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ความคิดเห็นที่ 1 |
Where were you when Michael moonwalked?
Now lets understand something. Ive gone back to that Motown 25 performance many times in my brain, and Im stunned at a few things. Think about all of the other great moments on that program that almost never get talked about: The brilliant hosting of Richard Pryor, a very deep and intimate performance by Marvin Gaye (who was murdered less than a year later), the birth of the Temps and Tops, Diana Ross breezing through the audience, the killer house band, and frankly, had Michael not gotten a solo spot, the Jacksons performance was already incredibly stunning enough. But in the middle of all of this, because Bille Jean was the number one song in the world at that moment, Im sure the producers decided that Michael had to have a solo spot. Fair enough. But to this day it trips me out that the producers had Michael lip-synching to the track! The fact that this lip-synched performance in the middle of all of these high-level musical moments became one of the most memorable moments in TV history makes me shake my head in amazement. We all knew Michael was bad, so I think all the music heads on my block and in my family gave hm a pass for lip-synching to the track. Once he got to Moonwalking, really, who cared? A new phenomenon unfolded right before our very eyes. A child star, an adolescent star, was reborn yet again.
After that performance, I then cried to my mother for a glitter glove. Yes, I was caught-up BIG TIME in Michael Mania.
Then, the news hit the Jacksons were going on one last tour.
The Victory tour kicked off in 1984, and I couldnt W-A-I-T for it to come through Philly. I was so excited. I remember my mother buying me the latest issue of Guitar Player magazine because they had a cover story on the guitars and basses that Tito and Jermaine were going to use on the tour. I still remember Jermaines tarantula bass and his rifle bass. (I wonder where Jermaine put those axes?) When the tour schedule was released, we saw that the Jacksons were going to do three nights at the old JFK Stadium. I couldnt wait. I went with my mom and dad to the concert on the third and final night. The unthinkable happened a rain out! I did everything I could not to cry. How unlucky was I? We got our hands on the hottest ticket in town, and its a rain out. Not only that, my dads car had been broken into a few blocks away from the stadium. What a horrible night. I figured they wouldnt reschedule since theyd already done two nights, but thank God, they rescheduled for one month later.
As obsessed with James Brown as Id already become at this point, I knew Michael represented the new standard. He took James Brown and turned it up a notch. Had Michael been able to do splits, my obsessions may have turned out different! Its all about the splits, you know?
There we were standing on our seats wating for Michael and his brothers. As is customary with Stadium shows, the lights went down, a plane-like rumble rocked through the stadium, the smoke machines went full-tilt, and after a highly intense five minutes of this, the Jacksons appeared at the top of a staircase in the middle of the stage. They just stood there and vibed for about three minutes in dead silence. It was AWESOME! They then came down the stairs slowly with a heart-pounding thud ripping through the stadium with each step. When they got to the bottom of the stairs and onto the stage, they stood there frozen and vibed some MORE for about three MORE nimutes! Man, Im getting goose bumps remembering all of this. Finally, Michael gave the cue, and off they were into Heartbreak Hotel. What an AMAZING night. Sigh
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Throughout the rest of his career, Michael had to have been disheartened at the lack of talent and vision that passed for pop culture celebrity created by record company people and publicists. When you talk about bona fide American pop culture icons who actually had big talent, honed their skill, practiced, surrounded themselves with great musicans, decided that they had to earn their status, and who werent some sort of concocted fantasy for teenagers, you gotta say that MJ and Ol Blue Eyes were the cats.
Michael Jackson was a genius. May you finally rest in peace, brother.
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zeasky  
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4 มิ.ย. 53 11:24:13
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