Friday, August 28, 2009

Michael Jackson, 51

It's Michael Jackson's 51st birthday tomorrow, his body lying cold somewhere known only to his folks.

Alive, he was to me just another Black singer. Sure, I could hum along with some of his songs but never really knew the lyrics. Thus their meanings were lost to me except perhaps for Billie Jean. I didn't watch his concert in Manila. I can't even recall where I was or what I was busy with at the time. I was too engrossed in my career I guess that I simply wasn't interested in other things or in people who had nothing to do with it.

I became curious about him when he died, thanks to media's 24/7 coverage and airing of his music videos, interviews, etc. THEN I came to know the guy better. THEN I discovered how absolutely outstanding he was in his field. But more than that, I learned what a remarkable human being he was!

As a musician -- the lyrics of many of his songs caught me by surprise. It was hard to connect the mysterious, eccentric, morphing, accused but proven innocent, Peter-Pan-at-heart with songs of such intensity, relevance, and depth of meaning. He sung about things many of us only ponder upon or keep in the deep recesses of our hearts; things that have caused the formation of various cause-oriented groups; things the UN agencies are now rallying nations to take note of and act on.

His ability to move is mesmerizing. I often catch myself analyzing his choreography and coordination in wonderment. Did he really have joints like the rest of us? He knows exactly when to turn sideways, when to give his collar a playful tug, when and where to point his fingers with those funny-looking tapes, when to shift from the sharp angular movements to the languid fluid sliding on the stage floor, when to romance the microphone stand or move it playfully backwards without missing a beat.

Alas, even if I am now prepared to cue, spend, and risk getting crushed in the throng to watch him perform live, I have to make do with his performances on DVD and on YouTube.

As a human being -- I can't have my fill of first-hand accounts of people who were fortunate to have come up-close and personal to MJ. Authors, scholars, journalists, world leaders, business tycoons, pastors, as well as ordinary people. The settings and circumstances were varied but the story line is the same. The common descriptions in their accounts include kind, mild-mannered, considerate, caring, giving, perpetually curious, insatiably hungry to learn, perfectionist, funny and fun-loving, prankster, child-like, voracious reader. Above all, an amazing parent.

Wherever one stands in terms of the real character of MJ, I pray we suspend judgment. Rather, like he himself consistently did in his music and in interviews, simply acknowledge the SOURCE of his gifts. (Asked how his songs come about, he simply said, "From above," with a swift upward wave of his hand.)

One thing that stood out to me was that MJ made the most of His gifts and shared them to the utmost. His grunts and moans and beat boxing in between the lyrics of his songs show how he truly becomes the song and the music. The same can be discerned when he goes on his rhythmic rampage of the stage. Those cannot be but a result of hours of work to achieve the best for each and every piece of music. But also, I thought that this seem very much like David dancing in wild abandon in worship of the Lord. People thought him crazy. Just the same, he went on dancing, mindful only of his audience of One. MJ really seems to have discovered the secret of genuine worship.

Only God truly knows where MJ's heart was that morning of June 25, 2009, whether or not he reached back to Him before Propofol lulled him into eternal slumber. I find comfort in how God's ways are strange, and that He is absolutely good and merciful. And because of that, I know MJ has since June 25, 2009, been moonwalking in heaven to the delight of the true Source of all his gifts. Am pretty sure too that it is no longer just an audience of One and that the angels are now quite adept at beatboxing too!

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