Saturday, March 07, 2009

Not History, Michael

(Image from www.last.fm)
This morning as I woke up, “Beat It” by Michael Jackson was playing on the radio. And, I was instantly reminded of two persons.
One was, of course Jackson himself, who for me still remains the King of Pop, albeit I admit that the list of “angrezi” singers I am aware of and have heard to is quite impoverished.
The other is my very dear old friend whom I would address as Parry Luther, his preferred moniker a quarter of century back when we were silly teenagers. It was courtesy him that I, a small–town-boy was introduced to a hitherto unexplored world of western music.
And what was western music, if not Michael Jackson! For years, I reveled in the rich sounds of Thriller, followed by Bad and then History.
Parry diligently continued to arrange a wide variety of the latest western pop for us initiated but even with all the choice, Jackson always remained a favourite, with his magnificently distinct vocals & music, his fantastic dancing (moonwalk et al), his grand stage shows and videos with superb production values.
As Wikipedia says, “Time magazine described Jackson's influence as "Star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too".
I am deeply saddened to see that today Jackson has been reduced to a caricature of himself, a pale, pale shadow of the phenomenon he was. True it is that success & fame are not worn lightly by everybody.
It is a strange coincidence that as I end this day, the last news item which comes to my notice is that Jackson has announced his swansong in London. I wish him all the very best.
Parry, what say?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Berry berry nice..... :)

Old (and old fashioned) that I am, I completely agree that it is impossible to forget Jackson.

Apart from all the talent he has as an artist he's had great sense of taste in his videos.

There have been shameful incidents attributed to him, painful things in his personal life and all that.

Nothing has ever effected my love for his music. To say I love "him" is a bit too much but I still love his music... probably because it reminds me of my younger days ;)....

Wish him all the best and hope he comes back with great music.

Rahul Gaur said...

Right you are!

Parru said...

Mai-ka-lal Jai-kishan as some have called him - was indeed a phenomenon of those times. I still hold memories of us sitting in my room, all mesmerized by the awesome musice he would produce. No wonder then that hearing that music took you on a short nostalgia trip. It hurts to see him suffer as a result of his over-popularity and other stupidities of stardom. Hope he does well in his newly announced tour...

Rahul Gaur said...

Dear Numero Uno,
Sahi bola!
And, it hurts more because I now realise that his music was not all marketing. It was real good, nahin?
Thanks for your comment. Do keep visiting.

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