At a loss

Michael Jackson died yesterday. I was up much later than planned and happened to come across a news show that was starting, where they stated that they had just received the message from LA that he had been rushed to the hospital, possibly not breathing or with a heart attack. Then he was allegedly in a coma, then the first sources started saying he had died. I waited up until almost 1 a.m. to hear them confirm it – It was such incredible news, I just couldn’t believe it. This morning it was all over the media of course – the legend, the king of pop, has passed away at 50. I was shocked.

It wasn’t until they interviewed someone my age on the radio that it really hit me. I was born in 1985, so after the big solo-career and Thriller-hype (which is still the best-selling album of all times). My introduction came with Black and White and the album Dangerous. I was hooked – I can’t tell you how much. An old friend from NJ even wrote to me on Facebook to ask if I had heard, because she remembered how I was such a huge fan when we were young. I had all the albums (as tapes – tapes, people, it’s that long ago), videotapes, t-shirts, caps, posters, … a friend even gave me one of those big cloth-posters to hang on my wall as a present. I loved the Jackson 5 in retrospect and collected all his solo work. I watched the videos for hours on end and made my friends sing karaoke to his songs on my birthday. I even forced my big sister to reenact Beat It with me (and got upset when she wasn’t doing it right). She also wrote to me this morning, to say I’ll be the only one who can do it right, now.

After the radio interview with that 23-year-old guy they played They Don’t Care About Us - the first MJ song I had heard in years, a decade at least. And when I realized that I still knew every beat and every word and all the emotions came floating up – that’s when my eyes got teary for the first time. Because that’s when it hit me that he had been such a huge influence in my childhood. I had repressed those years until now, because at some point I grew out of it and then it started to get embarrassing because he was more known for his excentricity and the problems than for his music. But since this morning I have immersed myself in his songs and videos and it all came screaming back to me… and I could kick myself that I didn’t bring those tapes / CDs back with me, because that’s all I wanted to listen to today.

If I ever had an idol, it was him. Not only was he a perfectionist, entertainer, performer, musician but he actually invented dance moves that were then known all over the world. And not only was he an exceptional dancer, the lyrics in his music reminded me of how he was the one who first gave me a sense of belonging to a world community, to feel responsible for people who might be very far away but aren’t that different and who need help, to open my eyes concerning what we were doing to our earth. I think there a more things I identify with today that I owe to this influence than I had realized up until now. And seeing that this is now a closed chapter I have to leave behind makes me very sad. This is a sad day. Rest in peace, Michael Jackson.

Back to some fluff, please

Ah, I just discovered a video that I simply must share with you, dear readers, especially as a lightening counterpart to my previous hard-to-digest posts. But I apologize in advance if anyone (or everyone) doesn’t understand what I’m talking about because – my god – the tangents, they are making my head explode.

• First off: I found this via Dan Savage’s Blog (or Slog) on The Stranger, and at the same time I’d like to recommend his column, Savage Love.
• It’s about the very hyped Jonas Brothers, an American pop boy band from New Jersey (of all places!), who got their popularity from Disney and are known to wear purity rings. On the same note, I recommend South Park’s episode about them and Mickey’s dictatorship over them – or how their promise to chastity allows Disney to sell sex to young girls all while keeping a wholesome image… but I digress.
• It’s based on Beyoncé’s video to her single “Single Ladies” – a proof in motion that women can also be chauvinists.
• To sum up: I found a video of a supposedly virgin, christian young pop boy dressed in a unitard (!) over a blog from a gay relationship advice columnist. Entitled: “With a Unitard You Need to Wear a Purity Cock Ring, Joe”. And if that weren’t enough, it’s always amusing to watch men in high heels. You dudes have no idea.
• P.S.: you don’t have to watch the whole thing, but the tune is catchy. And I know there’s advertisement for their new album, but I do not endorse it.

I will shut up now and simply let you enjoy the nonsense:

 

Ads against reality

I came across a project of a team called “Pundo3000″, and I’m not sure what their purpose is, because their projects go in every direction, but this one I found interesting. They photographed different food packages and compared the product to what was depicted. See for yourself:

If you want to check out the whole project, go here. You can see all 100 pictures. Some come fairly close, but others are downright disgusting. Especially those ready-made, microwave meals – those are plain nasty. Whichever way they go, it sure makes you think about all the junk that we put into our systems. And how media (especially commercials) distort our image of reality.