Via Stereogum
It wouldn’t be all that risky to say everyone of a certain age has a Michael Jackson moment. He was a cultural phenomenon on a much larger scale than almost anyone else making music today (in some circles he’d get a little competition from sometime singing mate Paul McCartney, but not really). Most impressive, though, is how many years the phrase “a certain age” could potentially encompass: His reign was ultimately tragic, but it was also epic. There are the folks who grew up with the Jackson 5, those who came of age with Michael’s first post-Jackson 5/Jackson recordings to his more adult solo efforts (especially Off The Wall in 1979) and then that entire age of kids and adults who encountered his biggest moment, Thriller. Of course, there was more to come after that — Bad in 1987, Dangerous in 1991, etc. — but especially as grunge hit, he never again reached the perfection or pop culture importance of the early/mid ’80s Thriller era. He continued to be relevant as an oddity, sadly, but it was much different being a kid in grade school and encountering the “Thriller” video, “We Are The World,” etc., and finding relevance in his music, not simply in who he became. Kids who idolized him bought red zipper jackets, parachute pants, and copped his moves. The man invented words and worlds. Broke down walls. Watch how folks gasped and lost it when he did the Moonwalk during his performance of “Billie Jean” at the Motown 25th Anniversary Special. (It’s fitting he appeared up there alone.) He was 24 at the time, which is one of the reasons it seems important to discussion Jackson in terms of age and agelessness. From when he was a kid to his death yesterday at 50, he never seemed his actual age. We all know the Peter Pan comparisons, the way things allegedly took a wrong turn. Less salaciously, a friend pointed out the look of calm and joy in his eyes when he climbs a tree during Living With Michael Jackson. As he put it, “This is how I like to remember Michael. The man-child who finally gets to be 5 years old. When I first saw this a few years back it was clear that this is the real Michael (or at least who he strives to be).” Anyhow, maybe none of us knows (or will know) the “real” Michael, but we all have a Michael that we thought we knew and that meant something to us. We also know every news outlet is doing constant MJ coverage, and we don’t want to add to the noise, but we thought it was appropriate to touch on how the King Of Pop touched the musicians we cover everyday. Here are their thoughts on Jackson, along with a chronological photographic timeline of the many faces of Michael Jackson. We hit folks up on short notice, so expect more to be added over the weekend.
Continue reading Indie Rockers Eulogize The King Of Pop…
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