The King

SHAMON

MJ, through my life:

-My sister taped the "Thriller" video and would love watching it, if only to scare the bajesus out of me. I would hide behind the couch in the den when he turned into the werewolf. But the image that would haunt my nightmares for years of my youth was zombie-Michael creep-walking. I still shudder.

-My sister and I stayed up late one night to watch the premiere of the "Remember the Time" video with Pharaoh Eddie Murphy (talk about big budget!). We also taped that. I wished I could MJ-spin and turn into ash for days.

-I would re-enact the "Bad" video. While watching the "Bad" video. That stare-down in the beginning was way uncomfortable. And in hindsight, that was probably the least "bad" gang fight, like, ever. The Sharks and Jets were less fabulous than these fruits.

-I would also try to Smooth Criminal lean. And would fall.

-The "Free Willy" video for "Will You Be There?" I've cried with Michael at the end.

-I was absolutely tickled by the "Jam" video ("BOTH of their initials are MJ!")

-I always thought he said the word "fucking" in the chorus of "Beat It." Turns out he's saying "funky." Oooooh.

-I could also never figure out what the hell he says before he sings "don't stop til you get enough." (Apparently it's "Keep on with the force, don't stop." I always just faked it.)

-My imitation of the crotch grab would crack up my parents.

-I can, and always do, repeat the dialogue between the rebellious kid and the dad in the beginning of "Black Or White" when I listen to it ("Too late? EAT THIS.")

Name's Macaulay Culkin. Bitch.

-I thought a lot about how cool it would be if everything I stepped on lit up.

-Mamasay mamasaa maa maa coo sa.

-I freaking love the guitar solo in "They Don't Really Care About Us." My cousin Kevin would always say the guitar got "struck by lightning."

-I want to sing "Rock With You" to a girl.

-"Man In the Mirror" was my favorite MJ song as a kid.

-Today, it's "Stranger in Moscow."

In our darkest hour, in my deepest despair,

Will you still care? Will you be there?

In my trials and my tripulations,

Through our doubts and frustrations,

In my violence, in my turbulence,

Through my fear and my confessions,

In my anguish and my pain,

Through my joy and my sorrow,

In the promise of another tomorrow, I'll never let you part.

For you're always in my heart.

Michael Joseph Jackson

1958-2009

Step into the rain: secondrain.blogspot.com