Susie’s got your number
Dear MJ
It was the summer of 92. Dangerous times. If you know what I mean. Everyone was talking about the 3 ‘foreign’ channels that had us dumbstruck. So I ran home with a prospective demand in my head. As I rushed in, I saw someone dancing on the Statue of Liberty, and as Statue of Liberty turned to the Eiffel Tower, the someone changed into someone, and someone, and so on…
That moment in my life, two ironies entered at once. And what better song for it – Black or White. I didn’t know about the world stats, but you soon became world famous in our society. All our poor unentertained souls had seen was the Indian trilogy of disco, make it four if you count Bappida, but here were you, rocking my world. Jam followed suit. You were teaching some moonwalking tricks to Magic Johnson if memory and history serve me right. I knew I could never do it but still tried. Soon we had a you-lookalike something in the basement. Talk about Mass Molestation. So I moved to the looks. That famous ‘lat’ on the forehead didn’t look all that deceiving in the first. So turned out not too bad.
By the way, we were still wondering what that M logo on the top right corner of that invaded screen said. “Master!”, I said with teen angst mixed in anticipation of surprise. And we all forgot about it.
While we sat through history classes, some other history was being made back home, on those Master-invaded screens.
“I am afraid your father is gonna be very upset when he gets back.”
Soon we ran out on the streets, in search of your songs. I even went down the ghettoes of Old Delhi and faked a birthday to get the Indianized copy of Dangerous. It had scratches and mutes and shit. I thought its you though. Dangerous felt repulsive at first. So I turned to familiar ground. Jam & Black or White that is.
Why you wanna trip on me happened. And that at a time when I was not familiar with MJspeak. Wanna? What does wanna mean? Exactly.
Then the videos kept flowing in. oh, by the way, it figured that M didn’t stand for Master after all. Music Television. Predictable. Real is no fancy.
I don’t know if it was us or the lack of anything else so embraceable or what, but afternoon memories were so clogged by those images all the while. And the sounds did the rest. “That is Pop”, someone said. So Pop it was. Each season had a song. We started living those videos in our life.
Who is it was the eternal third angle song.
Jam rocked the sports grounds. And all the more when it had pretty onlookers.
Side B had its own fun. She drives me wild was a world we could imagine fairly well. On hindsight, I find it funny Speed Demon happened much later to me. Funny ways of life.
And then there was Remember the Time. The very first strokes of sexuality. Egyptian king. Egyptian queen. Only with a mystery and some questions in her eyes. And a court of jesters. And Eddie Murphy. Each time a video came, I hit back at my local made tape with vengeance. Vengeance reminds me it was also the time when Jeans gained another nod. So in other words, it was all happening. And for a change, we were aware of it.
While in LA CBS was laughing all the way to the bank, closer home, T Series and SR Electronics were pulling a con worth pulling, some crime of passion. So my Thriller cover had a pink backdrop. Bad was less muddled. Getting on to Bad and Thriller from Dangerous wasn’t much tough. The do’s always helped. Soon our very own neighbourhood cable guy kept the MTV thing on and we further wasted ourselves with glory in all those costly shot virtual worlds that you created. Then the kid at the school won all that could be won over with his Smooth Criminal jig. Damn. That gruesome salty feeling. The kid was sadistically called Tej.
I thought chasing back girls in the middle of a hippie outskirt life was a national hobby for the Americas, guessing by The way you make me feel. Many years later, I thought Jim Carrey was thinking the same.
Then one day these rich kids at school got a VHS of Moonwalker(as if it already wasn’t enough). And we sat ourselves through the adventures in the dark city alleys, yet again. Then there was the ma ma se ma ma saa hoo saa day. Were they singing or were they fighting? Who cared.
Then I fell for some girl with glasses for a sex appeal, and she turned monstrous too. And so I discovered The girl is mine. Then the girlie phase continued with the look-up in the peer look-up in the peer(say it multiple times until you get it right) Liberian Girl. And some confessional love song also I guess. Feels so silly now. But yes, other things would have been sillier I guess.
Prince and George Michael. I hated them.
Elton John was more your mystique league. “Why doesn’t he jump like the Guns N Roses?” I wondered to myself one day. …must be Pop Effect.
Free Willy. Will you be there.
Heal the world. Annual function.
You are not alone.
Earth Song. Changed nuances. Different priorities.
Slash days. Give in to me.
Video Music Awards.
Digging out Off the Wall. Don’t stop till you get enough. I wanna rock with you. Saturday Night Fever.
PYT. Pretty Young Thing.
Human Nature. Divine emotion.
Man in the mirror.
Much later, when I didn’t realize when the hangover left us, I read you were gonna come up with an all new album. After all these years. HISTory. And since those were better informed times, and I was a little wiser, or lesser innocent, my senses took to it in a different new way. And as it happens, before HIStory could make it, read a good solid long months, I picked up Blood on the dance floor for a humble 125 rupees. All songs were remixed. But they sounded cool. You were definitely not the midnight skirt chaser. You had taken clubbing to heart. “everyday create your history” sounded convincing at once. Blood was tough, unlike Bad days, but I discovered ways to approach it. Modern Times, I must have muttered to myself.
All I wanna say is that/They don’t really care about us….established itself amidst all those drums. Pretty cool and young it all looked though. Scream gained more frowns than nods. It all was feeling strangely frictional, violent if I may.
I somehow felt so. Somewhere something new was making things look dark. Hmmm.
So we went back to the old ones again. And delighted ourselves. And timeless got a new expression. Growing up was never more fun. 1…2…3…4…JAM!
Much later, when I learnt a thing or two about films, I discovered something new in all them Thrillers and Beat Its. They had a strong story going. They all were films. And iconic ones at that. There was so much to rethink suddenly. The days got so busy. And they said you were fighting some lawsuits. I couldn’t be bothered. The way all the earlier songs were hitting me back, I didn’t have the time to say “whatever”. I realized it was possible after all to relive those days. So we jumped on the stage, and lived our 15 seconds.
Then you came with another experiment in this already gone to the dogs age. Invincible. I liked the gloss. The songs weren’t too bad either. But you knew it and I knew it. So let’s leave it at that. Whatever Happens was experimental. The credits read Carlos Santana. I reckon Babyface too crowded the scene. I was still cool with that. But this was nice in a way that it gave me a chance, an idea to attack you again obliquely. So I reattacked Blood. Superfly Sisters. Is it scary. Ghost. In the mix. 125 rupees was paying some dividend now.
After that, all these past years have been never a dull moment types. Anytime you need an emotion, there has been a song. The bouquet always feels full. And it is a new discovery each day.
I don’t know why I took the drift today. Someone told me you changed your plans. So just wanted to say
Susie’s got your number.
Tags: Bad, Bappida, Dangerous, Disco, King of Pop, Martin Scorsese, Michael jackson, MTV, Peter Pan, Pop, Quincy Jones, thriller
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true dat! and i feel with you. thanks for this, tushy.
Nice tribute Tushar!
You were one of a kind MJ, in good and in bad. Peace out.
Wonderful Tribute, Tushar. I’ll miss the MJ of the 80’s and all those songs you’ve mentioned above, esp ‘The way you make me feel’, one of my all time favourite songs.
Not Magic Johnson, it was Michael Jordan in Jam, I thought. Reading the rest now.
A very fitting and wonderful tribute to the King of Pop. Thanks Tushar for this.
Happy B’day, have fun.