behind the mask

the king of pop arrived in our city on october 30, 1996. he flew in on his private jet, was greeted by thousands of people at the airport (none of them paid to do so) and welcomed by a few bollywood stars as well as the thackeray family. we didn’t have the now ubiquitous rabid news channels at the time, but everything he did over the next couple of days was scrutinised by newspapers across the country. this happened because michael jackson was, with hindsight, the world’s last megastar.

few entertainers can claim to be as big a brand as he once was: an icon capable of promoting instant recognition with a flick of his gloved hand or flash of a sequinned sock. few can claim to have the kind of impact he had on popular culture either. his manipulation of the world’s media would ultimately backfire, but it undoubtedly left valuable lessons for generations of entertainers in the process.

sadly, much to the annoyance of millions of fans, gossip surrounding jackson always overshadowed his art. this is why joseph vogel’s man in the music: the creative life and work of michael jackson (sterling, 2011) will probably make a lot of people happy. the new york-based doctoral candidate and instructor at the university of rochester decided to write about jackson’s music because, in his words, he wanted to ‘help shift the discussion back to what made him famous in the first place.’

vogel has, by all accounts, succeeded magnificently. he gets under the skin of every track, from jackson’s thumping solo album off the wall (1979) to the music left behind when he died in 2009. he often does so with a little help from some of the people — including audio engineer bruce swedien, touring musical director brad buxer, producers matt forger and bill bottrell — who helped create the music. the result is an enjoyable, comprehensive look at everything from the albums and videos to jackson’s signature dance moves, the cinema that influenced him and decisions that shaped his growth as a recording artiste.

one of the more refreshing things about the book is its multi-disciplinary approach, prompted by vogel’s past as a student of literary criticism. another positive thing is its insistence on according jackson the same kind of respect traditionally given to those considered ‘singer-songwriters.’ in a recent interview, vogel blamed a range of biases including race, persona and genres for this slight. he also argued that although jackson didn’t write the way singers like bob dylan or bruce springsteen did, his vocalizing was like an instrument capable of conveying emotion beyond the strictures of language. clichés could be injected with authenticity and, in turn, depth.

man in the music does what every book about music ought to — it gently nudges the reader towards the songs. when that happens, and one listens to the opening of billie jean as if for the first time, it’s easy to see why we were lucky to have michael jackson with us.

five questions for joseph vogel
what prompted you to consider a study like this? was it a love of the artiste or the music?
i was prompted to write the book because i felt the dynamism, richness and depth of his work was being ignored. we are talking about one of the greatest catalogs in the history of popular music. i couldn’t understand how all these books had been written on michael jackson and not one focused on him as an artist. so my goal was to put the spotlight on the artist and have people go back to his work with new understanding and appreciation.

assuming you spent a few months listening to jackson’s music closely, was there anything new that surprised you?
i actually spent several years going through not only his finished work, but his demos and notes. what impressed me was his dedication to his craft and his passion to create and innovate. he was also very intelligent. deepak chopra remembers him reading sufi poetry while on his bad tour. he also read emerson and blake and studied all the arts, from film to painting and classical music. the caricature of jackson is very different from the person behind the curtain; he was very serious about his work and understood exactly what he was doing.



how do you explain the massive impact he had on popular culture the world over, and for so long?

i think one of the hallmarks of his work is how it transcended barriers. he believed music was a universal language and his songs and performances were designed to communicate to all people, regardless of race, religion or ethnicity. i think what made him especially resonant though is that he wasn’t just an entertainer — he spoke to people on a deeper level. he challenged, provoked, baffled and inspired us.

what accounts for his drop in popularity after albums like thriller and bad? was it the tabloids, the wrong producers or did he just lose track of what the public wanted?
all the controversy and scandal took their toll on his commercial viability, particularly in the united states. but as an artist, he continued to grow and evolve. i think part of the problem was expectations. people wanted a repeat of thriller. it took courage for michael to part ways with quincy jones and act as executive producer. i think what people will discover, now that much of controversy about his personal life has dissipated, is that the quality of his music didn’t diminish after the 80s. there are some remarkable songs on those later albums.

do you have a favourite michael jackson song?
my favourite is one that was never a number one hit and isn’t particularly well-known to the general public. it’s called stranger in moscow and i think it is pure poetry. it deserves recognition. i also love earth song, which i feel is one of the most significant protest anthems ever.