|
Post by MattyJam on Sept 7, 2023 8:07:49 GMT
I thought this might be a fun thread to start, so we can geek out on our fondest memories as a fan. Some of my most cherished childhood memories are tied in to my MJ fandom, from joining MJNI and waiting for my King magazine to arrive in the post, to seeing the HIStory tour - my first ever concert at just 12 years old on July 15th 1997. Here's a cute memory: I had become a hardcore MJ fan after buying HIStory in 95, but the release on BOTD was my first experience of buying a new album as an already established fan. I remember in the UK it wasn't released until a Wednesday, which was unheard of at the time as new releases always came out on a Monday. The very fact that MJ didn't release his albums with everyone else made it seem all the more special to me at the time. He wasn't going to release his album with the rest of the riff-raff. I remember going down to Woolworths on the Monday and seeing it on display with the other new releases with a sticker on the display case saying "on sale Wednesday." I proceeded to take the sticker off the front and tried my luck bringing it to the counter to buy it two days early. I didn't get away with it, but it was worth a shot.
|
|
|
Post by aazzaabb on Sept 7, 2023 12:01:48 GMT
Last week I bought the HIStory album on tape cassette in mint condition. Honestly, I fucking love those cassettes. Just holding them is enough! It was the first format in which I bought the album and maybe 6 months to a year later I picked up the CD. Tape cassettes were a massive deal to me in the 90’s and I still have enormous affection for them. The HIStory album works so well on cassette. I love the black around the main artwork on the inserts. It enhances the statue and clouds and I love holding it up next to the Bad cassette for the contrast. You’ve got this bold white on Bad and then this bold black on HIStory. It’s stunning.
|
|
|
Post by aazzaabb on Sept 7, 2023 12:11:56 GMT
I’ve been off work the past nearly two weeks and really geeking out on MJ. I was in beautiful York last week for a few days break with my wife and the only thing I saw MJ related was a copy of HIStory on CD secondhand for -get this- £5!! It was in Cex and I honestly thought it was daylight robbery for a secondhand double disc in ok condition. They also had a special edition Pink Floyed album for £8! I thought those prices were crazy for secondhand in this day and age.
Anyway, separately, I watched this interview yesterday with Sam Emerson who pretty much took all of those iconic MJ shots for 10 years that we love so much. Worth a watch for a few little stories from his point of view.
Michael Jackson’s Personal Photographer Sam Emerson. World Tour | Bad Cover | Meeting Prince Charles
|
|
|
Post by aazzaabb on Sept 7, 2023 12:27:05 GMT
Ah yes, I agree. I’ve been hard on it myself in the past at times but the older I get the more I appreciate it and from reading a ton of articles in the past week and reading the way the media treated him practically unanimously across the board in 93,94,95 Ive come to really admire the fact that MJ actually toured at all. Yes, the lip syncing was my main gripe but I’ve come to the conclusion that the bigger picture is far more impressive. The bigger picture being that MJ flew in the face of adversity and defied the naysayers because from the perspective of the media there was this collective smug attitude amongst them that amounted to bullying, belittling and twisting everything he did into something sinister and ugly. As the tour progresses through the various countries the media reviews are good and even great and the tour builds a sort of momentum. I was shocked to read things like; “On stage Michael Jackson is undoubtedly a master of his craft” in comparison to what was written about him 6 months earlier. There’s also always been aspects of the tour I’ve enjoyed such as the opening trio of Scream, They Don’t Care About Us/In The Closet, the performance of Stranger In Moscow when MJ does some wonderful dancing, Billie Jean’s extended breakdown is also a treat and I love his jacket and performance of HIStory as the finale with the flags and confetti. I actually still have some confetti from when I saw him in Dublin and my personal favourite memory from that one and only time I saw him was Earth Song when he hung directly over my head. I couldn’t believe I was that close to him. Regarding “An overdubbed audio encorporating live sounds from the actual show” I still hope this happens at some point and that we’ll get a full show in the style of that Billie Jean video leak. When I saw that video I was really surprised by how good the visuals were and it made me realise just how good a full show could potentially look. Some of the shots and camera angles are incredible and it does justice to a show that is so theatrical that mere Jumbo Tron cam footage that say the Bad Tour can get away with because it’s more of a straight rock and roll show whereas with HIStory it’s almost like a play with Act I, Act II, Act III etc. The more variety in shots and angles gives the show a much greater watchability and we finally get something that translates the show onto camera and is a satisfying experience. Opening trio is amazing and one of my favourite performances from MJ. And the whole HIStory performance, starting with the TDCAU instrumental, the flags waving, confetti etc is just great. The pomp and drama of it all is awe-inspiring. It feels like so much more than just the end of a pop concert - it really feels like you're watching some historical, royal event, only with the most talented man on the planet at the helm instead of some stuck up, over-privileged, birth lottery twat. It's all the more meaningful to me because the song itself remains my all time favourite MJ track, plus he always looked so joyous and happy performing that song, grinning from ear to ear, it was a magical moment for me as a fan and still give me the feels and makes me emotional watching it to this day. A lot of my “friends” growing up couldn’t understand the “pomp and drama” aspect of MJ and from reading a lot of articles a lot of “journalists” couldn’t seem to wrap their heads around him either. Like they didn’t even have the ability to think “he’s not necessarily for me but I can understand why others enjoy him”. But, that said, there seems to be a unanimous sense of awe anytime he performed a concert, apart from one or two cats -from the Dangerous Tour onwards- who were so Uber Cool that he couldn’t possibly impress them under any circumstance whatsoever. But that seems to smack of jealousy/resentment thing that it wasn’t their favourite artists picking up the plaudits.
