Q&A: MTV's Toffler Sad To See Jackson 'Leave Us'
Entertainer Paved The Way For Artists Of All Races
Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 6/26/2009 10:22:11 AM
MTV Networks Music and Logo Group president Van Toffler spoke to Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead late Thursday night regarding the death of pop music superstar Michael Jackson. Toffler reflects on the influence Jackson -- who died yesterday of apparent cardiac arrest - had on the entertainment industry, as well as MTV. An edited version of the interview appears below.
Multichannel News: From your perspective, what did Michael Jackson represent to the entertainment industry and then to MTV?
Van Toffler: He's a seminal figure in modern pop music - his influence is felt across everyone in hip hop, pop and R&B. His choreography, dance moves, music videos, and the look and feel of his performances have translated to everyone from Justin Timberlake to Chris Brown to Jay-Z. For MTV, there are probably a handful of seminal artists like Michael - Nirvana, Guns & Roses - who have really advanced the video art form as he has. Thriller was nothing short of a movie made by professional moviemakers that came out of Michael's head and his great visual sense. Bands like the Beatles had that visual sense, but Michael took the modern music video art form to the next level.
MCN: Michael Jackson is often credited with breaking many color barriers in the music and entertainment industries, particularly at MTV where his videos were among the first from an African-American artist to appear on the network.
VT: That's definitely a piece of his legacy. Michael paved the way for so many artists of all races, just by the way he presented himself and pushed the art form forward. Black or White, I think Michael really pushed the envelope and led young, striving musicians like a Justin Timberlake to look at what he did and want to take the art form to the next level. His legacy will be felt for many years after he's gone for the great visual sense he had and how he made what were three minute pieces of art into mini movies.
MCN: Do you think the world will ever see another entertainer like Michael Jackson?
VT: That's hard to imagine. You'll rarely see that combination of a great songwriter, which he doesn't get that much credit for, a great dancer, an unbelievable singer and an incredible performer, which we hadn't seen in quite some time. Regardless of what happened in his personal life, his performance seemed to trump everything.
MCN: Do the controversies in his personal life supersede what he's done as an entertainer?
VT: I don't think so. I think that every artist still wanted to work with him. He worked with artists like Kanye [West] and others in contemporary music and they all felt his influence. They were able to put his personal history aside and wanted to work with him as a musician and a collaborator.
MCN: What were your personal impressions of Jackson?
VT: I met Michael many times and he was always soft-spoken, courteous, respectful, and nice. And it was really wonderful to deal with him. Once he got up on that stage, you kinda said, `There's no one quite like that dude!' It's a very sad day for me personally and MTV. We've had a great wonderful, long history with Michael Jackson and it's sad to see him leave us.
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