Raising My Cup of Jesus Juice to the Gloved One

Sure, Michael Jackson was a weird dude. And yes, I love referencing Jesus Juice every so often and I had pretty much written off the guy years ago. (I also refuse to stop referencing Jesus Juice, even in light of his sudden death.) And yes, I do think he probably had some inappropriate relations with young boys, although I do not know in what capacity, however, I think if you have an art collection which includes such works as Boy Milking Goat, that sort of raises a red flag right there. The plastic surgery, the pajamas…I mean, this man’s death was shocking, but was it a surprise? Looking back, didn’t everyone see this some time ago?

In fact, when a friend of mine in London told me he was trying to get tickets to one of Jackson’s (not so much anymore) upcoming shows at the O2 Arena (ironically called the This Is It tour), I said, But do you really think it would be any good? However, this did lead to a conversation about how good Jackson was in his prime (and even post-prime in some regards) and the undeniable contributions he made to both music and culture.

And last night, with the countless musical tributes to Jackson on the radio and TV, I was once again reminded in a way not since my father and I watched the premiere of Thriller at 1am one Saturday night long ago, just how damn good so much of Jackson’s music remains.

More than anything, Jackson is a tragic figure. Despite his alleged crimes, can he really be considered a monster? Sadly, he will be remembered as a cautionary tale of child stardom and the perils of absolute celebrity just as much as he will for his numerous contributions and staggering talent.

Next week, in what is kind of a lame move but they don’t have much else going on this summer, Fox will be rerunning the Top 13 episode from this past season of American Idol. If you recall, this was the Michael Jackson songbook night. In retrospect, I am pretty pissed Lil Rounds and Alexis Grace were permitted to sing a couple of Jackson’s great 90s-era songs — The Way You Make Me Feel and Dirty Diana, respectively, and HBD did Remember The Time, which I have never cared for, so his version was preferable to the original. Megan Joy cawed her way to awesomeness with Rockin Robin and Adam Lambert solidified his Adam Lambert-ness with Black Or White, but the standout performance of that show, in hidsight, belongs to one person. And I actually want to THANK American Idol for turning me onto a Michael Jackson song which was never really on my radar.

La Princesa del Mariachi, my favorite female contestant of any Idol season I have ever watched, did a “relatively unknown” Jackson number from 1991′s Dangerous called Give In To Me. We would later find out upon her Idolatry interview with Michael Slezak, that the awesome Hot By Default suggested this song and helped her out with it.

Last night, I watched Jackson’s version on Idolator and subsequently downloaded it, because I recalled enjoying La Princesa’s rendition. Maura Johnston’s Michael Jackson obituary is an awesome read and features her favorite MJ songs, which really illustrate how much Jackson contributed to music over his short life.

I have since listened to Give In To Me about 7-10 times. It is one of the greatest Jackson songs of his career. Completely underrated. It’s dark. It’s sexy. SLASH PLAYS ON IT.

Give In To Me is truly symbolic to Jackson’s musical genius. An odd manchild with a penchant for pet chimps and paintings of boys milking goats could transform into anything or anyone with just a song. Sadly, the song was never released as a single in North America or Asia, but it did very well in the UK, Europe and Australia & New Zealand.

It’s awesome. RIP Jacko.

And let’s thank Hot By Default for turning La Princesa onto this awesomeness, as it was indeed, perfect for her and her voice. I may actually watch the rerun of the Top 13 episode next week just to catch her belt out this bad boy once again. Here is the studio version…b/c that crap always gets removed fromYouTube. Bastards.

It’s good to see her doing these songs, as the poor thing was singing Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On at age 6. But damn has that girl always had talent. (This is completely unrelated, but I found this gem while looking for the aforementioned clip.)