I'm twenty nine now; you'd think the world would have shook all the immaturity out of me by now. This morning's news about the passing of the King of Pop made me do a double take though. It felt like the passing of a member of the family. I was overcome with denial and with every passing second from when I heard the news I felt the anger inside myself bubble.
The kid in me just wanted someone to say it's all a joke.
Why has this affected me so though? My initial reaction was that I would not under any circumstances write about MJ's passing but as the morning has continued, I've felt compelled to just to try and understand why why I feel so devastated just because a stranger half way around the world, who lived a life so peculiar that people in Los Angeles regarded him as strange, had passed away.
Thinking back now Michael Jackson was the soundtrack of my childhood. Every birthday party, class party or road trip and every year that passed from 1980 to 1990 was accompanied by a Michael Jackson song. In the era of the web 2.0, MJ was the pioneer of Fame 2.0. He was an awesome singer and performer but using every medium at his disposal owned the 80's. Michael Jackson turned stadium concerts into events. He turned songs into sprawling narrative music videos and ulitmately mini movies. He found his way onto television, in the States at least, endorsing Pepsi. He turned an unfortunate accident into an iconic brand when he first donned that glove. He found a way to dominate the globe before the internet.
I recall now my collection of audio cassettes (60 min TDK's as I recall) - my Off the Wall and Thriller cassettes stretched to the point it was barely recognisable. My very first pre-recorded cassette was the Michael Jackson Dangerous album and I think fondly now of the time spent with the liner notes reading lyrics and checking out the art work as I tried hard to assert my independence by playing my music loud enough to annoy my folks. I unashamedly rank watching him live at Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town as one of the most memorable days in my life and I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to see what happens when a boy refuses to grow up. To a large extent that was his charm, he played by his own rules and lived the dream: A modern day Peter Pan.
Many allegations were levelled at him and everyone has their own opinion of him. My personal opinion of him has always been "just listen to the music". He was acquitted of everything he's been charged with, though many doubt the application of the law to the rich in the US. He's been surrounded by controversy and went from richest entertainer on the planet to nearly bankrupt. All through that I listened to the music.
I can't speak for anyone else, but for me MJ was always bigger than the game. No matter the controversy he'd drop the next album and people would forget about all the trash talk in the media or the latest dumb thing he'd done. I guess I just believed that he'd do it one more time and go out on top of the heap where he belongs.
How should Michael Jackson be remembered? As a flawed genius, one of the greatest entertainers of our time. I will always remember him fondly for his creativity and passion and for capturing the imagination of a generation.