Ask 411 Music 06.29.09: The Michael Jackson Edition

Posted by Joshua George on 06.29.2009

Joshua answers MJ-related questions, rants about MJ's death, gives you his Top 5 MJ Tunes and more in this week's edition of Ask 411 Music!

Let's have a moment of silence for David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and Billy Mays.



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Here come the...

Ask 411 Music Reader Questions

From lexibug,

What exactly happened to Michael Jackson when he was burned back in the old days?

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Well Lexi,

This is a pretty easy one to answer, because of course I've always been a huge Michael Jackson fan. As it turns out, he was in the middle of a Pepsi Cola commercial which was a simulated concert in front of many fans. As the pyrotechnics were going off, a couple of the sparks caught MJ's hair and ended up giving him 2nd degree burns on his scalp. This was something that was believed to have deeply traumatized Michael and he would, of course, sue Pepsi for the mishap. Pepsi settled out of court with MJ giving him a $1.5M settlement which he turned and gave directly to the hospital that treated him for his burns so that they could stay on top of the technology needed to treat burns properly. As a result, the burn ward of Brotman Medical Center was named the "Michael Jackson Burn Center". It is often believed and widely accepted that it was this incident which caused Michael to spiral downward into depression and self-consciousness about his appearance. Shortly after this, he would get a nose job and continue to alter his appearance until he ultimately felt better about it. Hopefully that answers your question, and now you know!

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From Jocabo,

Do you think that the 50 shows that were scheduled at the O2 arena in London would've helped MJ springboard back to mainstream music, or do you think it would've been one last-ditch effort to make some music before retirement?

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Jocabo,

First and foremost, welcome to Ask 411 Music. Second, I like to think that the 50 shows would've brought him back into the public eye and perhaps in mainstream music. There are a couple things to consider on this. There was going to be a new dance move unveiled at the shows. I know a lot of people are saying whatever and it is what it is, but if you think about it, he was saying that it was going to "eclipse the Moonwalk". This was not only one of the most clever puns ever, but it was also something that I was honestly like... holy fuck what could it be. I remember being in my room at 7-years-old trying to Moonwalk like it was my job. I thought that perhaps I would be able to someday do it just as well as he did, but to no avail. Even if you THINK you were doing it as well as him, you weren't... get over it.

Second, MJ was at a point in his life where I think he was just getting tired of the bullshit and the drama. He hinted at retirement after the 50 shows, which he didn't even agree to do all 50 technically but whatever, and I can't say that I blame him. After a 50 show run which would net him somewhere around $413.25M he would've been able to pretty much pay himself completely out of debt. At that point, he could've just lived his life on royalties and appearances and not had to do anything else. I would love to have seen MJ get in the booth and help some of today's artists with production value and such. I feel that given his status, he would've made a great teacher for today's musicians. If you disagree, then whatever, but if you consider all of the things he did over his life as a musician, he was certainly one of the world's greatest performers/entertainers.

So I guess the ultimate answer to your question is that I believe MJ would've still been involved in the music industry, but I don't think he was interested in another big mainstream run, so I truly believe that after this 50 show run, we would've seen him sit back and relax and just chill. That's what he did for damn near a decade before this 50 show set anyway, so I think he would've been just fine. Either way, it's a damn shame that we didn't get to see this set of shows.

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From anonymousgod,

What was Michael Jackson's Billboard Chart history like?

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Hey anonymousgod,

Welcome to Ask 411 Music. This is a great question, and one that I'm sure not a lot of people have taken the time to consider. Michael Jackson has been around for a very very long time, but we haven't heard from him in a really long time until recently with all the hype about the London shows. MJ, himself, first hit the Billboard Charts in 1983 when I was just 2-years-old. Singing "P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing)" brought him to his first peak position of #10 on the Hot 100 Charts. A year later, he would find peak positions from 3 - 44 with "Thriller" and "Farewell My Summer Love" hitting various spots on 4 different charts. 1987 found MJ hitting #1 on 4 different charts with "Bad", "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", and "The Way You Make Me Feel". In the years to follow he would find himself in 13 different #1 spots and numerous other spots ranging from #2 all the way to #91 and found himself at #2 just in 2008 with "Wanna Be Startin Somethin". MJ has been all over the charts for years and years and it's looking like he's about to make another run as his sales have spiked since his death. It just makes me sad that people couldn't be appreciating his music this whole time because of how strange he had become. The real thing is, he was a great musician then and continued to be up until the day of his death. This is one man that the charts will be seeing for quite some time, but once he's gone, he'll be sorely missed.

