1958-2009

Jun 27, 2009 at 4:15 AM
2 comments

so michael jackson died yesterday, and i still can't find the words to articulate just how that makes me feel. i found out via text message as i was coming home from the gym and immediately turned on the BBC when i got to my house, frantically telling dad what was up. i posted the scream video because it's still one of the coolest things i've ever seen. i remember when that video premiered on MTV in 1995; it was badass then, and it's badass now. when i worked at apple, we would have michael jackson days in the GR (repair room), we'd sing along and watch the live billie jean video where he did the moonwalk for the first time. hell, we looped scream once for about an hour! soooo good. seriously.

looney tunes! this is what michael jackson looks like.

i've grown up with his music in my house, and carried it along through college and into my now mid-20s. thriller was the first music video i ever remember seeing, in all it's epic and terrifying glory; i was 5 years old and up late, staying at my grandma and grandpa's house in ramsey on their pullout in the living room. i wore out our VHS of moonwalker, played the hell out of the moonwalker game for sega genesis. seriously, playing as michael jackson, doing dance-offs with aliens? YES PLEASE. in high school and college, i'd have mj dance parties and try to learn his dances. the move-in anthem of sophomore year of college with my roomate at the time was thriller.

ilu

i've always felt that his personal life is exactly that; his own. i am in no place whatsoever to judge or condemn him based on allegations; he was brilliant and a good friend to many, and the bottom line is i'm so sad he's gone. he is the first "icon" i suppose that my generation has lost in that sense, along the lines of elvis and john lennon.

mj was one HELL of a performer, artist, and visionary. he changed the face of music videos into a true art form, and his dance skills were UNREAL. i still can't believe he's gone, he will be missed. much love to him and his family. honestly, watching his videos on MTV and VH1, hearing his music almost everywhere i go is truly enjoyable.

i sincerely love the video for don't stop til you get enough. it's campy, ridiculous, and overall incredibly rad. his music videos were really pretty epic, they were all like mini-movies in a way. hell, martin fking scorsese directed the video for bad! mj's video for liberian girl is like a video yearbook of 1989. so many stars are in that thing!

soooo camp.

and hey, anyone that can unite jaded new yorkers on the MTA of all things gets an A+++++++ in my book.

watching people come together is truly inspiring. nyc is such a mean place most days but seeing this made me smile. the tributes outside of the apollo theatre in harlem are great as well.