I woke up this morning to an SMS that said, “Michael Jackson dead.”
I still don’t quite have the words to express the way I feel. I guess for me the worst part is that he had kinda slipped off the radar, you know? Lost a bit of the superstar appeal amidst loads of ambiguity about his questionable conduct with children, too many crude jokes at his expense and that epic concert he never got to perform at. Ugh.
I guess I feel this way about all posthumous tributes for anyone who dies, famous or not. I wish they could be around to feel the love. Maybe we should pick a day for everyone we know and celebrate them and tell them how amazing they are while they’re still alive, not just after they’re gone…
Flipping the news I heard lots of people say lots of things… He was our generations Elvis Presley. It’s true. He was shrouded in so much mystery that every rumor became a reality. Sad, but true. He made mistakes, everyone does. He had an unhappy childhood. Yes he did and perhaps therein lies the key. He said so himself once that his most honest and autobiographical song written and composed by MJ alone is “Childhood.”
He didn’t have one.
…and so, spent the rest of his adult life trying to make one up. Neverland, friends (I guess his mental age), wanting to be Peter Pan doesn’t it all make sense?
All I know is that in every corner of the world people knew him and (for the most part) loved his music. His “This Is It” comeback tour was supposed to kick off next Monday, instead he’s gone and the whole world is playing his tunes in tribute. I guess in a way the magnitude of his impact, that around the world today people are playing his greatest hits is his final grand exit, an epic concert for his biggest audience. This is it.
P.S. Love this; @frankviews says MJ’s Gone Too Soon, dedicated to himself. Born to amuse, to inspire, to delight, Here one day, Gone one night…