Inner Michael

When we think of the unforgettable characters in history and pop culture, we are remembering characteristics that give them color. We might say:”he was a colorful character” or “he was larger than life.”

What is meant by “color?” It usually means a reference to something or someone that has depth and dimensionality. It is colorful and deep or meaningful. Someone is memorable because they leave a strong impression in the minds of those impacted. Someone is memorable because our brains are pleasantly stimulated and the individual “speaks to us.” Speaking to us in a neurological language makes a powerful and lasting impression.

Neurolinguistic Programming is a kind of science that studies how people process information, there are three primary ways that people take in, process and comprehend information. While one can process in a variety of ways, one method is usually dominant:

Visual (Observing and holding a visual picture in one’s mind.)

Auditory (Hearing and understanding through the spoken word or via sounds.)

Kinesthetic (Feeling or hands-on learning.)

People who are primarily auditory will have acute hearing and will remember things by talking about them or hearing conversations. Auditory people learn by hearing instructions or listening to descriptions. They are sound people and listen to the radio and recordings. They learn through hearing and lecture. Those who are kinesthetic will feel their way through situations and will be outstanding with the concepts of placement in space and 3-dimensionl representations. They learn by doing via demonstrations or with hands-on access. And those who are visual people rely on their eyes and observation to understand something. They watch events, movements and images. Their memory is mostly visual and they learn through watching.

How people process is sometimes encoded in their language:

“I see what you are saying.” (Visual person)

“I heard you loud and clear.” (Auditory person)

“I sense that you are a bit uncomfortable with that.” (Kinesthetic person)

There are people whose brains can and do process through all three modes of operation- Michael Jackson was one of those people. Ever the artist, he certainly captures all three modes in his work. It may be that his hearing and auditory senses were the most acute but he engaged the others with almost equal command and passion.

Michael was all about sound. He experimented with different kinds of sounds and textures of sounds. Hidden in “Earth Song,” for example, there are animal sounds mixed in the recording produced in the studio. One can hear grunts of animals and the trumpeting of elephants. He used unusual sounds like breaking glass and even reportedly recorded his voice through PVC piping. He is said to have lain down on a bed to get the correct sound for one of his ballads.

I suspect there are many kinds and colors of sound incorporated in the final incarnations of Michael’s recordings. Michael encodes a great deal in sound. He understood the texture and color of sound and even commissioned sound engineers to go out and get sounds from nature and challenged them to create or incorporate sounds never before heard with the human ear.

Frank Cascio said in an interview that Michael even chose his clothing according to texture and the sound it made. He loved the sound of corduroy. Watching Michael rehearsing or in concert is a study in sound. His ears were sensitive to all sound as he spoke of the sound coming through the “inner ears” during the rehearsal of This Is It as so harsh that it felt like a fist pounding at his ears. Yet, the sound board and studio where Michael recorded that was built especially for him was usually cranked to full throttle when he said “hurt me” meaning to crank it so that it pummeled his body with the amplified physical vibration of the sound.

Michael was equally adept at visual artistry. He understood aesthetics and how emotionally evocative are images. He knew how to code a particular mood or meaning not only with an image—his and others, but also with a look. Michael understood fully that the eyes are windows to the soul and to the inner sanctum of humans. He used his own eyes well—their intense dark color; he even enhanced his own eyebrows to make his gaze even more intense. And I believe he was a master of Shaktipat—affecting others and communicating knowledge with the eyes through silent eye contact.

The aesthetics of his album covers are important to understand the mood and message of the music. He chose the artists and the art carefully. The most mysterious of his covers is the “Dangerous” album. One can extract much meaning by a study of that cover. It says a great deal about who Michael was and about his wealth of knowledge. He understood the power of subliminals and of art. There is much yet to discover about Mr. Jackson. One can almost see and hear him laughing as the decoding continues as it will, long into his forever legacy.

Michael’s short films use color, objects, lighting, placement, movement and particular encoded visuals for the overall effect and the message of the video. Michael has something to say and he says it through images. He was a master at iconic image: the sequined glove, for example is consummate iconic Michael imagery.

He played with the emotions of his audiences with visuals mixed with sound and applied with kinesthetics. One of his most famous concert skits was a depiction of war by bringing a tank on stage, using a bridge, explosives and sometimes the sound and lights of a helicopter. The audience “felt” it.

Michael Jackson’s work appealed to every Neurolinguistic pathway and was a sensory orgy for those who experienced it. It spoke to all people and at all levels of interpretation and understanding. Everybody got the message directly or subliminally through a kind of Neurolinguistic amalgamation by osmosis. Sheer alchemy.

A dancer can’t dance without being totally immersed kinesthetically. Great dancers let the music dictate how the physical frame bends and moves and lets it carry them into other realms—often identifying so deeply as to become one with it or become the music itself. They merge with the music, the experience of movement, the body, the sound, the feel, the location in space and the in between spaces.

Michael also knew how to use motion to speak to his audience. He wisely developed signature poses and movements that no one else could or would mimic. A silhouette visual in the tradition of an inkblot will reveal instantly that the subject is Michael. The on toes pose is probably the most recognized of those. The crotch grab, the signature fedora hat, the signature nodding, the hand gestures, the spin, the stalking the spotlight, tape on the fingers, are all things that Michael, and no other, could do and get away with. Nobody will ever wear the fedora, sequined jacket and crystal glove again.

Michael could use movement to create non-movement and make people quiver with anticipation. He could hold them spellbound with that vibrato, the vocal range, movements that were so effortless to mimic levitation, his costuming and choreography. Nobody but Michael could hold the Superbowl audience in suspension and cheering for more than a whole minute before making one move on stage. He used that same brand of drama while singing ballads on stage—crouching and weeping for real or for shtick during concerts while women in the audience went mad.

Michael Jackson was an artist in and for multiple genres, an accomplished artist and a master of magic—in the three languages of the brain. He was a master of communication without saying a word. He lives iconic in the brains of multiple generations and in the multi-lingual memory in the neural pathways of the collective. Michael says in “Michael:” ‘I am forever.’ He knew exactly what he was saying—he managed to be unforgettable. Deliberately unforgettable.