I was very impressed with Judith Hill's singing at Michael Jackson's memorial, and now she's back on Lopez Tonight with the "This IS It" band putting on a great rendition of "Man in the Mirror." I love this song because it conveys the simple, yet important message of be the change you want to see in the world.
I will keep this brief, but watching Michael Jackson's memorial yesterday had me wondering who the excellent, Asian-looking singer was who was front-and-center for a large portion of the broadcast. The first thing I thought was, "When has there ever been as Asian singing lead on US network television?" I still can't come up with an example.
Anyway, it turns out that I wasn't the only one wondering because Yahoo's front page has linked to a Rolling Stone article titled "Mystery Artist Reveled". They didn't get into the point I made about never seeing Asian singers on US TV, but they did give a little info about her and her background. Apparently her mother is Japanese, and her father is American, I'm guessing Black. Check her out in action:
Being a loyal listener of Michael Jackson for my entire life, I am pretty sad to see him go. I know that he was not likely going to be able to put out any new music worth listening to, though I secretly hoped his upcoming shows in England would jump-start his career. I even remember reading last year that the Jackson 5 were going on tour, but obviously that didn't ever happen. I guess since we all die, there should really be no surprise, or shock in what happened, so I will take a little time to reflect by going over my MJ-favorites and memories.
The Videos
The video that I distinctly remember of MJ's was "Thriller". As a young child it seemed like a full-on movie, and definitely scared me! I was a fan of most of MJ's videos though, and some that really stand out in my mind are "Leave Me Alone", "Black or White", "Scream", and"Earth Song".
Leave Me Alone
My Favorite Songs
Just a few weeks ago a couple friends and I were singing some MJ at a karaoke establishment in Tokyo. According to my Ipod, my most listened to Michael Jackson song is "Billie Jean", followed by "Somebody's Watching Me", "Leave Me Alone", and "Scream". I think that I have to say that "Leave Me Alone" is probably the song I would choose as my favorite right now. I love "Black or White", but the rap in it is so corny that it can't be my favorite. I do think it is hilarious how Macaulay Culkin does the rap in the video, though.
Video Game
I also spent many quarters in "Treats" in Garberville, California as a kid playing "Moonwalker". I seem to remember you would walk around as Michael, fighting off bad guys, and saving children from being abducted. I remember there was a "super-move" you could do where Michael would dance around the whole screen and possibly even do the signature crotch-grab, which would eliminate all enemies in the screen at that moment. Good times :)
Child Molestation?
All I can say is I hope he never violated any kids. I think it would be more likely that people were just trying to take his money, but being that Michael clearly was an odd individual, I can see how people could jump to harsh conclusions. I am also guilty of criticizing celebrities during their downward spirals, so it doesn't bother me that people do it to MJ as well.
All blogs found on this site written before 2009 have been imported from MySpace. Some may not look too pretty, and some of the pictures won't enlarge, but it is a small price to pay to not have to deal with MySpace's primitive blog setup anymore!
I recently graduated San Francisco State University. I majored in Japanese and minored in International Relations, and spent a year studying at Tokyo's prestigious Waseda University. I grew up in a very rural area of Humboldt County California. That remote setting built up a lot of ambition in me to get out and chase my dreams. Thanks for reading!
I also spent many quarters in "Treats" in Garberville, California as a kid playing "Moonwalker". I seem to remember you would walk around as Michael, fighting off bad guys, and saving children from being abducted. I remember there was a "super-move" you could do where Michael would dance around the whole screen and possibly even do the signature crotch-grab, which would eliminate all enemies in the screen at that moment. Good times :)
All I can say is I hope he never violated any kids. I think it would be more likely that people were just trying to take his money, but being that Michael clearly was an odd individual, I can see how people could jump to harsh conclusions. I am also guilty of criticizing celebrities during their downward spirals, so it doesn't bother me that people do it to MJ as well.
