GoldDolphin said:
Scorp said:
see, this is what it is GoldDolphin
from day one, when him and his brothers signed with Motown, Michael Jackson's entire career was built on two principles juxtaposing with each other:
AUTHENTICITY vs CROSSOVER APPEAL.....that dichtomy are the very elements Motown founder Berry Gordy established his label on.
Michael's entire solo career was built on this, and it pulled him two different directios simultaneously until he gave in to the demand
so from day one, thru Motown's tutelage, Michael was taught to "lie" to achieve ultimate crossover appeal while applying authenticity as the means to do it...
so when giving answers to commercially based entities and source, it was authenticity is what shaped his talent, and musical prowess.....
this is what led him and many of his brothers and the sisters to speak in the falsetto voice publically during adulthood until it became like second nature when Mike spoke in his natural grown man voice in private
he was taught to lie to protect his ultimate career ambition, which was becoming the most popular recording artist on the globe but needed authenticity, specially soul and r&b structure to reach that pinnacle...
this mode of thinking is what led him to be so calculating whenever have gave interviews, to the point where he would eventually become the greatest media manipulator of all time as he sought the king of pop mantle. because to reach that mantle, he had to "embellish the truth"....
and THIS is why he never publically stated that OFF THE WALL was his favorite album until he knew his career was reaching its conclusion, which led him to react in restrospect
so when all the smoke clears, and the dust settles, he acknowledged AUTHENTICITY towards the end, because he could no longer play the game...
that's why it appears that he was a walking contradiction because to opposing elements constantly juxtaposed with the other....
when he gave an interview with someone commercially based, such as those Glenda tapes, he gave the "appropriate" answer that would allow him to protect his career ambition or at least what it was, that would craft, shape, sustain the superficial image he wanted to project to gain the ultimate crossover appeal status....
but when he spoke with someone who witness the entire scope of his career, he knew he could not give those type of answers, because he knew that person would know fact from fiction, and that's when he spoke on authenticity
so when it was believed that Michael Jackson never said OTW was his favorite album, the truth came out right in the nick of time.....
[Edited 4/25/13 20:06pm]
I respect your opinion but I don't agree... What I understand from the period 1977-1982 is that MJ was happy in the aspect that he was finally able to write and compose his own music, vs the time he was with Motown. He doesn't say it's his fav album, but sees it as one of his highlights in his career because he was given the chance to do his OWN music. There are many other interviews from when he was 14-16 where he speaks about wanting to work on his own music, like Stevie Wonder and after The Wiz - Quincy Jones gave him that chance. Nobody knew the real MJ except his children and close friends, the man said himself he could count his friends on one hand.
"Michael: Well, one of the great high points, ahem, I would have to say….. because I remember before ’82, in the early ‘80s ~~ I had done an album called ‘Off The Wall’ – it was an important point for me because I had just the movie ‘The Wiz’ and I wanted to express myself as a writer, as an ah, artist, you know to write my own music, do the music, pretty much put it together. And Quincy Jones, who I’ve loved – I was fortunate to work with him and I love this man, he is very gifted. But I was writing these songs at the time, ‘Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough, you know, ‘Shake Your Body to The Ground’, you know ‘Billie Jean’, and ‘Beat It’, you know, all these songs were written at this time. Ahem, so I pretty much was setting mental goals of what I want to do as an artist and I uh, it was a high point for me, during the uh, the winning of the Grammys for the ‘Off The Wall’ album, but I wasn’t happy. Because I wanted to do much more than that...
I wasn’t happy with, uh ahem, the way it was accepted, even though it was a HUGH success, it was the biggest selling album for a solo artist at that time ~~ it was over 10 million, and ahem, ahem, for a Black solo artist. And I said for the next album, I refuse for them to ignore, and that’s when I set my heart (clears throat), on-on writing the Thriller album and I really said I ---- "
the part I highlighted and italized....
when he said he's wasn't happy with the way it was accepted, he's not referring to the record buying public...
he's referring to the way he felt the album was slighted by the National Academy of Recording Artists...aka THE GRAMMYS
for the 1980 Grammy academy "only" acknowledged OFF THE WALL for best R&B performance by a male.
THAT'S WHY he was unhappy, not necessarily because he was unhappy with life itself but the fact he felt slighted because of his blackness as he was seeking to become the biggest star on the globe when he was already the best entertainer alive because of authenticity
and to show how disconcerting he became with his own blackness over time, even as he answered this particular question posed by Jesse Jackson, he hesitated to mention the fact OTW was the most successful album recorded by a black artist up unto that point until he had to reconsidered what he said seconds ago
fast forward 29 years and when he was asked by GOOD MORNING AMERICA what were the happiest moments of his recording career, he distinctly said w/out hesitation THRILLER AND OFF THE WALL
but I bet if the world got a chance to witness the TRIUMPH TOUR in the privacy of their own homes by DVD, the spontaneity and energy he gave during those concerts would illustrated which of his albums was his favorite.....
and OTW sold way more than 10 million worldwide, 20 million would be a more accurate count
that's why the interview I've been referring to, I'm keeping that under wraps, because at this point, that's one of the only authentic moments of his career and culture that is left, for everything has been exploited and taken away