Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Rest in Peace Michael: Songs That Remind Me of Michael

It has been five years since Michael passed away that horrible day, June 25th and ever since then, I and billions of his fans all over the world have a difficult time accepting his death. I have been through the ringer with my various emotions about Michael's passing. A lot of my feelings were displayed on this blog and my twitter account. There is no real way of how to deal with this painful loss because everyone grieves differently. I do believe that the best way to remember Michael is not through his fame and celebrity but through music. Since the beginning of time, music has been used as a way to help humans express how they feel when they are unable to express them through talking. At times, I have difficulty expressing how I feel about Michael's passing through talking or writing so music has always been my way of expressing my feelings. I have chosen many songs that describe how I have always felt about Michael and how I feel about his passing. I feel this is my way of remembering Michael on this day by listing songs that remind me of him, his spirit, his energy and his grace. Each song will be listed, the year the song was released and why I chose the songs. When you view this entry and listen to the songs, don't forget your tissues. 



Michael smiling in 1988. I miss this man so much. 






Title: "Don't Wanna Miss A Thing", Armageddon soundtrack

Artist: Aerosmith

Year: 1998

Reason: I chose this song because the song talks not wanting to miss anything great about the person that they love. This relates to Michael because of the love we, the fans, have for him and we do not want to miss anything that he does. If he was going to be on an awards show, we want to watch it until we see him and see what he does. We do not want to miss anything about him. Now, that he is gone, this song really hits home because we will now have to miss one of the great things about being a fan of Michael's: his presence. 




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Title: "One Sweet Day", II and Daydream

Artists: Boyz II Men & Mariah Carey

Year: 1995

Reason: There are certain songs that I refuse to listen to after Michael has died. This song is one of them. This song pretty much sums up what a lot of people feel about what they did not do for Michael. The regret of not helping him, seeing him, loving him. However, when Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men sang about knowing that the person has died is smiling over us and that we will see them again, we know that when it relates to Michael and others we lost, that we will see them again. I know when I hear this song, I start to cry because of how much I miss him and that we will see him again. 




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Title: "Halo", I Am.......Sasha Fierce 

Artist: Beyonce

Year: 2008

Reason: I chose this song because when Beyonce performed this song in one of her concerts after Michael's death as a tribute to him, it was moving. The song is basically self explanatory. 




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Title: "One In A Million", One In A Million

Artist: Aaliyah

Year: 1996

Reason: Anyone that ever loved Michael knows how this classic song relates to them. I was in love with Michael and this song is really how I feel about Michael. His love was one in a million to his fans. The way he loved us was amazing, special and unique. This song pretty much explains the way Michael loved us. Now, I know that Aaliyah (RIP) was singing about a guy that she was into, but look at it like this: we, fans of Michael, did so much for him and we made him feel so good when he was down and sad. When he saw his fans, he was happy to see them. His love for his fans went was continuous when he was with us. We will continue to love him on and on and on. 




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Title: "Together Again", The Velvet Rope

Artist: Janet Jackson

Year: 1997

Reason: The beat of the song might be uptempo but what Janet sings in the song is about dealing the loss of a love one. She knows that all too well because this song has a whole new meaning to her. This is the one song that I cannot listen to anymore. When I first heard this song, I loved it. I thought it was catchy and the typical Janet song. At the time that I heard the song, I never lost anyone that was close to me. Then, in 2001, I heard the song again and I just cried. At that time, I lost someone that was close to me the previous year and it just hit me so hard. The part where she sang, "everywhere I go, every smile I see, I know you are there, smiling back at me" had me in tears. So, it did not get any better when Michael died and I heard the song again, I just could not listen to it anymore. That song was so moving because of the fact that Janet will now sing it about her brother and the memories of the great times they had together. The closeness that they had and the love they had for one another. This song clearly describes how we all feel about the loss of Michael. One day, we will see him again and that he is smiling over all of us. I do not know what exactly happened in the relationship between Michael and Janet and after doing some research on it, when I hear this song, I am sadden that whatever issue they had, they just could not get their issue settled. 






