The Kidd Remembers Michael Jackson

The Kidd Remembers Michael Jackson

I have tried to write up something to really express what Michael Jackson has meant to The Kidd as well as the world over, but, in trying to rack my brain for about the 6th time now, it just has proven extremely difficult to put into words, as the “King of Pop” was so many different things to so many different people. Instead, I have just chosen to go through some of the memories I have of Michael Jackson and the various ways his life crossed paths with mine.

As a child of the 80’s, Michael Jackson defined an era of music I grew up on. I still remember pulling the THRILLER album getting pulled from its sleeve in my parents’ house and giving it some spins onto the record player to hear the guy whose music videos I had seen on MTV, back when it actually stood for music television. Throughout my childhood, I remember sitting and watching videos all the time, as MTV really was exposure for all kinds of musical artists and bands. However, nothing that ever crossed across that screen could match the groundbreaking nature of Michael Jackson’s videos. “Thriller” is not just a music video. It is a horror movie told in short-form to the lyrics and music of a Michael Jackson song. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone that couldn’t bust out with at least a tiny bit of that zombie “Thriller” dance, as it just became part of the culture, and seeing it over and over made it a permanent part of your mind, as it was something we had never seen before… not on such a grand level.

The beats of “Billie Jean,” that familiar Eddie Van Halen riff that kicks off “Beat It,” the music is classic… songs you will never forget that will catch your attention each and every time you hear them. You could be flipping around on your radio or shuffling through your iPod, but when a Michael Jackson song hits your ears, you just can’t turn it off, because you know you are listening to greatness.

I remember when the BAD album hit, as well as the world premiere of the title track video. There was a big deal made at the time about Michael Jackson’s appearance, and this one was the beginning of the transformation we would see in him throughout the years. His skin started to get lighter. His nose started to change. His hair was different. But the music was still the same… it was still catchy, it was still brilliant, and it still made you listen.

I remember trying to actually lean forward as much as Michael Jackson did in his video for “Smooth Criminal.” That never worked out for me as well as it did for him in that badass white suit and fedora.

Michael Jackson was also a part of one of the first 3-D movies I had ever experienced, the famed “Captain EO” in Disney World at EPCOT. Ironically I hated 3-D back then as some of the effects were too much for me in my young age, and the glasses gave me a bit of a headache, but that doesn’t change the fact that this space adventure was either the first or second 3-D film I ever saw.

Michael Jackson was also responsible for the first video game I was ever able to beat in its entirety at an arcade, as I was able to make my way all the way through “Moonwalker” many years ago at a little place called Bowcraft in NJ. I remember pumping quarter after quarter into that machine, trying to save the children, while tossing my hat as a weapon and powering up into a dance routine that had all of my enemies joining the mix until they just couldn’t take it anymore and exploded. Ah… they don’t make games like they used to. I never picked up the home edition, as I had already given it my best, but right now I sure wish I had my Sega Genesis here with me all hooked up with a copy of “Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker” popped in. That would be sweet.

I remember the controversy surrounding the video for “Black or White,” as I watched it first air on FOX. There was a lot of outrage for the original version of the video which had Michael turning into a panther and leaving the studio set. He heads out onto a street where he morphs back into himself and busts out into a dance routine that was deemed “too sexually suggestive” because of his numerous crotch grabs and “too violent” due to the fact that he smashed up a car and its windows. That version was cut down, removing the original ending, and was only able to be seen overnight on MTV, but I recall seeing the complete version during its premiere, complete with its appearance by Macauley Culkin.

I remember the Weird Al parodies that just served as acknowledgement as to how great some of Michael jackson’s music, as imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. “Eat It” and “Fat” are classics that never would have existed had it not been for Michael Jackson. In fact, there are a lot of careers and styles that owe it all to Michael Jackson, who paved the way for their successes, like Justin Timberlake, Usher, Chris Brown, and others who combined pop music and dance in the way that Michael Jackson made possible.

I remember trying to figure out just how he was able to pull off the Moonwalk. To this day, I still don’t know.

For all the scandal and accusations that came later in life, as well as the various moments of strangeness that seemed to become the norm (from the surgical masks to the marriage with Lisa Marie Presley and subsequent appearance at the MTV Awards to the trials), I prefer to pay tribute to the man that we knew him to be and that we grew to love, instead of the man he tragically became. It is still very hard to grasp the fact that Michael Jackson is gone. His reclusive behavior made him so much of a mystery, that his debt and possible drug problems were a great surprise to all of us, as it didn’t seem to fit with the gentle, generous person we had seen so many times over.

Michael Jackson will truly be missed… for his talent, for her performances, and for his gifts to the world of music. Love him or hate him for what became his personal life, you cannot take away his contributions to the world and what he meant to people all over as he was able to cross many lines and touch many lives. I remember watching one of Michael Jackson’s concerts, a special from the DANGEROUS tour that aired on HBO, and I recall seeing these people carried out of the audience. They had passed out, and, as a result, for their safety, had to be removed from the crowd. And I remember asking to myself – why? Why would these people who loved this man so much, who were so excited to see him perform, work themselves up into such a frenzy that their own excitement knocked them out and deprived them on witnessing it all. And now, years later, the answer is pretty clear – because he meant that much to them that they just couldn’t help themselves.

Michael Jackson is no longer with us, and, especially in its suddenness, it is sad to think that the man we loved as that ended up as this. There will never be another like him. In this day and age with radio and television and the music industry as it is, we will never find another star to break his record of 65+ million copies of THRILLER sold worldwide to be the greatest album all-time. There will never be another groundbreaking talent such as Michael Jackson. The world has lost a true artistic genius, and this is officially the end of a truly special era.

Thank you, Michael, for all that you have given us. You will be missed.