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Remember The Time
July 7th, 2009 | Dean Arrindell
(via Facebook, MySpace, Digg, email and more)
From his debut with the Jackson 5 on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1969 to about 1992, Michael Jackson was bona fide megastar. He was incredible: The music, the videos, the concerts, the awards. Yeah, he did some crazy things.. Bubbles the chimp, the hyperbaric chamber, all the plastic surgery. But his talent, record sales, and popularity outshined the weirdness. Remember when he had a video premiere on network television in primetime? They were mini-movies. They were events!
I'm a fan of Michael Jackson's music. I enjoyed listening to it as a kid and I still do today. It brings back fond memories of being young, dancing around my parents' living room to songs from Off The Wall, Thriller, both of which my parents still have somewhere on LP, and Bad. It's fantastic music that stands the test of time.
That's how I remember one Michael Jackson, but there is another one. This one starts to make an appearance in the early 1990's after the Dangerous album. There were the first allegations of child molestation, marrying Elvis' daughter, wearing surgical masks in public, marrying a woman who worked his doctor's office so she could have his children, saying he sleeps in the same room with kids, dangling his baby from a balcony, his increasingly unnatural appearance, the second set of child molestation charges, and the circus that his criminal trial turned into when he faced and beat those charges.
For me, that is a second and distinct Michael Jackson. Yes, he released some music in the last decade-and-a-half, but it didn't come close to the popularity, acclaim or record sales of his previous work. He was just known for doing strange things. He became Wacko Jacko.
As with anyone, Jackson was surely complicated and had many facets. No person is just "this" or just "that." But there is little room for complexity when it comes to the public perception of celebrities. We either love 'em or hate 'em. They're cool or they suck. That's not fair, but that's the way it is.
Jackson's music will live on and it will be his greatest legacy. Because most of his life was captured on camera, the memories won't fade. Imitating James Brown as a little boy, his last concert rehearsal two days before he died and almost everything in between – including his strange behavior – was recorded. His life and work will always be ready for consumption.
So, as Michael Jackson is about to be memorialized at the Staples Center later today, how do you remember him? Is it as the fresh-faced kid who sang "I Want You Back"? The pop idol in his Thriller days when he broke hearts, record sales and racial barriers? Will we "Remember The Time" (one of my favorites!) in the late 80's and early 90's when things were a little weird, but he was still a dynamic force? Or will he be known as the guy who made ground-breaking music at one point, but changed his face, may have changed his skin color and may have been a child molester?
And how will future generations remember one of the most popular people on the planet? When they listen to his music, what will they say about the man?
Leave your thoughts and comments below.
Related Topics: Celebrities, Death, Michael Jackson, Music
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Dean Arrindell | 1 Comment »
Remember The Time
(via Facebook, MySpace, Digg, email and more)
July 19th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
There is no denying his talent, and that it existed at that place close to the edge. Some people live a safe distance from it, others too close, but oh what a place it can be for the creative soul.