All major news organizations have confirmed that Michael Jackson died this afternoon (Pacific Time) after suffering cardiac arrest. His comeback was poised to begin in London next month with 50 sold-out concerts. Of course MJ songs were a staple at 8TRAX and when some of his older videos were played, the club would come to a near-standstill as people stopped what they were doing and just watched the screen.
Friday Update: Last night at The Groove former 8TRAX DJ Doc played a LOT of Michael Jackson music and videos. It's what the crowd wanted. Another large crowd on hand for 80's Night.
YouTube has disabled the embedding of Michael Jackson videos at this time so we give you this link instead. Arguably one of the top music videos ever made but one of just one hit after another on MJ's Thriller album. Spend about 13-1/2 minutes watching this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtyJbIOZjS8
I plan on being in costume and doing Thriller although part of me thinks I shouldn't
ReplyDeleteyou should, it would make people happy. alot of groove staff members was hoping someone will do it.
ReplyDeleteI'll bring my camera!
ReplyDeleteI will dance for MJ this weekend to celebrate his legendary life. RIP MJ
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna moonwalk everywhere I go for the next month.
ReplyDeleteI decided not to go and do it yesterday because ppl should watch his music video and be in awe of the performer he was, not paying attention to me.
ReplyDeleteI never listen to the radio(only XM) so I had no clue he had even been rushed to the hostpital. I walked into the tanning salon right as the radio was reporting that TMZ was reporting he had died in his home, but was rushed to be revived. I just sort of stopped in my tracks and my jaw dropped. I absolutely couldn't believe it. While tanning, the radio was on so I was treated to a whole slew of MJ music. As I got in my car I turned on the radio and Thriller came on and I lost it. It seems so bizarre to actually cry over a celebrity dying, but I honestly can't think of another celebrity I cared about more than MJ.
ReplyDeleteI am 24. I only grew up with him during the mid 90s and it was not a good time to get to know him. But I went to college in 2003 and in one of my general education classes(I think it was sort of a history class) we studied the history of the music video and Thriller was a core part of the lecture. I was completely fascinated by it, having never really seen it before that.
After coming to work for Disney in 2004-2005, MJ hits were a regular occurrence at 8-trax and I really got to know even more of his music and discover the scope of his songs.
After returning from Disney, I got a job as a mobile DJ doing primarily weddings. Within 4 months of doing that job, I knew I needed to do something over the top to make people remember me. I was given advanced notice of a wedding where the bride and groom wanted over the top. They wanted silver metallic pants, spandex shirts, and the YMCA. But I had something better in mind. I poured over the net and found thrilltheworld.com - an attempt to set the ginuess world record for most people worldwide doing the same dance at the same time. I got the instructional video and learned the dance in 2 hours, then started practicing at every opportunity, in the car(there are words to the dance moves) or at home, in the shower, it didn't matter. But that STILL wasn't enough...so I ordered an MJ thriller costume from the Ebay UK site and had it overnighted to me. It didn't make it in time for the wedding, but I wore it for Halloween the next day.
As I developed my routine, I was struggling to find a way to get more people involved. I did Thriller at every single wedding, every school dance, every single show I did. But what I found so difficult was figuring out how the crowd would react. At one point, I was asking the crowd if they liked MJ. Sadly, no one would ever raise their hand. But when Thriller came on, suddenly people remembered why they like Michael Jackson.
I think this is a good example of how one person, arguably years after his prime, can still inspire someone to be a better entertainer. His legacy is far reaching and I'm sure that 50 years from now, it is his music legacy, not his personal life, that people will remember. He has been, is, and always will be the king of pop.
Elvis was from a different generation than me but I still remember the day he died. His death was drug-related and followed years of him abusing his body. We're now 30 or so years later and Elvis is remembered fondly and still has lots of fans. I suspect that Michael Jackson will be remembered similarly 30 years from now.
ReplyDeleteI stopped in at Red Coconut at City Walk on Friday night and the patrons were yelling for MJ songs; so Herb Williams and his band performed a series of songs.
ReplyDeleteI will be at the groove in full MJ costume on July 9th to do Thriller. I know it will be a little later than most would like at that point, but each person grieves in their own way and I felt it necessary to not do the dance for a little while.
ReplyDeleteSo bob, let Doc know and we'll make a big thing of it. Then the costume won't come out again till halloween
None, how about this coming Thursday, July 2nd? With Friday being a holiday for many, there should be a HUGE crowd out at The Groove for 80's Night. I think it would be more appreciated too.
ReplyDeleteI'm flying back to WI on the 2nd :-(
ReplyDeleteIt's ok, some things are just better left not done. I don't think it's gonna happen within a time frame that people would appreciate it. If only we had 8-trax...