from the LP Off the Wall, Epic Records, 1979Wow, I have to say that I’ve been surprisingly intrigued and absorbed with all the coverage over the passing of MJ yesterday---well, surprising to me anyways, as I’ve been prone to the typical American judgments about his behavior behind closed doors over the last 15 years or so, though that’s never conflicted with my love for the music he made. Being a bit more practical about it all, I have to admit, it doesn’t seem too likely to me that he’s the child-molesting monster we all presumed he was; first of all, there would be WAY more boys to have come forward over the years, even if they got paid off (since bribes aren’t legally binding anyways). Now, was he eccentric? You bet your bippy! The allegations only seemed to make him more obstinate about the “purity” of his endeavors, continuing to be very open and upfront with several interviewers about his surreal sleepovers---any psychologist or criminologist will tell you that this is not the pattern of a sexual predator. I’m not saying that I approve of grown men sleeping in beds with young boys who aren’t their children on a regular basis (if I had kids, they definitely would not have been spending any time over there), but was it fair for us all to haul him over the coals as much as we have for having a complex, at times baffling, psychological profile? The reality is that we just don’t know, as we don’t know every last detail about the lives of countless other musicians we enjoy, and we should probably be thankful for that; hell, these types of eyebrow-raising personal secrets normally don’t get shared with your own closest friends, maybe not even your partner or spouse. Imagine the scorn we would all surely endure if the whole world knew bits and pieces of second-hand information about the messier aspects of our own pasts without knowing the person underneath---many of us would likely look like deranged idiots and crazed assholes! That being said, he certainly chose to put himself out there by proclaiming the “innocence” of his actions every opportunity he got, and one does have to wonder if it was worth all the stress and chaos that produced in the later part of his life. One thing which is not and will never be in dispute is the fact that Michael Jackson bestowed us with an archive of music unmatched in its worldwide popularity and presence. Whenever the question arises regarding which of his albums is the best, for me it’s a no-brainer: Off The Wall!! Although his ‘80s singles and albums certainly got more play in my early life, and his videos on MTV kept me in front of the tube for hours at a time, at this point in my life I get more enjoyment from this disco-funk masterpiece than anything else; admittedly, I also like to remember the way he looks here on the cover. Before recording this album, MJ had moved out from underneath his overbearing parents’ watchful eyes, living it up in NYC and indulging in all sorts of chemicals and hedonistic pleasures at clubs like Studio 54 and the Paradise Garage, the influence of which is heard in both the music & lyrics here, “…if you can't hang with the feeling then there ain't no room for you this part of town, ‘cause we're the party people night and day, livin' crazy that's the only way…you can shout out all you want to, ‘cause there ain't no sin in folks all getting loud; if you take the chance to do it then there ain't no one who's gonna put you down...” His mega-success opened the door for black entertainers in such a permanent and profound way, there can be no accurate compiling of the mammoth total influence his example has had. Ultimately, he did things how he wanted, “…so tonight, gotta leave the 9 - 5 up on the shelf and just enjoy yourself; groove, let the madness and the music get to you, life ain't so bad at all…live your life off the wall…”
