Comments on: Michael Jackson

By: Judith Coyle

Judith Coyle — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:59:07 +0000

Yes, Ligaya is right. You have to see the unedited version of the panther scene in ‘black or white’ to truly appreciate the genius behind it. Note that Michael emerges as a Black Panther… The smashing seems to represent the fury at centuries of enslavement and a rising up against oppressors. The whole song is double edged too… the jollity of the main verses and chorus interspersed with the angry cry that includes “I ain’t scared of no sheets” That is, the KKK.
Cultural critic Eric Lott has written beautifully about the video — there’s a postingof it on my own blog.

By: Ligaya

Ligaya — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 06:34:55 +0000

Nobody's cover can surpass the original just by the fact that without the original composer & lyricist Michael Jackson, there would be no "Billie Jean" to cover in the first place. That said, I like Chris Cornell's cover very much & equal to Michael's. I cdance to it, and at the same time, it fills a different emotional space that Michael's version doesn't. It's a matter of taste, really.

By: Ligaya

Ligaya — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 06:29:03 +0000

I didn’t get the b/w last half of “Black or White” until I happened to watch the video in mute. Michael Jackson smashes car windows/windshield/rear window which are marked with swastikas, “KKK Rules,” “No Wetbacks,” and “[Niggers?] Go Home.” He throws a garbage can through a window like Mookie in Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing.” I never got the connection between the up-tempo color 1st half and the angry 2nd half, but now I do. It’s all about racism, what we’re striving for and what we have to destroy. It’s just that we’re distracted by Michael’s masturbatory movements & angry spirit – if Prince had been doing it, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, and now that I think of it, the attitude reminds me of an angry flamenco dance.