In Memoriam

I know that you all have been waiting, breathlessly, for this post.

Everywhere I go I am reminded that the world has lost its greatest talent in the music industry- and I say that in all seriousness. On the evening of June 25, 2009, I was laying in bed with a sickness that I would equate with the plague (that's how bad it was), when I got a message from my good friend, Becky West, on Facebook consoling me regarding the news that Michael Jackson had suffered a heart attack. I was surprised by this, obviously, but I didn't feel much of anything. I thought, well, people have heart attacks all the time. They get better, they go home, they take care of their kids, and they go on 50-show concerts series' and perform better than anyone else ever. Problem solved. Well, a short while later, I was still laying in bed fighting delirium when my older sister, Stephanie telephoned me, sobbing. She reported that the King of Pop was dead. I was quiet and confused. I immediately turned to my computer (which was conveniently placed on a chair next to my bed for movie-watching), and searched "Michael Jackson" on every celebrity/news/search engine site I could think of. Nothing loaded. Stephanie was watching E! News, and they kind of kept changing the story. I started to freak out a little bit. Freaking out is not a good idea for someone with the plague. I didn't know what to believe!! Nothing was confirmed online, and nothing would load right. It was so incredibly frustrating. The E! News team finally announced the tragedy again, and our worst fears were confirmed.

Michael Jackson was dead.

Stephanie and I talked about it for a while, and then I talked to Elise for a while, and then I talked to Meghan for a while. I really wasn't that sad. I think that was so for 3 reasons: 1) I was very sick. 2) He kind of already felt dead to me anyway. He represented a mere mask of his former glory. 3) I knew that because he was dead, people would suddenly remember how amazing he was, and he would be rightfully appreciated once more.

It wasn't until the next day that the reality of it all crashed on me. Never again would there be a newly released song. The concert series in London would not happen- the greatest comeback in history would never occur. I would never get to say "HA! I told you he was the best!" when he performed in those shows and the world stood still. I would never ever ever ever have the chance to see him perform live (I thought that was already true, but I still secretly harbored hope).

And now I am left to see the prophecy that I made that first night after he died, fulfilled. The world appreciates Michael again. He will be remembered like Elvis Presley is. People will surely remember the weird stuff, but his genius will also be appreciated and his music will be forever loved. He left a legacy of brilliance.

Things I remembered/knew about Michael Jackson before he died (new fans ENRAGE me. That is so not fair. They are not sad. They did not care one smidge before all of this happened).

1. I have always said that if there is a true music artist in this world, it was Michael Jackson. He was way ahead of his time, in more ways than one. If anyone wants to witness that artistry in pure vocal form, all they have to do is listen to "I'll Be There" (to hear his natural, childhood ability), or for a more refined evidence, "Keep the Faith" from the Dangerous album. If anyone wants evidence in dance form, look up the Motown 25 Billie Jean performance on YouTube. Pure Artistry.
2. When Michael Jackson dances, he IS the music. He defines rhythm. I knew this before, and I know it now. For this one you can also reference the Motown 25 performance. You can tell that he is purely feeling the music. His body seems to move involuntarily. He has to dance. And it has to be spectacular. He once said, “The Backbeat just gets in the backbone and it vibrates and it just takes me.” How else can you say it?
3. I read Moonwalk, his autobiography, written in 1988. It was fantastic. It was written in a soft voice, and definitely could have been higher quality writing style, but it was perfect. He wrote how he talked, and it was compelling. I can tell you lots of stuff about every one of his songs from reading that book.
4. He was a fanstastic songwriter. When Billie Jean was written, he obsessed over it. He kept the song hidden from Quincy Jones, his producer, until the Thriller album was almost ready to be released. Quincy, being intuitive, knew that Michael was hiding something good. It was too precious to be thrown out prematurely, but when Michael played it for Quincy, it was gold. Between Thriller and Bad, Michael wrote close to 70 songs. He only released the 12 songs that fill the album, and only one of them, Man in the Mirror, was written by somebody else. That album is fantastic.
5. Quoted from Moonwalk: “My attitude is if fashion says its forbidden, I’m going to do it.” What else besides musical genius does Michael remind you of? Fashion. Crazy clothes. Short pants, sparkly socks, one glove. fedoras, military jackets, that red Beat It jacket, the works. And it would look retarded on anyone else. But on Michael, it's magic.
6. Four words: BEST MUSIC VIDEOS EVER.

A sign of Michael's renewed popularity: The charts on iTunes following his death (yes, I watched these obsessively- checked them several times a day to observe the progress and celebrate the new levels of appreciation).

These are the top ten lists from Saturday, June 27th, two days after he died.

