When first hearing the news about Michael Jackson, to describe my reaction as stunned would be the understatement of the modern era ... as everyone knows, I’m an admitted nostalgiaholic and the 80’s to me were all about the “3 Mikes” and Hogan, that is (to steal a line from Biggie) “Tyson, Jordan, Jackson” and The Hulkster ... as far as music went, Michael Jackson WAS my childhood ... to me, there was MJ and then there was everyone else ... He’s the first artist that I listened to over-and-over again ... I would’ve commented on this the day of his passing, but the significance of his death to me warranted its own entry and some reflection ... since his passing, all I’ve been listening to are his classic tracks (even as I type) ...
My first memory of Michael was hearing the tracks from his “Off the Wall” album, in particular ... what I remember was the vinyl spinning on the turntable playing the immortal hits “Rock With You” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” ... my parents tell that those tracks always had me dancing ... something which I can confirm still holds true today ... prime example, last night at a fave hangout with Anthro and Octal, they ran a full set of MJ’s music ...
After the release of his follow-up album, “Thriller”, (at the risk of sounding very cliché) music for me was changed forever ... it set the standard for greatness, period ... and the memories ... my first time watching the video for “Thriller”, I remember being completely freaked out and in complete awe of the dance moves at the same time ... again, setting the standard, this time for what defined a great music video ...
Then who can forget Motown 25 and his first moonwalk to “Billie Jean” ... Michael was a great illusionist, people to this day still think that to do the moonwalk they push off the pointed foot ... amateurs! ...
The other classic off the “Thriller” album “Beat It” can be described as my childhood anthem ... finally, the apex of my love for Michael Jackson was at the release of the charity song “We Are the World” ...
As time went on, especially into the 90’s, I obviously started listening to other artists, but I never stopped being a Michael Jackson fan ... even throughout the allegations of sexual abuse which remain a black-eye on his life, because to me that’s precisely what they were unsubstantiated allegations ... I don’t want to cast a dark shadow over this entry by discussing specifics about those accusations, but I will say one thing ... the fact of the matter is, every one of his accusers took a payoff ... now my question is, if this happened to one of your loved ones, would you take a payoff and turn a blind eye? I know I wouldn’t ... but it definitely puts into question the motives of his accusers and legitimacy of the accusations ...
As I stated on my Facebook status, the words “legend” and “icon” are thrown around a lot, but rarely are they ever warranted, but for Michael Jackson, he fits the bill for both ... To me he is the Greatest of all time ... and I’m not just saying that because of his passing ... I distinctly remember telling the boys this many times ... I’ve never been one to shy away from saying that “Thriller” is my favorite album of all time ...
I won’t get into the question marks concerning the circumstances of his death, because right now most of it is purely speculation ... for me, I choose not to think about how he died, but rather reflect on how he lived ...
In closing, my deepest and heartfelt condolences to Michael’s family and loved ones ... June 25the, 2009 will be remembered as the day that Michael died and when part of my childhood died with him ... he gave up his childhood to make the music of my childhood great and for that I want to say, Thank You Michael! ... Rest In Peace!
