Michael in the Media - Thread for Miscellaneous Articles

Today I went to a book exchange place. There were 1000 or so books there including some very old. I found a series from 1985 which were sort of encyclopedia of famous things geared towards teenagers. The first one I picked up had Michael Jackson. Posting one of the pages, sorry it's in German.
I always check these sort of books whenever I see them. So far, no luck.
 
Today I went to a book exchange place. There were 1000 or so books there including some very old. I found a series from 1985 which were sort of encyclopedia of famous things geared towards teenagers. The first one I picked up had Michael Jackson. Posting one of the pages, sorry it's in German.

PXL-20220904-161056593.jpg
These are a rare find wow . this is lovely ,

I managed to find Michael circa bad. on the back of a Sindy Doll collector magazine from 1987 in around early Aug . but to find this stuff , that's a magical moment sent from above , that to me , is like a welcome to the family and wanna read my history ? kinda thing . Hiker. i'm silly but i do kind of believe that stuff !
 
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Michael Jackson was a 'player' and 'feeble' persona was an act – claims Mike Tyson
Boxing legend Mike Tyson has opened up about the King of Pop in a tell-all interview

Mike Tyson has opened up about his interactions with the late Michael Jackson in a candid interview.

The boxing champ, 53, claimed Michael was a "player" and "feeble" nature was all a facade.

In an enlightening chat on T.I's Expeditiously podcast, Tyson opened up about his friendship with Jackson, and revealed he hated him long before they became pals.

Tyson claimed Jackson snubbed him backstage at a concert in 1986, despite him just becoming the heavyweight champion of the world.

Speaking about the moment, Tyson said: "It broke my ego.

"It crushed me."

Tyson said the frosty moment saw him harbour anger towards Michael for years.

He recalled: "That cold mother f****r. I hated his guts forever."

Tyson said the beef between the pair was later squashed when a mutual friend suggested they all hang out together.

Not only did they let bygones be bygones, Tyson said he quickly realised Michael was really intelligent and not "a f***ing idiot".

Mike said: "He wasn't no f**king stupid little feeble lookin' boy like Peter Pan. He's f**king sharp. He knew what f**kin' time it was. It blew my mind."

Tyson also recalls thinking he was a "player" when he met him in terms of knowing how to woo someone.

He also said MJ gave him tips on how to impress women.

Tyson divulged: "I thought he was a f**king idiot until I met him that day,"

"I learned to respect him. I knew he was a player."

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz/michael-jackson-player-feeble-persona-21244036
oh wow Ty was so shocked haha
Michael crushed tyson haha i love that whether M did that unintentional or was testing Tyson as a person , weighing it all up , cause youve got to understand people under 20 , Mike Tyson, an american Boxer from the bronx was a scary bloke absolutely terrifying and i dont have anyone to comapre that with now in the public , , ah but that was so cool , it comes from the rags but ty said these words himself
its on video . ( they cut it short ) but Tyson respects M absolutely. Loved that!


Better explained -
 
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These are a rare find wow . this is lovely ,

I managed to find Michael circa bad. on the back of a Sindy Doll collector magazine from 1987 in around early Aug . but to find this stuff , that's a magical moment sent from above , that to me , is like a welcome to the family and wanna read my history ? kinda thing . Hiker. i'm silly but i do kind of believe that stuff !
yes! its a rare find from 1000s of books! This book was published BEFORE I was born! Talk about history 😂. Actually its my daughter who found it (she is 6!). She was just so excited she found something for me 🥳. I was surprised that she recognized the picture on the cover. That beautiful moment brought to us by Michael 😇.
 
LIVERPOOL’S biggest Michael Jackson fan has recalled the moment she came face-to-face with her idol.


By Liverpool Echo 00:00, 4 JUL 2009 (UPDATED 8 MAY 2013)

LIVERPOOL’S biggest Michael Jackson fan has recalled the moment she came face-to-face with her idol. Maureen Duffy, 53, was one of two teenagers who met the pop legend, along with the rest of the Jackson Five, back in 1972 after bombarding the ECHO with 20,000 “pleases”.

Maureen, of Knotty Ash, got in touch with the ECHO again this week after we ran a story hoping to trace the two fans. She said Jackson was “very bubbly, very happy” when she met the then 14-year-old after a show at the Empire theatre and “just bounced around the room”.

Maureen said the star “loved” Liverpool and seemed excited to be performing in the hometown of The Beatles. He also asked the girls about their unusual bid to meet him. Three decades on, Maureen, who works in a credit control office, is still a huge fan of Jackson and was devastated at hearing of his death last week. She said: “I could not sleep that night and I cried all the next day. I could not even take my grandchildren to school.”

