Michael Jackson He Came He Moonwalked He Conquered

whitesocksdancer

Proud Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2011
Messages
1,140
Points
0
Location
Second star to the right
Has this been posted?

Michael Jackson

He came. He moonwalked. He conquered.


By John Legend

You can't appreciate music and not appreciate Michael Jackson. If you listen to the recordings he made as a kid, his pipes were truly incredible. The precision clarity and extent of the range he could sing at, without changing his vocal style, is just incredible. To be able to reach those high notes... He wasn't just good for a kid; he was amazingly good for anybody. Watch those early Jacksons Variety Shows when he sings Rockin' Robin, and you'll see he had a gift. No one had ever sung like that before. And no one has been able to sing like that since.

For anyone who grew up in the '80s, Michael Jackson was the definitive star of our childhoods. Obviously Thriller was a monstruous hit, one of the biggest ever. But I feel, creatively, Off The Wall has the edge - Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, Rock With You and Off The Wall itself, I think that's such a beautiful song. Off The Wall smashed records [Jackson became the first artist to score four US Top 10 singles from the same album], but at the time Michael said he wasn't satisfied. He knew he could do better. That was one of the things that was new with him: ambition. His family clearly had something to do with that – you hear reports about his father being a tough guy. I don't know wether his family worked him too hard. We'll leave that up for debate. First off, there was clearly something in his genes that made him have a voice like that, but the family obviously cultivated what was there. I understand that. I understand what it's like to grow up and be surrounded by it: I come from a very musical family, too. To grow up and be surrounded by other musicians and people who love music; that can have a big effect on a child.

The other way Michael changed music was with his videos. Throughout the '80s, his videos were events. He was one of the first artists where network television would break away from regular programming to premiere a video. I was having dinner with Kanye West the other night and we were exactly talking about that fact: it was a television event when his videos came out. And, of course, it really made MTV. Michael was of the first ones that opened up the doors for black performers. You have to remember that MTV was a rock channel up to that point. Their philosophy was to treat it like a radio station, where you focus on one format and you get the best of that format. Michael opened the door with Thriller and then rap started to make its way onto MTV. Then MTV became more of a multi-format station for the whole younger generation. But for a while, Michael was all we had on MTV. Videos have really been in decline ever since. The era of the super-mega-budget video, where people justified spending lots of money, that's pretty much over today.

Michael was one of the first pop stars to really understand how to turn himself into a unique brand. It would have been enough for him to sing those songs, but then he delivered them in such a unique way: with amazing dance routines. Michael will always be known as one of the greatest dancers in pop history. When he did Billie Jean on the Motown TV Show [1983's Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, the first public performance of "the moonwalk"], that was just incredible. Speaking as someone who can't dance himself, I always respected and envied that. It's part of your job as an entertainer to work out how to connect with your audience, and no one connected like Michael.

But it seems like the set of circumstances [that gave us Jackson] won't ever happen again. The way the media is now, I don't think the world's attention will ever be focused on one artist again. Plus, he was an experiment of one; a sample size of one. Unless you're there yourself, no one can know what it feels like to be, from a child, one of the most important and watched individuals in the world. I don't want to psychoanalyse him - I don't really know him well to do that - but you can only imagine what impact growing up in the public eye like that is going to have on you.

Today I think his music still holds up. You can play Thriller at a party and people get excited. You hear him sampled a lot and he’s influenced quite a few male pop stars - Justin Timberlake, Usher and Ne-Yo, you can see it in their writing and their choreography, that Michael Jackson '80s influence. But his personal life has tarnished his legacy. It's natural that people don't separate them. He's not held in the same positive light and I don't think that will ever change. Every artist has their ups and downs. But I think being accused of molesting children is a little bit extreme, even for a star.

I would love to see him come back. You know, Prince has done [a residency in Las] Vegas, as has Céline Dion and Toni Braxton and Elton John – so why not? You never know. But people really have to be in the right frame of mind for that. To want it and to want to do all the work, the promotion that's involved. And I don't know if he wants to do it anymore. We'll see.

