I remember walking around Harlem late last June, aghast at the heaviness in the air-- as if it was the second coming of JFK's assassination. The news of Michael Jackson's death had spread earlier in the day and already the scaffolding around The Apollo was covered with in memoriam posters of the great, newly deceased, MJ.
A couple days later on my way home from work, I was coming up on the 125th street stop and was pretty sure I was witnessing a resurrected MJ dancing to "Bad" on the platform. Present: red leather jacket, the one silver glove, fresh white socks, shiny black shoes, aviator glasses... I figured out it wasn't really him after he tipped his glasses and winked after I dropped a dollar into the hat next to him (though, as I remember, MJ was pretty well off and more or less agoraphobic, so those were clues as well).
West Harlem that day was a glittering spectacle of all things Michael Jackson. Rollicking masses of people moving past booth after booth of MJ paraphenalia: t-shirts, jewelry, pictures, posters, dvds, cds, fake tattoos... And then there was the Wailing Wall.
Rather, shoddy white paper slapped onto the scaffolding and corkboard walls surrounding The Apollo where people could leave their last words to the late and great.
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Went to an MJ dance party this past weekend in Seoul. Along with the obvious choices of songs like "Thriller" , "Beat It" and "Rock With Me" -- they also played some Jackson 5, which was a particular treat, having not actively listened to them in quite some time. And it made me happy.
And so-- Day 1: A Song That Makes You Happy: The Jackson 5: "I Want You Back"
"I Want You Back" has one of the greatest chord progressions of any song in popular music, ever, ever, ever.
ReplyDeleteOk you're not talking to yourself but I finally learned how to sign in. It was so fun to read even though I don't know most of the people. I really likes some of the songs and was facinated by the broad spectrum. Still dont know how to put this on -kelly
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