Michael Jackson Oprah Interview Rewind

Oprah remembers her seminal interview with Michael Jackson from 1993.

Whitney Houston Oprah Interview Day 2: On Michael Jackson & Her Comeback

Houston discusses her friendship with Michael Jackson. One thing I've found interesting is how isolated and lonely so many of these celebrities are. They have so much talent and so many resources. It seems as if they get lost in the mix trying to self-protect. Houston says she's feeling the love she has for HERSELF and that's a great thing. We must always make sure our needs are being met an we take care of ourselves first.

Houston claims to be drug-free. I'm not going to comment on the fact that despite all of this discussion about Bobby Brown and his abusive behavior she's friends with R Kelly. Ok I lied. One word comes to mind: hypocrite. Another word comes to mind: denial. That's all I'm gonna say. When we've discussed evaluating how and what we support if we are denigrated by others I have to include the women who support the denigration. There's much I don't know and may not understand. I still have to employ some semblance of standards though. That's all I'm gonna say. ** This got way too gushy for me at the end. That's all I'm gonna say.

Janet Jackson VMA 2009 Tribute to Michael Jackson

My first thoughts when I viewed this was relief that it started off well and included dancing, real dancing. I accidentally deleted my copy after I cut the show into segments. Always back up your work people!

I admit that I teared up a bit watching Janet perform and she was emotional at the end as well. Good job! This is what should have been done in the first place.

VMA MTV Extended Movie Trailer Michael Jackson Can You Feel It

In case you missed it. Whether you decide it's something you want to support - or not - it looks as if it would have been an amazing concert. I'm sure it will air on television at some point regardless.

MTV VMA 2009 Madonna Tribute to Michael Jackson

Last night's Video Music Award Show was definitely interesting! It lacked the obvious Vortex of Coonery tendencies except for Kayne West displaying his usual lack of decorum. Some think it was a publicity stunt for ratings but I don't think it was planned. More on that later. Madonna gave a rousing tribute to Michael Jackson where she discussed some of the similarities they shared: i.e. having 8 siblings and being superstars. I didn't agree with everything she said but I appreciated her respect for the joy his talent brings. She mentioned how her sons enjoy listening to his music - I can relate. My nephew has had Thriller on constant rotation and being an innocent 10-year old I'd rather not burst his MJ bubble and let him enjoy it without knowing how faulty adults can be. Childhood innocence is precious and we see what happens when that is taken away or otherwise destroyed.

BET Awards and Their Vortex of Coonery

My Observations On Quincy Jones Questioning Michael Jackson's Blackness: Pot Meet Kettle

Was anyone else as perplexed as I was reading this Men.Style.Com article? We know how writers can take things out of context or let's be blunt - lie - about what an interview subject says to generate a salacious headline. So I was personally waiting for some sort of public protestation from Mr. Jones to clarify any of his comments as featured. Looks like they'll stand as is so I wanted to have a conversation about it. Talk about fair weather friends!

Q: Have you been crying?

A: Oh, man, it's more than that. It's way more than that. It hurts my soul, man. It's just a lump down there.

Q: You were there to witness the strange evolution in Michael's appearance. Did you ever step in and saying anything about it?

A: Oh, we talked about it all the time. But he'd come up with, "Man, I promise you I have this disease," and so forth, and "I have a blister on my lungs," and all that kind of b.s. It's hard, because Michael's a Virgo, man—he's very set in his ways. You can't talk him out of it. Chemical peels and all that stuff. 

Q: Did you believe him about the disease?

A: I don't believe in any of that bullshit, no. No. Never. I've been around junkies and stuff all my life. I've heard every excuse. It's like smokers—"I only smoke when I drink" and all that stuff. But it's bullshit. You're justifying something that's destructive to your existence. It's crazy. 

Q: But it must've been so disturbing to see Michael's face turn into what it turned into.

A: It's ridiculous, man! Chemical peels and all of it. And I don't understand it. But he obviously didn't want to be black.

Q: Is that what it was?

A: Well, what do you think? You see his kids?

Read the entire interview. I wanted to make sure I included the excerpt about how much he missed Jackson before getting into it. I thought he was very observant and blunt....but after all of these years Jones is well aware of what audience he's speaking to when discussing certain things. This wasn't an interview in Ebony. He was speaking to a predominantly white audience about Michael Jackson's behavior that went against established norms of other groups. That was a very calculating move on his part.

