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Since I just finished watching the memorial services for Michael Jackson, today's question is:
What's your first/favorite Michael Jackson memory?
I think I mostly remember Thriller. I was about 11 or 12 when it was popular and I had a friend who was very obsessed with MJ. We'd go to the rollerskating rink, and when they played Thriller, she knew all of the dance moves. I eventually got the moon walk down pretty good, but I don't dare try it now :-)
18 comments:
Hmmm, not a big MJ fan, myself. But Thriller would be my first memory. I was in college when it came out and I just didn't get what the big deal was.
I do have to say, though, he was a talented man and did a lot for pop music, videos, and the whole musical craft.
I'm a pretty good MJ fan--loved him as a very young girl. My first memory of him was a puzzle my sister got for Christmas. he was holding bubbles the monkey and we all loved it. Then people started getting those red pleather jackets and I learned about something called Friday Night Videos that played at midnight (pre MTV). I remember waiting up for the triller premiere and being terrified of it! I didn't even know there was a 'dance' until the movie "13 going on 30"
Anyway, I think celebrity is a chronic illness that destroys most of it's hosts. I think overall he was a good and extremely talented man who loved his kids and tried to make sense of a warped reality he never quite understood.
I wasn't a big fan until I met my husband. The first time I rode in a car with him, he was blasting Michael Jackson. I grew up on classic rock, so it was kind of a shock to me!:) I remember I liked it though, and have his music on my MP3 player. I also remember his music video "Thriller" freaked me out!:)
Remember 'Billie Jean' first.
Learned the moon walk and can still do it :)
Loved the mini-movies/long MTV videos
And laughed at 'Just Eat it"
I agree, Sandra! He definitely set the musical bar higher.
Josi, we didn't have MTV, so I saw the Thriller video when I was older--not so scary then :) There was one place I liked to babysit because they did have MTV.
Chantele, that reminded me that when I first went on a date with my husband-to-be, he played country music. I was not a country fan then.
Taffy--Billy Jean is one of my favs.
Upside on MJ: Great dancer. Cool dance moves. Great dexterity. Impressive work ethic. Super creative. Lots of talent oozing out of his performance. Super entertainer. Cutting edge inventiveness. Amazing athleticism. Thriller scared me when I was a kid. I still thinks its a really cool video. And for as old as it is, the video still has the production quality of something done yesterday in a digital world. That alone is impressive--that the production quality and the performance of MJ could hold up this long. Well done on the entertainment side of life. But...
I think MJ does too many high pitched hick-up sounds when he sings billy jean.
He breaks Bill Cosby's sports rule way too much. Bill was fond of saying that when a male athlete gets hurt and goes down, there are certain body parts you do not hold on national television. MJ should have listened to Bill Cosby more often.
Despite his great dancing, muscianship, and star-power-appeal, he's not someone who should be made into some sort of hero-idol-example. The poor buy struggled with fame. He let it go to his head. Stardom turned him into a freak show. And it was his choice. He was hungry for more and he did anything to get it. Skin grafts. Freakish operations. Secretive persona to increase the "mystery" and increase the fan interest. At the funeral the lauded his humanitarian humility, but giving one tenth of one percent of your millions to help buy hospital beds isn't humility. That's called letting your right hand know what your left hand is doing.
Cool dance moves
I remember when I was young I had a white sweater with MJ's face on it. I got teased horribly for wearing it, even by people I didn't even know! Oh well I loved it.
I've bought some of his albums when I was younger before I "grew out" of his music. I hate hearing about ANYONE passing before their time. Sad...
I've always like his music from Thriller, Bad, and his other 80's albums. But my very favorite MJ memory is actually from just this past Halloween. My good friend, Hillary, got together with her congregation and performed Thriller for their ward Halloween party. Hillary was 8 months pregnant & it was awesome to see her up there bustin' all the Michael Jackson moves! Here's a link to the video on her blog: http://hollingkids.blogspot.com/2008/10/ward-halloween-party.html
She's the one just to the left of "MJ". I love this video so much, I go back and rewatch it almost every month! :)
Anon--I definitely agree about the body-grabbing stuff.
Kami--I had a flourescent orange sweatshirt that I wore to school. Horrible.
Danyelle--that video is a riot!
I don't remember my first memory, but my favorite memory was the first time me and my now husband "made out" in his car in front of my mom's house....it was to the sounds of MJ's greatest hits! Every time I hear those songs or of MJ I think of that night. =)
In 3rd grade I was too cool for MJ, thought all the kids were silly for being obsessed with him. (Wearing a glove to school? Come on!) I was really into sticker trading and somehow got some MJ stickers that everyone wanted and I was glad to get rid of. So I got some really cool stickers for those MJ stickers. That's my 1st MJ memory!
I think my favorite memory is listening to "You Light up my Life" in the car on a very long drive when I was a kid. I don't know why that song got to me as it did, but it did.
I think also, his songs helped me idolize my big sisters a bit more. They had t-shirts, buttons and such, and I wanted some too!
Ok, so after writing my last comment, we got talking about the Memorial Service, and for whatever reason, I realized that it wasn't MJ singing that song! Whoops! But in my memory it was. Or else I was dreaming of being married to him someday while listening to that song in the car. I don't know. But to my little 5 year old brain, it was Michael! ha!!!
Jen--that's funny. I didn't think that You Light Up My Life was a MJ song, but I decided maybe there were different versions out there :)
Nicole--you a brave to say that. At least he turned out to be your husband :)
Romie--since when is a 3rd grader "too cool" for anything? Ha. Ha. Reminds me of my 3rd grader, she is just too cool for anything Hannah Montana now. Even though she was obsessed 6 months ago.
Am I too late?
Oh, he was one of the most talented performers and artists ever, odd as he was sometimes. Sometimes the most talented among us just never really fit into this sphere. I think he was misunderstood, but probably had the kindest, most tender heart. The world without him just seems weird, even though I haven't actively listened to his music in years.
I was, however, a fan as a kid and teen. In the 80's, how could one NOT be? I remember my mom bought the record for BAD and I would dance around the livingroom singing my heart out. I even remember walking down the street of my small town on the way to the music store singing Billie Jean and Beat It.
I considered heading downtown for the Memorial--it's only 30 minutes away--but the number of people they predicted kinda scared me off. He left a mighty big mark on the world.
Oh! And I forgot! Remember when he caught on fire doing that Pepsi commercial? That was big news!
I think I kind of missed the MJ craze. I appreciated a lot of his music but didn't consider myself a fan. I loved Thriller because it was a fun song but also, and almost just as much, because Vincent Price did the speaking part at the end.
Ok, so my favorite MJ memory? A friend of mine had a dance studio in his house--his mom taught dance--and one night we put in Thriller, cranked up the volume, kicked off the lights and danced. We made up our own dance to the song, the kind of spontaneous thing that will never be repeated. The song ended and we were exhausted, exhilarated and thought we were about the most awesome people on the planet. Great memory.
Jenna & Cheri, thanks for the comments. Brings back my own memories :)
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