I've been going through an extremely depressing five days because I miss Michael Jackson so, much. If you know me personally, you'll know I love him, A LOT. And I've loved him since I was two years old. I'm one of the people who he's basically managed to impact almost my whole life.
These periods of grief always happen randomly and usually goes like this: I'll listen to a song of his and then start remembering him so then I obsessively start listening to all his music, rehashing all my MJ CD's, watching past performances, past interviews, past videos, reading past articles and just basically everything to do with him.
It usually starts off on a high; I'm simply remembering Michael Jackson's life and celebrating it (as one should do after a person has passed away) but being the emotional nostalgic person I am it all slowly goes downhill and I become really depressed and distraught over his death.
Before I became quite spiritual I used to think it was unhealthy for somebody whom I never knew personally to impact my life so much like this (I'm crying as I write this) but things became much clearer to me. When you are placed on a platform which shows yourself to the world, you naturally have an impact on other peoples lives. You don't even have to be a celebrity anymore; our generation of social media has allowed this to happen. You have nobodies who have now garnered a lot of popularity on the internet and who have followers and people who have genuine interest in them. It is in human beings nature since the beginning of time to do such things and we all simply cannot help it.
Michael Jackson was given a very big platform and because of all the things he accomplished, he was viewed and revered as a god. Nobody in our generation has been able to have such an effect on people like him. He made grown men cry by being in his mere presence lol. I don't know what kind of power he was receiving from the Universe but it sure was working. It's like once you have a taste of Michaelmania you have converted lol, and is now at the point of no return. And to me that says so much about him as a person, so much.
ANYWAYS, this was meant to be a TRIUMPH & EVERYBODY appreciation post and as always, I went off track!
Since I'm on my MJ period, I felt the need to express my love for this album! TRIUMPH, by the Jacksons! Woo, what a classic!
The song Everybody by The Greatest Boyband of The 20th Century is life! And comes from the best Jacksons album of all time Triumph, which is also life!
I remember first listening to the album, it was in 2008 or 2009. I bought a copy off the internet as I was eager to hear more of their later sounds. I was mostly familiar with their earlier tunes but wanted to know more about how my favorite group of brothers composed their music during the later years. It was late at night and I opened the fresh CD case, popping the new CD into my mums stereo and pressed play. I then hopped into the bed and took out the CD booklet, flicking through the lyrics and credits to each song. Can You Feel It suddenly blasted out the stereo, which I was very familiar with as it used to get sooo much airplay during the early 2000s whenever they showed 'the greatest music videos of all time' on music channels back then. I always loved the song; the 'Can You Feel It' being chanted like an anthem, Randy's smooth voice and Michael belting out the chorus and bridge like the amazing vocalist he is!
Lovely One proceeded after which I fell in love with and after every song had finished, I was like, 'wow, what a hit, when will a non-hit start playing?' But it never happened. And instead of falling in love with one or two songs I fell in love with the whole album and couldn't believe how underrated it was. (Especially This Place Hotel, a cult fave among Jackson fans due to how conceptual the storyline was and how ahead of time the instrumental was too)
Yes, Michael sang most of the vocals, which shouldnt be surprising, but everybody played a major role in putting this masterpiece together (yes, I said masterpiece because it sounds so good), which makes Triumph even more special.
I think the main reason why I was drawn to it so much was because it had sounds of an ending of an era, and that era was 70s disco. I have a deep affection for 70s disco. The album was so ahead of its time but yet had the lingering aroma of 70s disco. And it makes sense because Triumph was recorded mainly around 1979, the year we saw the last of 70s disco, and was finished and released in 1980, the year which marked the beginning of a new time and sound.
Notice how its called Triumph, but there is no song on the album with that name. I dont't know the reasons behind the title name but it seems really befitting for the album and the group at that time (their album before was called 'Destiny' and their album after, 'Victory'. Hmm.).
I also love this song because of Michael's vocals. Triumph was an album where he had grown completely into his adult voice and was experimenting heavily with it. Many people say the Thriller era was where he had a consistent unique way of singing and also had his own flair. I definitely agree with this because on Triumph I believe he was developing this special flair to his voice. On Triumph he was going crazy with his vocal hiccups and you could hear the early stages of his 'hee-hee's' lol. He also explored his vocal range more and as always, his falsetto was on point. I believe the most experimental he was on Triumph was in the song, 'Lovely One'.
But, although I love every song, my favorite song on Triumph has to be Everybody! Once again, being the emotional wreck I am, I got a bit teary-eyed listening to it. I love the sound of the sweet call for everybody to come to the dance floor. A lot of people were making this call during the 70s, but Everybody was definitely the best one because to me it was quite bittersweet.
Everybody is a song in which the main character has a realisation and reflection on their life and makes the choice to leave their troubles behind. 'this time I'm leaving all of my cares behind. I've tasted the good life and its fi-i-ine...' And by doing so, its like whatever they were holding onto, they let go of and proceeded to the dancefloor, woo! You believe them because of how Michael's singing it; his vocals are delicate and carefree. He also beckons other people to do the same, which is why I believe it was titled Everybody.
The song reminds me of this kind of late 70s nostalgic moment:
Looks so fun and I wish I was there *sobs*
My favorite lyrics from the song are:
'I've had my days of standing on shaky grounds. I want my life so fancy-fre-e-ee... I know that I can do it, I have to let me be. And I've had enough, and I know whats right for me.'
'Listen. This time I'm leaving all of my cares behind. I've tasted the good life and its fi-i-inee. Know more to pain and strife this lifes waiting to be. And I've had enough, and I know whats right for me.'
'Hey, I've done my time and I have paid the price! All you have to do is state my name, out louddd...'
I love it!
I also love the ending as it fades away and Michael's like, 'I love I love I love I love , I loveee, the wayy you move...' simply beautiful.
Like I said before, I am a big fan of 70s disco (and funk!) so I am aware that others may not be. I love the 70s more than my childhood era the 90s (please dont kill me), but thats just how I feel. Anyways, have a listen to Everybody and its gliding strings lol:
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