This Is It

This past Fall I went with my mom to see the movie/documentary This Is It, which documented rehearsal footage of Michael Jackson prior to his death. On many levels I thought it was amazing. As many people who are close to me know I have always loved MJ. When talking to others, I always stood up for him amidst all the nonsense in his personal life. I tried to defend him to anyone who ever said anything negative about him. Its funny, everyone uses something in life as a frame of reference for where they were or what was going on in their life at a certain time. Some people use political events, significant events in sports, or any of many other ways to gauge their lives. For me it was Michael Jackson's career. Clearly, with me being 25 years old and born after Thriller was released I don't mean his entire career, for me it was watching his decline.

Fortunately, I grew up in a family where music was one of the top priorities. That being said, I was often exposed to older music through my mom, brother and two older cousins. I think that allowed me to hang on by a thread to music that many my age didn't have such a strong emphasis on . My favorite album to this very day, is Michael Jackson's album Off The Wall. There I said it! Yes, my favorite album of all-time is a pop album. When I was about 8 or 9 years old, my cousin Abby who is about 8 years older than me played Off the Wall for me. Up until that time, I had only heard the albums Bad, Thriller and Dangerous. I loved them, owned all three on cassette, and thought they were the greatest thing. I would listen to "Man in the Mirror", "Human Nature" and "Beat it" constantly. Abby, had a cassette of Off the Wall in her car, and popped it in. For some reason, the songs that blew my mind most were the last three tracks on the album called "I Can't Help It", "It's The Falling In Love", and "Burn This Disco Out". I mean, not only should these songs stand out to any adult music fanatic, but even at 8 years old I was blown away at what I was hearing. There was so much going on instrumentally within these songs. I always thought Bad and Thriller were great, but to me they always stood out as true pop music. They both have a much heavier emphasis on synthesized sounds/keyboard sounds, where Off The Wall was clearly done with many traditional instruments. I still categorize Off the Wall as a funk/soul album, and always will. The album has provided me with many hours of entertainment and has never failed to uplift me.

By no means do I excuse MJ's odd behavior, but it is far more complex and deeper of an issue than the average fan or non-fan assumes. By now, everyone has heard his story, and is sick of it. Messed up childhood, no opportunity to be a kid...The Whole 9. No one wants to hear it anymore. But those issues were very real, and people over the last 25-30 years have continually laughed at MJ's outrageous behavior, but rode him through his stardom. This was a man who probably needed to be institutionalized many years ago. As the years went on, people kept pointing fingers at him for his actions, but at the same time encouraging him to continue with his career. Did anyone else think it was a little twisted that people were having Michael going through with what was supposed to be a 75 show concert session last summer at the O2 arena? MJ was 50, extremely frail/unhealthy looking, but no one stepped in and said hey, Michael, we might not want to do this tour.

I know that while he was growing up he would often be seen with Elizabeth Taylor or Diana Ross, who appeared to be protective of him, but it really seemed as though no one ever truly helped MJ out. He always seemed to be a laugh for everyone, and looking back that seems very depressing. MJ was Human, his life flashed before my parents' and my own generation. Ultimately, a man who provided so many music listeners with joyful experiences and memories died unhappy and too young.

This Is It was very important to me, because I felt as though it finally served MJ some form of justice. There really weren't any confessionals/interviews with MJ in the documentary. It simply showed what went into a MJ production, and how important every detail was for him within his entertainment. His passion for perfection was unreal. When many of the people working with him in the concert were interviewed, such as the choreographers and other musicians it was clear how important this was to them, their careers and how MJ influenced them all in some fashion. When Michael was practicing the song "Human Nature" while trying to choreograph it, for me that was something so incredible. I think everyone needs to watch this Documentary.

Michael was ridden to the top by everyone around him, including fans, but in his downfall it seemed as though no one truly addressed any of his issues or personal problems. I feel as though many criticized MJ during his poor actions with the idea in mind that his odd behavior was in some way enjoyable to him. MJ was clearly a depressed man, with identity issues and was trained to pushed to the limits, and now he's gone. That's upsetting to me.