Yesterday evening, I got to attend a lecture at the New Carrollton Public Library, by one of the associate curators @ the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. His name is Reuben Jackson and his presentation was called "Michael Jackson, Balladeer". I was kind of surprised at the turnout last night, considering it was a cold, rainy Wednesday evening, then again I wasn't, considering the [almost magical] effect Michael Jackson has on some people. Reuben Jackson played three selections from Michael. I think if it hadn't been for the fact that the library closed at 9, he would have been able to fit in more. (For those that are curious, he played "Got to Be There", "Can't Help It", and "Butterflies". He skipped playing any selections from Thriller, because it's so well known.) He touched on one of the things that I see mentioned repeatedly @MJFC and on other Michael Jackson fan blogs, how Michael was able to convey such emotion with his voice from such a young age and had continued to do so. Reuben Jackson urged everyone who hadn't done so, to go see This is It (Preaching to the choir here I know). He talked about Michael's being a perfectionist and his showmanship and how TII reminded the viewer of these qualities that most people either took for granted, forgot about, or overlooked completely (Again, preaching to the choir.) He spoke about how Michael was a fan of all types of music and incorporated that in his music. He used quotes from Michael to illustrate different points in his lecture as well. Another thing that excited me about this lecture was what Reuben Jackson said about Michael Jackson's collaborations with Quincy Jones. He said they were like an actor's classic work with a good director...I guess like Scorsese and DeNiro, Capra and Stewart...I'm very into film history too, so I really loved that comparison. Mr. Jackson also touched on some of the gospel elements in Michael's music. Some of the obvious ones like shouts, etc. (Michael Jackson could've sang the alphabet or the phone book and I'd have bought it. He sang that soulfully in my opinion.) Reuben Jackson also touched on the fact that the short films deserved examination too. I asked Mr. Jackson if he would be pursuing that at any point, but he said he wanted to take a break on researching for a bit, because it was so emotional for him...which I could definitely understand (he said when he first did the presentation @ the Smithsonian in August people were actually tearing up in the back of the room and that effected him.). I would definitely go to a lecture on the short films. If he chose to do a book on Michael's music and/or the short films. I would get that as well.
Reuben Jackson also mentioned a YouTube clip of The Jackson 5 performing "Never Can Say Goodbye" on the Flip Wilson show that highlighted some of what he touched on in his lecture. I was jazzed that he mentioned YouTube, no doubt it's definitely a treasure trove (I have my own little archive on there and everything.) I definitely think his lecture had something in it for everybody. I loved how easygoing and accessible Reuben Jackson was too. I was definitely not sorry, I ignored the rain and wind and went.
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