Death of a Legend

I’ve got to start off by saying that I write today of an entertainer not of a man. Perhaps it is impossible to discuss the subject I wish to address today without truly considering his magnificent faults as a man but that’s what I’m going to try to do.

I was in the car driving from my house to the post office. I was listening to The Ticket, as usual, as they attempted to cover the death of Farrah Fawcett. The producer broke in and announced that he’d been pronounced dead at the hospital after numerous attempts to resuscitate him. And the radio show’s hosts seemed unable to quite voice what they wanted to say.

Those were the circumstances in which I learned about the death of Michael Jackson. For my generation (and likely the generations on either side of me), the question of “where were you when…” is likely to revolve around that date for many years to come. I was one of the first in my little group to hear the news and I even sent out a mass text to those I thought might be interested, something I never do concerning pop culture. Radio and TV personalities, usually so calm and together, were frazzled and shocked. Facebook, Twitter, and every other social network went nuts. The line in the post office was quickly abuzz, with one guy on the phone simply saying, “Man, the King of Pop.”

If this happened 15 years ago it would have been treated as nothing short of the JFK assassination. Because of the way the last few years have been for Jackson, however, I think the general consensus among those I’ve spoken to regarding this is a feeling of not knowing exactly how to feel. One of my buddies told me, “I just don’t know how I should be reacting to this.” On the one hand, Jackson was (is) a pop icon that very few could rival. On the other he was at best a seriously disturbed individual and at worst a freakish pervert. For myself, I have to separate the art from the artist. Perhaps it is impossible to discuss Jackson without truly considering his magnificent flaws as a human but that’s what I’m trying to do because… Well, because I don’t know how to do it any other way.

I loved Michael Jackson; his music, his dances, his incredible PRESENCE that almost no one else in the world had. The guy straight knew how to perform. Heck, he was raised to be a performer first and only (which most certainly led to his complete detachment from reality). I came late to the Jackson scene since I didn’t really listen to much music as a kid. But when I really discovered Jackson I dove in head first. Everything he did, from the Jackson Five to “Free Willy,” was phenomenal. He almost made a white church kid from Texas want to dance. (Okay, maybe not quite for me but I know a TON of people who fall into this category.)

Jackson was an artist that crossed almost all barriers (except those of my parents). Whether you were young or old, black or white, pop or rock, rich or poor, you could appreciate Michael. He was called the King of Pop for a reason. He’s one of those guys that you can’t help but like as an artist. If you go back and watch some of his videos, you’ll find them to be as cheesy as they come (“Bad” in particular is terrible) but you’ll also find that you don’t care because of what an awesome show he puts on. You never knew what he was going to do next and so you WATCHED intently. The songs in his catalog are amazing. “Beat It,” “Man in the Mirror,” and “Billie Jean” along with so many others are absolute classics. But they almost come second to the brilliance he displayed in his videos and concerts.

The legacy that Jackson left behind, from a musical standpoint, is unquestionable. When the Billboard Top 100 comes out, the top three spots will all be taken by Jackson albums and it’s possible that every one in the top ten will be associated with him. Prompted by an untimely death or not, that is an INSANE feat. Amazon reported that once the news of his death was confirmed, they sold out of all Jackson titles within 17 minutes. The tour he was planning to embark on would have been the biggest in a decade. At Summer Spectacular it is an absolute guarantee that the songs that will get the most applause each and every year will be Jackson titles. He was the best of the best and there is no one in music whose death would cause more coverage than his, including Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger.

Two big Jackson moments come to mind when I think about his enduring influence. As a kid, somewhere in my middle or early high school days, my brother and I were home alone on Halloween weekend. We were watching VH1 and they played the "Thriller" video in its entirety. I don't guess I'd ever seen it before and I know Duncan, who was probably 9 or 10 at the time, hadn't either. So we both sat there fascinated by this video...and then Duncan freaked out. I think he was scared of the possibility of werewolves for 10 years after this. For us, at least, the spectacle of "Thriller" stood the test or 12 or 15 years of time.

A few years later I made the trek to Harding to start my college career. Harding had a block on their incoming cable signal that prevented anyone in the dorms from getting MTV. We could get BET, sure, but not MTV. It was really awesome. Anyway, at the beginning of my freshman year there was a whole in the block and for about 3 weeks we could get MTV. (Don't forget this was still during a time when, occasionally, when the program directors got really confused, they would accidentally play some music from time to time.) During those three weeks the Video Music Awards were broadcast. My roommate and I taped it, pretty much because it we'd have something to talk to girls about. The headliner was NSYNC (cring) but as they were singing their little song, a screen flashed "The King of Pop" and from behind the screen came Michael Jackson. The crowd went BAT NUTS as he essentially just danced for 3 minutes, the NSYNC kids looking on in amazement with the rest of us. It was an incredible performance. At this point we were probably 8 years out from Jackson having a hit record and all of the stuff that went on between the two times periods, but he still had it and the crowd still loved him.

It can often be very hard to separate the art from the artist. It's also difficult to know just how to quantify mental illness or the fact that the artist was never allowed to grow into a man, period. Who Jackson was as a person was not who he was as a performer and I know a lot of people have had a difficult time attempting to pick a position. But strictly speaking from a performance standpoint, Jackson was an icon, a god, a lasting symbol of the value and enjoyment we take from the world of art and his sudden death is monumental.

I don't have time to think of a closing line,
Brian