THE MJ MEMORIAL

1) Mariah Carey should have cancelled this performance.  Horrible.

2) Wow, Lionel Richie looks/sounds great.  Nicole Richie must be so proud.

3) Barry Gordy (creator of Motown Records) said “Michael loved creating what had never been done before.”  Interesting story: Jackson is listed by the United States Patent Office as one of the inventors for patent 5,255,452: a “method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion,” allowing dancers to lean forward beyond their center of gravity by wearing specially-designed shoes.
In the video for Smooth Criminal, Michael and Co. perform a move by planting their feet and leaning forward to a 45-degree angle.  Dancers wore shoes with hollowed-out heels, covered with a steel plate in the shape of a V; they then stood over bolts protruding from the stage, hooked the heel-plates onto the bolts, and the were able to lean forward while held to the stage by the bolts.
Jackson did not produce the shoes to sell, of course; he merely wanted to trademark the dance move as his intellectual property. 

4) Someone please tell Al Sharpton to stop yelling at me, kthx.

5) Someday I'll tell my John Mayer story, he's a tool.  He's almost as big of a jerk as Adrian Grenier.  But let's not talk about these things while we're watching a memorial service.

6) Brooke Shields is shaking.  Poor dear.

7) When I grow up I want to be Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee.

8) After 2 hours, I don't know who these people are anymore; this has become a karaoke performance of Michael Jackson songs.  Time to turn this off.  I await the American Idol episode with the Michael Jackson theme now, which is undoubtedly coming. 

Comments

[Tiffani]

Hi Dan. Great recap (and great blog as always)! If you turned it off, you missed the end with the family comments, including his daughter. Oh, and American Idol has already done a MJ tribute - this past season, actually. I missed it when it was Live, but they did a rerun last week. Overall, I thought it was a good tribute!

[Coy]

ok...I'm really kind of ill about this Memorial for MJ. It seems undignified.

More than once I've been told by women that John Mayer is a tool. What makes him a tool?

Great recap!

[Amanda]

Um, I know we are being reverent but I want to hear about the John Mayer and Adrian Grenier stuff...I mean I 'm sad about MJ but lets hear it!

[Sara]

They already did an AI tribute last season, it was week one with the top 13. It was horrible.

[Jo-E]

Yeah, I said the same thing. Mariah needs to sit down and work on her vocals, she HAS to know she can't sing as well as she used to...I had to mute it because you could hear her struggling...and she tries to play it off with that god awful hand movements...and Black preachers yell...it's how they speak, I loved it. AND I didn't cry...until I saw little Paris singing and swaying and then speaking in front of all those people, especially after being secluded from the public eye her whole life...Janet needs to adopt them, she seemed so caring...ok, I'm done...

[Plain Gay Blogging]

Janet looked fierce

[johnO]

I'm pop cultured out...

[joycelyn]

i kept forgetting the MJ was nichole richies godfather, but was happy to see lionel singing, I like him...why was john mayer there? Mariah Carey needed to remember she was essentially at a funeral, what was the boob showing dress for? I thought brooke shields was very human and showed MJ as a person not a star. And his daughter. AUGH, so tough to watch her break down. Glad I had it on DVR so I could fast forward a few times.
I also want to hear the john mayer is a tool story

[Corey]

Agree with EVERYTHING and the commenter above about Brooke Sheilds. At first I was like, Brooke!? Why???? But she was perfect.

I lost it when Paris spoke - having recently lost my father whom was my everything, it hit me kind of in the gut. Wow.

[HouseofJules]

I think we can all agree that Brooke Shields is one of the most beautiful women ever, right? She even looks pretty when she's crying. Unreal.

[Annie]

John Mayer's facial expressions distract me. He alwyas has "poopin' face" when he performs.

Seeing Paris did me in, that little girl's heart is broken and she was very brave to say something.

[Erica]

OK... I'll admit that my first thought when hearing that MJ had died was "well, if he's a molester, at least no more kids will be harmed".. but then I realized that, as others have expressed, he has played a part in the soundtrack of my life. Dear lord, I remember finding a cassette someone lost of the Thriller album (I think there is still an original LP in my parents' attic - I was a purist who clung to record albums even at 12)

However, I get the adulation and grief. He DID break down many barriers. I was listening to the Ron Reagan show today on Air America, and some African Americans who are 10 years older than me (I'm 38) talked about how things changed when both white and blacks could dance together to his music, that he was the first face of color on music mags and on MTV - and I was so damn grateful that I was only 11 when Thriller was released, and seriously thought NOTHING of dancing with those of a different ethnicity, and I am certainly one of those Al Sharpton spoke of who willingly and excitedly voted for Barack Obama - but not because he is a person of color!!!! Plus, there is something to what he said - that he was reacting to strange circumstances...