Top Songs
1. Man in the Mirror
3. The Way You Make Me Feel
4. Thriller
5. Don't Stop Till You Get Enough
6. Smooth Criminal
8. Black or White
9. Billie Jean
10 P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

Top Albums
1. The Essential Michael Jackson (2 disc edition)
2. Thriller
3. Number Ones
4. Off The Wall
5. Thriller 25
6. Bad
7. The Ultimate Collection
8. Dangerous
9. HIStory

Top Music Videos
1. Thriller
2. Billie Jean
3. Black or White
4. Smooth Criminal
5. Beat It
6. Remember the Time
7. We are the World
8. Bad
9. The Way You Make Me Feel
10. Scream

Podcasts
4. Thrillercast

Ringtones
2. Thriller
3. The Way You Make Me Feel

My Michael Jackson Memories:

1. I seriously remember when the Black or White video came out. It was on the Today Show. I watched it with my Mom. I knew it was cool.
2. I remember when Michael Jackson did the half-time show at the Superbowl in 1993. I watched it in awe, and I consciously remember thinking that Michael Jackson was the most famous person in the world. Later, I asked my mom what happened to him (because I suddenly stopped hearing about him all the time). She said that he was hiding because he was in trouble. I was sad.
3. The 3-D Captain Eo show in Disneyland. Coolest thing ever.
4. Free Willy and that amazing music video of Will You Be There before the movie. We watch that thing over and over again at my house.
5. Ogling at my Grandma Janice when she claimed to adore Michael Jackson. I thought he was gross and that she was crazy. I did not understand.
5. Forgetting that he was cool until my sophomore year in college when I received the Michael Jackson music collection from my true friend Megan Knell. She exposed me to the greatness. I fell in love with the music. It all started, by the way, with Man in the Mirror and the Free Willy song. My Grandma Colleen, by the way, is obsessed with that song. She is the reason we watch and listen to it over and over and over again.
6. I went to Wal-Mart at midnight the night when the Thriller 25 album came out that year (2008). I saw all the different versions you could buy on the shelf, and then on the very top, I saw a box that said, "Michael Jackson Fan Pack." Immediately, I thought, "Fan Pack? Me? I'm a Fan. That must be for me." And so I bought it. It had the album I wanted inside it, PLUS the DVD of the Number One music videos. Best idea ever.
7. Our Michael Jackson Party on February 13, 2008. We had Michael's favorite foods- Mexican food and orange gatorade. We played the best Michael music. We danced and watched music videos. We dressed up like he did for Will You Be There. Short black pants and a flowy white shirt. We traced Meghan on a big sheet of butcher paper in the shape of the famous "up on the toes" move and taped it on our wall. That life-size Michael brought much joy and laughter to our apartment. It got really funny when it was really late at night...
8. The summer of 2008 when Michael music was my soundtrack and I read "Moonwalk." Also, my sisters and I made a really awesome music video to "Dirty Diana." Hilar.

9. I saw the Beat It Jacket at the Hard Rock Cafe in Washington, D.C. I'm so glad I live here.
And last, a list of my favorites:

My Favorite Songs:
1. Man in the Mirror
2. Beat It
3. Will You Be There (Beauty)
4. Keep the Faith (This is the one with the amazing artistry)
5. Dirty Diana (A little sketchy, but super hot)
6. They Don't Care About Us (MOST AMAZING BEAT EVER)
7. For All Time (a previously unreleased track from the Thriller days. It actually came out last year).
8. Streetwalker (This one has trumpets!)
9. Human Nature
10. P.Y.T.
11. Billie Jean
12. The Way You Make Me Feel
13. Another Part of Me (Remember the 3-D Caption Eo movie at Disneyland with Michael? Yep. It was this song).
14. Just Good Friends (A duet with Stevie Wonder. I love him too).
15. Baby Be Mine (If you want 80's, listen to this song)
16. Leave Me Alone (A response to the accusations that he was a weirdo)
17. One More Chance
18. The Earth Song (This is a recent discovery. I actually only fell in love with it on that fateful night).
19. You Are Not Alone (written at the time of his marriage to Lisa Marie Presley. I still wish that they would have had children. Imagine an Elvis/Michael hybrid man.)
20. Heal the World
21. We are the World (co-written by Michael and Stevie Wonder, recorded by masses of ultra famous people
22. Can You Feel It (probably one of the catchiest songs I've ever heard. It's pure dance)
23. I Want You Back
24. I'll Be There
25. Who Is It
26. Rock With You
27. History (I'm going to play this song for my students!!! Every day.)

Okay, so I had a really hard time limiting that list. The top 5 really are legit. They are in order. The others all mix together as number 6. Notice: 7 are from Bad, 6 are from Thriller, 4 are from Dangerous, 1 from Off the Wall (I really need to get to know that album better), 3 are from HIStory, 3 from the Jackson 5 days, and 1 is from the 2003 release of the Number Ones album. I think that puts in perspective what my favorite albums are:
1. Bad
2. Thriller
3. Dangerous
4. History
5. Off the Wall

Favorite Music Videos:
1. Beat It
2. Will You Be There
3. Thriller
4. Rock With You
5. Billie Jean
6. Bad
7. Black or White
8. You Rock My World
9. Smooth Criminal
10. They Don't Care About Us

Favorite dance move:
The Lean Favorite costume: the Smooth Criminal outfit, featured above.

Okay, I'm done. Please don't think I'm too weird. I just had to provide an appropriate, personal memorial for my favorite music artist ever. The end.

P.S. The good news is that we have TONS of music to enjoy still.
P.P.S. The other good news is that there is still an amazing Michael running around- Michael Buble. I just recently purchased his new concert CD/DVD. Awesome.