MJ5

-Someone asked me who my favorite artist was and I said his name. She looked at me real crazy when I said his name and then said, "oh you mean his older stuff?" I said yeah because I didn't want her to think I was weird.

-At a meeting, someone asked us who our guilty pleasures were. Someone said R. Kelly. I said Mike. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy for calling him a guilty pleasure. They told me there was nothing wrong to openly like him.

-Discovering "All I Do is Think of You" via Dilla's "Donut of the Heart". I went BANANAS when I heard that Dilla joint and flipped out even more when I found out it was a Jackson 5 sample. I told my friend, who was big into the Jacksons, and she said, "It's on the Jackson 5 album you gave me a couple years ago." I admit, I sleep A LOT on music but I was so mad that I had this song in possession but never took the time to listen to it.

-Always singing "Ben" during karaoke and having my friend friend give me the evil eye because she hates that song.

-Finding out "Ben" was a rat and still enjoying the song.

-Listening to the "Off The Wall" album and getting mad no one told me about it earlier and then listening to it non-stop for an entire month.

-After listening to "Off the Wall", I got mad at Ginuwine for making me think "She's Out of My Life" was an original song because I LOVED that song.

-Not believing Michael Jackson was on The Simpsons because he wasn't credited.

-Always wishing I had a friend named Lisa so that I could sing the birthday song to her (although that wasn't Mike singing. Still a bangin song).

-Being at a bboy jam in high school and hearing "Life of the Party" and "PYT" and immediately wanting to leave so I could go figure out what those songs were. After that, I think I went to bboy battles more so for the music than the dancing and hot boys. Okay the hot boys too but music was first!

-Hearing John Mayer play "Off the Wall" and freaking out and then freaking out even more because no one seemed to recognized the song.

-Watching that Jackson family movie when I was younger and not really following.

-During the 1st grade, my friend told me Michael and Janet were siblings and I did not believe her because they looked so different.

-Not being able to watch "Thriller" as a child because it was scary and I had trouble following what was happening in the video. I didn't understand how Michael could be both a werewolf and a zombie. Vincent Price didn't help either. And then I watched the making of for what seemed like almost every Halloween for a long time.

-I was working with a 4th grader and he wrote something about "MJ" in his journal. I got super excited and said, "MICHAEL JACKSON??!?!?!?! YOU LIKE HIM TOO??" and he looked at me funny and said, "NO! MICHAEL JORDAN!!!". I asked the other kids what the initials MJ stood for and everyone there said Michael Jordan. I was a little heart broken that day but not entirely because they at least knew who Michael Jackson was.

-The only reason I liked Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me" was because MJ sang the chorus.

-Watching "Leave Me Alone" and wanting to go whatever carnival or fair he was at.

-Watching the video for "Remember the Time" and feeling weird that I liked the song because I'm in the 1st grade singing about remembering the time I fell in love.

-Trying to do the lean thing from "Smooth Criminal" and realizing trying to copy Michael Jackson was impossible so I moved onto copying his sister's dance moves. Those weren't easy either but I would do that standing-on-the-back-of-the-chair thing and letting it fall like it was nothin.

-Getting mad when I discovered "Butterflies" because no one hipped me to it earlier.

-My friend had a laugh like Michael's "a-hee-hee"

-Trying, and failing, to do the moonwalk for years and year and finally just throwing in the towel.

-Getting confused after seeing the extended version of "Black or White" where he smashes a car and grabs his crotch a lot.

-My ipod is a hot mess. When on shuffle mode, I came across a song I had never heard before, "This Place Hotel", and bugged the hell out on the bus and played it over for at least an hour.

-Listening to PBW's Valentine's day mix and hearing "Blues Away" and playing that part over and over and over and over.

-Learning the Jackson 5 had a MAD amount of good songs besides "ABC" and "I Want You Back" and are sampled in HELLA songs.

-Finding out a friend loved Michael like I did even though at first, I thought she was mocking me.

-A friend asked what my favorite MJ song was and my mind was a complete mess. How can anyone just choose one?? He said, "don't say 'Billie Jean'. Only white people like that song." And I told him that is actually one of my favorites. Ever since then, especially after his passing, I noticed a lot of white people really DO like that song more than some of his other jams.

-Finding out most of the Neptunes cuts on Justin's "Justified" album was intended for Michael and thinking that would've been one of an hell of an album.

-Wanting and waiting for the Neptunes and Mike to do a song or 15 together.

I have more memories related to MJ5 but I'll stop. I've also created a lot more since his passing but for the most part, it has revolved around rediscovering his dancing ability and his countless hits. Listening to some of his songs, it makes me sad to think he'll never make any more songs. Sure he has some locked away but I want him and P to work together!!! He was also on my list of "artists I need to see perform before I die". I was seriously considering going to London to see him until I heard tickets sold out in about 2 seconds.

PS. I need the entire Jackson 5 discography in my life so if you have anything, hit me! "Triumph" is SO DAMN GOOD. It's like the "Off the Wall" pre-funk.