MJ

I know I know.. wht was I doing all this while? Hmmm... well, everytime I wanted write a tribute to him - I postponed it till it got 2 late. I know I know ... why now? Most saturdays I tune into Vh1 and 29th August was no different. Too late - I realized it was MJ's b'day (he wud have been 50 today) and it was raining MJ songs.

The first time I saw MJ was on the Grammy's show smtm in 1987, in Bangalore. The curly long hair, the apparent grace in the dance moves,the slim legs and thin frame had me convinced tht MJ was a woman. It was my cousin who educated me otherwise. The following year, I moved to Chennai and I was introduced to loads of english music, including MJ's. I was a Cliff Richards fan and so MJ was almost a culture shock but I was soon singing along with the cassette whenever I cud. Usually, whenever I make new frends, my first question after the pleasantries is "Wht books do you read?" - tht changed to "Do you listen to MJ?" Yupp - it was tht drastic.

I met my soul-sister later tht year - we convinced our family junta tht we were into "combined study" - tht was the term used those days - and managed to watch all MJ videos and sing along till I flunked World History. Mom went hyper and insisted "No more all this combined study rubbish or Mykhel Jakison nonsense". Yaa mum was pretty sharp :( Well, all tht meant was improve my grades n I could go bk to MJ.. my soul-sister was a gr8 frend and teacher n taught me Russian Revolution and 1857 so well tht my mom gave me permission to go bk to listening to Mykhel :D I also listened to Madonna, George Michael, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and a host of other musicians during this time.

Have you ever noticed that movies, videos tht impressed you when you were a kid, look tacky, totally blaaah when you re-visit them? I remember being impressed by the movie Khoon Bhari Maang when I saw it for the first time. When I saw it again, a few yrs later, I found tht the editing was not slick enuf, the story line shd have been tauter - you know what I mean. With the passage of the years, the technology has changed so much tht the old movies, videos are not as impressive. So, if the movie or video stood the test of time, it essentially took on cult status.

At that time, MJ was the hit of the season - I realize now tht he and sm musicians were able to re-invent themselves, stay ahead of their fans expectations and remain on the top longer than the others tho' MJ took it some weird levels at times. For instance, apart frm the ole videos (Jackson 5 videos) which appear dated - all his other videos were actually way ahead of time and they continue to impress me. Thriller, Black or White, for instance.

After watching MJ videos hundreds of times, I could actually yell out the kind of outfit he was wearing as I heard the opening notes of any song. The Arien decided to test me on it and here goes:

• The way you make me feel - navy blu shirt, white vest, a white cord with a kinda bow in front.
• Smooth Criminal - all white blazer, hat, shoes, and the paris tower lean
• They don't care 'bout us - colourful red v neck shirt teamed with a blue jean
• Bad - black outfit with buckles on the side
• Beat It - Orangish-red space jacket, blue t-shirt, wite socks peeping out.
• Say Say Say (with Paul McCartney) - navy blue cap, suspenders, blue sweatshirt
• Billi Jean - red bow tie, leather blazer on shoulder, lite pink shirt, very old style formal leather shoes, black leather trousers.

I actually got most of it rite - down to the smallest details. The Arien was pretty surprised that I could still remember the lines of so many of MJs songs. Actually, I was pretty surprised at that too :) Thanks to MJ, I belonged to the hip crowd at school instead of the nerdy junta I was usually a part of. I truly enjoyed his music and felt sorry for the poor lil rich boy as he got weirder and weirder. I shall miss his music, his monwalk, his passion for the songs he wrote and danced for... Adieu!