I have been recently working in an office around the corner from Michael Jackson’s parents. There are police and media everywhere. Given the amount of attention I have learned more about Michael Jackson in the last few days.
This is a story of a very out-of-touch classical musician. I was aware of Michael Jackson as a child. In fact, I was assigned to perform one of the Jackson 5’s songs when I was in elementary school. My professor dad, bowtie and all, took me to a record store in Carrboro (perhaps around 1970) and we bought the album.
I didn’t think much about the Jackson family after, as I was too busy practicing scales and going off to auditions for orchestral jobs. Somehow I missed pop culture and the huge impact Michael Jackson had made.
Now that he’s gone, I have devoured Michael Jackson’s videos and only now understand his artistry. I have learned a valuable lesson about making an effort to understand something new (as it was back then) and not being afraid to ask dumb questions of younger people who can explain it.
Two nights ago, I was invited to a fabulous party on the Disney lot. While there, I got into a conversation about hip hip and rap with a very current video artist. I said a couple of misinformed things and could tell I’d lost this guy’s respect. So I’ve made a commitment to be open and ask all the questions that make me look like a nerd. As it turns out, I look pretty hip after all!
But one other lesson I learned from Michael Jackson is to integrate into society. Of course I’ll never be in his plane of celebrity. But we do have in common a public presence that was misunderstood and spun into something ridiculously sensationalized, when each of us was just a person. I’m so sorry that he died and feel pain for his family, but I see myself in his final years as a recluse who was not represented as the person he really was. I can target myself in that way as someone who made an impression of the man, but only now realize what he was enduring. I’m going to make sure I don’t die during my comeback.
Blair, back in my LA days, I was on a recording date for Michael Jackson. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the song or album. But he sat there listening to the playback, in a corner, and appeared shy. In fact, the leader of the date said, “Leave him alone guys, he’s very shy.”
I’ll never forget those words. What a shame that the media has to intrude so much on a celebrity’s private life. I assume Jackson’s demand for sleep was, in a way, a plea for escape.
Jackson, Amadeus
There was something in the way he moved.
A child of exceptional talent raised in a controlling and exploitive world and used by the jungle for any purpose other than his own welfare.
Never allowed to develop his own survival stratigies other than a bizzare external life.
The only peace, the only escape, being fantasy, the neverland of childhood.
Sound familiar?
Might this be for you? Feel free to pass this on to others!
The Writer’s Center’s Undicovered Voices Fellowship (Deadline Sept. 15):
Because The Writer’s Center believes writers of all backgrounds and experiences should have an opportunity to devote time and energy toward the perfection of their craft, we are accepting applications from promising writers earning less than $25,000 annually to apply for our Undiscovered Voices Fellowship. This fellowship program will provide complimentary writing workshops to the selected applicant for a period of one year, but not to exceed 8 workshops in that year. We expect the selected fellow will use the year to make progress toward a completed manuscript of publishable work.
The selected fellow will be able to attend writing workshops offered by The Writer’s Center free of charge. In addition, the fellow will give a reading from his or her work at the close of the fellowship period (June 2010) and will be invited to speak with local high school students on the craft of writing.
To apply, candidates should submit
a) a cover letter signed by the candidate that contains the statement: “I understand and confirm I meet all eligibility requirements of the Undiscovered Voices Fellowship.” The cover letter should include information on the impact this fellowship would have on the candidate.
b) contact information for two references who can speak to the candidate’s creative work and promise
c) a work sample in a single genre:
• 8 pages of poetry, no more than one poem per page
• 10 pages of fiction, double-spaced, no more than 1 work or excerpt
• 10 pages of nonfiction (essay, memoir, etc), double-spaced, no more than 1 work or excerpt
OR
• 15 pages of a script or screenplay
These items should be sent in hard copy to The Writer’s Center, Attn: Undiscovered Voices Fellowship, 4508 Walsh St, Bethesda MD 20815. The deadline is September 15, 2009.