Let me be blunt: Quincy Jones made some valid points but he is the last person to be questioning another black man's "blackness". I was discussing this interview with a friend born in Italy who's staying in California for the summer and the first thing she asked about was Jones' penchant for dating white women - and she's white! This friend of mine holds no compunction about asking me direct questions about her own observations regarding this and other situations related to race, class and gender. She says she's always wanted to know about things of this nature but had no one to ask or didn't feel comfortable with potentially offending anyone. So white people do notice even if they're not saying anything. 

So to be clear, this isn't about Jones' mating rituals and I could care less. For as long as I've heard of Jones he has been with anyone but a black woman - but that is his choice. If Enrique Iglesias was available and asked me if he could be my Hero, he'd get an emphatic yes. Trust and believe that! More black women need to cast a wide net, meet and mate with a much larger variety of decent men than the wading pool selection of guppies they're picking through right now. We also need to do it for ourselves and not care what anyone else thinks! After three marriages, several children and numerous alliances I'm certain Jones has lived a very full life. He's a contemporary of Duke Ellington so he's been around for quite some time now. 

I don't remember what magazine featured a story on him but there was an accompanying photo of his children - that's when I found out that he had in fact been married to and had children with a black woman but it was before I was born! Anyway, my point is that he has biological children whose appearance looks very similar to MJ's kids. Is he confirming his own desire to escape from blackness by trying to have the whitest-skinned children possible. Is he telling us this is what some (many? most??) black men who mate with non-black women are trying to do? I don't get the pointed dig at bringing them into that conversation. They have nothing to do with his relationship with himself or Jackson and I thought that was very declasse of him. 

The other issues he brought up, about blacks who want to change their appearance to be more comfortable in their skin was very telling. Michael Jackson was an extreme case because he was so famous and under such scrutiny. It has me wondering now if it is in fact more common for black males to feel that need to be a different phenotype. Regardless it is black women collectively getting pressure from other black men to be different from who they are.  We can observe this in noticing those who publicly express their desire for all women who aren't black, or have to fit a narrow definition of blackness based strictly on appearance. It's a pretty vicious cycle that goes back to the core weakness of a few dictating terms for the majority.

The observation of Jackson's struggle with his identity is one that can be applied in a broader sense to other black men who don't feel comfortable with who they are in their skin when a sizable portion chose to mate with women who look nothing like the women who begat them. It's all a choice and that choice is an individual's right, but what motivates it and to what lengths? When you have high-profile black men choosing non-black women and elevating them as the preferred choice that's where I protest. That doesn't seem to be about determining who's best for you and being in an affirming reciprocal relationship. That's about black-on-black racism and disdain for black women. I cannot abide by that.

In "Michael Jackson On Race - His Race" an article featured on CNN.com, Carmen Van Kerckhove delves very eloquently into the intracacies and contradictions of our struggle with race and identity. 

Each of our individual histories and the histories of our ancestors act in concert to shape who we become and what we value. And when personal histories are complex (as most are), they often result in a racial identity that is equally complex and sometimes even contradictory. 

About Jackson: Race cannot be separated with precision from body dysmorphic disorder, hatred of his tyrannical father, or any potentially relevant theory being discussed right now.

Why?

Because if he hated his body, he was hating a black man’s body. If he hated his father, he was hating a black man. Race ran through it all; we cannot and should not dismiss its effect.

*****

So in our own history of being black in this country where does the conscious, healthy, non-colorist behavior begin and when has the "hatred" or its varying degrees of discomfort ended?

Now That Michael Jackson Is Gone Is Black Music Dead?

I think with the passing of Michael Jackson that black music is official dead, but I posed it as a question because I'd like to get lots of feedback on this. Of course there will continue to be black artists releasing music. Many of those we consider legends are still with us. There are quite a few artists moving through the ranks who are special. What of future generations though? I posit our time of dominance has left with the spirit of Michael Jackson. 

The specific contributions of African-American's musical legacy from r&b, blues, to jazz, to Motown, to rock, to techno were significant. What is going to replace it? What is its continuation? If something doesn't adapt it dies. No offense to those who like or release rap and hip-hop but with its original preponderance for sampling others' work it's not an entirely "pure" form, it's a hybrid. If you have to use someone else's compositions for the core of your work isn't what you're creating more of an homage to that prior work than doing something significant on your own? Of course sampling isn't left exclusively to hip-hop anymore, but that's what made it a popular device. Since the composers of those sampled songs weren't originally paid until a white songwriter sued a black rap artist, one could also say music was being legally stolen until these licensing agreements were ironed out. With the well-documented history of black artists being ripped off by white artists who would re-record an entire song and release it with no recourse wasn't it ironic when black artists did it to each other?

