20th September - Past Your Peak



My partner and I were browsing for something to watch in bed for some time last night, before eventually deciding on Michael Jackson's 'This Is It' documentary. Neither of us had seen it before and we both enjoy his music (who doesn't?) so it seemed like a suitable choice for all involved. For those who are unaware of the premise, the movie essentially captures close to two hours of unseen footage from rehearsals for his 'This Is It' tour in 2009, when he was scheduled to play 50 nights at London's O2 Arena as part of his 'curtain call', a finale of live shows prior to a permanent retirement from touring. 

At the time, a friend of mine was buying tickets for one of the gigs and asked if I'd like to attend. I declined, on the reasoning that MJ hadn't performed live for 10 years by that point, and I was concerned that this man - who, at the time, was now hitting the headlines for multiple bizarre stunts, changes in appearance, and even paedophilia allegations - was perhaps not the 'performer' we once all knew and loved. I was concerned that my only ever live viewing of perhaps the greatest music artist of all time, would be one tinged with regret and sadness of 'if only'. "If only I'd seen him at his peak in the 80s". I didn't want my memories of his legacy and legendary status to be soured in my mind. 




My friend personally couldn't get her head around my reasoning, arguing that it was better to see a legend past their peak, rather than never see a legend at all. But upon finally watching this movie last night, my worst fears were confirmed. Both my partner and I looked at eachother with an expression of shock and disappointment at how weak MJ's vocals sounded, whilst his choreography - though impressive - seemed lacking in real showmanship 'pizzazz' for what would have been the end of the 'King of Pop''s career. Comparing the planned performance and their vision for the show with modern-day EDM spectacles, like the Eric Prydz holograms, or even the Axwell Ingrosso 'flamethrower', and MJ's 'This Is It' just doesn't hold up in comparison.

Perhaps, what I learned from this. 110 minute documentation, which was clearly intended to be snipped down into 'DVD Extras' territory, is that it is important we all recognise our peak, and judge our behaviours accordingly. Right now, I'm probably a stronger writer than I've ever been, and that skill is one that will only grow with age, and added wisdom/maturity/intelligence, and experience. But already, I know that physically, at the age of 32, I'm not in the same condition to recover from hangovers as I did at 22, or that my body wouldn't fare so well in a 'Tough Mudder' right now, as it did when I was 28. There is no shame in passing your peak, it happens to all of us. But judge your peaks in various areas, listen to your body, and plan accordingly. MJ never got to perform the show to audiences in the end. He died shortly before the tour started. There were numerous controversies over his death, but what we do know is that his Doctor was needed to administer drugs and remedies to him shortly before the tour....




... Perhaps, as a result of rehearsals and pushing his body past the breaking point of his own peak?

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