DANCING MACHINE: Before Lucy went to bed last night, I sat her down with me on the couch to watch the MJ marathon on MTV -- "The Way You Make Me Feel" was on, and while I anticipated the details readily (the "you knock me off-a my feet now baby, hoo!" opening, etc) and told my daughter to pay attention to the dancing, she wasn't interested -- she wanted to finish viewing the previous night's SYTYCD, re-watching the "Moses" number three times in a row.
I didn't tell her Jackson was dead, and I didn't even get close to telling her about the life story or his troubles. But some day, she may wonder -- or at least some day she should learn about Jackson's music and legacy. Do I just focus on the Jackson 5 and Off the Wall? Because I feel like anything beyond that point -- even Thriller -- doesn't make sense and isn't that impressive outside its cultural context, which goes to Isaac's "what legacy?" comment from last night. Because a kid who's seen all the HSM movies isn't going to be that impressed with the mass choreography of "Bad" or "Thriller," and sonically everything that "Beat It" accomplished has been well-integrated into pop music for so long. [To borrow an example I've used before, it's like trying to get a modern teen to imagine the musical universe pre-Nirvana to understand what 1991 meant to us -- they can't.] And then it all gets weird and complicated.
So, how are we going to explain all this to the kids? [Bonus link: that Jackson Five/Cher medley CNN kept using for B-reel last night.]
No comments:
Post a Comment