Michael Jackson changed my life. Seriously. In all his freakishness, the man helped me bridge my adolescent confusion about music, life, race, and humanity. I idolized him as a kid– somewhere I still have the dangling MJ earrings that I prized. And for a few years from about 9 – 11 I think my hair styles pretty much mirrored his metamorphosis from black man to white woman. Even in death, his legacy continues to influence how I see the world. We are inherently imperfect and no one demonstrated that more than MJ. It’s almost impossible to characterize the pure joy he brought to the world through his music and dancing. The day after he passed away I was stuck on a seemingly endless train ride from BOS to PHL and I escaped from the business traveler hell by listening to Off the Wall:

So tonight gotta leave that nine to five up on the shelf
And just enjoy yourself
Groove, let the madness in the music get to you
Life ain’t so bad at all
If you live it off the wall
Life ain’t so bad at all (live life off the wall)
Live your life off the wall (live it off the wall)

You can shout out all you want to
‘Cause there ain’t no sin in folks all getting loud
If you take the chance and do it
Then there ain’t no one who’s gonna put you down
‘Cause we’re the party people night and day
Livin’ crazy that’s the only way

Pure joy! This song should be my anthem! And, right now, sitting at my desk trying to keep my eyes open on a slow Wednesday afternoon, just listening to the opening beats of “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” was enough to get me snapping my shoulders back and tapping my foot under my desk like an epileptic trying to control a seizure. I can’t imagine what the people in the building across the street think when they see me breaking down in my cube through the window. Actually, I can imagine: they wanna rock with me.

But that’s not all. Michael’s untimely death didn’t just make me nostalgic for the days of Thriller, it subjected me, like millions of others around the globe, to the 24/7 cycle of tributes, gossip, and news. And, out of that came my new appreciation of Off The Wall AND introduced me to music from his albums I missed when Michael lost me to Pearl Jam, Nirvana and U2 in the early 90s. Invincible is an incredible album. Actually, I think it was a couple years before it’s time. It’s holds it’s own against the catchy pop/dance songs being churned out by Justin, Britney and Rhianna today. “You Rock My World” just won’t get out of my head. (BTW, the video with Chris Tucker is one of Michael’s best.)

So, of course, you’re wondering: What’s your favorite Michael Jackson song? I certainly don’t have just one. And, I can’t even get into Jackson 5 songs in this post. I’ll save that for another day. As of today, these are my favorites. The ones that lift me from fits of despair, instill hope, inspire brilliance and just make me happy:

PYT

Rock With You

Human Nature

Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough

You Rock My World

Off The Wall

Girlfriend

Go directly to iTunes and have a listen. It will make your day. “‘Cause we’re the party people night and day. Living crazy that’s the only way.”

Wow,  I can’t believe how long it’s been.  I just returned from a fab trip to Hawaii with the Double Dutch Family. DD Dad entertained the masses at Germaine’s Luau outside Honolulu:Despite the crap weather, we all had a great time! Dad announced on the trip that Frankie is interested in collaborating again. Maybe the Double Dutch is back on the street.

Madonna goes old school in her new Sticky and Sweet Tour! The show features a remix of “Into the Grove” that samples Double Dutch Bus as Madonna jumps rope. See for yourself:

Just got word that Double Dutch is again being featured at the Phillies Game on the board during the Septa bus race. (Thanks for the tip, JRS.)

Apparently, Raven was in Philly for the Disney Music Block Party Tour.  She hosted the event, although, she didn’t sing. Dad tracked her down, got the photo and an autographed copy of the DVD.

Not sure of the story yet… just know that Dad finally met Raven as the photo shows. Weird– she looks like she could be my sister.

Bill Bloom and Raven Symone

I just think of my dad as my dad, so it was odd for me to discover he has his own Wikipedia reference.  This discovery led me to Google him to see where else he appears on the world wide web… I found that he has a wicked first place ranking for his website (nice SEO, dad!).  Elaine’s blog gets a second place ranking– pretty impressive for a post she made in 2005. From there the entries feature a variety of “Bill Blooms” from across the country. One of the more amusing finds is a quotation from dad in an Intelligencer article about the a protest in support of Siren Records in Doylestown: “The kids in Doylestown don’t get a fair shake,” Bloom said. “The borough’s attitude is kind of repressive.” He’s such a hippie, err, I mean so progressive.  Anyway, my favorite Google reference of dad links to video from the 2004 BMI awards where he’s rockin’ his gangsta sun glasses. That’s how he rolls…

Wow, life really caught up with me the past few months. I’ve been busy developing a personal balanced scorecard, launching Aquent’s Facebook presence, visiting Southeast Asia, among other stuff. Since then, Raven-Symone finally released her album featuring Double Dutch Bus. And, College Road Trip was released on Blu Ray and DVD.

Meanwhile, I realized that Double Dutch Bus has its own Facebook! Looks like it was created by some kids in the mid-West.  I think I need to do some work as a contributor to make a it a little more interesting.

Double Dutch Bus made it to the iTunes “Best of the Store” list this week!

Click here to download the single:

My sister sent me a text after seeing Road Trip today and commented that the movie is “the story of our lives”. She reminded me that we did indeed have a pet pig. Although, ours didn’t have any kind of special powers (other than busting through it’s outdoor pen).