Come to my window... please!

A little lighter topic in this post compared to the last one. Well, sort of. It all depends on how you look at it.

From the first time I heard this song ("Come to my Window" by Melissa Etheridge) years ago it made me think of Michael. I just love the sense of longing in it, and the lyrics are just right on... oh, how most of us have felt this at one time or another! But now I have an extra cheesy twist on it. A couple of years ago hubby and I decided to actually read J.M. Barrie's 'Peter Pan' as sort of our own private bedtime story. When one day this song popped up on my mp3 player after reading the night before, and all I could think of was Peter Pan, lol! Think about it... "Come to my window, crawl inside, wait by the light of the moon." Who comes to your window under the light of the moon, chasing his shadow, maybe with Tinkerbell in tow? That's what I'm saying. So now, not only are these lyrics 'to Michael' from me, in an ever deeper way than years ago, but it's got a whole additional cute factor as well ;)

I can't find the studio version of the song online, but here's a live performance from 'Dancing With the Stars' (wait, ... like "second star to the right and straight on 'til morning"? ;) and below that is a full live version that includes the second verse (lyrics here).


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfjT5tVGx6o


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nj2zOObtnA

I don't know who made the 'MJ as Peter Pan' digital painting above. I've seen it all over the internet in various forms. If you know, please leave a comment so I can credit and link to the wonderful artist :)

Jai Gurudev, my Beloved

For Michael, my Teacher, my Beloved, my all. Dearest Michael, you have my love, respect and gratitude. Thank you for your love, your strength and your grace. I am yours for always. ♥


YouTube link: By Your Grace, my beautiful Michael

This video features the beautiful song "By Your Grace/Jai Gurudev" by Indian kirtan singer Krishna Das, who I've recently discovered and adore. If you enjoy this song, I highly recommend his others too! To understand some of what the song means, "Jai" translates to "victory" and "gurudev" (Sanskrit: गुरुदेव), is a term denoting "teacher" and "greatness", such as the greatness of the higher mind and spirit that is vast and of/in/with God. It has been used sometimes to address gurus/spiritual teachers (which I find fitting, since I often call Michael my love guru! ;), but it is more widely understood to mean VICTORY TO THE GREATNESS IN YOU ... to the great joy and truth of love that is the higher self. MAY OUR GREATNESS PREVAIL!

Also included in this is a clip of Michael's speech at the Heal the World press conference in New York City on Nov 24, 1992. Through HTW, 46 tons of supplies were airlifted to Sarajevo during the war. And from 1992 to 1993 Michael performed for 3.5 million fans and donated all the proceeds from the Dangerous Tour to his charity, Heal the World Foundation. Many millions of dollars went to disadvantaged children around the world, including the full payment of a Hungarian child's liver transplant (Farkas, the little boy you see in this video at 5:00).

"Children show me in their playful smiles the divine in everyone. This simple goodness shines straight from their hearts. Being with them connects us to the deeper wisdom of life. These children are a reminder of the preciousness of all life, especially young lives untouched by hatred, prejudice and greed. Now, when the world is so confused and its problems so complicated, we need our children more than ever. Their natural wisdom points the way to solutions that lie waiting to be recognized within our own hearts. Children are the world's foremost idealists and optimists. It is for that reason that 'Heal The World" is organizing the World's Children Congress next year, made up exclusively of delegates, aged 8 to 16. The world desperately needs their innocent perspective on the world's problems. We have to heal our wounded planet of the chaos, despair and senseless destruction we see today. The mission of HTW, my mission, is healing. Pure and simple. To heal the world, we must start by healing our children." ~ Michael Jackson 1992

Thank you, Michael. I love you so much. ♥

Cosmic Drums and the Symphony of Love

"Deep inside I feel that this world we live in is really a big, huge, monumental symphonic orchestra. I believe that in its primordial form all of creation is sound and that it’s not just random sound, that it’s music. You’ve heard the expression, music of the spheres? Well, that’s a very literal phrase… I say: “Life songs of ages, throbbing in my blood, have danced the rhythm of the tide and flood.” This is a very literal statement, because the same new miracle intervals and biological rhythms that sound out the architecture of my DNA also govern the movement of the stars. The same music governs the rhythm of the seasons, the pulse of our heartbeats, the migration of birds, the ebb and flow of ocean tides, the cycles of growth, evolution and dissolution. It’s music, it’s rhythm." ~ Michael Jackson (Ebony magazine, 1992)

I was reminded of this quote (ok, and many others ;) from Michael when I ran across this article on CNN's website today about the literal drumbeats in sound made by the universe. It's fascinating. Cosmic Music from Dying Stars.

