Jum-on

None of us were around for MJ's heyday (my fondest memories of the guy revolve, unfortunately, around the widely-televised 'Black or White' benefit concert, and the abysmal Dangerous. Come on, I was five). Maybe that's why I've been so blown away by what I've been reading about him since his death. I'm not sure I ever had any sort of hold on just how huge the guy was in the 80's, when his skin was only a few shades lighter than it should've been, his nose still looked like a nose, and it didn't really matter how many plastic surgeries he had, anyway, because he was that good (Greg, I know we talked about MJ's songwriting credits a while back. Turns out Jackson wrote most of his hits--including 'Billie Jean', which Quincy Jones apparently disliked--in their entirety).

Basically, what I'm trying to say is it's good to see the old Michael Jackson. It's good to see everyone seeing the old Michael Jackson. I've read in a few places about the shame of his never having his own Prince-style revival, but I'm not sure his persona could've supported such a comeback. I'm not sure what, aside from his death, could have brought him back. Even today and yesterday, his obituaries have been heavily shaded by what he later became--the sickly, creepy man-child of our adolescence--and with good reason. Prince was never tried on molestation charges.

Anyway, I just ran across this video of Jackson a few months after the 'Billie Jean' single was released, and I had to share it. It's incredible (it's also the debut of the Moonwalk). I watched it, and the light bulb went on: there's the superstar. Sorry, JT, you'll never come close to topping this.