MJ Memories
Monday, June 29, 2009 at 5:18PM 
Like everyone, I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Michael Jackson last week. His mysterious and disturbing activities in recent years are unfortunately at the forefront, but I think that most people recognize that this was the result of the man getting lost inside the demons of the legend. It is once again sad proof that iconic figures have a difficult time separating the icon from the real person.
Over the weekend I have truly enjoyed catching up on some long-forgotten music from The Jackson Five, The Jacksons, and of course Michael Jackson alone. I think for those of us of a certain age, his music (and Madonna's) has been the popular soundtrack to our lives. From Facebook messages to phone calls to conversations, everyone was talking and exchanging stories of how they remember his many songs - where they were when they heard it, how it always makes them smile. So, despite the later-day nightmare Michael Jackson became at the end, it is indeed fortunate that what we remember is the music.
This weekend I was driving with one of my best friends, listening to an MJ tribute channel, and we talked about how no matter how awful and lifeless a party may be, if "Beat It" or "Billie Jean" come on the stereo, everyone gets up to dance. I defy anyone to try to avoid succumbing to those timeless grooves! As we continued to chat and listen, we exchanged stories. I realized that the moments in time when I first heard certain Michael Jackson songs are preserved in crystal clear memory for me...
The first time I heard "Beat It" I was quite young, probably in first grade. We were living in our old house and our babysitter Juliet was taking care of us during the day one Saturday (which was rare.) We were in the kitchen and Juliet changed the station on my Mom's radio (which was strictly reserved for the news,) to a music station and instantly started to dance. Suspicious, I asked her what the song was...she said "It's Michael Jackson - it's called "Beat It"..." and then began to dance throughout our kitchen.
I remember being so intrigued by the sparkling uniforms he wore, the glove, which was totally incongruous and odd, and the dancing was completely thrilling. The "moonwalk" became a part of our vocabulary overnight, and even though we were young, we knew exactly how cool it was.
When the video for "Thriller" came out, my sister saw it at a sleepover birthday party with some friends. It was to be a double-feature with Stand by Me, which had also recently come out, and starred our then crush-royale, River Phoenix. We didn't have MTV or cable at our house, so we hadn't seen any videos let alone this one. This was right when VCRs had just been released onto the market, and we are all still tickled pink at the novelty of watching this type of thing at home. I didn't see the video, but I remember how my sister had to sleep with the light on for weeks after watching it, she was convinced the zombies were going to come and get her.
In seventh grade I did community service with my classmates at a child care center in the Mission District of San Francisco. The kids were little, maybe kindergarten-age, and lot of the kids didn't speak English, but at recess time, all they wanted to do way play and sing "Bad". Every single kid knew the words, the dances, and sang them all with gusto. "I'm bad! I'm bad! You know...c'mon..." they'd shout it all over the place and laugh.
In college some of my friends formed a band. It was a great college band that has since gone on to become a band based in Oakland, CA called Audio Out Send. They may hate that I tell you this, but back in the day (when they were first called Dr. Teeth and then Lazybones,) when they played a lot of covers, their version of "Billie Jean" was fantastic.
When I started to train for triathlons a few years ago, I started to go to spin class quite a bit. I was very new at the sport, so I was glad that spin allowed for fun music to be played - it really helped to get through the class. One of the best songs for finishing a long spin session? "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" - it always made me smile even when the class was greuling.
Even now, gatherings with friends always get a little brighter when songs from Thriller or Off the Wall come on the player - everyone wants another glass of something to keep the party going on.
On Friday afternoon I went over to Trader Joe's. They were playing The Jackson Five at a pretty high volume, even for Trader Joe's. Throughout the entire store, staff and customers alike were singing along and kind of laughing at themselves because of it.
It was like everyone was giddy - the music is pure magic.
Michael Jackson, music in The Muse 
Reader Comments (3)
Watching the world this weekend has also shown how these rare occasions are unifying elements we'll likely reference as benchmarks just as we're now recalling our first experience with his music.
Sign me,
Still sad but smiling that we knew the joy that comes from such a singular talent.
P.S. the phrase 'Crush-Royale' is such a winner
Nachruhm
Ob er gleich von hinnen schied,
Ist er doch geblieben,
Der so manches schöne Lied
Einst für uns geschrieben.
Unser Mund wird ihn entzückt
Lange noch erwähnen,
Und so lebt er hochbeglückt
Zwischen hohlen Zähnen.
______________________________________
Ich werde dich nie vergessen!
Kirsten