Ultimately, I DID cry - he had friends and family who loved him despite his faults (Jermaine got to me w/ his rendition of Smile), no matter his "strangeness" he inspired so many artists (OMG, Jennifer Hudson was amazing... and I didn't mind Mariah singing first, with obviously a huge lump in her throat), he had friends who loved him (Brooke Shields gave a semi-awkward eulogy, but I can't deny it was sincere), and he was someone's beloved Daddy - that little girl is what finally made me weep along with all of his siblings holding on to her. Ultimately I predict that it won't be the sons who carry on the legacy of MJ... but that daughter of his. I was noticing her before her speech at the end... esp. when Al Sharpton addressed them and when she leapt up to give him a standing O.

I just hope that Katherine Jackson is a healthy 80 year old and that her aunts and uncles help out (and keep Joe "the asshole" Jackson away from the kids).

[Rusty]

Mariah wasn't at the top of her game . . . but can you acknowledge that she was grieving . . . as well as standing near MJ's casket? She was visibly shaken. I will give her that one. The one I won't give her is the way she dressed. I am so sick of seeing her boobs. This was a funeral for heaven's sake. Something a bit more demure would have been far more appropriate.

I loved the service. Bravo to Kenny Ortega for pulling together such a beautiful tribute. I think everyone in the family felt very loved . . . which is a huge part of why a memorial service happens.

[Glenn D.]

I was out las tonight and didn't see this except on news magazine shows. It's sad he's dead but I think they are hyping the whole thing up. He was a successful singer but not Elvis or The Beatles. Was Emmanuel Lewis or Liz Taylor there? Rev Al Sharpton??? LOL Can we say Tawanna Brawlee??? LOL

[Dan Renzi]

Okay, so I turned it off before little Paris Jackson took to the stage--flanked by the rest of the Jackson clan, wearing much fashion--and that was sad. It was also simultaneously fantastic, with Janet and LaToya and everyone all around. I have no idea how those enormous sunglasses stayed up on Janet's face, with her nose as small as it is.

[Renee]

Please post the "Mayer Is a Tool" story!

[kelli]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE for the love of all that's good tell the John Mayer story.

PLEASE!! I'm dying to know. (MJ pun completely unintended.)

[Mike]

The Congresswoman would be so pissed that you put a hyphen in her name. That's a major no-no with her.

[DPOE]

rep lee rocks out! I completely focus if I see her on television.

[your escaping the suburbs, but still angry, conservative, younger brother]

And you forgot Magic Johnson's plug on KFC ad AEG Entertainment. And if you did miss the end, AKWARD moment pushing his little "daughter" in front of the mic. I feel sorry for those kids when they are teenagers and they start dealing with all this as young adults. Its gonna be rough. Like the new puppies, but not as cool as Buddy, the coolest dog that has ever roamed the planet. Talk to you soon,

[ikss / Karen]

why am I not surprised to hear that John Mayer may well be a tool?

[Naivasha]

I ditto what Annie said except the molestation statement. MJ not only was never convicted of molestation, but one of the 'victims' came forward after his death and admitted his father made him tell the story that MJ molested him. These people came out of the woodworks to accuse MJ of molestation in order to cash a check. Everyone was in his pockets and that is really sad. It's pathetic to ruin someone's reputation in order to make money. Funny how after the 1st molestation accusation, these people had no problem letting their kids have sleepovers with Michael. Shame on them. Unfortunately, the story of this boy who admitted lying has not made much media attention.

I thought the Memorial was an INCREDIBLE tribute to a person who broke color barriers. Someone who holds a record in the Guiness book for being the most charitable entertainer EVER. The music that has spawned from MJ's music is endless. Rusty, are you kidding me? You're right. He was not Elvis or the Beatles. He was greater. That's why the WORLD stopped what they were doing to pay tribute.

I hope that those with closed minds opened their minds up to watch this tribute. There was a lot learned about Michael and how he goes beyond music.

And let me know when you post the John Mayer story. LOL!

[Rusty]

Nai . . . I wrote the one ABOVE. Big fan.

[Bohdana]

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