When Michael Jackson was carried away by the music, he went to another place and the overwhelming emotion on his face looked a lot like rapture. His exuberance in the early years is infectious, contagious, riotous. His work in the Off the Wall music videos features a smiling, charming young man who looks as if he can’t quite believe his own amazing fortune. He appears grateful and lucky to be doing what he loves and having fun doing it—singing. He smiles, he moves, he dances and has an ease about him that is warm and yes, fuzzy. A cross between your most loved and therefore rubbed-nubby teddy bear and your best friend’s cute older brother whom all the girls have a crush on.
He looks a bit shy yet happy during those early years, with that added dash of “gentleman” he spoke of and told Oprah about in a later interview. His movements are fluid, his face looks lit from within and his eyes sparkle with music, mischief and with promise of so much more to come. His mocha chocolate color is smooth with no sign as yet of the Vitiligo that will cause him so much anguish later. The man was clearly born to entertain, lives to entertain and while performing, is comfortable in his element—wherever that is located. I think we’ve not been there nor can we follow him into that place. It is special and unique to Michael alone. His unabashed joy is so powerful it radiates like a dozen blazing beacons inviting us to join him and step into that portal where his music transcends this world.
In Michael’s career on the stage I think it was music that only Michael Jackson heard though he tried his best to translate it into worldly renditions for us. There is no other entertainer in history that embodied the music like Michael Jackson. And there are some very talented people out there and some who came before them and after. But I have yet to see someone breathe the music in that way and clamp it tightly to the heart and capture, then hold it inside one’s body in the same way as Michael. It’s like watching someone in the final throes of involuntary labor who can’t help pushing until the thing is born.
Michael didn’t dance to the music; the music danced Michael. Michael didn’t do dance; he was dance. A rhythm so elegant of muscle and sinew and soul, he was simply, fluid elegance. And when he got out of its way and let it fill the space inside his body and its fire consumed him, it possessed while he loaned his being to it. Energetically that spirit that takes him to a world between is alchemy, a fusing of sound and light. The real question is: how much of Michael is left when the music takes over? He is gone. His sense of self is gone, his ego is gone, his body disappears and what is left in its place are bones whose marrow is sheer magical sonic electricity.
In the filming of This Is It, Michael was holding back from performing at full force because he was trying to conserve his voice and body for the concert series scheduled to begin in a couple weeks. The force of what the man is holding back is almost visual. It makes him almost shake visibly. It’s certainly palpable in a theater.
Watching Michael sing and dance is like watching a storm of light-sound swirling through flesh and bone. There is crescendo to more than the music; there is the summit of force that once bridged, leaves the body spent and quivering. There comes a point in every song where Michael engages. No, he ENGAGES. Listen for it. It’s orgiastic and its force is an energetic reckoning. It feels a little like trying to bottle Niagara Falls. There is a sense of being propelled rapidly toward another state of being that is both anticipated and feared for its power to make one lose all sensibility, all self and reality—not unlike the act of lovemaking to orgasm. Michael is the only singer I have seen or heard who could do this thing which may be remotely circumscribed but never quite visited. Like a distant and unknown planet, it orbits but has no known name and no parallel Universe.
That kind of passion and translation can be accessed only by one who feels and does so intensely onl
y in a time capsule bringing then and there into now and here. An empath can do that with song; a simple singer cannot. A mime using his body for art can; a generic performer cannot. To musically interpret in that way is a gift. A savant might manage it, or a genius but a recording artist who sees himself as a recording artist will not come even close. Someone who is the music might. Everyone else is a mimic and one step removed from the essence of that alchemy.
Michael Jackson had a nearly 4 octave range and could sing from baritone to falsetto. His voice was a perfect pitch and perfectly toned and honed instrument. He only had to hear something once to precisely duplicate it with his voice. When he heard a new song he would sing it exactly like the demo and then would say “now this is how Michael Jackson would sing it” and in one take he had it locked in. Most of the time it took only one take to record it. And on his records Michael usually did his own background vocals.