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I'm getting more and more reader questions, so don't be left out! Let's get some more questions from you, the readers. I like to have reader mail and things to post, so all you have to do is SEND YOUR QUESTIONS IN NOW!

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And now you all get to listen to...


Joshua's Rant of the Week (Explicit)

I couldn't decide if I wanted to have this be a rant or just a "Sound Off" and of course I decided to go with the rant format. FUCK YOU if you are one of the people that can only think about the bad things in MJ's personal life at this time in history. At the same time I have to say FUCK YOU to the people that did nothing but talk shit about him for years and years and now that he's died, you feel like, "Oh noes... OMGZ MJ died, what a tragedy." People really make me sick. There's one thing that I can understand and xkaylamichellex was the one to say this, and I can at least understand that: If we were going to mourn the loss of Michael Jackson, the musician, we should've done that about 10-15 years ago when he stopped making music and starting acting completely weird. This take I can understand, but the people that could never look past the bullshit of his past and just listen to the music for what it was and what it was worth drive me up the fucking wall. Do I agree with some of the choices he made in his past, hell no. Do I agree with what "allegedly" happened years and years ago, of course not. But at the same time I think that the people who discredit his work as a musician because of his poor life choices are assholes. Sure he was weird as fuck, but tell me... if you could own an amusement park, you would, wouldn't you? I sure as hell would, and I just want to punch the shit out of people that accuse him of stupid bullshit just because he owned Neverland Ranch. THAT is not a reason to accuse someone of anything. What happened (or allegedly happened) certainly wasn't proper, but that didn't happen just because he owned Neverland Ranch, so get off his dick on that one. Also, if you've been an MJ fan all along like me and just kept quiet when other people were discrediting him as a musician, you're a bitch too. Anytime someone tries to talk shit about MJ's music or what he did for the industry based on alleged facts or rumors, I always open up both barrels and come out fighting. If you want to talk about what a weird fucking human being he was, that's ok by me... everyone's weird to some degree... granted MJ took it to a new level doing things like buying bones, sleeping in hyperbaric chambers, and dangling his child off of a balcony -- but he was a weird ass person. As a musician, I'm not sure there were many better. Take this for what it's worth, but if you're talking shit about Michael right now, you're an asshole. You can tell all the MJ jokes that you want, because I think that's how some people deal with loss, but if you're talking shit STILL even after he died, you can shut the fuck up right now. Like your mom said... if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

It's time for...


Joshua's Top 5

Let's take a look at my favorites!

5. Michael Jackson - "Bad": This wasn't up high on my list of favorites, but it definitely sits on my top 5. How can you disagree with that?



4. Michael Jackson - "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)": I loved this song... I don't see how you can't love it, so listen to it!



3. Michael Jackson - "The Girl Is Mine": Singing along with Sir Paul McCartney had to be a great move for Michael. There were some disagreements between these two during MJ's life, but this one was perhaps the most entertaining:



2. Michael Jackson - "Dangerous": This song followed me from Junior High School all the way through College. Check out a live performance of "Dangerous":



1. Michael Jackson - "Smooth Criminal": I can't stop dancing to this song every single time it comes on. I love it, always have, and always will. Check this out!



Which MJ Tunes did you love? Let me know what your top 5 is in the comments section. Also, if you want me to listen to something feel free to hit us up with a YouTube link either at my e-mail address, or in the comments section!

Would you like me to reply to your e-mail in the column? Do you have a rant on a certain music related topic that you'd like to share? All you have to do is Send your shit to me NOW!

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Who wants to hear something new???


Things You Should Hear

I feel that it's necessary to pretty much let MJ sweep this on this edition, but I do have one from a reader that is pretty cool:

1. Brought to us by thechosencowboy, make sure you check out Neverset - "Without Me":



2. Back to MJ we can now hear another classic "Billie Jean":



3. This is one of my personal favorite MJ tunes - "Earth Song":



4. In a duet with his sister Janet Jackson we got a chance to hear Michael "Scream":



5. Let the jokes begin, but I think another one of my favorite MJ tunes was "Keep it in the Closet":



6. Here's a great performance of MJ with Britney Spears singing "The Way You Make Me Feel" fortunately for us he keeps chiming in to keep her on pitch:



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Peace!