| |  |
 Content Rating Notice: Recommended for Readers 18 Years and Older Only
|
| Pure and Easy | | I listened and I heard music in a word. | by: | |
|
| Item Size: 37 Entries
Created: 8:59am on 10-12-2008
Modified: 8:12am on 11-17-2009 | |
| |
|
[ <<-- Previous || Back To Entry List || Next -->> ]
[ Leave a comment ] [ View 3 comments ]
|
Entry #656299, added on 09-04-09 @ 12:06 pm EDT.
[Entry Access Restriction] None.
Title:
Why Peter Pan should have grown up
|
Song of the Day: "Childhood", Michael Jackson. See below.
************
The tragedy that is Michael Jackson's life is so heartbreaking that it stands as one of the most compelling arguments I can imagine against child exploitation and abuse. I have absolutely no doubt that Jackson would have been far happier and better adjusted had he been forcibly removed from his family at the age of six and had grown up to become a metalworker on a Detroit production line. The abuse his father put him and his fellow siblings through to become famous was not worth the damage it caused. The fact that he has outlived his son makes me want to charge him with murder, although it would never work.
I am not trying to lionize Michael Jackson. No amount of abuse can justify child molestation, if in fact it did occur. The problem is that we have absolutely no way of knowing now, unless some of Jackson's more famous child friends (such as Sean Lennon and Corey Feldman) come forward and confess. I don't necessarily encourage them to do so, not because I'm concerned about Jackson's image, but because it would be so damaging to them psychologically.
In my heart, although I would never have trusted my son with Jackson, I want to believe that he did not molest children. I suspect that what is much more likely is that he never really matured and sublimated his sex drive to the point where he really could sleep in a bed with boys and not do anything. At the least, though, he was guilty of horrendous judgment, and for that I was appalled at his behavior.
Much of this is beside the point, though. What is the real tragedy is the loss of Jackson's incredible musical talent. As a child, he stunned the world with his voice, stage presence and dancing skill, along with his brothers. "I Want You Back", with its magnificent bass line, would still today merely be a forgettable piece of bubblegum without Jackson's lead vocal, bursting with energy, fire and melodic command. It's obvious from the first verse that he had charisma to burn.
It didn't stop there, however. The Jackson Five had hit after hit that still energize listeners over thirty years later. "ABC", "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "The Love You Save" were all just as marvelous as "I Want You Back". With "I'll Be There", we were treated to a ballad made more poignant by Jackson's delivery and still unmatured voice. When Jackson went solo, it became obvious that he really didn't need his brothers to back him up. "Got To Be There" and his cover of "Rockin' Robin" were delightful, but only Jackson could sing a ballad to a rat with "Ben" and make it endure all these years later.
Jackson really began showing his talent once the Jacksons split from Motown, however. Their single for Epic, "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)", is awesome and gave us the first taste of what he could really do given freedom of expression. Ultimately, however, he must have felt tied down by his family, and he split from them more or less permanently to pursue his solo career. Off The Wall, his first real solo record, was both a declaration of independence and a statement that he was a real force to be reckoned with. "Don't Stop ('Til You Get Enough)", like "Shake Your Body", has a groove that just won't quit. "Rock With You" is a wonderful blending of disco and rock guitars in a swinging slow-dance number. "She's Out Of My Life" took a slow ballad and infused enough emotion in it to truly move listeners when it was released, although it became almost a parody in light of Jackson's later tendency to exaggerate his emotional numbers.
Thriller became the record that broke Jackson with a mass audience. If you weren't there, you have no idea of the impression it made. Millions of records sold, but more importantly, Jackson was on everyone's lips as THE major talent of the Eighties. Although "Beat It" with its heavy metal guitars and Eddie Van Halen's solo was credited with breaking Jackson with the rock contingent, it was really "Billie Jean" which broke the color barrier on MTV and got people listening. The famous moonwalk performance on Motown's 25th Anniversary special was just the icing on an incredibly tasty cake. No fewer than seven hit singles came from Thriller, and that's a record that's not likely to be broken given the current state of the music industry.
Unfortunately, this megasuccess seems to have had bad effects on Jackson's already fragile psyche. The stories of his peculiarities multiplied in part due to the backlash effect, and they caused Jackson to retreat even more into his own private world. Although Bad had several hits and in my opinion is a more consistent production effort than Thriller, it didn't sell as well. Future albums, partly because of the controversy over Jackson's private life, went even further downhill artistically and at the cash register. And eventually Jackson became both a joke and a reviled figure, a hermit lost in his own reality, with massive debts piling up due to his inability to mature and take control of his life.
"Childhood" is a song from what I think is his last listenable album, HIStory Vol. II. It's difficult for me to listen to due to Jackson's tendency to over-emote almost to the point of being ridiculous (his famous vocal "hiccups" are something else he overdid to the point of annoyance). By the time the strings finish playing and Jackson's done sobbing through the song, you feel as if you've intruded into far too personal a place. Perhaps that was his point, however. "Childhood" mourns what he never had, and as such, it illustrates his life far better than any autobiography ever could.
Have you seen my Childhood?
I'm searching for the world that I come from
'Cause I've been looking around
In the lost and found of my heart...
No one understands me
They view it as such strange eccentricities...
'Cause I keep kidding around
Like a child, but pardon me...
People say I'm not okay
'Cause I love such elementary things...
It's been my fate to compensate,
for the Childhood I've never known...
Have you seen my Childhood?
I'm searching for that wonder in my youth
Like pirates and adventurous dreams,
Of conquest and kings on the throne...
Before you judge me, try hard to love me,
Look within your heart then ask,
Have you seen my Childhood?
People say I'm strange that way
'Cause I love such elementary things,
It's been my fate to compensate,
For the Childhood I've never known...
Have you seen my Childhood?
I'm searching for that wonder in my youth
Like fantastical stories to share
The dreams I would dare, watch me fly...
Before you judge me, try hard to love me.
The painful youth I've had
Have you seen my Childhood....
RIP, Michael Jackson. May you find peace in the next world. |
© Copyright 2009 Lynn McKenzie (UN: lynnmckenzie at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Lynn McKenzie has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
[ <<-- Previous || Back To Entry List || Next -->> ]
[ Leave a comment ] [ View 3 comments ] |
Login To Leave Feedback |
Login To Leave Feedback |
|
| | | | From Our Sponsor | | | By Online Authors | | | |
![View davidmcclain's Portfolio. [Offline / Private]](http://imgs.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/costumicons/ps-icon-regular-40.gif "View davidmcclain's Portfolio. [Offline / Private]"){kind=icon}
![Email User: lynnmckenzie [Offline / Private]](http://imgs.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/mail-off.gif "Email User: lynnmckenzie [Offline / Private]"){kind=small}
