Alas, yet another tear in the bucket blog for arguably the greatest entertainer ever from yet another so called artist in the music rat race.
Got the news of the passing of The King from the homie Khizman while I was making one of the pilgrimages to the City of Steele & honestly the initial emotional impact was really unnoticeable. This immediately seemed strange to me because aside from Herbie Hancock’s ‘Rockit’ video, Mike Jack’s ‘Thriller’ was not only one of my first audio memories, but also the first musical visual in remembrance, which literally amazed me & scared the shit out of me simultaneously. This is quite an experience for a four year old kid in Dayton, especially when such a colossal work of art served as an introduction to the universe of organized sound and motion. As most vivid memories of childhood are etched in our psyche as historical reference points, I can truly admit that even in my own nonconformist nature, I chose to submit to the unquestionable fire to create & appreciate this form of expression ignited by MJ’s brilliance. This is not surprising, being that most artists are influenced by past guru’s that carry a similar thread of interest; but what makes MJ’s influence so unique was that it transcended not only musical genres, but also many forms of entertainment & activism.
Got to Pittsburgh & camped out at Sole Vibe’s headquarters A.V.’s crib (wussup A.V.E.), & of course the tube stayed on the video channels so we could all get the lethal dose of crack enjoyed by all across the world. As we all sat there breakin bread the rightlane way, It never really hit me just how many songs, rather, opuses of social consciousness & activism Mike Jack dropped on us. Maybe its because of MJ’s endless catalogue of MASTERPIECES that streamed way longer than my own life span, but now that I have a few more years behind me I can now see how much positive energy given by this incredible entity while surrounded by the dark mantra that thrives on the nature of us mere mortals.
Let’s kick the ballistics ©Nino; MJ actually was human. A mortal that exhibited superhuman abilities so much at a young age that attention didn’t have to be manufactured, but was given as if it was demanded. This type of star power is rare even in the entertainment biz, which inevitably leads to many trying to harness that power, which leads to the all familiar stories of the opportunistic media machine & of course, the dealings of the Jackson Family home dealings. We all got to see what was going on from the time MJ hit the stage with his brothers to the last days of his life. Yet, the positive entertainment was just as accessible as the ‘negative’ glimpses of personal life that was disseminated by an agenda focused media; & most of us, as usual, fell it for it hook, line, & sinker everytime instead of independent research or even better yet; not trusting the media from jump. Now that MJ has passed, many mysteries that we’ve made final judgments on are now fresh in our minds because those involved with these stories are now stepping forward with different information. Déjà vu is an experience that I know I grow tired of when the media is involved because yet again, another life was possibly destroyed at the hands of it, with the ignorant public as an accomplice.
Was MJ guilty of all of the accusations? Well, in the court of law (which is bullshit anyway) he was found not guilty, which isn’t saying much because our judicial system favors anyone with status and the cake to line the pockets of the parties involved. But MJ WAS found guilty by his ‘peers’ as the court of public opinion ruled against him with the help of a few huge corporate media outlets that are powerful enough even to buy the consent of society for imperialistic agendas. Our innate nature allows such manipulations; so much that watercooler discussions as well as home entertainment are dominated by our craving of the bizarre & unknown.
As the entertainment industry continues to capitalize off of the rich residuals of a truly unique icon, we should consider, if even for once, to eliminate that element of manipulation and cannibalism out of our routine and experience MJ’s art as raw and uncut as possible. That does not equate to not considering ‘the evil men do’ per se, but to consider the filtering out of institutions that have a proven track record of disseminating anything that furthers an agenda. We’d all do better to practice this always, but this time, how about a small performance outside of our norm for the one that only wanted to perform for us in the most spectacular fashion, and had the ability to do it…
If the most recognized entertainer in the world suffered heavily from the scrutiny of public opinion, what does that reveal about our ‘modern’ society? Maybe there are many revelations to be seen, but one is revealed for certain; we were not ready for such art, and also prove that we deserved it time and again. Peace Mike.
No comments:
Post a Comment