Jackson had scheduled a massive 50-date run of live shows at 02 Arena for this summer, but Maureen had already opted not to go, preferring to remember him at the peak of his career. She said: “ I just had a feeling he would not be able to do them. Maybe he would if it was just one or two shows, but 50 was just too many. He will never be forgotten and I will remember him at his best.”

Recalling her plea to the ECHO which landed a ticket to meet her hero, Maureen said: “We wanted to meet him so much. We knew we would have to get someone’s attention and just tried to think of how. It took us about a week!” She said people still ask to see the photograph of her and Christine Cole with the famed pop outfit.

Her family also inherited her love for Jackson. She took her three children to see his show at Aintree in 1988, and now her three grandchildren are also fans, which she sees a sign of Jackson’s universal appeal.
 

Akon talking about working with Michael and about plans he and Michael had to open up music schools across Africa.

2m 51s
 

My Dinner With Michael Jackson - MTV competition

Not much of Michael in this but nice little interview clip at approx 2m 12s with Herb Ritts talking about filming ITC. Couple of shots of Michael in the conga line, lol.


@wendijane - here you go!
 
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S%2BMichael%2BSchumacher.jpg



Posting this from an old thread. Quote from a 2009 or 2010 interview with Michael Schumacher:

"Were you shaken by the death of Michael Jackson?"

"Yes, very much. I was a fan of his. We met at one of my last races in 2006 in Bahrain at Salman bin Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa's place.

"How did you find Jackson?"

"I was amazed how could somebody, who is such a giant on stage, be so insecure, shy and fearful in real life. That was probably because so many people took advantage of him."

"Did he know you?"

"He was a huge motorsports fan and we were talking about that. He wanted my autograph by any means, so of course he knew me. I got the news of his death at 3 in the morning by an SMS. I was playing poker with my friends and was just getting ready to go to bed."
 
Article looking at the artistic careers of Michael and Prince. It's the Washington Post and it's interesting to me bc it's a piece from 1988. It's quite lengthy and it's pretty good, imo. There are certain parts I disagree with. For example, the journalist references the MSM use of the 'J' word and the 'WJ' label. He says that the UK media used the 'WJ' label in an affectionate way. I must say, it never came across that way to me. I didn't like it at the time - actually, I loathed it - and I still don't like it now. I'm fine with the way us Brits are quite irreverent. I love that. But this always felt different. It felt wrong. I'm not buying this explanation.

That said, I like the piece overall. I found it interesting.


PRINCE - MICHAEL JACKSON: TWO PATHS TO THE TOP OF POP / By Richard Harrington / October 9, 1988

@staywild23 - FYI
 
Article looking at the artistic careers of Michael and Prince. It's the Washington Post and it's interesting to me bc it's a piece from 1988. It's quite lengthy and it's pretty good, imo. There are certain parts I disagree with. For example, the journalist references the MSM use of the 'J' word and the 'WJ' label. He says that the UK media used the 'WJ' label in an affectionate way. I must say, it never came across that way to me. I didn't like it at the time - actually, I loathed it - and I still don't like it now. I'm fine with the way us Brits are quite irreverent. I love that. But this always felt different. It felt wrong. I'm not buying this explanation.

That said, I like the piece overall. I found it interesting.


PRINCE - MICHAEL JACKSON: TWO PATHS TO THE TOP OF POP / By Richard Harrington / October 9, 1988

@staywild23 - FYI

oh wow!! This was a fantastic article. While I do disagree with a couple of things (mostly the things you pointed out, here) I actually felt like overall this sort of nailed Michael (though I would add that I don't appreciate the author referring to his music as "surface"). In all, it felt like this really did capture how magnificent Michael is and how broad is scope and range was. Lots of quotable moments here too:

"Even that hoary rock comparison has been invoked, positing Prince to Jackson as the Rolling Stones were to the Beatles, based apparently on Prince's more "dangerous" image and the likelihood that he's not the kind of guy you'd want to take home to mom. And so on.
If people don't get drawn into these games, critics obviously do. Although these critics traditionally champion black artists of all stripes, they often draw the line at successful black pop artists, particularly those who span more than one category, something that Michael Jackson was doing more than 20 years ago. If that's not exactly racism, it's cultural insensitivity masquerading as taste."

I thought this was quite astute, particularly the part I bolded. So much to say on this, but I'll leave it .


"Reading his autobiography, "Moonwalk," one senses unbridled ambition that demands the biggest this, the biggest that -- not the best, but the biggest -- almost as if the resulting public adulation can guarantee the soul of his achievement. There's nothing wrong with that, of course; it's the currency of the American dream. But in the pop world, while immense ego is understood, relentless ambition is unforgiven."
This is a fascinating point and one I want to sit with for awhile. But this is what I mean when I say I feel the writer nailed Michael pretty well. Though, obviously, Michael had an ego in some ways, he never really came off like that. He always just came off as wildly ambitious and driven, more so than self-important.


