My Top 10 Jacko Songs...
1. Beat It
2. Man in the Mirror
3. Billie Jean
4. Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough
5. Ben
6. Thriller
7. Smooth Criminal
8. Black or White
9. You Are Not Alone
10. I Just Can't Stop Loving You
Showing posts with label MJ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MJ. Show all posts
Monday, July 06, 2009
How to Moonwalk like Michael Jackson
On March 25, 1983, Michael Jackson took one small, backward step onto a television stage — and one giant leap into dance-floor history. The thin, angular pop star was only 24 years old when he took an obscure break-dancing move and transformed it into one of the most recognizable routines of all time. Jackson debuted the moonwalk during his performance of "Billie Jean" on the ABC television special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, and the heavy rotation that the song's video enjoyed on MTV injected it into America's pop-cultural consciousness. The moonwalk is so fluid, so effortless — and yet when amateurs slip on some old gym socks and try to glide across a kitchen floor, it always turns out horribly.
Step 1: Start with your feet together. That's easy enough, right?
Step 2: Raise your right heel so that you're standing on the ball of your right foot.
Step 3: Shift your weight onto that still raised right foot so that the left one feels weightless.
Step 4: Lower your right heel slowly while moving your (still weightless) left foot backward until the toes of your left foot are aligned with the heel of your right foot. If you do it right, it should look like your left foot is floating backward across the floor.
Step 5: Lift your left heel and shift your body weight so that you're now standing on the ball of that foot.
Step 6: Repeat steps 4 and 5, this time with the opposite feet.
And that's the moonwalk. It's actually a very simple dance — and one Jackson didn't invent out of thin air. Its origins can be traced back to French mime Marcel Marceau's "Walking Against the Wind" trick, in which he pretended to be pushed backward by an imaginary gust of wind.
Step 1: Start with your feet together. That's easy enough, right?
Step 2: Raise your right heel so that you're standing on the ball of your right foot.
Step 3: Shift your weight onto that still raised right foot so that the left one feels weightless.
Step 4: Lower your right heel slowly while moving your (still weightless) left foot backward until the toes of your left foot are aligned with the heel of your right foot. If you do it right, it should look like your left foot is floating backward across the floor.
Step 5: Lift your left heel and shift your body weight so that you're now standing on the ball of that foot.
Step 6: Repeat steps 4 and 5, this time with the opposite feet.
And that's the moonwalk. It's actually a very simple dance — and one Jackson didn't invent out of thin air. Its origins can be traced back to French mime Marcel Marceau's "Walking Against the Wind" trick, in which he pretended to be pushed backward by an imaginary gust of wind.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Jacko Dies
Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop" who once moonwalked above the music world, died Thursday as he prepared for a comeback bid died at the age of 50. After hearing the shocking news I wished it was another rumour which would fade away soon. It took me time to believe that one of the world’s most popular entertainers is no more. I first started listening to Jacko during my sophomore. Even though now I listen to varied collection of genres, still MJ music is always special at my heart. I really admire him for his extraordinary musical talent. He is so fascinating to me because he went from beloved child star to a young adult icon to a strange troubled freak show. His 13 number 1 one hits on the Billboard charts put him behind only Presley, the Beatles and Mariah Carey.
By 1972, he had his first solo album, "Got to Be There," which included the title hit as well as "Rockin' Robin." His first solo No. 1 single came the same year -- the forlorn theme song from the movie "Ben." In 1978, Jackson made his film debut as the Scarecrow in "The Wiz," a black-cast adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz." The movie launched a creative and commercial partnership with Jones
He was perhaps the most popular performer of the 1980s, with continued success in the ‘90s, the first performer to make $100 million and winner of too many awards and maker of too many hits to name. In 80s, he became the world's most popular entertainer thanks to a series of hit records -- “Beat It,” "Billie Jean," “Thriller” -- and dazzling music videos. In Nov 1982 he released “Thriller” that became the best-selling studio album in history and a cultural landmark. Its music video created an impact in the music industry.
In 1983 he electrified the world with his moonwalk, a dance step he created his own iconography, the illusion of levitation. He took the stage in a black sequined jacket, silver shirt, black fedora and black trousers that skimmed the tops of his white socks. The final touch was a single white glove, studded with rhinestones. His dance style combined the robotic moves of break-dancers, and the quicksilver spins. Not only did "Thriller" smash sales records as the best-selling album of 1983, it made him the first artist to top four charts simultaneously: pop single, pop album, R&B single and R&B album. It earned five Grammys. The "Thriller" success enabled him to negotiate what were believed to be the highest royalty rates ever earned by a recording artist. But it also put him in a cage of his own anxieties and obsession.
