So yesterday was just weird. Not only was I at work until 1am, but both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson passed away. Being born in 1980, I didn't really have much exposure to Farrah Fawcett in my childhood, but Michael Jackson has been there since I was born. This is not to say that I am not sad about Farrah, but to me, she isn't necessarily an icon that I loved. She was a very strong woman, and there is no reason that people shouldn't celebrate her life and the way she continued to fight her battle with cancer.
However, as weird as he may have been, Michael Jackson was a living legend. An icon of my childhood. When I hear his songs, I can pull up memories and his videos. I'm kind of a freak like that, but who can forget the sidewalk that lights up in "Billie Jean" or the knife fight in "Beat It"? When you hear "Smooth Criminal" doesn't it make you want to lean dance like he and his crew? MTV played videos last night after the news broke, and they played "Jam" - Michael Jordan, Heavy D and Kris Kross all in that video! "Remember the Time" with Eddie Murphy, Iman, and Magic Johnson... And who can forget one of the most amazing and technological videos at the time - "Black or White"? Oh yeah, and MacCauley Culkin was in that one...lol.
I've seen a lot of conflicting comments in the last 24 hours. There are many people that think his death isn't newsworthy because he was an alleged child molester (you can form your own judgements here). People are angry he's overshadowing Farrah. But, I want people to know, for me, an icon died. I love the music. That doesn't mean I condone his alleged actions, or think he was completely sane. What I can say is that he was a musical genius. That is what I'm sad about - an end of an era. There's no chance of that greatness from him again. He was such a strong influence to many in the music industry, just like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis, Led Zeppelin and many others. Let's not take that away from him.
So, in my mind, the Michael Jackson musical experience will continue...R.I.P.
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