Michael may have been synesthesic and was processing on all kinds of levels and that he has a sense of rhythm and timing is intuitive and otherworldly. He knew exactly when to improvise and when not to. He knew instinctively when to invite the audience into his realm and when to perform to them and for them. Emotion raw and alive and sensual whose energy tentacles grab you in unexpected places lifts you out of complacency, shakes you delirious and deposits you trembling and whimpering at the sheer force of it. Michael’s voice has the ability to consume and then spit you out shaken and breathless.
Listening to “Who’s Loving You” that Michael recorded when he was 10 years old can invoke a state of awe and stunned silence. How does a ten year old visit those emotions not to mention convey them? Michael’s ballads are personal; his up-tempo stuff is engaging and his message songs and lyrics inspiring. How, one wonders, did he visit all those realms and sound so at home in all of them? How is one already a virtuoso at age ten? Michael meets some of the qualifications that would make him a musical savant. Savants are unilateral in their interest, have an obsession with their gift, and the talent takes over their whole lives. They have to play music, they have to practice, they have to calculate and perfect. Their life is the gift and the gift is their life. They are never nervous or uncomfortable on stage, they practice to distraction and their whole lives are consumed by that one preoccupation with that talent. The unique nature and almost forcefulness of their obsessiveness makes the savant’s talent as much of a force as a gift. It’s been said by many who knew him that Michael was a “force.”
Throughout his life Michael said that his talent was god-given or provided to him because he was “an instrument of nature.” He said it was hard to take credit for his work because he, himself didn’t create it but he saw it as “created in space.” Kenny Ortega, his director in the concert series This Is IT said of Michael that he was creating a new musical album at night after rehearsals. Kenny was concerned because Michael was working late nights and not sleeping. He asked Michael if he could try to sleep now and that when they got settled in London, he would make sure he had a studio to finish his work. Michael responded that he was “channeling” the music and that God could not be kept waiting. Michael told Kenny that the process could not be interrupted and quipped that if he didn’t allow the channeling, God might give the music to Prince.
Michael was a singer-songwriter inspired from somewhere otherworldly in his musical anthems. Funny how saying “inspired” comes across as acceptable but “channeled” can elicit snide chuckles. Interesting how people react to the confession of “channeling.” Where do you think Mozart got his symphonies? How did Michaelangelo visualize the Sistine Chapel before he picked up a brush? Where did George Lucas’ Star Wars vision originate? Lord of the Rings formed in Toilken’s mind during a trip to the corner market? Was Steven Spielberg moved to create Close Encounters by an add in the phone book? Cezanne and Matisse and Monet found their inspiration from cakes and ale? Disney envisioned his magical fantasy empire during a family reunion? Earthsong came from a day in the sandbox? Oh Please; hello? Art does not come from this realm it leaks through a portal that opens in another dimension. And when this art inspires that many people for that long a time there is something special about it. It comes from an otherworldly place inhabited by otherworldly beings.
I know that world because I’ve been there. Children know it and navigate it well because it’s a natural landscape for them. When I was a child I heard whole symphonies in my head replete with all the fanfare: each movement, each section, every note and entry in complete detail. I saw the orchestra with my inner eyes and watched the entire piece performed in that gossamer space. Had I known then how to write music, I would be a composer not a writer.
Great works are inspired and guided and live already formed hanging in the ethers somewhere waiting for somebody to download the program and give them life and being. That is what Michael meant by “It’s created in space.” Why is that so hard to believe for some people? I and other writers can tell you that sometimes a piece haunts us until it is committed to paper. Poets will tell you that they don’t recognize some poems as their own work the first time they read them– they are inspired works which are transcendental and translated into earthly language. The human is sometimes just an instrument through which it comes– simply a channel that brings through this energetic offering from other worlds.