John Legend is a five-times Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and pianist.

© Q Magazine



Source: Q / MJ data bank

This news can be reposted with a credit to MJ data bank



http://mjdatabank.com/english_version/news...ain_current.htm
.
 
thanks... a nice read for the most part.. The ending was a little, eh'.. Well he just does not have the BELIEFE in him like many of us fans do.. I could not at all think of his 'comeback' at the same lines as Elton John, Celine Dion, and Prince.. Michael is a complete different artist, and one at a different level. One of which NO ARTIST can reach but him. So to compare him to anyone is kind of.. well, just don't do it. does not make sence..


I liked the article though.. thanks for sharing
 
The ending was a little, eh'.. Well he just does not have the BELIEF in him like many of us fans do..[/b]

Yeah I thought so too. I was like :brow: Well....the dude IS coming back and I think even if the brainwarped media doesnt EVEr change their mind about Michael, somehow, HE will. And I know Michael does want to be in the limelight again moreso, since its like "what the heck" love me, hate me, doesnt matter. "Im just doing what I love to do" :D Go Michael!
 
Yes very nice writen but i agree michael is in a class of his own and i just can,t see anyone coming close to this man
 
i am not even going to touch the content of the article ... however, that article was printed in 'Q' magazine ?? with all the typos included ?? :unsure:
 
i am not even going to touch the content of the article ... however, that article was printed in 'Q' magazine ?? with all the typos included ?? :unsure:[/b]

yes it's the full article, the way it is published in Q.

I think it just sticks to some kind of reality, especially if you live in 2007 ;)
 
"He (Michael Jackson) came. He moonwalked. He conquered."
from John Ledgend

So....very true. :kickass2:

 
Nice article but he should have left the last part out :brow: I still have the faith that some how, some day the truth will come out :yes:
 
yes it's the full article, the way it is published in Q.

I think it just sticks to some kind of reality, especially if you live in 2007 ;)[/b]

other than the typos ... the article rocks !!
 
What's wrong with the last part?

And he isn't comparing MJ to Celine Dion, Elton John et al. He is saying they have performed in Vegas succesfully, which he suggests could work for MJ.
 
thanks... a nice read for the most part.. The ending was a little, eh'.. Well he just does not have the BELIEFE in him like many of us fans do.. I could not at all think of his 'comeback' at the same lines as Elton John, Celine Dion, and Prince.. Michael is a complete different artist, and one at a different level. One of which NO ARTIST can reach but him. So to compare him to anyone is kind of.. well, just don't do it. does not make sence..


I liked the article though.. thanks for sharing[/b]
While I agree with you about the ending of Legend's piece (and I think I know why it was put in there), I don't agree that he was necessarily comparing MJ's comeback to anyone else's. What I thought he was saying is that MJ deserves the chance to revive his career just like any other artist has done in the past. As for the other stuff, I feel that there is this 'thing' out there in the media to forever tie him with that -- that no other artist or critic or whoever can't just talk about his music without the other. It's like there is an acknowledgement that all must be tied together at the hip.

Fair enough. But the problem I have with that is that MJ has faced his adversaries on that issue and he prevailed. If people were to really be fair, they would have to conclude that the whole thing is generally unsubstantiated by the facts and that nothing in this person seems to support such a charge or deserves such a stigma -- that at the end of the day, perhaps one's thinking is just plain wrong about it.

Other than that, Legend was dead on in his op piece. Kudos to him.
 
yes it's the full article, the way it is published in Q.

I think it just sticks to some kind of reality, especially if you live in 2007 ;)[/b]
What? The reality that some peeps don't use spellcheck or editing for a major publication? I was hoping that it was a retype of the article from someone who has the mag, but the article isn't online yet....
 
Yall analysis things way too much!

You know why Michael is gonna come back strong? Because no one believes that he will. And that right there is why he is working like a mad scientist behind the scenes. He is probably saying to himself.... "yeah, they think I'm done, but I'll show them...just give me some time..."

