By Jack Stephen
I had a show in Denver, Colorado, at a Sushi Hai. This restaurant, close to the intersection of 32nd Avenue and Lowell Boulevard, is in a super cool area, which was bustling for happy hour on a Thursday. I wandered into Meade St. Provisions to grab something to eat before the show. The restaurant was a great spot, albeit expensive. It was thirty dollars for a “craft” turkey and cheese sandwich and a “craft” lemonade. Wowszer! Nonetheless, the soul-funk playing in the background was solid.
What memorable song were they playing? “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” by Michael Jackson.
It’s almost impossible for people of my era to talk about the influential music of their formative years without mentioning Michael Jackson. While Michael was not the first Black artist played on MTV, he might as well have been (see the fun track “Pass the Dutchie”). It seemed like “Billie Jean” was played every 10 minutes or so. Next, we had “Beat It” on heavy rotation followed by the world changing “Thriller” video. Michael had many other awesome tracks and let’s not forget those great dance moves. Michael was mostly produced by Quincy Jones, who pivoted from his odd Jazz projects (see “Walking in Space”) to producer extraordinaire. Quincy and Michael formed what seemed like the perfect confluence of producer with artist, aligned with medium and Zeitgeist (the rise of MTV).
Things began to turn for Michael perhaps starting with getting burned in the Pepsi commercial. It was fairly clear at that point that the wheels were starting to fall off his superstar train. What followed was the horror of all the plastic surgery, and the weird relationships/pregnancy stuff (anybody remember “Blanket”?). And now, we are more than aware of his astounding predatory pedophilia. What was he thinking about singing “P.Y.T.”! How are we supposed to feel now that we know this superstar icon of our teens was actually a monster? It’s not just Michael either, there are endless examples (i.e., Harvey Weinstein, Paul Gauguin, etc.). Even though he probably had a preteen sex slave chained up in his Neverland ranch, is it okay to still think MJ had incredible music? I’m thinking maybe it isn’t our fault, there were plenty of people who probably knew about his predilections but looked the other way seeing this once in a generation talent and the massive dollar signs on the horizon (Quincy Jones?). I can’t ignore the great art people have made in a variety of mediums over time. I just wish someone could have given us a heads up. I suppose this is easier said than done. Regardless, “P.Y.T.” is a great song and there’s so many others, such as “Off the Wall,” “The Girl Is Mine,” and “Human Nature.” Also, don’t forget he wrote and was the catalyst for “We Are the World,” which was such an amazing idea! Do famous musicians (artists) do things like that anymore? I mean amazing, incredible things and awful things as well?
I was killing time walking around trying to get my head right for the show and I stumbled into Wax Trax records. What an incredible record store! I used to frequent the original Wax Trax on Capitol Hill, and I don’t remember it being this cool. I wish I had about two hours to thumb through the stacks. It was busy, customers were milling around and walking out with records! Screw you online music, vinyl is alive. I found myself checking out some Iron Maiden and would have liked to make a purchase, but $50 for a re-issue is…wowszer! I decided not to make a purchase, mostly because between the Iron Maiden and the turkey sandwich, I would have been down $80 and hadn’t even told a joke yet!
At the show venue, in the basement of the Sushi Bar, I caught up with the other comics on the show. One of the comics also performs as a clown, another leads a Jewish women’s book study on “The Artists Way,” another had LSD for sale, and another, a last minute addition to the show, said when she got the late text to join the lineup she had just done a DAB and had broke out her vibrator, but didn’t have time because she had to get to the show! Comics are the best!
What would have been a good walkup song for me? “Rock with You” by Michael Jackson.
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