Remember The Time ..

so you heard the news.. Michael Jackson has been cleared of all charges. it is not for me to judge here whether he is/was innocent or guilty. i still believe at the end of the day that in his heart he is one overgrown kid, and all his antics and shenanigans are just products of a lonely child trapped in the icon that Michael Jackson has become. but there was a time, when he was the KING OF POP, and his music was good, his lyrics powerful, his dancing electric.. i would sit glued to the tv on sunday nights 8 p.m for 'Music Time'.. hoping and praying that the host (Fred 'Obachi' Machoka!!) would play a MJ video!!

'Thriller' was the first music cassette i ever bought, and 'Bad' the second. i played them so much that they got worn out, the magnetic tape skidding on the play-head with a continuous hiss, which became such an ingrained part of the songs, that even today in my head i can hear that blip right at the end of "Smooth Criminal", where i had to cellotape two ends of tape, where my rundown Panasonic tape recorder had chewed it! invariably, i would hit rewind after "Beat It", "Wanna Be Startin' Something", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Dirty Diana".. man, those were the days..

and as i grew, MJ's music kept me company all through.. i always found songs that i related to, or inspired me.. the album 'Dangerous' was out when i was just hitting puberty.. when i was in class 7, i had a huge crush on this really pretty girl, and i wrote her a song, on lined yellow-paper.. i don't remember how it went, but it sounded a lot like "Remember The Time"!! and right at the bottom, i had stuck this 'Love is...' cutout, which was a big syndicated hit in a lot of newspapers the world over! i think the Daily Nation still carries it!

there were some heavy beat-driven songs on that album.. title track "Dangerous", "Give In To Me", "Who Is It?", "Why You Wanna Trip On Me" and i loved them all.. and as time went on, my musical choice had widened to rock and heavy metal, but when 'HIStory' came out, i was still one of the first people in the line to snap it up. some of the haunting melodies on it were "Stranger In Moscow", "Little Susie", "Earth Song".. and every time i listen to these songs i get carried a million miles back home, and a million minutes back in time.. somehow his work after that failed to interest me, and i lost touch with his newer music.

so i read somewhere that MJ might try to resurrect his music career.. i really want to see that day come, and if he manages to redirect some of his boundless talent, then i will be here proudly blogging about how "Wacko Jacko is back-o!!". anyways, what are your favourite MJ songs?!