Bandwagon Time!

Now playing: Michael Jackson - They Don't Care About Us
via FoxyTunes

Since the rest of the internet is spilling over with anecdotes, I figure I'll throw my own in on the subject of Michael Jackson. I prefer to remember the earlier times when he was the pinnacle of absolute fucking cool, rather than the more cringe-worthy later years.

The first song of his that I ever listened to was the early nineties "Black or White." My fellow "grew-up-in-the-90's" brethren and sistren will attest to how often it was on the radio, and how frickin' infectious it was. When we got our first CD player, "Dangerous" was one of the first albums we got to go along with it. I didn't know my dad had gotten it, and when he skipped forward to track 8 and cranked it, I totally thought (from across the house), that the opening audio vignette were my neighbors having an argument! Needless to say I was quite pleased to be proven wrong.

I remember asking for "Bad" soon after that, and had a heck of time getting it. My aunt got me "Thriller" for my birthday by mistake and I was utterly heartbroken. I was a stupid, stupid kid. I did, of course, warm up to it, and that copy is still sitting in our CD collection.

My last little anecdote was when HIStory came out in '94, and I first heard it on NPR of all places. I don't remember exactly what the program was about, aside from that it was about his new album, but it was probably about the controversy over "They Don't Care About Us," and they played a minute long clip from it. I just thought it sounded really damn cool, and my dad got me the album as benevolent largess when we finally payed off the mortgage to our house.

Anywho, there's my little tribute to MJ.


Enough, More Later.
- James