|
|
|
Post by mjjfan810 on Sept 11, 2023 9:10:27 GMT
Nice thread idea.
I really miss the days of the late 80s/early 90s. MJs shortfilms would always get special premieres on terrestrial TV, usually Channel 4, sometimes BBC2. Nobody else got that kind of treatment - I think after Thriller, everyone knew a new MJ video was an event worth stopping and taking time out of your day for. First one I remember was Leave Me Alone being premiered on Channel 4, peak TV time of 9pm on a Friday night. It was such an exciting event and I loved that video so much, still do. I was in college at the time and it was all everyone talked about the next day on campus. I think it was definitely influenced more than a little by Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer - which always gets included in those greatest videos of all time lists and deservedly so. But I always felt if LMA was anyone else other than MJ it would get similar plaudits, but because MJ has done so many great videos, I think some of his best ones actually get lost in the shuffle.
|
|
|
Post by MattyJam on Sept 11, 2023 9:26:24 GMT
Last week I bought the HIStory album on tape cassette in mint condition. Honestly, I fucking love those cassettes. Just holding them is enough! It was the first format in which I bought the album and maybe 6 months to a year later I picked up the CD. Tape cassettes were a massive deal to me in the 90’s and I still have enormous affection for them. The HIStory album works so well on cassette. I love the black around the main artwork on the inserts. It enhances the statue and clouds and I love holding it up next to the Bad cassette for the contrast. You’ve got this bold white on Bad and then this bold black on HIStory. It’s stunning. Ah yes, I had HIStory on cassette, didn't even buy a CD player until 1999. It was all about the cassettes for me in the HIStory era! I think I brought some of the CD singles, even though I had nothing to play them on.
|
|
|
Post by MattyJam on Sept 11, 2023 9:30:39 GMT
Nice thread idea. I really miss the days of the late 80s/early 90s. MJs shortfilms would always get special premieres on terrestrial TV, usually Channel 4, sometimes BBC2. Nobody else got that kind of treatment - I think after Thriller, everyone knew a new MJ video was an event worth stopping and taking time out of your day for. First one I remember was Leave Me Alone being premiered on Channel 4, peak TV time of 9pm on a Friday night. It was such an exciting event and I loved that video so much, still do. I was in college at the time and it was all everyone talked about the next day on campus. I think it was definitely influenced more than a little by Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer - which always gets included in those greatest videos of all time lists and deservedly so. But I always felt if LMA was anyone else other than MJ it would get similar plaudits, but because MJ has done so many great videos, I think some of his best ones actually get lost in the shuffle. Do you remember the little compilation vids they used to cobble together on GMTV whenever MJ made a comeback? Even him releasing a new song was an event and they couldn't wait for the video, so they'd put together some random clips, usually of him attending public events/award ceremonies etc, just so they could play the track on the morning it premiered. I remember them doing this a few times in the 90s and they even did it as late as YRMW.
|
|
|
Post by aazzaabb on Sept 11, 2023 13:52:15 GMT
Last week I bought the HIStory album on tape cassette in mint condition. Honestly, I fucking love those cassettes. Just holding them is enough! It was the first format in which I bought the album and maybe 6 months to a year later I picked up the CD. Tape cassettes were a massive deal to me in the 90’s and I still have enormous affection for them. The HIStory album works so well on cassette. I love the black around the main artwork on the inserts. It enhances the statue and clouds and I love holding it up next to the Bad cassette for the contrast. You’ve got this bold white on Bad and then this bold black on HIStory. It’s stunning. Ah yes, I had HIStory on cassette, didn't even buy a CD player until 1999. It was all about the cassettes for me in the HIStory era! I think I brought some of the CD singles, even though I had nothing to play them on. That was me! Album on cassette and singles on CD! Im so close to buying a handheld cassette player that takes batteries after reading this!
|
|