Channeling is a real phenomenon and it occurs more that we realize. God comes through lots of unexpected channels and has been spotted lately hanging out in theaters. That energetic is very similar to the sexual impulse. It’s all a matter of the creative impulse, creation and creative force. It burns hot. Too much of that fire can make sleep difficult to impossible, can burn the receptacle and short out the wires. It is a force. It needs to be understood and regulated. Some days you just have to know how to ask God to wait.
Occasionally one comes along and lives among us who is a channel, whose cup does runneth over with a nectar that is god distilled, god fermented and sweet with nourishment that intoxicates and captivates those who sip with eyes to see and ears to hear. They will see the vibe, hear it or feel the vibe and recognize it. It’s a lot like fiber optics. When light comes through one of those filaments it’s not coming from the filament itself. The strand is not the light, nor is it the source of the light but it carries the light. Michael said that he was god sent. He also said that about others. He knew who he was and from whence he came. From whence we all come. Sometimes God shows up in some interesting forms. Maybe even in the form of musical geniuses, artists and savants. In them, that spark, the creative impulse takes over, creative fire comes through the body, consumes the central channel and takes over using that individual as its creative womb until the gift is born through them.
Take electricity. Some will see electricity as a utility; some will see it as a danger; some will focus on its force and capacity to harm; some will see it as a source of light; some won’t understand the source or magnitude of its origin or power. Electricity is organized lightning. Funny thing though about light: that light will not try to convince you of its brilliance. It doesn’t care if you notice and appreciate it or if you fail to see its magnificence. It continues to shine no matter how it is perceived. It’s the nature of light to do that. There are those who will recognize the light and those whose own nature will cause them to overlook any real luminary and dull any shining luminescence. Darkness seeks to shame the light. Some saw and some knew. Sir Bob Geldof, it seems, saw something unusual for he said of Michael: “When Michael sings it is with the voice of angels and when he moves his feet you can see God dancing.”
19 Comments
Outstanding writing on Michael and his god-given talent; I understand and feel each and every word you wrote. Being a piano musician with what I believe to be a gift allows me to insightfully relate to music running and pumping through Michael’s veins as opposed to blood; I know because of my own musical love and energy that flows when playing and creating piano music.
There are many whom loved Michael’s music and for different reasons. Musicians understand the divine power of art creating and writing lyrics that are purely of another power as you stated. As a musician, there was and is a deeper level in my appreciation and love for such a genius brought to us by our ultimate power source. You have written in perfect essence a serene description of what and how I connect so deeply with Michael as his music are his words reflecting a very humble and spiritual man. Humble and intuitive, he stated that he was not the genius but the genius was given to him to speak to the world through his gift. He was literally given the gift of music to speak and act upon humanity. The world will never again see that kind of caring in another musical force. His words were to be shared with millions; his god-given talent allowed him to reach and share spirituality on so many levels around the world. For far too many, his purpose and message went unrecognized.
MAGNIFICENT work here Barbara. MAGNIFICENT. Thank-you, thank-you, THANK-YOU for saying so eloquently and succinctly what so many of us have recognized for so long – and so longed for someone to state, an a once-and-for-all way.
Oh boy, this is a powerful statement about so many things. Recently, some announcer on the radio was speaking about Chris Brown’s tribute to Michael on TV. He exclaimed how really good he was but then said, “But there really was something special about Michael Jackson– he had something else, and you realize it when someone tries to copy it.” And you could hear the wistfulness in the guy’s voice. Michael had God– the light, Creator, the One– pouring through him– it is breathtaking to realize that. The picture of Michael with his arms open wide and facing heaven– I wonder what he was feeling at that moment and where his thinking mind was– His hands appear to be in a natural, ethereal “other” place. What a treasure, really. To be music, to be dance, to channel that Energy, to bring such joy and love– Not only did we not treat Michael well, we also turned our backs or muted ourselves to God’s presence, too. Thank you Barbara— really beautiful.