If anyone wants to prove me wrong I will gladly recant when the next huge pop star is a cultural phenom, an accomplished musician and someone who’s able to write and produce music without complete reliance on others. They won’t be praised as being beautiful by the sole existence of light/white skin, they won’t be known for shaking their body parts in a video, they won’t steal songwriting credits, they will have something important to say that we know we can review in 20 years where it will still have relevance. They won’t be a derivative of a copy. They won’t sound like anybody else. They will be “ours” and we'll get to share them with the rest of the world. When we have such an artist coming up let me know.

Now this is no offense to all of the artists currently releasing music this doesn’t apply to. Some people don't care. They use Autotune and wear $400K chains. They are not thinking of the long-term damage to the collective because they are making a quick buck. Some are simply not able to do that because that's a really high bar. Of course I'd also add much of what passes for music across all genres has greatly reduced its quality quotient. So it's bigger than soul music. Talents like Bessie Smith, Dinah Washington, Marvin Gaye, Donnie Hathaway, Luther Vandross and so many others set the world alight with stars that dimmed too soon. 

I have a problem with quite a few contemporary artists who are being elevated and topping the charts right now because of the poor quality of their music and their callous get rich quick schemes. Some call it branding. I call it sell as many products as you can because your music stinks. The audiences are so used to mediocrity that they place some of these newer artists in the same category as the greats. They do not hold a candle to them. Still if you have a desire to entertain and the chance to do so who’d turn it down? These record labels are factory farms of mass breeding trying to produce as much from the cow until it drops so they can throw out the carcass and move onto the next one. They could care less, but they used to. Of course they were also interested in exploitation but that’s why you have to careful. It’s a business not play acting. 

There are quite a few innovative artists making music. There are even more who have not had the opportunity because the gatekeepers loathe to invest in quality. Or they’re DIY and will remain on the periphery. I think it’s unfortunate but this is where the audience comes into play. Accepting the poop with whipped cream on top still means there’s you know what on the bottom.  

There's also a hierarchy in existence where males still dominate the power positions. Black male producers have been allowed to extend their light/white skin racism by elevating these lighter/whiter female artists who are usually only marginally talented. If I was one of these artists I’d take the opportunity though but being pretty to look at doesn't guarantee record sales! See one contrast would be Quincy Jones who though he has chosen that in his personal life, musically he has long elevated and promoted black music. He’s worked with a variety of artists true, but always took care to treasure the AA musical heritage. His work with MJ was some of MJ’s best of course. He heralds back to the time when people took the time and effort to learn to read music and pick up an instrument and master one. There won’t be videos on YouTube where a random person discusses how they heard his beat on Apple’s free music program GarageBand.

As I discussed in my Deploying A Little Negro Spirit series, many of us have abandoned our cultural touchstones. Some still protect theirs. You don't see a host of white artists taking over reggae. It could happen as anything's possible but it's likely to be rejected. Collaborations are allowed but turning over the keys has not happened. I can't say the same for other genres being as cherished or protected. That's no one else's fault but our own.

You're So Lame Award of Shame: Trashing Michael Jackson & Republican Foolishness

Things were looking to be chugging along until we got the news that rocked our world. I started working on a post comparing the emails of SC Gov Mark Sanford to former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick but Mrs. Sanford's kick butt and taking no prisoners attitude had me rethinking that. I celebrated her triumph from a weak-willed man instead. Not to forget about Ensign and his mistress, her husband and son...but that's just too twisted and I'm not soiling my mind with trying to figure that one out!

Then I'd heard that Mr. Truthiness himself, Stephen Colbert had made a "tranny" joke which is a big no-no. Also John Stewart had the nerve to insult Malcolm X's memory by comparing him to those hypocritical Republicans. He theorized the Democrats were like MLK. His comparison makes zero sense though and trying to deconstruct his pea brain on this one isn't worth the effort to me. See, that's why these comedians have staff writers. They're not so brilliant, irreverent or funny without them. 

