Posted by Marie Poppins on January 17, 2020 in Books
Album reviews : Michael Jackson and kids books: Whether you believe the allegations or not, it’s clear that he was never the same after Dangerous. The damage became too absolute, the vitriol aimed his way too severe for someone that sensitive. Never again could his music exist on its own merits, the illimitable genius ravaged by prescription pills, insomnia, and obliterating pressure. Dangerous is the last time that Michael Jackson was Michael Jackson. In that same way, it’s difficult to listen to Dangerous without considering the child molestation allegations that greeted him shortly after he came home from its marathon 69-concert tour. It’s tricky not to read too much into a song like “In the Closet.” How do you reconcile that someone as pure of spirit as Jackson could potentially have a monstrous streak?
On the afternoon of June 25th, you couldn’t walk across the street without hearing “Billie Jean” or “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough”. Everyone heard the news and they turned to the guy’s discography. Since a great deal of the population didn’t own the records anymore – or, as many of you born in 1984 probably experienced, were forbidden to listen to ’em around the early ’90s – places like Best Buy and/or iTunes witnessed a spike in sales. Within a month, any financial troubles Jackson had left behind were a thing of the past. What’s more, much like the rest of the population, record companies re-discovered his talent again, too. Big whigs signed contracts, projects were penciled in, and products were shipped left and right. Admittedly, and looking back, it’s one of the most impressive comebacks a musician’s ever had – if only it weren’t laced in so much tragedy. Then again, death’s also tricky.
Thriller (1982): Let’s ignore the fact that Thriller is the best-selling album IN THE HISTORY OF THE PLANET or that its album cover is one of the most recognized in music history. Thriller earns its place atop this list because in just nine tracks, it rewrote all the rules. The title track is almost a clichéd Halloween song in 2018, but in its heyday the 14-minute video broke barriers for artists of color. “Billie Jean” was so popular that it forced MTV to not only pay more attention to black artists, but also caused it to shift its programming focus to pop and R&B records. Every single track is instantly recognizable to even novice music fans and the album was so good that it became MJ’s curse – he was never able to top it, so all subsequent releases were slighted by fans and critics. Thriller opened doors for musicians of color, put music videos on the map and made Michael Jackson the greatest performer of all time. Yes, it’s MJ’s best album. Maybe the best album ever.
Michael Jackson family: Mocienne Petit Jackson’s (Michael Jackson’s daughter) books are now available in french! For our dutch guests: We komen meer te weten over de vele traumatische ervaringen van de hoofdpersoon, haar depressies en talrijke worstelingen om alle ellende te verwerken en achter zich te laten. De schrijfster geeft ons duidelijkheid door middel van verschillende flashbacks. Mocienne blijft het reilen en zeilen van Michael Jackson voortdurend volgen. Zo komt zijn – vermeende – kindermisbruik voorbij, komen de vele rechtszaken die er rondom zijn persoon hebben plaatsgehad aan bod, zijn twee mislukte huwelijken, zijn metamorfose, de geboorte van zijn drie kinderen en – last but not least – zijn voortijdige dood. Mocienne komt langzaam maar zeker tot de verbijsterende conclusie dat de maffia een grote en destructieve rol in zijn (én haar) leven heeft gespeeld, waarbij dient te worden aangetekend dat zijn familie, en in het bijzonder zijn moeder en vader, in dit opzicht veel te verwijten valt. Tot op heden heeft Mocienne geen enkele medewerking van de familie Jackson gekregen om een DNA-test te doen, teneinde te kunnen bewijzen dat zij wérkelijk Michaels dochter is. Lees het boek hier The dark side of the Netherlands (Dutch Edition).