Update: What does his death mean for the Beatles' catalog?
Larry King just asked some guest if MJ's death is as "big" as Elvis's and John Lennon's. Wow. That's just sad.
But fuck all that. This is my favorite MJ song. Killer riff, killer hook.
I came of age with "Thriller" and I remember how he "arrived" on the scene in India. It was sudden and it was total. A remarkable feat, considering that he became big in Indian cities and even many mid-sized towns before the arrival of cable TV (or even FM). One day, none of us had heard of moonwalking and the next day, we were talking about the fire on the sets of the Pepsi commercial.
It's fair to say that Jackson had a bigger impact on the pop culture landscape in India than Elvis, the Beatles and Nirvana put together. If you are the typical Indian rock listener, you have probably spent more time listening to "The Wall" than "Off the wall". That was, and continues to be, music for the elite. But MJ was popular, truly pop.
And 26 years later, my eyes can see how his feet move during the moonwalk but the brain still doesn't get it.
7 comments:
It's fair to say that Jackson had a bigger impact on the pop culture landscape in India than Elvis, the Beatles and Nirvana put together.
Oh I totally agree. I still remember my dad(!) going out to buy MJ's music and how he got back the HIStory volume I and II discs when he came back from a trip to the US only to play the songs on an unending repeat.
Thriller happened in my pre-teens -- and was my introduction to music other than Abba and Jim Reeves and the like. I suspect the Thriller LP cover is still safe in a trunk somewhere...
Brinda: you heard "Thriller" on vinyl? Lucky you.
Szerelem: That's what I am talking about.
a sad travesty of a man, but what an entertainer! beat it was my #1 (yes, i maintained a weekly top ten list) for a full year :-(
TR: Of course, back then my only reason to like "Beat it" was that EVH played on it. It is a great song.
Also, you need to share that weekly top ten list with us. I would love to see some intersection and deviation points :)
It used to a rather favoured quiz question about the origins of the moonwalk. Cab Calloway, wasn't it, the first to do it? He called it something else, though. Can't remember exactly what. Any ideas?
And check out this video on YouTube of the Origins of Moonwalk.
Feanor: Very interesting. Even though I know Calloway's music, I didn't know about this aspect.
If you look up this Saturday's NY Times, there's an article by a dance critic about MJ's dance abilities. Quite a read. I never knew even "serious" dancers (Fred Astaire certainly did) viewed Jackson as a terrific dancer.
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