SPECIAL: TRIBUTE & FAREWELL TO MICHAEL JACKSON ON WNSR WITH TERIK KING AND DJ YGB
June 25, 2009 was a truly awful day.
PROGRAM NOTES: Michael Jackson Tribute
First I must apologize, in advance, for the cringeworthy first 10 minutes of the show (and also a section about 30 minutes into it where I tell the “encounter” story) where every bit of my public speaking training and experience fails me as I pepper my stories with “you know”’s and “you-know-what-I-mean?”s. Very amateurish; I’ve been doing this long enough to know better.
But at the same time, if ever there were a time to cut myself some slack on that sort of thing, it would be now. I was just trying to keep it together. When you have been crying on and off for 24 hours, on top of a night of insomnia and emotional anguish, then rushed to set up a studio to record and then speak coherently – “control” the show – there are bound to be some cracks. That’s the most obvious one. I was speaking like an ungraceful gang member. Oh, the humanity! But I was really on “autopilot.” Thank my lucky stars that YGB was there; I really don’t believe I would have been able to do it either by myself or with anyone else.
Another thing that struck me coming out of the taping is how the odd numbness I’m experiencing prevented me somewhat from conveying just how ANGRY I am in the aftermath of this. Since there’s no going back and “inserting” it into the show, I’ll address that particular emotion in another (forthcoming) blog entry.
There was SOOO much music to choose from that a 90-minute (or less) tribute show that fully does justice to the beauty of Michael’s body of work is absolutely impossible. I went for things, instead, that aren’t played to death, and saved the more popular tunes (most likely to be played ad nauseam in the coming days and weeks) for the “bed” we spoke over. A couple of those, however, are songs I wish we could have “spotlighted,” especially “To Make My Father Proud” and “Heaven Can Wait.” God...so many wonderful songs.
YGB’s observation/quip, “Some people go to Neverland on crack!” really makes me laugh every time I hear it. I think that was the only time I laughed that entire day.
It was hard to put across, as effectively as I usually do, my belief that Michael may have had some sexual contact with Jordie Chandler, the first accuser (with whom he settled in early 1994). I don’t think I did it very well on the show. On a related note, I found a post by a Huffington Post blogger who shares my observation that Michael was most likely “essentially gay,” which I also couldn’t quite articulate. It's definitely food for thought, and the blogger laid out the idea much more clearly than I ever could. I should be such an effective writer…