Michael has always proved his critics wrong. And I think he likes the pressure of it all.
 
Yall analysis things way too much!

You know why Michael is gonna come back strong? Because no one believes that he will. And that right there is why he is working like a mad scientist behind the scenes. He is probably saying to himself.... "yeah, they think I'm done, but I'll show them...just give me some time..."

Michael has always proved his critics wrong. And I think he likes the pressure of it all.[/b]
Who's analyzing?
 
Great article. The media are always going to try to keep the ball and chain on Michael, it's the perfect ammunition for them, but when Michael releases his Album and his amazing self back into the fold then I believe the impact will be so great that whatever the media want to throw out there it will be hard for them to sustain.
 
What? The reality that some peeps don't use spellcheck or editing for a major publication? I was hoping that it was a retype of the article from someone who has the mag, but the article isn't online yet....[/b]
the typos you mention are actually " and ' being altered sometimes when ytou cut and paste from some pages depending on the original code and alphabet used (like you have é and è or also € in Europe).

anyway here is a correct repaste I hope:


Michael Jackson
He came. He moonwalked. He conquered.


By John Legend





You can't appreciate music and not appreciate Michael Jackson. If you listen to the recordings he made as a kid, his pipes were truly incredible. The precision clarity and extent of the range he could sing at, without changing his vocal style, is just incredible. To be able to reach those high notes... He wasn't just good for a kid; he was amazingly good for anybody. Watch those early Jacksons Variety Shows when he sings Rockin' Robin, and you'll see he had a gift. No one had ever sung like that before. And no one has been able to sing like that since.

For anyone who grew up in the '80s, Michael Jackson was the definitive star of our childhoods. Obviously Thriller was a monstruous hit, one of the biggest ever. But I feel, creatively, Off The Wall has the edge - Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, Rock With You and Off The Wall itself, I think that's such a beautiful song. Off The Wall smashed records [Jackson became the first artist to score four US Top 10 singles from the same album], but at the time Michael said he wasn't satisfied. He knew he could do better. That was one of the things that was new with him: ambition. His family clearly had something to do with that - you hear reports about his father being a tough guy. I don't know whether his family worked him too hard. We'll leave that up for debate. First off, there was clearly something in his genes that made him have a voice like that, but the family obviously cultivated what was there. I understand that. I understand what it's like to grow up and be surrounded by it: I come from a very musical family, too. To grow up and be surrounded by other musicians and people who love music; that can have a big effect on a child.

The other way Michael changed music was with his videos. Throughout the '80s, his videos were events. He was one of the first artists where network television would break away from regular programming to premiere a video. I was having dinner with Kanye West the other night and we were exactly talking about that fact: it was a television event when his videos came out. And, of course, it really made MTV. Michael was one of the first ones that opened up the doors for black performers. You have to remember that MTV was a rock channel up to that point. Their philosophy was to treat it like a radio station, where you focus on one format and you get the best of that format. Michael opened the door with Thriller and then rap started to make its way onto MTV. Then MTV became more of a multi-format station for the whole younger generation. But for a while, Michael was all we had on MTV. Videos have really been in decline ever since. The era of the super-mega-budget video, where people justified spending lots of money, that's pretty much over today.





Michael was one of the first pop stars to really understand how to turn himself into a unique brand. It would have been enough for him to sing those songs, but then he delivered them in such a unique way: with amazing dance routines. Michael will always be known as one of the greatest dancers in pop history. When he did Billie Jean on the Motown TV Show [1983's Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, the first public performance of "the moonwalk"], that was just incredible. Speaking as someone who can't dance himself, I always respected and envied that. It's part of your job as an entertainer to work out how to connect with your audience, and no one connected like Michael.

But it seems like the set of circumstances [that gave us Jackson] won't ever happen again. The way the media is now, I don't think the world's attention will ever be focused on one artist again. Plus, he was an experiment of one; a sample size of one. Unless you're there yourself, no one can know what it feels like to be, from a child, one of the most important and watched individuals in the world. I don't want to psychoanalyse him - I don't really know him well to do that - but you can only imagine what impact growing up in the public eye like that is going to have on you.

