Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, sigh
| June 27, 2009 | Posted by caroline under Uncategorized |
I feel like I should write something about Michael Jackson before I bury it. When I first heard, I didn’t really digest it. I didn’t think of the hours upon hours I used to spend listening to the “Bad” album, or the first taping of my voice with my brother singing, at 4yrs old, ‘mama se mama sa ma ma coo sa, [wanna be startin somethin]‘ or the countless videos I watched of his, the times I’ve broken it down to his stuff and simply used him as an inspiration for all things dance, expression, vocal…lyrical..he was a true performer, as seen in every single one of his massive hits and the not so magnified, low-profile tunes.
Just a few weeks ago, I was cruising around with the same now-scratched “Bad” CD of my childhood blasting, thinking simply of how each one of his songs is charged with energy, creativity, oomph! Which other artist in his time, and even now, comes with such a complete package of talent and entertainment?
Now, as I type, I watch his videos in the background of my text box. Who else can do this? Which other artist can take each of these songs and throw themselves so much into a song that they sing it like the world depends on it, that they dance like their bodies were born to be seen? God, I listen to it, I listen to Smooth Criminal, The Way You Make Me Feel..and I wonder if anyone else can ever put together such a portfolio where every song is a dramatic short film, containing so many layers of charisma and complexity.
If there was one person meant to be a star and a feast for the hungry, it was this man: More than all of my most favoured musicians, as he was not a leading man in my later musical growth. Actor, performer, dancer, singer, all in one.
I really did want to be him when I was little, tried the moonwalk (which really only ever came close to working on hardwood floor)…Where did he learn such moves? I gotta say it’s bloody hot. I propose these questions because there is no answer. There is no artist post-Beatles/Elvis that has met the standards Michael Jackson set and cemented.
At the same time, when I first heard about his cardiac arrest, my immediate thought was of Elvis Presley. After I got over my Michael Jackson, Madonna and Whitney Houston phases at 8yrs old, I soon moved to Elvis Presley, who shared the longest tenure in my musical obsessions, alongside Kurt Cobain. I thought of how Elvis spent his last years in an artistic drought, looking for any backdoor entrance back in, festering and getting desperate but still brimming over with the want, the need to perform as long as there’s an audience, boundless talent and a magical hold over audiences. I remember watching Elvis’ last shows on TV (they always played them around his birthday–Jan 8th–and the anniversary of his death–Aug 16–dates I always remember). He was soft, bumbling, blubbery, but there was so much more to observe in him in his old age than in his shiny, youthful days. He had experienced so much by the time he was 40, having risen and fallen, burned out and sat on the brink of fading away. And he tried. Watching these two performers is all very heartbreaking.
Let me close off by linking a further source that opened these memories for me: Lisa Presley’s Blog entry on her relationship with Michael Jackson and her comparison of him to her father
Michael Jackson was like a father to me. I’ve been coping with his dying and it has been incredibly emotional for me. I cannot believe how he changed the world around the world. I wish his family the best. Thanks Michael for changing life as we know it!