all over the world. Thriller introcuced Michael to a new generation, and HE became their inspiration. Everyone wanted to be like Mike! Come on, how many of you memorized the choreography to Beat It and Thriller and did it everytime you saw the video (I know I did!). If MTV had it's way at the time, you wouldn't have been able to see those videos. When Thriller was released, Epic Records, Michael's label at the time (one of the CBS family of labels) came to MTV to get their videos (Beat It, Thriller, and Billie Jean) shown, MTV balked. MTV's reasoning being that they are an ROCK (White) oriented channel NOT urban (Black). Check this link for the first vids that MTV started their channel with.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_music_videos_aired_on_MTV
MTV's position was (although they tried to be as PC as possible) that they didn't want to feature a Black artist, so CBS records told MTV ok if you don't want to run Michael's videos that's fine, we will just pull ALL OF OUR ARTIST'S VIDEOS FROM YOUR NETWORK. If they had succeeded with that, the fledgling MTV network would have SHUT DOWN overnight. So they agreed to run the videos, and those vids became the most watched and most requested videos of that time. Thriller changed how record companies regarded videos. They began to see that videos could be actual ART and something more than a throwaway promotional expense.
Who could forget:
The Saturday morning cartoon
When CBS aired the BAD movie/video that was directed by one of the greats: Martin Scorsese
The Motown 25 Special where Michael again caused a sensation, moonwalking his way across America's hearts for the FIRST time
The Pepsi commercial that set him on fire
The first appearance of the newlyweds Michael and Lisa Marie Presley at the MTV awards
The dangling baby over the balcony
Michael Jackson is a part of our lives, our histories, and our culture whether we realize it or not. He was a national treasure, a global treasure, a precious jewel that will never be equaled, and will be severely missed.
P.S.: CHECK THIS SHIT OUT!!! I recently found out that Michael holds a US pattent (#5,255,452) for the zero-gravity lean in Smooth Criminal!
UNDERCOVER ANGEL
For those of us who grew up in the 70's, who didn't know the feathered hair and flashing smile of Farrah Fawcett. Former Mercury Cougar spokesmodel (remember the girl who walked the cougar on a leash?), and TV angel. Although Farrah was not my favorite angel (I liked Jacklyn Smith), Charlie's Angels was another in a growing number of TV shows that gave us girls a sense of power. We could kick all kinds of ass and look pretty while we were doing it, and just because we're pretty DIDN'T mean we were dumb!
Farrah was a symbol of American beauty, but for my money, she truly distinguished herself by becoming a symbol of domestic violence for her portrayal of Michigan housewife Francine Hughes who's 13 year ordeal of brutality at the hands of her husband ended with her burning him alive.
The TV film The Burning Bed gave America a deeper look into Farrah's talent (actually it proved she HAD talent in spite of Charlie's Angels). Her frank and brave portrayal of Hughes gave hundreds of women all across the country the courage to stand up.
THE COURAGE TO STAND UP........PRIDE (A DEEPER LOVE)
June is known as a month of national (nee global) observation of Gay Pride. The reason why is that on June 28, 1969 a significant event in the history of homosexual rights took place at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, NY. The gay commuinity was severly ostrasized and marginalized in the 50's and 60's and there weren't many places that you could go if you were openly gay. and certainly NOT if you were a transvestite. A man appearing on the street in drag could be ARRESTED!! That's right, arrested just for being in drag! The Stonewall Inn was one of those places that welcomed you. In the early morning hours, a couple of cops stopped in to pick up their usual "take" of the action (the bar was owned by the mafia who paid off the cops to keep them out). For some reason there was a problem with the money, which pissed the cops off to the point that they raided the bar. The patrons (gay, lesbian, trans) resisted. They refused to be pushed any more. The community pushed back, basically saying: WE'RE AS MAD AS HELL AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANY MORE
For those of you who don't know what it was like to be gay in this country's history, ask your parents and grandparents. Educate yourself. Read about the incident at Stonewall which is credited for the beginnings of the gay rights movement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots
Jim Fourat, famed Stonewall Riot survivor has written a book about the experience. Check out his appearance on last thursday's Colbert Report:
We have lost much in the last few weeks, a lot to think about. Take it at your own pace. Also BIG RIP to: David Carridine (who will always be Cain, and Bill), Ed McMahon (The Ultimate SIdekick), and Billly Mays (The Ultimate Pitchman)
6:46 AM
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