Friday, June 26, 2009
Michael Jackson RIP
As a child of the 70's and 80's, Michael Jackson was everywhere, but I remember distinctly when this video for Beat It came out. See, I was a nut for Fred Astaire, and Michael Jackson pretty much single handedly made dancing in music videos cool again. It's hard to remember now, but before Michael, it was all long haired rock bands playing live, or weird trippy quick cut stuff. Old school became radical again. This video was like a little West Side Story. It blew everyone's mind, and this was even before the mini-film of Thriller.
Weird as he was (and man, he was creepy in later life), he was the King of Pop, and his music is great. At the end of the above live video from a performance in 2007, Usher and Chris Tucker play tribute to his dancing.
Kids today only know him as the weird recluse with pale skin, and his children in masks. My 8-year-old son asked me, after seeing some of the TV homages this morning, "Was Michael Jackson black?" I think that sums it up.
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