Today I think his music still holds up. You can play Thriller at a party and people get excited. You hear him sampled a lot and he’s influenced quite a few male pop stars - Justin Timberlake, Usher and Ne-Yo, you can see it in their writing and their choreography, that Michael Jackson '80s influence. But his personal life has tarnished his legacy. It's natural that people don't separate them. He's not held in the same positive light and I don't think that will ever change. Every artist has their ups and downs. But I think being accused of molesting children is a little bit extreme, even for a star.

I would love to see him come back. You know, Prince has done [a residency in Las] Vegas, as has Céline Dion and Toni Braxton and Elton John - so why not? You never know. But people really have to be in the right frame of mind for that. To want it and to want to do all the work, the promotion that's involved. And I don't know if he wants to do it anymore. We'll see.



John Legend is a five-times Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and pianist.



© Q Magazine



Source: Q / MJ data bank

http://mjdatabank.com/english_version/news...ain_current.htm
 
I thought it was a good write up for the most part. It was a nice read. Thx for posting :flowers:.
 
I think it was a good article. The accusations are toutched upon because they are what they are: a very horrible accusation- and the accusation alone is enough to leave a mark- on anyone being accused. What I hear from people I talk with, is that very, very few believe the accusations. And that is remarkable, concidering the media attention, and how they treated the case.
That say a whole lot about people being able to think for themself.

While driving home today, I listened to the radio. And on this channel, witch is one of the most popular, mainstream channels, Michaels letter to the fans was mentioned, before playing "They don`t care about us". I think the man introducing the song managed to call Michael "King of Pop" about ten times during something like two minutes, ending it with saying" I think the whole world is ready and waiting to hear what the King of Pop is releasing, hopefully this year".

The trial, and everything surrounding it will be part of the story. But in the end, this will not only fade but be seen for what it was. And what people will remember in the end, is the music, the dancing, the magic.
People are in general not as stupid, nor as shallow as the media seem to think.
That is what I see, and hear when talking to different people. :)
 
Can y'all lay off a brotha about typos? :lol: It's not enough that he speaks two languages fluently, but he has to know how to spell every darn word in the English language, too, when he's from France, as his name says? :lol: I see that "whether" is spelled "wether." Even with spell check he could still miss that. Both are words in the English language, and spell check doesn't have a brain to differentiate between the two.

Richard, if you need any help...

Every artist has their ups and downs. But I think being accused of molesting children is a little bit extreme, even for a star.[/b]
What the h*ll?
 
Can y'all lay off a brotha about typos? :lol: It's not enough that he speaks two languages fluently, but he has to know how to spell every darn word in the English language, too, when he's from France, as his name says? :lol: I see that "whether" is spelled "wether." Even with spell check he could still miss that. Both are words in the English language, and spell check doesn't have a brain to differentiate between the two.

Richard, if you need any help...


What the h*ll?[/b]
I don't think that anyone is harping on him at all. However, when something is to be published, somebody should edit for correctness.
 
would love to see him come back. You know, Prince has done [a residency in Las] Vegas, as has Céline Dion and Toni Braxton and Elton John – so why not? You never know. But people really have to be in the right frame of mind for that. To want it and to want to do all the work, the promotion that's involved. And I don't know if he wants to do it anymore. We'll see.[/b]

Could've done without that paragraph, thank you very much!

The rest.....nice read.
 
