In the summer of 1983, my dad took me to the Sunset Boulevard Tower Records to purchase my first two audiocassettes. One was the eminently forgettable Cargo by Men at Work; the other, the legendary Thriller. By summer’s end, I knew every single lyric on that great album, and would watch MTV whenever possible in order to catch the “Billie Jean” video. A year later, when the long-awaited Victory Tour kicked off, I was distinctly jealous of a carpool-mate whose parents managed to score tickets for the Los Angeles Coliseum Dodger Stadium show.
So MJ’s sudden passing definitely leaves me feeling nostalgic for simpler times. And it also brings to mind my favorite MJ sidekick, Bubbles the Chimp. Check out the rare video above, in which Bubbles imitates his human friend’s most famous dance. Hopefully these two close pals will someday get to moonwalk together in Valhalla (or wherever pop-music titans and their higher-primate sidekicks end up).
Rest in peace, MJ. And stay strong, Bubbles, wherever you now roam.
FS // Jul 6, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Are you serious? Cargo is a great album.
Brendan I. Koerner // Jul 6, 2009 at 8:53 pm
@FS: Really? Hmmm, maybe I’ll have to give it another listen. Remember it as a cassette I got tired of after a few months. But maybe I was just too young to understand Colin Hay’s genius.