"You're an Angry Dancer" - and an Angry Man

Above: John Lydon, PIL

"You're an angry dancer."
These were the words Fred Astaire uttered to Michael Jackson after seeing him execute his amazing, epoch-defining Motown 25 performance of 'Billie Jean' (1983).


But Jackson was not just an angry dancer, he was an angry singer, musician and lyricist. He was a very angry man! 


Those not lucky enough to have worked their way through this man's ouevre may not see this. To some Jackson will be "the lover not a fighter"  of 'The Girl is Mine', the man-child who croons "you are the lady in my life" and who only wants to "blame it on the boogie". However, a huge number of his songs, especially those self-penned, are seething with anger. I think this is why I like the Blood on the Dancefloor album so much - the whole work is an adrenaline-fuelled tirade - against DA Tom Sneddon, MJ's family, his detractors, Evan Chandler, even Jordie Chandler, the public, those who want to see the 'freak... on and on it goes. Note how strangulated his voice is on most of the songs. 

Above: MJ and Fred Astaire

One could write a whole thesis on Michael Jackson and anger. My ex used to say that Jackson's anger often sounded childish. He may be right but that's why it connects with us all!


In counselling circles there is talk of the 'inner child', a term known to many. The inner child is the scared, clinging part of us. But there is also the 'outer child'.  The outer child is the one that gets angry, stamps their feet, plays up, sabotages things, screams, hurls things, over eats, lashes out, blames, does not take responsibility for its actions, etc. In day-to-day life it seems as though MJ had a nice-guy persona. We see this very clearly on the This is It film. He probably was, or could be, a very nice person. J Randy Taraborrelli tells a lovely story about how MJ insisted on cleaning up after his kids when they made an unholy popcorn mess in the recording studio. The sound engineers were amazed at his humility. In fact, humility and kindness are words that were used about him a lot after his death. 


But on stage and in song - that's where the anger comes out. 


'Wanna Be Startin' Something' is one of the angriest songs I have ever heard, easily matching some of the more 'obvious' angry words and sounds of punk. It's also enormously energetic. As Public Image Limited (PIL) sang, "anger is an energy". It is. That's why anger can be exhilarating - and addictive. Anger makes the angry person feel powerful - momentarily, that is. For those seeking to become 'whole' adults the real position of power is to not give into those angry impulses (as a child does) but to take a step back and consider one's next move, to think things through. 


'Wanna Be Startin' Something' = "Do you want to fight?" In WBSS, Jackson's rage is personal, against people who have done him wrong, at peole who want to consume him, rather than at a specific cause, although the ma ma se, ma ma sa, ma ma ku sa stomping chant, which originates from Cameroon, may be a nod to slavery. The Jacksons had visited Africa not that long before and he talks about how the visit affected him, especially with regard to slavery. (See Moonwalk).  It's not just the words, though, but the angry, chopping, slicing, percussive sounds. Some of that percussion sounds like a scythe going through tall grass!  


I hope to explore Jackson and anger in future posts.