I'm gonna stray from the majority here, but that was some regurgitated, boring ass sh**. Yeah, yeah, it was positive, and that's always nice, since we get few articles which are actually supportive of Michael, but man, John Legend isn't showing any kind of great perception here in regards to Michael, his impact of the affects his childhood may have had on him. He's just throwing up the same stuff that's been said for years, he isn't saying anything new or meaningful. This guy is way boring. His comment at the end about Michael being accused of "molesting little children" and that being a bit extreme, even for a star, is insulting to me, he's saying that there's no way to get passed that and that people shouldn't. Actually, there is, Michael was proven innocent in a court of law, leave it at that. That's getting passed it. On top of that, this guy doesn’t understand the affect that Michael has on people, the instant they see this man on a stage, or in person, or on TV dancing, they forget every bad thing that’s ever been said about him, even if just for that time, in that instant, all they become aware of is Michael’s passion and emotion. He’s THAT great of an entertainer. In the end, it won't be the alligations that people remember, it will be Michael's work, both as an artist and as a humanitarian. Bringing it up only serves to distract people from what's really important. Boring article and badly written too, sorry John, you need to stay away from Michael, before we get put into a state of comatose. The only thing I agree with is that there won't ever be a superstar on Michael's level again because the way the industry is now isn't condusive to that occuring, it's become quantity over quality.

Now you all can tell me I'm a jerk and complain that I should just be happy someone wrote something positive. Yeah, yeah, lol. I'm sorry, but I just had to say it.
 
Okay, you are being a jerk WBSS and you shouldn't complain and you should just be happy that someone wrote something positive! :pth: :lol:

But seriously, I think you are mixing up your opinion of John Legend's artistry with his opinions on MJ which are dead on point (sans the last paragraph)....
 
No, no, I'm not. Everything he said was nice, but it was broing, just like him, lol. He didn't say anything anyone who knows anything about musical history doesn't already know. And some of his comments were wack, imo, lol. Not just the one at the end. I get tired of hearing about how great Off The Wall and Thriller are, though great they are, while his other works gets, as usual, completely ignored. How many times have we heard about what a great singer Michael was as a child, fine, but what about as an adult, when he got true style, quality improvement, control, etc... Talk about that for once. Show me something new, talk about his other albums, then I'll take interest in what you're saying.
 
Michael Jackson is in a position to make the biggest and baddest comeback the world has ever seen. And the beautiful thing is, the world wants him. :yes:

Love you, Michael. :flowers: By the way, Booda. How much is front row gonna cost? Can you just place a few tickets at will-call for me? :lol:

You know what I like about all these comments, you guys?

The comments and write-ups are showing many of the entertainment industry people are waiting for Michael just like the general public. They love him and they want to see him perform. They are fans. They are fans/celebrities. The celebrities are the ones that were buying all the front row tickets at the MSG in '01.
 
No, no, I'm not. Everything he said was nice, but it was broing, just like him, lol. He didn't say anything anyone who knows anything about musical history doesn't already know. And some of his comments were wack, imo, lol. Not just the one at the end. I get tired of hearing about how great Off The Wall and Thriller are, though great they are, while his other works gets, as usual, completely ignored. How many times have we heard about what a great singer Michael was as a child, fine, but what about as an adult, when he got true style, quality improvement, control, etc... Talk about that for once. Show me something new, talk about his other albums, then I'll take interest in what you're saying.[/b]
I don't comprehend how saying that you can't appreciate music without appreciating MJ's contribution to it, or MJ being the definitive star of the 80's, or how MJ set the standards for music videos, or how MJ is his own unique brand or that MJ's music is still relevant can possibly be boring. No, it wasn't some long, deep articulate, symbolistic composition, but there was nothing Legend stated that wasn't true, however wack you thought it was. Further, it is HIS opinion about what HE believes is the definitive portion of MJ's work and what he felt MJ represented as a child artist. What about his other works? What about his artistry or his singing as an adult? What about it? However you may feel about all of the other things that you find as important, you miss the point here.

During these days, it is rare that any artist would take the time to write anything of any length about the significance of Michael Jackson as an artist. More importantly, anyone at that level who would do so would not likely be such a connoisseur of all things MJ like the peeps who choose to follow everything that he ever does on a daily basis. We cannot get into any deeper discussion about this guy with those who aren't hardcore fans without them understanding the basics first. What is so obvious to you and I is a revelation to those who don't give it much thought.

And to that, I'm glad that John Legend took the time to recognize.
 
Back
Top