"There's no air in space to compress to ring against your ear...But it's important to realize the universe isn't a silent film, because space itself wobbles and rumbles like a drum in response to all of these things unfolding in the cosmos... If space itself is ringing and squeezing and stretching, your eardrums can resonate in response ... you could hear the sound of very dramatic events in the universe,"
~ Janna Levin, physics & astronomy professor at Barnard College

You can also watch 17 minutes of Levin's lecture (including an example of the estimated drum sound of the universe) on TED's website, also embedded below:

Darren Hayes "Black Out the Sun" - MJ connection

Tonight I was on the couch reading when I heard a voice from the television that sounded like Darren Hayes. I looked up to the screen and... WOW. I felt like I got punched in the stomach, sort of like the first time I saw Claire Maguire's "The Last Dance". Claire wrote "The Last Dance" about Michael, although he's not explicitly mentioned in the song. Once you know, though, it's all quite clear, especially lines like "I will kiss your crown when life takes me down ... (I've got) your love in my heart". Her video contains a few veiled references to Michael, like the restaurant that looks similar to the "One More Chance" set, the bright door of light and dancers performing a couple of MJ poses in silhouette. I only caught the last half of it that very first time, but still, it hit me immediately. Before I saw anything that would make it obvious, the words and the energy said, "This is for Michael".

Screenshots: Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" and Darren Hayes' "Black Out the Sun"

I was struck with this same feeling tonight when I saw "Black Out the Sun", the brand new Darren Hayes video. I admit to only having one of Darren's albums, but I like him and I know he's a MJ fan. I was sitting here watching the video's very striking images and thinking, "Oh my God, is this for Michael?" Now, I don't know if it is or not. Maybe it's just about the ending of a relationship or other loss, but the lyrics and images are intense. The set reminded me right away of "Earth Song", especially when the dirt falls from his hands while he collapses to his knees. The red and black clothing, the dirt, the desolation, the smoke, the red sky with lightning, the dancers in tattered black shrouds, the windblown fabrics and the bright lights all create a very powerful, painful image of loss and mourning.

[NOTE: Since writing this it has come to my attention that the song was "written with Carl Falk in Sweden, and recorded the day Michael Jackson died " - source: Darren Hayes official Facebook page. I would like to know if it was recorded before or after the news and where. It was nearly midnight CET when Europe found out what happened. If they were in the US or Australia, though, the situation was probably different. Oh my God :*( updated Sep 6, 2011]

[Update #2: It was recorded after he got the news, using the emotion of the day while singing. Whoa. I'm stunned that it was felt so much just be hearing it. He mentions Michael in the following video at 1:35 and 4:45 ... ]


What really drove it right through my heart the rest of the way, though, was the lyrics. In the first days after Michael passed, the poem 'Stop All the Clocks' by W.H. Auden ran often through the cracks and shreds of the devastation in my soul:

"The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good."

Similarly, lyrics from the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" (one of the most heart-wrenching songs ever, in my opinion - it simply hurts too bad to listen to) also attacked my soul from time to time:

"No colors anymore,
I want them to turn black...
I wanna see the sun
Blotted out from the sky,
I wanna see it painted black"

That's how it felt. Surely the world cannot go on without this angel, this light, this beautiful soul in it. And if it does, oh, let me go with him then. The worst times in my life, as for many of you. I do apologize for dredging this up now (I've also made myself cry), but I did so to point out the similarities with the lyrics from Darren Hayes' song and thus why, when combined with the imagery in the video, I immediately thought it could be for Michael in some way. Here are some of those lyrics:

"No, turn off the sun, take down the moon, For I don't need them anymore, Go, switch off the stars and paint the sky black, Love isn't ever coming back, There's no use in imagining a world without you, Your love was like a drug I was addicted to ... Now all the love's gone and nothing grows here, And I just feel wrong, So black out the sun."

Below is the full video for "Black Out the Sun". Let me know what you think!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJMNWTioW34

Oh, someone's gonna 'Get It', alright! ♥

"I know that all she needs is my tender love and affection.... Someone's gotta get it, I know that I will be the one who will..."
Yes. Yes. Yes. Did I say YES? Already got it. Bigtime. (But we love you too, Stevie! ;)

I can still remember hearing this song (see vid below) for the first time in early '88. Michael and Stevie Wonder recorded "Get It", which appeared on Stevie's 1987 album Characters, and "Just Good Friends", which went on Bad the same year. At the time I liked "Get It" better somehow. Not sure about now. Hmmm. I didn't hear it very often on the radio, however according to Wikipedia, it did reach #4 on Billboard's Hot R&B chart and #11 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Anyway, it came up on my mp3 player tonight, so thought I'd share in case someone out there doesn't know it! *gasp* -- "Get It" by Stevie Wonder ft. Michael Jackson:


Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder - Get It found on Pop