There are geniuses like George Lucas and Spielberg whose talents are recognized, but others were not so lucky. When someone has an extraordinary talent it is common to not recognize or value them. Mozart was buried in a mass grave; Vincent Van Gogh was ridiculed for his work and no one bought his paintings at a fair price; his own mother used his paintings to plug the leaks in her home. That is ignorance and indifference. Michael’s genius is evident, admirable, just long enough to see a concert, or for a video that makes one shiver. But that’s not tabloid gossip worthy. Nor is there interest in a tribute to tell the world that we have lost an extraordinary man. It would not sell and that hurts.
Dear Rev Barbara, Thank you once again for writing from the heart. Your words are probably the finest tribute to Michael’s musical genius that I have ever read. The world did not see Michael for all he was and all he gave us whilst he was here and that must have been so hard to bear; he must have wondered why there was this awful need to ridicule him at every turn. He knew where his gifts came from and often stated that but still there was a need to try and bring him down. Jealousy reared its ugly head often where Michael was concerned but he never gave up and right to the end he continued to give. However, I do feel that slowly attitudes towards Michael are begining to change and that some people are at last beginning to write more positive things. (Maybe they are taking their lead from you.) It is sad that Michael had to pass before people looked deeper into his persona and messages. I hope he can see these attitudes changing’ I know it would warm his heart. Thank you once again for your inspired writing. Much love Anne UK x
Yes, indeed, Rev. B – ALCHEMY! Science and magic blended in equal proportions to transmute matter into its purest form. The refinement process requires a CRUCIBLE in which the base materials are exposed to incredible heat to bring out the purity within them – to refine those base materials into the purest, most basic essence of the elements – of what they are. And in this transformation process, they cease being ‘base’ or ‘common’ and become ‘other’ – more valuable – gold, if you will. Like putting the finest edge on a sword – it requires enormous heat and beating on an anvil to hone it to razor sharp perfection. Alchemy dealt with ‘turning metal into gold’ but it also referred to the spiritual journey of the alchemist. There was always that mystical connection! The crucible in Michael’s life was the treatment he received at the hands of the media. It was the heat – the anvil – the hammer that beat the heated metal into the beautiful sword. It provided the challenge, the obstacle that he had to overcome. And in the process his essence was purified, refined and sanctified and his spirit was transformed into ‘otherworldly.’ In the middle ages, alchemy was more often equated with sorcery than with science. But it was a mix of the two. It used the tools of science to attempt to create a magical transformation. This is a wonderful analogy for Michael’s life. One can almost see the Alchemist/Magician adding just the right amounts of talent, creativity, spiritual awareness, knowledge, faith and beauty and mixing well over an open flame to produce the beautiful life we all witnessed. Excellent visual – thanks 🙂 We’ve spoken often about the ‘innocence’ in the Off the Wall years. It was a magical thing and it infused his entire being, shining from his eyes and his flesh. It sucked us all in! You can hear it in his voice in the early years. You can feel it in the emotions he expressed with such unbelievable fearlessness. You can see it in the short films from the period and his fluidity and his ebullient exuberance! Wonderful!
Jan
Dear Barbara, this comment is addressed to you: Despite how you have clarified that you’re not a fan only an admirer of this giant named Michael Jackson I say that although you wont admit it, you’re a hardened Michael Jackson’s fan. A simple fan is limited to recognizing the talent but the way that you do implies a sense of belonging as when I read your lines. A sense of attachment to the person can only be experienced by a true fan. Just tell me that if God would allow you to have Michael in front of you for a few brief minutes, you will limited what you say to him that you are an admirer of his work? Would you waste the precious opportunity to hug and say in his ear “I love you?” Not carnal love but your words reflect much love like what true fans feel. I have cried reading your lines and I bet you too when writing them. Thank you, Barbara!
