Final Thoughts on a Legend
Okay, I admit it. I began watching it out of morbid curiosity. What crazy thing would happen? I thought it would be some kind of weird media-circus event and I figured I would end up changing the channel after five minutes.
Instead I watched the entire service, hoping it wouldn't end.
I'm talking about Michael Jackson's memorial service yesterday. It was eloquent, thoughtful and profoundly touching. There were no mobs of screaming fans. The thousands inside the Staples Center and the many more thousands watching and waiting outside were quiet, subdued and extremely respectful.
As the service continued, the real person behind the bizarre public image was slowly revealed. Michael Jackson was human. He had friends, family and children who loved him very much. He was an easy target for the media (and still is... and always will be) and that point was not ignored by the many who eulogized him. The Michael Jackson they knew was kind, very generous, amazingly talented and, so it seems, easily taken advantage of. At least that's the way I see it.
There's no doubt he had issues which went unresolved throughout his entire life. His many plastic surgeries tell me he was not at peace with himself. I read his autobiography Moonwalker many years ago, and he admitted (at that time) to one plastic surgery to fix his nose. He hated it because his dad would call him "ugly" and make fun of his big nose all the time. He hated his appearance and he was always trying to "improve" his looks with plastic surgery. I think he was a troubled soul which almost certainly led to him dabbling in drugs. I have no doubt we will soon find out that was what killed him.
He needed fixing inside, not outside. It never happened.
I think the service also revealed the fact that the world truly did lose a genius. Michael Jackson was an innovator. He did things that were never done before. He invented his own fashion. He blended the dancing of Fred Astaire and James Brown and created his own unique hybrid which no one had ever seen before. He could sing like no tomorrow and he was a brilliant writer.
One thing many people do not realize is that Jackson actually wrote most of his big hits, including "Beat It," "Billie Jean," "Heal the World," "Black or White," "The Way You Make Me Feel," and "Smooth Criminal" just to name a handful. These weren't collaborations. He is credited as the sole writer of both the music and lyrics.
Love him or hate him, the world has lost a true genius. Too bad it takes death for one to fully realize that.
I ran across the following on the internet and I thought it was too cool not to share, plus it goes to show the extremes Jackson would go to in order to get exactly what he wanted on stage.
While performing his hit "Smooth Criminal" live, there is a point where he and his troupe of dancers lean forward to a 45 degree angle, well over their centers of gravity. When I saw him do this live, it was just mind-boggling. I've always wondered how they did this without toppling over and falling flat on their faces.
It turns out, Jackson himself invented a special shoe which allowed him and his dancers to "defy" the laws of gravity. It's controlled by magnets which are placed at specific spots on the stage floor. He did not want to use wires because they were too cumbersome, plus the move had to be performed fast -- as in under five seconds.
Yes, Michael Jackson went through all the work of actually inventing and patenting a special shoe to perform a dance move which took less than five seconds to perform during his show. That is amazing to me. But it was that kind of detail that made him, as Motown founder Barry Gordy eulogized yesterday, "the greatest entertainer who ever lived."
Here is a partial drawing of the actual patent:
If you've never seen the dance move performed live, here's what it looks like. Remember, this is just one song from a concert and it is just a brilliant performance. If you don't want to watch the whole thing (I'd recommend it though, right down to the exploding machine gun jackets at the end) you can fast-forward to 3:30 of the song to see the "anti-gravity lean":
Instead I watched the entire service, hoping it wouldn't end.
I'm talking about Michael Jackson's memorial service yesterday. It was eloquent, thoughtful and profoundly touching. There were no mobs of screaming fans. The thousands inside the Staples Center and the many more thousands watching and waiting outside were quiet, subdued and extremely respectful.
As the service continued, the real person behind the bizarre public image was slowly revealed. Michael Jackson was human. He had friends, family and children who loved him very much. He was an easy target for the media (and still is... and always will be) and that point was not ignored by the many who eulogized him. The Michael Jackson they knew was kind, very generous, amazingly talented and, so it seems, easily taken advantage of. At least that's the way I see it.
There's no doubt he had issues which went unresolved throughout his entire life. His many plastic surgeries tell me he was not at peace with himself. I read his autobiography Moonwalker many years ago, and he admitted (at that time) to one plastic surgery to fix his nose. He hated it because his dad would call him "ugly" and make fun of his big nose all the time. He hated his appearance and he was always trying to "improve" his looks with plastic surgery. I think he was a troubled soul which almost certainly led to him dabbling in drugs. I have no doubt we will soon find out that was what killed him.
He needed fixing inside, not outside. It never happened.
I think the service also revealed the fact that the world truly did lose a genius. Michael Jackson was an innovator. He did things that were never done before. He invented his own fashion. He blended the dancing of Fred Astaire and James Brown and created his own unique hybrid which no one had ever seen before. He could sing like no tomorrow and he was a brilliant writer.
One thing many people do not realize is that Jackson actually wrote most of his big hits, including "Beat It," "Billie Jean," "Heal the World," "Black or White," "The Way You Make Me Feel," and "Smooth Criminal" just to name a handful. These weren't collaborations. He is credited as the sole writer of both the music and lyrics.
Love him or hate him, the world has lost a true genius. Too bad it takes death for one to fully realize that.
I ran across the following on the internet and I thought it was too cool not to share, plus it goes to show the extremes Jackson would go to in order to get exactly what he wanted on stage.
While performing his hit "Smooth Criminal" live, there is a point where he and his troupe of dancers lean forward to a 45 degree angle, well over their centers of gravity. When I saw him do this live, it was just mind-boggling. I've always wondered how they did this without toppling over and falling flat on their faces.
It turns out, Jackson himself invented a special shoe which allowed him and his dancers to "defy" the laws of gravity. It's controlled by magnets which are placed at specific spots on the stage floor. He did not want to use wires because they were too cumbersome, plus the move had to be performed fast -- as in under five seconds.
Yes, Michael Jackson went through all the work of actually inventing and patenting a special shoe to perform a dance move which took less than five seconds to perform during his show. That is amazing to me. But it was that kind of detail that made him, as Motown founder Barry Gordy eulogized yesterday, "the greatest entertainer who ever lived."
Here is a partial drawing of the actual patent:
If you've never seen the dance move performed live, here's what it looks like. Remember, this is just one song from a concert and it is just a brilliant performance. If you don't want to watch the whole thing (I'd recommend it though, right down to the exploding machine gun jackets at the end) you can fast-forward to 3:30 of the song to see the "anti-gravity lean":