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Title: "I'll Be There", Third Album/ MTV Unplugged: Mariah Carey

Artists: Jackson 5 and Mariah Carey featuring Trey Lorenz

Year: 1970 and 1993

Reason: I love both versions of this song. This song is really the theme song for the fans and our relationship with Michael. We will always be there for Michael. When all of the leeches, haters, harassers, evil people come and lie and belittle him, we are there to defend him and have his back. More than ever, we continue to do that for Michael. This song sums up our loyalty to Michael and our crusade to protect his good name. 






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Title: "Gone Too Soon", Dangerous

Artist: Michael Jackson

Year: 1991

Reason: I literally removed this song from my Ipod not because I do not like the song - I love the song. I removed the song because after Michael died, the song was about him and his life. When Michael sang "born to amuse, to inspire, to delight, here one day, gone one night" that was what happened to him June 24th to June 25th of 2009. This is too much and too deep. 




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Title: "When I Think Of You", Control

Artist: Janet Jackson

Year: 1986

Reason: This is one of the best songs Janet has ever done in her career. This is probably my favorite song of hers. The beat, the rhythm and the geniuses of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis - my goodness. I chose this song because, you guess it, it reminds me of Michael. The time this song was released was when this type of music was created. That era of great pop music that Michael was a huge part of, the nostalgia of that time and my love for this song when I was very young. When listening to the lyrics, I can relate to when I would think of Michael and everything would be calm and things will be alright. Michael made you feel that way when you think of him. 





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Title: "You Don't Know My Name", The Diary of Alicia Keys

Artist: Alicia Keys

Year: 2003

Reason: When Alicia Keys released the video of her classic song, she stated that when she wrote the song, she had Michael in mind. Ever since then, whenever I hear this song, it reminds me of Michael. 




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Title: "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye", CooleyHighHarmony

Artist: Boyz II Men

Year: 1991

Reason: In my honest opinion, I think that this song from the great group, Boyz II Men was one of the best songs of the 1990s. It is a remake of a 1970s hit song that was in the 1970s classic movie, Cooley High. The group's rendition of this song was moving, haunting, touching and vocally amazing. I chose this song because this is a song that explains what it is like for someone to go through the death of a love one. Unless you know what it is like, you really do not understand that horrible pain of losing a love one. When the men sing "and I'll take with me the memories, to be my sunshine after the rain" you can't help but think of the memories we all have of Michael. When we feel defeated or hurt, we think of the good times that we had with him and we hope that outweighs the pain of his passing. 





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Title: "Home", Home

Artist: Stephanie Mills

Year: 1989

Reason: The reason I chose this song was because it makes me think about all of the nonsense that Michael was going through. That he just wanted peace and wanted to be left alone. At times, when people think of home, they think about that time in their lives when things were happier, peaceful, when one was surrounded by people that loved them. Michael yearned for that state of mind and that reality but his crazy life never really gave him that. This song really explains how Michael might have felt when he just wanted to go back to that time in his life when everything made sense. 




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Title: "Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart", The Element of Freedom

Artist: Alicia Keys

Year: 2009

Reason: I chose this song because when it first heard this song it reminded me of the 1980s and Michael. The song is about a guy that has left Alicia and how she is trying to make it without the guy. It is almost similar to what we, the fans, feel about our loss and how we are trying to go day by day without him. 





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Title: "For You, I Will", Space Jam soundtrack/ The Boy Is Mine

Artist: Monica

Year: 1997

Reason: This was one of the biggest songs in 1997 mainly because of the movie Space Jam and that this song meant so much to so many people. The reason why I chose this song was because it is about being there for someone and always having their back. No matter what happened to Michael, his fans, his family (some), etc., have always had his back. Even when it looked bad, we never left his side and he let him know that we will always be there for him. 