[Dalia, I admire Michael, his work, his art, his intrepid courage, the humanitarian spirit of the man, his shimmering soul, the fact that he did feel the world empathically and he boldly worked to make it better. He wanted to right what was wrong with the world. I personally relate and resonate to that vision and that mission. A fan? You say that I am. If I were to meet Michael I would say, “I so admire you and your work” and I would ask permission to hug him because I would want to feel his frequency for myself and then I would invite him to coffee and ask him to tell me: How do you remain steadfast and enduring and hold fast to faith in humanity in the wake of darkness, humiliation, avarice, loneliness, unfounded accusations, monumental expectations, mortification, anger, shame, envy, betrayal, constant battering, perpetual legal hassles, hunting and haunting by media and fans, the demands of needy others, lack of sleep and morbid fatigue, having never a silent and truly alone moment, overflowing love that is unrequited in so many ways that count, staying in grace and gratitude, and having every last thing that gave you any joy taken from you while being stripped of your humanity and handling with such grace all that disappointments and hurts your heart. And I would ask how does one do that for decades on a very public world stage? I would ask “how do you still ride the creative impulse in that perfect endless storm or even want to?” And I would listen to a Master teach. Then I would whisper in his ear simply: “thank you” knowing that anything more is just breath while knowing it would never be enough. And knowing that Michael would feel that without any words. ~Rev B.]
Human intellectual capacity can solve complex problems but the inspiration comes from God or that other dimension and the human being becomes an instrument of creation. I love that you’ve touched that the inspiration coming from God or a non-human dimension. According to the famous late scientist Carl Sagan, we have the ability to store information in our minds equivalent to 10 billion of encyclopedia’s pages. Great geniuses have a high IQ so the creative mind is capable of creating these works art, but something beyond that. If you do not feel the inspiration to reach, it is useless developed intellectual capacity. When that door opens, the ideas flow as if by magic; it’s an electrifying feeling that invades and moves you to tears when you really deliver with what you’re doing. It is ephemeral, the artists know it and maybe you have experienced while writing your articles, I also know what you mean and I loved how you explained it here.
I have become entranced in your writings. You know how to say exactly what I feel but cannot put to words. Beautiful and perfect.
I once heard Debbie Allen say of Michael that he was the most prolific, perfectly natural dancer she had ever seen. Of his moves she said they were sharp and angular, never rounded. Of his timing she said, perfect to the tee. Of his ability, she said God given. As you said and as Michael has always said, he is the dance. He is the dance and he is the song. He was perfection every time
I have always felt that Michael was a different person onstage, literally. It is always so amazing to see him so poised and sitting still in interview sessions, or making speeches, and then wrap your mind around this being the same person who could gather the wind, still the waters, or turn up the frequency of the Universe, beneath his feet on stage.
Never before. Never again. There was only one. Michael Jackson had it on lock and upon his exit from this earth, he took the key. Entering behind him…NO ONE.
[Debbie Allen played Lydia Grant in the hit TV series Fame. Her dance academy in California is where the most talented dancers study to become the bright stars of stage and television tomorrow. She delivered the famous line: “You want fame? Well fame costs. And right here is where you start paying in sweat.” ~Rev B.]
Barbara, you speak about Michael being carried away by music, while singing or dancing. This phenomenon did not only happen on stage, in front of the audience. There are many people who worked with Michael in the studio (like Quincy Jones) who said that Michael was so passionate while recording a song that he could not help dancing, even in the studio! One can feel this passion and sincerity in every song recorded by Michael. One can feel it even in his intonation. One of my favourite songs of Michael is “Whatever Happens” (from the Invincible album). This song is not one of the most famous, but listen at Michael’s voice while Carlos Santana is playing: his voice is so raw, so passionate, so wilde! Every time I listen to that part of the song, I am amazed, asking myself how can somebody sing his heart out like this in a studio? How can somebody put so much soul and truth with almost no words, with a simple shout?
Thank you again Rev. Barbara. I will say that while reading everything you post here, I’ve learned so much about Michael that I can’t even look at him the same way as I used to. I feel that I have a deeper understanding of who Michael was. I felt there was something special about Michael, but after reading your words, I certainly can see it so clearly. I love how in your response to Dalia, you said you would ask Michael all those questions if you ever met him. You mentioned that after you asked those questions, you would listen to a master teach. That was such a wonderful visualization. I would certainly be like a sponge and just absorb. To visualize Michael teaching is so inspiring. I sincerely appreciate that you have taken this journey, because through your journey, I have also embarked on a journey of my own. It’s been a very inspiring and beautiful one at that. Thank you so much. Namaste!