Over the years, Jackson has given millions of dollars to charities and to the United Negro College Fund, but his generosity is often undereported
YESSS! This is now the second article you and I have discussed in the last week that was written in the late 80s that discusses how his humanitarian work is underreported. It's upsetting but also kind of validating to see.


It's pure speculation as to how that has affected him. The common take is that Jackson's fascination with fairy tales, fantasy, children and animals (most notoriously his frequent companion, the chimp Bubbles) is either a desperate attempt to reconnect to the childhood he never had or an equally desperate attempt to maintain a childhood he's never abandoned. We should all be this lucky.
I love this little bit because 1) it acknowledges everyone is just speculating, but don't actually know anything and 2) he doesn't really call it out as weird, but says he's lucky. Though I disagree that he's lucky, I understand what the writer is doing here and I appreciate it. As I always say to anyone who will listen, who wouldn't want to do all the Michael did if they could? It's not weird. It's human nature (ha!).


Jackson has long since ceased to be an individual, having transmuted into a corporation. And while some critics would like to reveal manager Frank Dileo as a Col. Tom Parker for the '80s, Jackson himself is known as a totally disciplined artist and a shrewd, astute and frequently hard-nosed businessman (just ask Paul McCartney). Even Peter Pan was not a naif.
Love this because I actually understand it. I knew hardly nothing about Elvis or Col. Tom Parker prior to seeing the biopic, so this comparison here as a way of elevating Michael's actual autonomy, control, and dominance over his own business affairs lands for me.


The glimpses we steal, though, are of an individual who is genuinely shy and gentle, ill at ease off the stage or with strangers. What we are ultimately left with, however, is what Jackson himself chooses to leave us: the Show, as it were. It's too easy to dismiss his accomplishments here, as if a life-long commitment and a perpetual honing of skills were either artifice or instinct. Few people outside of NASA have defied the limitations of gravity as consistently as Michael Jackson, to the point where it's hard to decide whether he's a song-and-dance man or a dance-and-song man.
I Just love everything about this :)

Honestly, he writes overall flatteringly about Prince as an artist too, but if I were to guess I would say this writer is at the very least purely fascinated by Michael, but more than likely a bit of a fan himself!


Also, a side note -- I will always find it sort of hilarious when male writers talk about Michael's concerts being family friendly and PG... of course they ARE those things. He's not doing the kind of stuff Prince (and others) did on stage... but that is just not even remotely how I experience these shows, and the exact opposite of how I would describe them haha. So I can't help but laugh.


Anyway, thank you for sharing this! I am going to bookmark it. I loved it!
 
oh wow!! This was a fantastic article.
It really was. I loved it. So pleased to find it.

While I do disagree with a couple of things (mostly the things you pointed out, here) I actually felt like overall this sort of nailed Michael (though I would add that I don't appreciate the author referring to his music as "surface").
Agreed. It really felt like the guy had listened to Michael's music, understood him and his art, took it seriously. Regarding the 'surface' comment, tbf, the guy had covered his back, I felt. He said:

"If Prince's songs are about something deep (however convoluted), Jackson's seem to be about surfaces." (emphasis added)

I think, in the context of comparing and contrasting Prince and Michael, he's saying that the wider community would most likely regard Prince's music as having more depth. I think he's saying it's *possible* to be misled into seeing Michael's music as less complex but he's also inviting his readers to do the exact opposite and understand that there really is more going on than you might think. So I'm OK with that statement. I think he's just inviting the readers to think for themselves which is great. So many journalists like to make statements about Michael as if there is no room for argument or discussion.

And I'm sure you clocked all of this. I'm just getting carried away bc I so rarely see this kind of serious journalism about Michael. It almost feels weird. I'm not used to it, lol.

In all, it felt like this really did capture how magnificent Michael is and how broad is scope and range was.
Totally.

Lots of quotable moments here too:
Tell me about it, lol. I had to restrain myself or I'd have been quoting almost the whole thing. :D

I thought this was quite astute, particularly the part I bolded. So much to say on this, but I'll leave it .
Yes. I loved this part. Not only bc he talked openly about this but bc he was so upfront and yet also subtle in the way he dealt with it not to mention wonderfully intelligent. I'm going to quote it, I love it so much:

"If people don't get drawn into these games, critics obviously do. Although these critics traditionally champion black artists of all stripes, they often draw the line at successful black pop artists, particularly those who span more than one category, something that Michael Jackson was doing more than 20 years ago. If that's not exactly racism, it's cultural insensitivity masquerading as taste." (emphasis added)

This is a fascinating point and one I want to sit with for awhile. But this is what I mean when I say I feel the writer nailed Michael pretty well. Though, obviously, Michael had an ego in some ways, he never really came off like that. He always just came off as wildly ambitious and driven, more so than self-important.
Agreed. The 'ego' thing is always misused against Michael, I feel. Yes, of course, he had a big ego. He was a performing artist and an astoundingly successful one, at that. But to dismiss him as merely consisting of an overweening ego and nothing else, which is what I feel a lot of journalists do, is ridiculous, stupid and inaccurate.

