Twenty Reasons Michael Jackson Was Cool

06/26/09 5:10pm

by Sean K. Robb (CHARTattack)

Michael Jackson died on Thursday at age 50 after he went into cardiac arrest.

Let's face it, Michael Jackson's last years weren't exactly good times for him or anyone around him. That still doesn't diminish the fact that his musical legacy was incredible and he was one of the most vibrant personalities in modern history, though.

So, rather than dwell on the negative, CHARTattack presents to you 20 reasons why Michael Jackson was cool, courtesy of screenwriter and former Chart editor Sean K. Robb:

1) The music — It's impossible to extricate the music of the past 40 years from the influence of Michael Jackson, from the Motown sound he helped define through to the fusions of rock, R&B, pop and hip-hop that he created and made possible. It's impossible to know what music would sound like today were it not for him. That lodges him firmly in the distinguished company of Elvis Presley, James Brown, The Beatles and DJ Kool Herc.

2) The dancing — Has anyone ever moved the way he moved? As a child, there was a effortless grace to his every precocious step to the rhythm. As an adult, there was something magical about what he could do. Not only did he change the music, he changed the way we dance to it. Every time a video is made where a singer is flanked by a row of dancers (hello, Britney; hello, Lady GaGa) it's merely an echo of what he did first and better.

3) The moonwalk — It was debuted on a Motown 25th anniversary television special taped in March 1983 during a performance of "Billie Jean," and exemplified everything about his performing ability. It was uncanny, thrilling to watch and has been attempted at least once by every single person in the world. Sure, it was just a dance move, but it blew our minds.

4) Thriller, the album — I was nine years old when Thriller was released in November 1982. I saved my allowance and it was the first record I ever bought. Of course, I was not alone. Thriller is still the best-selling album of all time, since it's sold over one hundred million copies. I still own the vinyl record I bought back in 1983. I played it last night, very loudly. Despite a few skips, it still sounds great.

5) "Thriller," the video — At a time when music videos were made with little budget and even less thought, MJ revolutionized the form. The zombie dance, the red leather suit, the admission from Michael that "I'm not like other guys." It wasn't a video, it was the video. Can 1,000 Philippine prisoners be wrong? No.

6) Black Or White Part 1 — There's no way to put this gently, so let's just say it: At the time Thriller was released, MTV was racist as shit. Videos by black artists received little if any play. Faced with Jackson's massive popularity, the station had no choice but to play "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" side by side with videos by The Go-Go's and Van Halen. As music writer Toure has said, MJ was MTV's Jackie Robinson.

7) "Beat It" — Michael's decision to feature a screaming guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen on "Beat It" redefined the boundaries of what was possible both in rock music and R&B. Guitars had been staples of the blues and R&B since their creation, but Van Halen's "heavy metal" sound seemed the anathema of contemporary black music until MJ knocked the wall down. Unfortunately, this would eventually lead to rap metal, but still.

8) The Jackson 5 — Before any of this, Jackson was a child star — but not just any child star. To watch his performances with his young brothers now is to see a level of talent no child star has displayed before or since. He had an innate sense of rhythm, of soul and a charisma that's almost other-worldly. I have never seen a party not turned upside down by the playing of "I Want You Back" — possibly the most joyful song ever recorded.

9) The Jackson 5ive — In 1984, ABC began showing Saturday morning reruns of this early-'70s cartoon featuring Michael and his brothers and their wacky adventures. It was a cross between Alvin & The Chipmunks and Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids and I was glued to the set every week as I wolfed down Alpha-Bits, shocked to discover Michael had been on TV before I had even been born.

10) The glitter glove — Yes, I had one. But I wasn't the only one. They were on sale everywhere, and for at least a little while it was possible to wear one without being punched. It was part Mickey Mouse, part Elizabeth Taylor, and at some point Michael stopped wearing it, but it never ceased to be a symbol of his uniqueness.

11) The clothes — There's a scene in Beverly Hills Cop where Eddie Murphy walks past two men in matching leather Thriller suits and laughs his trademark Eddie Murphy laugh. But the scene was funny for two reasons: One, because the men looked ridiculous and two, because it underlined a fundamental truth: everyone wanted to be Michael Jackson from 1983 to 1985.

12) Bubbles — "Haven't you always wanted a monkey?" the Barenaked Ladies sang on "If I Had A Million Dollars." Most people would say yes. Michael went one better. He had a monkey, perhaps the most famous ape since Koko. That the monkey became one of his best friends at the height of his fame tells us all we need to know about the loneliness of being on top.

13) Bad — The release of the follow-up to Thriller was hyped like no other record before, with a video for the title track directed by Martin Scorcese and written by The Wire scribe Richard Price. The video starred Wesley Snipes as a street thug and Michael himself as a kid returning to the hood from college, and introduced the world to a harder, edgier side of the pop star. What would become a lifelong penchant for crotch grabbing started here.

14) The surgeries — To say Jackson never seemed at ease with his physical appearance is an obvious understatement. Over 20 years of plastic surgery would alter his face so much that one can only imagine what 50 year-old Michael might have looked like had he never gone under the blade. Although it made him a subject of endless ridicule, he was clearly ahead of his time now that everyone and their mother has had a botox injection, tummy tuck or nose/boob/chin job.

15) Black Or White Part 2 — Jackson's transition from dark skinned black man to the pale, almost white man he became is usually discussed as a sign of self-loathing. For his part, Michael claimed to suffer from a pigmentation disorder that lightened his skin. Either way, the transformation that occurred to his face and body only confirmed what he had tried to tell us years earlier: "I'm not like other guys."

16) The Elephant Man's bones — He tried to buy them. Why? Who knows? It's a mystery. But it's clear on some level, Jackson felt a kinship with the 19th century circus sideshow Joseph Merrick — a man so horribly deformed he provoked shock, fear and wonder in all who saw him. Perhaps, though, it's not really such a mystery at all.

17) Black Or White Part 3 — The release of "Black Or White" from 1991's Dangerous brought Jackson back to the top of the pop charts. The song is about bigotry and tolerance, and the video ended with a four-minute scene of Jackson grabbing his crotch, smashing a car with a baseball bat and blowing up a pub. The awesomeness of this scene more than made up for an earlier scene of Macaulay Culkin lip-synching someone else's rap.

18) Neverland — Jackson bought a house in California. It was a gigantic house with a zoo, a movie theatre, bumper cars and a rollercoaster and he named it after the magical land in Peter Pan — a story about a magical boy who never grows up. The psychological implications are staggering, and the stories about what may have taken place behind those gates are disturbing. What Xanadu was to Charles Foster Kane, Neverland was to Jackson. In 2008, under financial duress, Jackson sold the property.

19) Marrying Lisa Marie Presley — It didn't last for long. But if he was going to marry, it seemed only fitting that the King Of Pop would wed the daughter of the King Of Rock 'N' Roll. Seriously, you couldn't make this stuff up.

20) The most famous man on earth — Scenes of massive throngs of people — thousands of them from all over the world, clamoring, screaming, crying. For 25 years, these images have been indelibly linked to Jackson. He was, without doubt, the most famous person on the planet. One can only imagine what this does to the psyche, and how it affects the way someone must see the world. All his wealth and fame both served ultimately to put him into a bubble. He couldn't go outside without wearing a disguise. He developed phobias about the air and about touching people. While fame created Jackson the icon, it may have destroyed Jackson the man. But there was only one and there will never be another. His name and his art will live forever.