Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

I’ve spent the last few days attempting to gather my thoughts on an event that’s seemed to pull at the entire world’s consciousness in an unparalleled way.

So, if I’m a bit long winded in the paragraphs to come, I apologize.

I remember being 6 years old when I saw a vinyl record player for the first time. Back in those days, mostly everything was on cassette in my house, so it was a big deal to hook up the turntable. Even then, I remember thinking that this was close to an elaborate ritual. I thought, whatever records were, they were important and I would be in for something huge. My mom then brought out a large box from the close and thumbed through the albums inside, until she came to a sudden halt. She smiled.

She pulled one out from the catalog of worn discs, and there was a picture of a man in a white suit on it. The background was black.

“Thriller” was spelled in cursive across the front.

At 6, I didn’t know much about music at all. I was more concerned with Batman and how to avoid cooties. But I still remember that hot afternoon quite vividly, simply because I knew the beats and the melodies that flushed my ears were something incredible, even at 6 years old. All I know is that at 6 years old, I’d been thrilled.

This was what music was supposed to sound like.

Flash forward to high school.

We didn’t always have cable in my house, but when I started high school we got a basic hook-up. Things like MTV and VH1 blew my mind, and back in those days I remember VH1 used to run this special called “Michael Jackson’s Most Memorable TV Moments.” The documentary wasn’t anything fancy, but it went through Jackson’s 4 decade career with concert performances, music videos, and newscasts covering his public scandals.

The more I watched the special, the more Jackson intrigued me.

The documentary showed a great deal about Jackson’s life. The interesting thing is that despite everything that happened to him, Michael Jackson existed as the perfect pop-star. The crowds at his concerts worshiped him like Jesus Christ. His private life was eccentric and terrifying. He’s experienced both the highest highs and the lowest lows. Simply put, it showed Michael Jackson as the apex of stardom, as well as the good, bad, and ugly that came along with it.

I remember thinking that everything this man touched was legendary.

That’s the legacy he’s left behind.

Whether or not you believe this man has done some awful or bizarre things, Michael Jackson is something of anomaly that this planet will never see again. From his unusually high timbre, to his record selling albums, to his highly innovative and disciplined choreography, Michael Jackson ensured that every creative and commercial move he made was recognizable as his own.

The white socks. The black hat. The single glove.

The Moonwalk.

Fans are quick to point out what a revolutionary album Thriller was. It's got some great tracks that defined the 80s, "Billie Jean," "Beat It," "Thiller," but I’ve always preferred Jackson’s 1991 effort, Dangerous. For me, I think it’s the album that encapsulates Jackson’s persona best. While Thriller had massive commercial appeal, Dangerous exuded a perfect musical balance. The uptempo songs were angular and heavy, borrowing from metal, dance, and R&B, while the ballads were tremendous orchestral statements, as big as the ideas he was wrestling with.

No artist in recent memory has displayed this level of sonic diversity.

Jackson’s musical tension and genre bending truly made Dangerous his piece de résistance, and its title also seems to perfectly sum up his life. Reckless, risky, and unsafe, Michael Jackson WAS dangerous, and the high standard that was set for him ultimately destroyed him.

Thankfully, it seems that the media has been handling his passing with the grace and dignity they’ve refused to give him since 1995. Jackson’s being judged on the quality of his work, and given how sketchy his public scandals have been, it’s the only thing people can truly hold him accountable for. Suffice to say, the world will never see an entertainer whose image and creations have left such an indelible mark on the world’s pop-culture psyche.

The King Of Pop is gone, but his memory will live on indefinitely.