That Was That...

Today I saw 'Michael Jackson's This Is It' for the 2nd time in a week. A glutton for punishment some may say, others may think of me as one of those crazies that were all over the news when he moonwalked off this planet. I think I'm right in the middle.

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with him. There is video existing somewhere of me and my sister doing the full routine from the 'Scream' video when it came out. We were at my grandparents house and I'd taped the premiere of the video on Top Of The Pops the night before. I must have watched it on a loop for the entire day before I somehow roped my sister into doing the dance with me. I remember spending ages getting the moves exactly right and then getting my Grandad to film it on his breezeblock of a video camera, which I then watched back over and over too. Over the years I kind of out grew him (it's pretty safe to say his 90's output wasn't amazing, plus I had Madonna to contend with, but that's a different story...), but I always held a special place for him and his music, even if it was uncool to listen to.

My friend Lola, another lifelong fan who I went with today, said something that made me remember all of this. She said 'Michael Jackson really was the first person I ever gave my heart to', which is also true of myself. Between his and Madonna's music and videos, I can remember specific moments of my childhood, where I was, what I was doing, how I felt. It makes me sad that he's gone, but watching this film really hammers home the fact that he actually was one of the most talented individuals.

There is nothing in the film that is not about the music. His family aren't in it, he doesn't get interviewed, there's nothing about the press speculation of the tour, just the music. And it just so happens that the music sounds better than it has ever done. It's an odd feeling going to the cinema, but not to see a 'film'. You kind of feel like one of the team members working on the show, just doing your job, but there happens to be the most famous male popstar on the planet 3 feet from you giving his all in a rehearsal for a show that would've placed him right back at the top of the pop pile. That's the real tragedy here, that he wasn't able to do for his fans what they had wanted for the best part of 15 years. I didn't even try to get tickets for the shows, but I feel like I've missed out.