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Title: "Angel Of Mine", The Boy Is Mine

Artist: Monica

Year: 1998

Reason: Monica stated that Michael told her, when she first met him, that he loved this song. That was one of the reasons why I chose this song. The other reason why I chose this song was because many of us see Michael as our angel or an angel to other people who did not really have anyone to be there for them. Oftentimes, many of his fans compared Michael to an angel because he was so giving, humble and kind to many people that he met, knew and loved. 







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Title: "Dance With My Father", Dance With My Father

Artist: Luther Vandross

Year: 2002 

Reason: I chose this song because the late, great Luther Vandross sang this song so beautifully and now that Michael is gone, his children would really benefit from this song. The song is a tribute to Michael and all of the fathers who loved their children unconditionally. 




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Title: "I Believe In You and Me", The Preacher's Wife soundtrack

Artist: Whitney Houston

Year: 1996

Reason: This song reminds me of Michael because he was always be the one for me and so many people who loved him. The great Whitney sings about loyalty, support, love and hope for the person that she loves. All of those characteristics is what we have for Michael. We will always believe in him. 







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Title: "Man In The Mirror", Bad

Artist: Michael Jackson

Year: 1987

Reason: This song is the definition of Michael was about. Be the change that you want to be. If you do not like what you see, change it. Make a difference in someone's life. This song changed my life when I heard it because I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life: help people. What kind of tribute of Michael would it be without including his selfless and tireless work when it comes to helping others? A great song and an even great person. 








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Title: "Hurt", Back to Basics

Artist: Christina Aguilera

Year: 2006

Reason: I chose this song when Michael died, there were so many people that were sadden and shocked by his death. Most importantly, the people that left him hanging and the so called "fans" that threw the towel at him when things got too weird for them. They remembered why Michael mattered to them. The hurt they must have felt when they did not check on him or appreciated him when he was with us. This song depicts their exact emotions for not doing more for someone that at one point  loved. 






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Title: "I Wish", TP-2.com 

Artist: R. Kelly

Year: 2000

Reason: We all  have our opinions about R. Kelly but the one thing that you cannot deny is that he is a very talented man. I have always liked this song because the loss of a loved one is so emotional and painful that when you hear songs like this, it really helps you understand the emotions with dealing with this difficult reality of life. We all wish that Michael was here so we can see him but we know that he is in a better place. 





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Title: "I'll Be Missing You", No Way Out

Artists: Puff Daddy, Faith Evans and 112

Year: 1997

Reason: I chose this song because we all miss Michael and we reminisce on the good times that we had with Michael. The song describe the pain of loss and the hope that we will see our love ones when it is our time to go. 







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Title: "Yesterday", Help! 

Artist: The Beatles

Year: 1965

Reason: I am getting out of my comfort zone when it comes to my music choices. Michael was a big fan of the Beatles and I wanted to chose this particular song because it describes how much we miss the past. The song reminds me of Michael because it was like yesterday that he was here, with us, living his life and doing what he would usual do. It was like yesterday when he was with his children or speaking to his fans. It was like yesterday when he was breaking records and changing the world for the better. I miss those days because they seem so far away now. 






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Title: "Departed (Right Here)", Departed

Artist: Brandy

Year: 2008

Reason: I chose this song because I remembered those terrible times when it seemed like no one was really there for Michael. When things got so bad, his fans, some members of his family and a few friends really had his back. The support that he received from them helped him get through the very difficult times in his life. 







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Title: "Will You Be There", Dangerous

Artist: Michael Jackson

Year: 1991

Reason: This song is about what we can be to Michael. Will we be there for him? Will we treat him the way he wants to be treated? Will we love him unconditionally regardless of his faults? Will we lift him up? Will we care enough to have his back? 









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Title: "I Will Always Love You", The Bodyguard soundtrack

Artist: Whitney Houston

Year: 1992

Reason: This song is probably the most played song I ever heard in my life and for good reason. Love is the universal language and we all know that Michael was all about love for others and for oneself. We will always love him and miss him so much. 





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Michael sleeping in 1991. 


Rest in peace, Michael. 
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Refereneces:

Youtube -
The audio of the songs comes from youtube.com