The cherubic, charismatic Michael

Everyone loved the Jackson Five, especially the cherubic, charismatic Michael. The reasons for their out-of-the-box success boiled down to one simple truth: “The singing and the songs make us happy,” wrote soul-music biographer David Ritz. “They are moments of incandescent beauty-young, wildly optimistic.”
From The Jackson Five page at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

What a sad week - Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson all passing away. I remember seeing Jackson on tv with his brothers as a little kid, buying Thriller when it first came out, watching the videos on MTV back when MTV still played videos. Then seeing what he became over the past 25 years or so was so disturbing that I pretty much stopped paying attention.

I visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex in New York City earlier this month, and among the memorabilia on display is the jacket Michael Jackson wore during the taping of "We Are the World in 1985. You can watch the video here.

The Wall Street Journal posted a video of the Jackson Five's first appearance on American Bandstand here. I felt a little choked up watching it. And here's an appreciation from the New York Times' Jon Pareles.

I'm not thrilled

Okay, I groaned when I read that the Nederlander Organization had bought the rights to develop a musical based on Michael Jackon's Thriller album and 14-minute video.

James Nederlander, the president of the Nederlander Organization, said “I love the idea of making Thriller a musical. Girl meets boy, they fall in love, boy has big secret, now what…”

I liked Jackson when he was a little kid singing and dancing with his brothers. He was so cute! And I liked Thriller when the album came out in 1982, although I haven't listened to it in years. (It is the world's best-selling album of all time.)

Apparently, Mr. Jackson is expected to participate in the musical's creation. Given his rather bizarre public image over the past decade or so, I wonder if that's a good idea? I mean, just mentioning his name makes me cringe.

And seriously, a musical based on the music video? Maybe I'm just not that into werewolves and zombies.