The Mythological Michael Jackson

Hello again world and welcome back to my blog. Being that June is Black Music Month and in remembrance of its 25th being the second anniversary of our subject's death, I would be remiss not to have today's entry be about the "King of Pop" Michael Jackson. He was indeed and undoubtedly the greatest entertainer that ever lived, performing superhuman routines that changed music, art, dance and worldwide society at large. Though he died at age 50, it could be said that Michael lived a life that had 100 years worth of experiences; throughout his entire existence he was never in between, either having mind-blowing successes or earth-shattering failures. Everything about Michael Jackson- both on and off stage- was truly an event to his worldwide audience, and thanks to his epic journey there are far too many of these moments to count.


Over the forty plus year time span from "ABC" to "This Is It", Michael Jackson centered his innovative style around his individually unique singing voice(s). When he and his older brothers were introduced to the world's stage as the Jackson Five, they catapulted to superstardom hugely due to their youngest member being a prodigal, energetic dynamo. The most interesting attribute about Michael's voice during this era is that he sings with a wiser beyond his years, "old soul" type of presence. This is especially evident with his vocals in romantic leads, sounding as if he has experienced the type of longing and heartache as depicted in "The Love You Save", "I'll Be There", "Got To Be There", and "I Wanna Be Where You Are". Michael is a vocal rarity in that he has sung with two very distinct voices- one as the wise child prodigy and the other being the signature and stylized adult megastar.



Such the calculating performer was Michael that he understood that the expressive physicality between song (voice) and dance (body) must match perfectly. Even as the child prodigy he would dedicate himself to this ideal by creating song specific dance patterns that demanded perfect timing and execution. Though he always danced with unbridled yet strategic energy, Michael would rewrite the relationship between song and dance during his "Thriller" era by fusing it unparalleled magical elements that fueled his audience's imagination. As we watched him perform the Moonwalk to "Billie Jean", the "West Side Story" inspired choreography to "Beat It", and later the lean in "Smooth Criminal", we realized that Michael was a "special effect" within himself, making us question Isaac Newton's theories of gravity. A true testament to his moves and cool factor is that after seeing him make the moves look so easy we instantly believed we could do it ourselves, but then proving it made us realize his dedication to flawlessness even more.



As he was always a performer that must be both seen and heard, Michael would marry pop music to theatrical vision through the medium of music video. When he released his juggernaut album "Thriller" in 1982, he put to work his grand vision of using filmmaking inspired by art, history and classic cinema to tell other areas of his songs' storylines that you couldn't get with just music and dance. The key element to these "short films" as Jackson called them was in fact the storyline itself; to me, it is as if Michael had these storylines in mind all along, even selecting the proper visuals and historic era in his head while recording the song and crafting the dance moves specific to it. With this mammoth combination of elements, Jackson's short films ranged from the stylized genre pieces such as "Thriller", "Smooth Criminal" and "Remember the Time" to the epic operas such as "Bad", "Captain Eo" and "Ghosts".



Just as Michael Jackson would come to symbolize the ultimate performer, he would also come to symbolize the ultimate celebrity. In this sense, he was P. T. Barnum's realization of bringing amazing entertainment to his audience from an act that was rooted from eccentric, bizarre greatness. Illusion plays a big part in Michael Jackson's legacy in that you didn't know what was real and/or fake in his life both on and off stage. It would be the offstage events in Jackson's life- the physical transformations, eccentric behavior and most notably allegations of child molestation-that fueled an imagination from his audience that he would shun and dismiss, causing him to have a love/hate relationship with media outlets. But it would be the ultimate performing persona of Michael that would win out, as when he died in 2009 he was "recanonized" by the media and his audience by holding weekend long marathons of his music and films, and airing his public memorial in an effort to remember to his great accomplishments.



The main element to Michael Jackson's mythology is surprise; good or bad, you really wouldn't have believed him unless you had seen him. His style, accomplishments, individuality and struggles cause him to be a modern day epic hero whose life's works have inspired others to elevate their own. It is amazing that over course of the forty plus years that we were his audience, and even today, Michael would use his magic to surprise us over and over again yet still leave us wanting more. As he is in a class all his own, it is without a doubt that I believe the greatest entertainer who ever lived was the "King of Pop", Michael Jackson.