YESSS! This is now the second article you and I have discussed in the last week that was written in the late 80s that discusses how his humanitarian work is underreported. It's upsetting but also kind of validating to see.
I'm so glad there was SOME acknowledgment (sp?) of Michael's philanthropy in the 1980's. I don't remember seeing anything. Clearly, some people thought it was worth talking about and that is very pleasing.

I love this little bit because 1) it acknowledges everyone is just speculating, but don't actually know anything and 2) he doesn't really call it out as weird, but says he's lucky. Though I disagree that he's lucky, I understand what the writer is doing here and I appreciate it. As I always say to anyone who will listen, who wouldn't want to do all the Michael did if they could? It's not weird. It's human nature (ha!).
Exactly so.

Love this because I actually understand it. I knew hardly nothing about Elvis or Col. Tom Parker prior to seeing the biopic, so this comparison here as a way of elevating Michael's actual autonomy, control, and dominance over his own business affairs lands for me.
I'd say this is one thing they got right in the 80's. Michael was seen, maybe not always but often enough, as a shrewd businessman. Yes, MSM liked to portray him as a man-child. But there was acceptance, imo, of his business smarts, as well.

Honestly, he writes overall flatteringly about Prince as an artist too, but if I were to guess I would say this writer is at the very least purely fascinated by Michael, but more than likely a bit of a fan himself!
He certainly seems to 'get' Michael and doesn't seem to have any of the not-so-hidden, unhelpful agendas that so many journalists seemed to have.

Anyway, thank you for sharing this! I am going to bookmark it. I loved it!
I definitely will be re-reading this one just as soon as I'm done reading the thesis. :D
 
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You know I just sent this to my mother lol

Seriously though this is so cute. Idk anything about Donny really, but I love how everything from the qualities Michael observes/likes about Donny, to the way Donny describes Michael's personality, absolutely reinforces who we knew Michael to be: sweet, great sense of humor, great dresser and style oriented, very serious about music, musically diverse, thinking about his legacy (as a child lol).... I just love to see it! He was so so so special
 
The making of the Japan-tour?? - What is that?
Idk. 🤷‍♀️

Just saw it in this little piece today. I'm always wanting to know more about the details of Michael's career from back in the day, especially the 80's. This is something I didn't know so it's an interesting little insight into this aspect of his work. But, yeah, The Making of the Japan Tour? That sounds awesome.
 

I just love this piece so much. Lots of great quotes, here'e a few of them:

"3:08 The song’s over and the crowd is cheering. More important: LOOK AT MIKE’S HAIR. He’s like a magical faun with a curl. Very rare."

"Few people have ever “left it on the field,” like Michael Jackson at the 1988 Grammys. No one’s ever done anything like this."

"7:44 Michael is shouting ad-libs at the audience, which is important, because if there’s one thing this performance is, it’s a sermon. He’s just up on that stage, converting lost souls."

"8:34 The background track in the song is gone, and all that’s happening are foot stomps, hand claps, and voices. This is not the Grammys. This is church."
 
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I just love this piece so much. Lots of great quotes, here'e a few of them:

"3:08 The song’s over and the crowd is cheering. More important: LOOK AT MIKE’S HAIR. He’s like a magical faun with a curl. Very rare."

"Few people have ever “left it on the field,” like Michael Jackson at the 1988 Grammys. No one’s ever done anything like this."

"7:44 Michael is shouting ad-libs at the audience, which is important, because if there’s one thing this performance is, it’s a sermon. He’s just up on that stage, converting lost souls."

"8:34 The background track in the song is gone, and all that’s happening are foot stomps, hand claps, and voices. This is not the Grammys. This is church."

OMG this made my entire night. Hell, it may have made my entire week. I LOVE this piece. I feel like I could have written this piece. Did you even notice all the references to his hair and his curls? Totally me. Also, look at this part:

HE SPUN AROUND FIVE TIMES AND LANDED ON HIS KNEES IN THE DIRECTION HE WANTED BECAUSE HE’S PERFECT.

Me. I could have, but I didn't. Damn. But in fact, now I"m thinking I have to do this with my favorite MJ performances and videos because I have a brand new thought and feeling every 1-2 seconds while watching Michael perform. If I edit out 70% of the dirty ones and I may have a halfway decent article to publish somewhere (probably on a blog I haven't started yet, that no one will read once I do). Doesn't this sound like a proper, yet delightful, waste of time??

Anyway, I really adored this. I wish we had more articles like this that just totally go full fan crazy about everything that makes Michael Michael. I will always believe that he deserves all the possible praise so this was a real joy 🤩
 
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