MJ-UPBEAT
November 6, 2006
Truth is Stranger Than Michael Jackson!!
The images of ’Michael Jackson’ and ’rolling green hills’ don’t exactly seem to go together.
It’s much easier to picture him on-stage, on a Ferris wheel, or, unfortunately, in a court room. But The Gloved One is now spending time on a sprawling estate in Ireland, where he recently invited Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush to sit in on an informal studio session.
Seeing scenes of a relaxed Jackson strolling near the countryside, joking in the recording studio, and speaking in a voice lower than his typical falsetto almost makes one think that – wait a minute – he almost seems kind of... normal. And that’s why he should really do these things more often.
Of course, it’s easy to understand why he doesn’t. Jackson’s last major interview in 2003 with Martin Bashir prompted an investigation into child molestation and a subsequent high-profile trial. Although he was cleared of all charges in the court of law, The King of Pop generally seems uninterested in defending himself in the court of public opinion.
Whenever Jackson does protest being portrayed as “Wacko Jacko," it usually elicits little public sympathy, and the general feeling that he “brings it on himself.” After all, no one forced him to dangle his baby from a balcony, have plastic surgery, or share his bed with children. And although those are all very different issues, they don’t make for a positive image separately – let alone collectively.
During his informal studio sit-down, it becomes pretty clear that even the people seated right next to him can’t ignore Jackson’s larger than life-ness – but not necessarily because of anything he’s doing. He seems pretty indifferent to being talked about as if he’s not there – he shrugs a lot; uses the word “gee” a lot. It’s the way that the people around him are acting that reminds you that it’s Michael Jackson. Seated next to Jackson, Will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas nods knowingly to the beats and seems quite casual at first, like he could be sitting next to any random person. But he isn’t.
Unable to contain himself, Will.i.am lets out a star-struck reference to Jackson’s Off the Wall album. He describes how he and his contemporaries are “products of this” (pointing to Jackson). Although he’s more than complimentary, he is, essentially, objectifying Jackson, who seems to become a little more detached from his studio mates until laughter breaks the silence. “We’ll pretend we’re technically inclined,” he jokes about the studio equipment. He doesn’t moonwalk when he says it. Or follow it up with “heeee-heeee.” Maybe the stranger-than-fiction truth is even weirder than we could have ever imagined: maybe he’s not so strange after all.
Source:Celebrity Cafe
paul(mjcool)