The King of Pop died yesterday quite unexpectedly at the age of 50. No specifics of his death have been made public at this time. For the next generation (my son's generation), I'm thinking he'll be like Elvis is to my generation. Our kids will hear his music and see videos of him, but never have a real understanding or appreciation. With the advent of the internet and improvements in technology, there will be more footage and the like available of MJ as opposed to Elvis (I'm using his initials out of laziness only, not disrespect). Elvis died in Aug 1977 (8 months after I was born) at the age of 42 so the math works out pretty close ("adjusted for inflation" according to my wife). My son is nearly a year old now so it's very close indeed. [Side note: It just occurred to me that MJ was married to Elvis' daughter for while.]
It's certainly easy for me to say that my kids will be exposed to his music because I've always been a fan. At the same time though, my mom was a big Elvis fan and I can't say that I grew up listening to him. I do, of course, know quite a few of Elvis' songs so maybe I'm not giving my mom enough credit with exposing me to him. Maybe I need to give him a closer listen. I'm getting off topic.
It's difficult to write anything about MJ and feel like I have anything to offer. I have no intimate knowledge of him and only know what the media has allowed us to see over the years. I can say that his music has been a presence throughout my life. I'm sure it sounds corny, but I can remember listening to Thriller over and over with my brother Jess in Montana (that would have been in 3rd grade I think). Some of my favorite songs of all time are by MJ ('The Way You Make Me Feel', 'Billie Jeane', 'Smooth Criminal'). I can also remember anxiously waiting for his next video to come out... seems like it was always a big deal (like after the Super Bowl or something). I can't confess to ever being able to successfully do the moonwalk, but I will confess to trying it.
There was a lot of controversy and oddity that came with MJ as well (the allegations, bizarre interviews, mask wearing, dangling his children over balconies, etc). I can't comment on any of that except to say that none of that should take away too much from his legacy, which should be the music. Growing up with his dad and the child star lifestyle must have had an impact on him for sure. Outside of his music, from what I understand, he also did a lot to raise awareness of poor human conditions throughout the world (like in Africa as well as terminally ill children). Again, I really don't want to comment too much on anything outside of my memories of MJ. It will be interesting to see how people choose to remember him in the years to come. I definitely think that we'll continue to hear his music forever.
For me, I'd like to think that I'll try to listen to some more MJ in the coming months and years. I'm sure there's quite a few gems that I haven't heard or may have forgotten about. If you're someone that hasn't listened to too much of his music, I'd certainly recommend it. I just learned that he made his first recording at the age of 8. That means he was making music for 42 years.
As I've said, I hope people remember and enjoy the music. I know I will.