I've been hearing about but not wanting to watch the widow Russert Maureen Orth on MSNBC or hack writer Toure playing in endless loops on tv trashing MJ one way or the other. Of course Orth's entire career has been solely based on trashing Jackson so this isn't surprising. CNN is asking whether Jackson transcended race which is a stupid question to begin with. Fixed News immediately chose to give unflattering coverage but that's not a surprise. Entertainment Tonight decided to show us MJ's not quite dead body being worked on by EMTs. Perez Hilton said he got slapped by a Pea and whined about it. He also claimed MJ was faking an illness for media attention. Gee here's someone who'd know all about that. 

This year's BET Awards airs tomorrow and with it's planned MJ tribute will likely be its highest rated show ever. Boy timing is everything. You know I have a BET ban in effect but broke it to see Maxwell's debut video and I'll be watching (and critiquing) this one. Chris Brown and a whole other cadre of BW beaters/abusers/haters will get to take center stage. Hurl. One thing MJ did not advocate was violence and he always spoke highly of Black women so this is an insult of the highest proportion to mar his legacy by throwing these idiots in the mix. So drumroll....the award goes to: All of Them.

There's so much foolishness going on this week they all deserve it.

Celebrating the Music & Magic of Michael Jackson

           

Since the white-oriented corporate media has decided that today is bash Michael Jackson in death (as they did when he was alive) I have decided this is CELEBRATE MJ Day. I'm still in utter shock and may shed a tear or two but that's okay. He may have been an entertainer but he fully lived up to that description. He ENTERTAINED and THEN SOME!!!

Otherwise why would we be able to listen to a single note of a song we recognize and have our hearts beat a little faster? The smile would often appear at the corners of our mouth before we'd even had a chance to recognize it. It was so much more than the music, so much more than the choreography, so much more than the "Shum-On". He had a divinely acquired gift at moving people. People from all walks of life, from all corners of the world, all generations. I think his impact was even more profoundly felt outside the United States. We forget the influence of African-American artists and the unique impact we have on the world. 

When you live in a different part of the world there are a completely different set of circumstances for the denizens of that country. They have other cultural influences. Michael Jackson was an ambassador of our cultural heritage and did more for spreading "American" values than any government initiative. He was more iconic than the Golden Arches!! Think about it. Who doesn't know about the Jackson family? His music did so much to uplift the image of Black people around the world.

Remember this video released at the beginning of the year? I still couldn't believe prisoners had reenacted Thriller after two decades but here they are:

His music was able to resonate with so many because he wrote and recorded songs that reflected light and joy. Not a "woe's me" or " I hate the world" or "I live in the hood and drink 40's" in the bunch. His songs spoke of universal themes that everyone could relate to - and dance to. I can still listen to an MJ song and not feel embarrassed. I could play his songs in a corporate work setting and not have them deemed inappropriate.

Most artists today hope to have one song that has that kind of impact, but he had a catalog of dozens, probably hundreds like that. I'm very curious to see what his estate will do with all of the unreleased material. You know there have to be some gems in the mix. He worked with a who's who in the industry after all. 

The networks are planning a slew of tributes (so they can get ratings) and it is right and just that they give him his proper respect. He influenced at least two generations in his short time here on earth: the Boomers and Gen X. I was explaining to my youngest sister what it was like to watch the Motown 25th Anniversary show when MJ performed Billie Jean and Moonwalked how much of an impact he had on us and why that performance was so special. The Millennials and younger still get a taste of his brilliance but they're not experiencing it for the first time. They don't understand the roads he paved over to clear a path for the artists that came after him. 

Some of his best songs don't have videos but the ones he made were always gravity-defying and cutting edge. The fact that he put so much thought, time and money into them - his excellence is why we're still talking about him now. A lesser artist whose life may have been less controversial still wouldn't have left such a gaping hole in the world as the passing of this once-in-a-lifetime legend has. 

Who wasn't in this video!?

This was MJ giving us the sexy I admit I felt uncomfortable thinking of my childhood crush as a grown man...and getting it on with uber goddess Naomi Campbell, but it was tasteful.

We clamored for a Jackson x Jackson duet and we got it!! I just realized how similar their voices sound. The talent in one family is still astounding.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite songs. When he starts off singing, "Girl close your eyes" oh my! The pure joy on his face while performing this is evident. He also still looked the MJ of our youth. I think this when he was at his best. RIP!

The King of Pop Is Dead - Long Live the King!

