michael

When Michael Jackson died, i thought i might write a lengthy article. But as the weeks unfolded, it seemed less necessary. I had thought that the questions raised about his character over the previous decade might create apathy to his death, but with the unabashed global love that cascaded out, my article didn't seem required. Over the past decade, i stood by Michael. If his music was great before he went on trial, i couldn't be so hypocritical as to say it suddenly wasn't. I try to judge the message, not the messenger (though i don't claim sainthood in this regard...i don't think i'll ever warm up to Sinatra since the mob ties came out). In some ways, Michael's trials made me identify with him even more. I'm no stranger to choices that some find questionable, or even despicable. In trying to live a life of freedom and beauty, you can open yourself to being misunderstood. Though i stood by him, there was also the feeling of spiritually holding one's breath and waiting for the storm to pass. It was hard, from INVINCIBLE on, for any of us to appreciate his music in a pure way. But go back to his lyrics. I wasn't able to appreciate it at the time, but he absolutely answered every charge leveled against him. How brave and hurtful might that have been? Did he love children, cherish them, and celebrate them like few ever? Yup. In no small part because of his own lost childhood. Once, my boss told me to no longer let kids sit on my lap at work. I obeyed, but not 100%. Only to a hair splitter is that different from sleeping with a child. Michael's last decade may have been a crucible of the type written about in Don McLean's "Vincent". Look at the lyrics to the song "Is It Scary", and then ask who among us didn't crucify him? Two separate criminal investigations of STAGGERING proportions, including the largest non-homicide police raid ever, found Michael innocent of any wrongdoing.
More than a century after the Civil War, no black musicians were being aired on MTV. Then came Michael. Earlier black artists saw money and fame go to white copycat acts, but Michael found his way to a realm reached only by a boy from Tupelo, and some lads from Liverpool.
His music and spirit brought joy to billions.
Here then, his greatest songs! I've not explored every crack and crevice of his output, but only a hardcore fan will recognize all of these.
1) Billie Jean
2) Rock With You
3) The Way You Make Me Feel
4) Thriller
5) Earth Song
6) Say Say Say
7) Can You Feel It
8) The Girl is Mine
9) Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough
10) I Want You Back
11) Human Nature
12) Leave Me Alone
13) The Lady in my Life
14) Man in the Mirror
15) Beat It
16) Scream
17) Somebody's Watching Me
18) Who is It
19) Torture
20) Be Not Always
21) We Are the World
22) Remember the Time
23) Heartbreak Hotel
24) I Just Can't Stop Loving You
Now and evermore, Michael...thank you.
Postscript:
I just watched a 1993 Michael concert in Bucharest. I cried off and on throughout. Why? Maybe the shared catharsis of a teeming multitude of fans screaming and crying, many of them passing out. Maybe because of the tragedy of Michael's life...to see him as such a beacon of love and hope for a better tomorrow, then think about the pariah he became. Being known as the worst kind of monster with those he cared about most...how could that even have been liveable? It makes me ponder the possibility that he staged his death. If anyone ever had the resources and motivation, it was him. To free the world of the horror his life had become...certainly he was blessed with no shortage of imagination, and a flair for drama. If so, then the aftermath, the rebirth of love for him, was probably more than even he could have imagined. And he's left to live out his life...where? On an island, recording music that will only be released after his actual death? Perhaps keeping his hand in some goodly creativity, anonymously?
Post postscript:
It's funny how our attitudes shape how we experience something like a song...we may think a certain song simply doesn't appeal to us, but almost always our likes and dislikes are irresistably shaped by societal forces...what's hip, what's not, who will like us if we like this or don't like that...such nonsense, and if you know anyone who's free of that, i'd like to meet them. I'm even a little ashamed of my own reaction to the songs on INVINCIBLE. When i first heard them, they seemed empty and forced. But after repeated (and repeated and repeated) exposure to several of those tracks on an anthology, "Unbreakable", "You Rock My World", and "Butterflies" rank with the best he ever did.
P.P.P.S.
It occurs to me that i might come off as a bit of a Kool-Aid drinking, "St. Michael" sychophant, so i'll also add that he did record songs that were rather dreadfully unlistenable, notably "Speed Demon", "Smooth Criminal", and "Come Together". And why the macho obsession? Dangerous, Bad, Invincible? Calling it compensation seems obvious. The spirit of rebelliousness is fine and good, and perhaps he was thought that if he didn't posture and pay homage to testosterone bullshit, he might have been dismissed as a lightweight, but it was hard to reconcile it all with the peace and love that was the best part of his spirit.