Well, that's about it for now folks. Thanks for taking the time to read this blog, and let me know what you think about this and other entries. Also, if you want more great commentary on music and culture, check out the Hip Hop's Politician's blog- trust me, it's good stuff there, you'll thank me later. Until next time, peace out.

The Autobiographical Artistry of Marvin Gaye

Hello again world and welcome back to my blog. In celebration of June being Black Music Month, today's entry is about the always relevant and ever revealing musical genius Marvin Gaye. Since his filicide (murder by his father) in 1984, Gaye's legacy and music has elevated to the status of being culturally iconic due to its constant reexamination by critics, fans and a younger generation of audience. This is because his music- or art, to a higher degree- was geared towards pulpit and platform; it gave its audience a more deeper understanding of the human psyche through presenting rare honesty and connective emotion. In this meaning, I believe Marvin Gaye to be the defining artist of soul music; his "self-exposure" causes us to identify ourselves with him, as his theories on love, society and philosophy can beautifully mirror our own.

Before such finding and revelation, Marvin Gaye spent the first decade of his career being Motown Records' most chivalric and amalgamate artist; this "Prince of Motown" tried to find his own persona by imitating those of Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and Sam Cooke. He would also struggle with Motown's "assembly line" type of hit-making production, as it prohibited their artist's own creative expression in favor of exposure and development. Both conflicts would come to a head in 1971 when Gaye demanded that Motown release his "Whats Going On" album; a nine track sociopolitical thesis, "What's Going On" allowed Marvin to find his own voice as he was inspired from American upheaval, particularly in the divisive opinion of the Vietnam War. When Motown-"the sound of young America"- refused to put it out fearing its possible lack of commercial viability, Gaye would force them to by stating he would not record any other material for them otherwise. His belief in the material would prove to be vindicated, as "What's Going On" was a commercial and cultural smash and has since been celebrated in its' role in making the standards of pop/modern music more limitless.



"What's Going On" became the defining catalyst in Marvin's music and life, finally giving him the creative and even spiritual freedom he so desired. From this point, however, his musings shifted from the outer society to the inner self, deciding that his music would serve as a narrative for the ongoings in his own life. I think it is from this point on that Marvin always sung with a purposeful plea that asks of its listener for either some sort of relation, accompaniment or forgiveness. Prime examples of this are his virile encouragement for "Let's Get It On"; his admittance to guilt and its pleasures in "Ego Tripping Out"; his timidness towards finding new love in "I Want You"; his anger at marital separation in "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You". The amazing feature of Marvin's craftsmanship is that his music itself, apart from his singing and lyrics, could also describe the feeling he wanted to convey. Just as with his vocals, the instrumentation creates a fusion of gospel, jazz and blues that both invokes and appeals. I challenge you to listen to just the instrumental of a Marvin Gaye song and try to find the inspiration and emotion it aims to achieve.

In the tradition of all autobiographical artists, Marvin would gradually believe that he would have to live a life that provided the mythology necessary for such honesty; this meant heightening the dramatic, more negative aspects of his life so he could be more heroic in his storytelling. Needless to say that living in this ideal is a double-edged sword that services creativity at the cost of aggrandizing the demons that bred its subject matter. This ideal can also lead its artists into believing that their creativity is solely within their darker aspects, thus causing them to deny the more virtuous, pure aspects of themselves and their gift. As was the case with van Gogh, Hemingway and Cobain, Gaye would pose self-destruction as artistic suffering, assuming he would gain spiritual redemption through his creative legacy while mortally submerging into drugs, damaging relationships, and suicidal inclinations. Ironically, this excuse for downward spiral does have an element of truth for this type of artist, as their complete body of work grows to be more appreciated well after their physical demise.

The overall theme in Marvin Gaye's life and music is his desire for intimacy at all costs, be it erotic, familial, or societal. His was the type of intimate plea that is gut-wrenching to its audience, as they can hear in his empathic rhythms and expressive voice that his own quest for this virtue would never be fulfilled. However, this unfulfillment tends to brilliantly expand his legacy, as it displays that Marvin's genius was really bred from his humanity- he needs to understand himself just as he needs to connect to others. This exact sort of intimacy and connectivity is what I perceive to be most essential in soul music, therefore making Marvin Gaye its most defining and relative artist.

Well, that's about it for now folks. Thanks for taking the time to read this blog, and let me know what you think about this and other entries. Until next time, peace out.