After a lot of speculation and disbelief it has been confirmed that Michael Jackson has indeed passed today from cardiac arrest. 50 years old is too young to die! My heart is heavy because of the cultural and musical impact that Michael Jackson had on the record industry and in particular the hearts of Black people around the world. 

An economically struggling but talented family gets signed to Motown and makes history. We can all remember the little boy at the center of it all with the dance moves to rival James Brown and the soaring tenor. So many great songs that were the soundtracks to our childhoods, we thought they were part of our families!

We watched the family grow up because we grew up with them. Their music spanned generations. Where else could grandparents, parents and children alike all find something to enjoy? There were rumors of trouble but the music kept coming and we kept coming back for more. Who doesn't remember practicing dance moves and singing the songs along with the brothers or watching their Saturday morning cartoon?

When Michael went solo it was like a bolt of lightning. He was no longer the little boy of innocence but a young man whose music was fiyah. He gave us Off the Wall and went into orbit. Songs like Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough with its intersection of disco and soulful pop didn't sound like anything else on the radio. He was just getting started. We wanted that Beat It jacket. I had to wear a fresh pair of white socks with my black penny loafers to get that MJ shine.

When Thriller was released it was as if a bomb had hit the world. Every song was a gem. Every video on point and completely innovative. MTV had to be threatened because they were racists who wouldn't play videos by Black artists. Isn't it ironic that if you turn to the station right now, they've ceased all programming to play....his videos. Michael had arrived and the world took notice. Nobody could touch him musically!!

For he wasn't just a Black artist, an R&B artist, he was an international star, its biggest star of these modern times. Elvis Presley had been awarded with the title of King riding the musical legacy of Blacks, yet Jackson's insistence on being given the same deference was met with derision. He is and will always be the King of Pop. He'd earned the right and it should've been respected.

Just when we thought he couldn't be any more fabulous there was the infamous Motown 25th Anniversary show where he was reunited with his brothers, but it was his solo performance of his signature dance move, the Moonwalk that brought the house down.

More music was coming and with it the revelation of personal demons. I can't offer a proper tribute without acknowledging the struggles. Every genius has a somewhat tortured existence. It's part of what makes them brilliant - that sensitivity and being so emotionally attuned. We have no idea how many demons were at his door. I still have a hard time with discussing the allegations of child abuse and the way prosecutors had laws changed in order go after him. I don't condone any harm he may have caused but I certainly don't ignore the fact many were out to exploit him for profit and fame as well. 

Still on a bad day the music that Jackson released was so far superior to much of what passes as standard fare today. I know there is NO ONE out right now, or who was his contemporary who could touch him when he was at his peak and at his best. There is no one coming up in the industry that even comes close. Sorry folks, that talent ship has sailed.

I am so grateful that I got to grow up in the era where he was in his prime, releasing quality music that did not embarrass or denigrate Blacks. I hated the disrespectful way some in the media spoke of him and I attribute it squarely to their racism at having to give a non-white respect. His influence was unparalleled and it made many uncomfortable. 

He was just a man, a man who went on to have his own family and live his life without being harassed or belittled. So I just had to get some words out to release some of this pressure on my heart. I raise my hand in salute to you, the one and only MJ. May you rest in peace. Your music lives on forever!!! 

DJ Spinna is the best!

So I am rubbing my sore feet as I type this. I just got in after an evening of fond memories, screaming lyrics at the top of my lungs and jumping around like a zombie. DJ Spinna came to San Francisco for his annual Soul Slam party. It's Prince vs. Michael Jackson and all their cohorts and family members for a musical stand-off.  The Time, Vanity 6, Janet, SWV, Sheila E. and even Rockwell gets a spin or two. It's so fun being in a crowd of people of all ethnicities and ages doing the dance moves from a video or singing the chorus to Glamorous Life or the feeling of unfettered enthusiasm when hearing the original Jackson 5 song ABC segued into Naughty By Nature's OPP. Trust me there is no comparison to hearing the intro bassline to Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough played back to back three times before continuing the song and the crowd goes, "Oooh" in unison with MJ as the strings kick in! All personal demons and legal issues aside, can anyone argue the significance of Raspberry Beret, 1999, This Place Hotel or I Feel For You [esp when he mixes the original with the Chaka version and the Melle Mel rap]? That was the first R&B song that used hip-hop...and it all went downhill from there - ha! I tell you we could solve world peace with the right music people. They just don't make songs like those anymore. Now I have to wait another year......