I cry alot reading your blog. But this touched me. I love to draw surrealist scenes. And I recently understand what Michael said when it comes from God. A lot of the things I draw are scenes I’ve seen in my dreams. I love how you articulated the feeling of getting an amazing idea and it consumes you and you can’t feel free until you relinquish it. And many people ask how you can come up with it. God’s the answer. This post was phenomenal.
So true really esp I loved the last paragraph. The LIGHT does not care how it is percieved, it just shines. Like God for example, does not go out of the way to convince people that HE exists. He does not mind people questioing him and even abusing him! He simply IS. Whoever is receptive KNOW and FEEL.
Michael really communicated through his songs, for example, have you noticed that in inspirationl songs like “Put your heart on the line,” he sings or rather screams towards the end “You and me, you and me;” these words are not part of the lyrics but you know it makes you feel that Michael is with you in your efforts to make your self a better person…its an amazing feeling!
So also with a song like, “You are not alone” in the end he agains screams.”You and me, you and me” basically giving the feeling that Michael is there in my lonliness and I am really not alone!
He really LIVES through his art…he really does. He bound his soul to his art and its out there for us to FEEL.
One more thing for those of you who have not heard Michael’s Exeter Football Club speech, please do. His love shines through. Very moving. Also, hear the song if not already heard: “This is my dream.” Michael did not complete this song but it’s amazing. Read the lyrics and hear the instrumental on You Tube.
God Bless.
I read a prayer today from the collection of poems called “Savitri” by an Indian saint. It reads: O Lord, my arms are outstretched in supplication towards Thee, my heart is wide open before Thee, that Thou mayst make of it a reservoir of Thy infinite love.
Most likely, whenever Michael posed with his arms wide stretched this was the prayer in his heart! Love you more!
I have been waiting for someone to write so openly and honestly about Michael, to talk about his empathic abilities and the messages he channeled. Thank you for sharing your insight and so perfectly articulating what many of us empathically feel about Michael but cannot articulate as clearly. It seems as though your words may be channeled as well. Perhaps the master is teaching?
As allways: BEAUTIFULLY written, LOVE your words. There was only ONE Michael and we are sharing our feelings together here. I read your articles of course more than once and every time I discover more! You FEEL Michael, I believe that. He inspires you and all of us. He would certainly be friends with you when he was still with us. Rev. Barbara. You give us ALL an InnerMichael sight. It’s a Journey for us to read and understand your lines. thanXX from the bottom of my heart. Marga
This is one of your most beautiful writings. I printed it so to have it to read again and again. I think when Michael passed he sent out millions of sparks of his essence and they imbeded into millions of people around the world. That’s what I feel happened to me. Why Ii was chosen I’m unsure, but am so glad I was. The goodness that was Michael is now left to us to carry on and we will be strong for Michael. You were especially chosen to express with words so that those of us here will have a greater understanding to carry on. Thanks so much Barbara.
Dear Barbara…
Thank you:) I can’t begin to put into words what is flowing through my heart at this moment, but I’ll try. After reading your post, I lift my hands in the air and shout…”YES,YES,YES!!!” I “GET” him because I am also a musician who plays by ear and I “recognize” him, but I am the only one in my family. I only wish that I could share him with those I love, because he is a precious man, with a heart, and a love that gives, and gives, and keeps on giving.He has helped me to understand the gift that God has given to me…understanding that this is why I grieved for this man I didn’t know like he was part of my family. God was using Michael to wake me up in my personal walk with Him…just going through the motions. I am thankful that the Lord led me here, and for the way He lays Michael on your heart to share with all of us, so we can look in the mirror and make that change…starting with our own hearts:)
God bless you in your Ministry:)
Tammy
Thanks Tammy; you made my day. Keep on playing.
Barbara