I distinctly remember riding the bus to school in 3rd grade when Thriller came out and the 5th graders playing the album on the bus to school in the morning. I also remember seeing the video for Billie Jean (at a friends house of course since my parents weren't up on the cable technology at that point). Then in 1986 I remember the excitement for the release of the album Bad and finally getting to watch the videos at my own house (my parents finally got with the times).
I've never considered myself a Michael Jackson fan per se. I like a lot of his songs and the man was a tremendous performer. I've only owned a copy of the album Thriller once, and that I got from Goodwill. It's a shame that his life turned into such a freak-show. I can't imagine how I would handle life if I'd been put in the public eye at a young age and if I'd had the talent he had. It's certainly a world where it's hard to stay grounded. It's sad that it took his death for the media to remember he was just another person.
In the end, maybe it's a good day. I don't see a lot of people crying, mostly folks remembering the days when Michael was larger than life and the focus was on his music and not his eccentricities. Unfortunately it might be the best thing to happen to his kids, if they aren't too screwed up already.
All in all, it's a good time to remember Michael Jackson's past and the joy his music brought, then move on. North Korea still wants to test some missiles and protesters are still fighting in Iran. As nice as Michael Jackson's music is, it's meaningless if we ignore the bigger picture.
2 comments:
Plus, where would Weird Al be without Michael?
I'm glad the media and public are thinking about all the good he did, too. And I understand that in the past there's been so much focus on his freakiness. But, you know, he kind of made it REALLY hard for us to appreciate the good when he talked about sharing beds with boys and had freaky plastic surgery done and dangled his baby out the window:). I'll miss him, freak and all.
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