He bonded himself to past pop-music royalty by marrying Lisa Marie Presley in 1994. The marriage was short-lived, however, and his wealth was imperiled by an extravagant lifestyle that included the 2,700-acre Neverland ranch. It is named after Neverland, the fantasy island in the story of Peter Pan, where children never grow up.
In recent years, he has been more infamous than famous, known for his increasingly alarming appearance, the charges of child molestation and his subsequent business-arrangement marriage that led to his single fatherhood. Years of plastic surgery had made his face a weird landscape. He was deeply in debt and had lost his way as a musician.
In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him, and of engaging in strange and inappropriate behavior with other children.
A frail-looking Jackson had spent his last weeks in rehearsal for an ambitious comeback attempt and 50 already-sold-out shows at London's O2 Arena. A major motivation was the $300 million in debt run up by a star who lived like royalty even though his self-declared title of King of Pop was more about the past than the present.
To me he was fascinated by celebrity tragedy. It’s hard to remember another celebrity death in which the crowds gathering to mourn were repeatedly compared to the crowds that gathered for the recently deceased’s sexual abuse trial. In later years he became a professional eccentric, glimpse of him in public a bit like alien sightings.
It is a big loss to all of us Jacko fans. I like many million fans love you for your music, regardless of all the controversies! We will truly miss you...
By 1972, he had his first solo album, "Got to Be There," which included the title hit as well as "Rockin' Robin." His first solo No. 1 single came the same year -- the forlorn theme song from the movie "Ben." In 1978, Jackson made his film debut as the Scarecrow in "The Wiz," a black-cast adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz." The movie launched a creative and commercial partnership with Jones
He was perhaps the most popular performer of the 1980s, with continued success in the ‘90s, the first performer to make $100 million and winner of too many awards and maker of too many hits to name. In 80s, he became the world's most popular entertainer thanks to a series of hit records -- “Beat It,” "Billie Jean," “Thriller” -- and dazzling music videos. In Nov 1982 he released “Thriller” that became the best-selling studio album in history and a cultural landmark. Its music video created an impact in the music industry.
In 1983 he electrified the world with his moonwalk, a dance step he created his own iconography, the illusion of levitation. He took the stage in a black sequined jacket, silver shirt, black fedora and black trousers that skimmed the tops of his white socks. The final touch was a single white glove, studded with rhinestones. His dance style combined the robotic moves of break-dancers, and the quicksilver spins. Not only did "Thriller" smash sales records as the best-selling album of 1983, it made him the first artist to top four charts simultaneously: pop single, pop album, R&B single and R&B album. It earned five Grammys. The "Thriller" success enabled him to negotiate what were believed to be the highest royalty rates ever earned by a recording artist. But it also put him in a cage of his own anxieties and obsession.
He bonded himself to past pop-music royalty by marrying Lisa Marie Presley in 1994. The marriage was short-lived, however, and his wealth was imperiled by an extravagant lifestyle that included the 2,700-acre Neverland ranch. It is named after Neverland, the fantasy island in the story of Peter Pan, where children never grow up.
In recent years, he has been more infamous than famous, known for his increasingly alarming appearance, the charges of child molestation and his subsequent business-arrangement marriage that led to his single fatherhood. Years of plastic surgery had made his face a weird landscape. He was deeply in debt and had lost his way as a musician.
In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him, and of engaging in strange and inappropriate behavior with other children.
A frail-looking Jackson had spent his last weeks in rehearsal for an ambitious comeback attempt and 50 already-sold-out shows at London's O2 Arena. A major motivation was the $300 million in debt run up by a star who lived like royalty even though his self-declared title of King of Pop was more about the past than the present.
To me he was fascinated by celebrity tragedy. It’s hard to remember another celebrity death in which the crowds gathering to mourn were repeatedly compared to the crowds that gathered for the recently deceased’s sexual abuse trial. In later years he became a professional eccentric, glimpse of him in public a bit like alien sightings.
It is a big loss to all of us Jacko fans. I like many million fans love you for your music, regardless of all the controversies! We will truly miss you...
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