As one of my friends said on Facebook, she just assumed he was immortal. There was indeed some undeniable invincible/immortal quality about Michael Jackson and so his sudden passing on the same day as Farrah Fawcett is still hard to believe.
Though I have not really been a fan of MJ since I was kid, the Billie Jean video was the first video I ever saw and he was my first crush at the age of 7. Like scores of little girls across the globe, I was going to marry Michael Jackson! To children growing up in the 70s he will probably be remembered as the the fresh-faced star of the Jackson 5. For us 80s kids who literally witnessed the physical and iconic transformation of Michael Jackson from Thriller to Bad, he will forever be our childhood hero. For 90s kids, who came to know MJ when he was already a massive international phenomenon, he will be associated with a perchance for plastic surgery, grand videos and eccentric ways. Just this morning I have been reflecting on the fact that for children growing up in the 2000s like my nieces, he would probably be remembered as a freakishly weird reclusive star with classic hits that are sometimes played on the radio.
Love him or hate him what is undeniable is the influence of Michael Jackson on R&B and popular music. He has indeed left an awesome musical legacy. For me, the Michael I will always want to remember is the one from the Billie Jean video. Rest in Peace Michael Jackson.
Though I have not really been a fan of MJ since I was kid, the Billie Jean video was the first video I ever saw and he was my first crush at the age of 7. Like scores of little girls across the globe, I was going to marry Michael Jackson! To children growing up in the 70s he will probably be remembered as the the fresh-faced star of the Jackson 5. For us 80s kids who literally witnessed the physical and iconic transformation of Michael Jackson from Thriller to Bad, he will forever be our childhood hero. For 90s kids, who came to know MJ when he was already a massive international phenomenon, he will be associated with a perchance for plastic surgery, grand videos and eccentric ways. Just this morning I have been reflecting on the fact that for children growing up in the 2000s like my nieces, he would probably be remembered as a freakishly weird reclusive star with classic hits that are sometimes played on the radio.
Love him or hate him what is undeniable is the influence of Michael Jackson on R&B and popular music. He has indeed left an awesome musical legacy. For me, the Michael I will always want to remember is the one from the Billie Jean video. Rest in Peace Michael Jackson.
4 comments:
Same for me, Aby. The Michael I elect to remember is the one from the Billie Jean video.
Also heard it this morning and well was not very much shocked. I want to remember this music icon, this avant-garde with his silky girlish voice. In secondary (95-97) we all tried imitating the moonwalk dance and his breakdance. For those who want to concentrate on his other side, well you cannot be faulted, but it doesn't also take away his influence on pop culture...He would always be Michael 'Wacko Jacko' Jackson....
RiP to the king of pop!
good sides
bad sides
myth sides
all the sides!
he will be remembered!
i'm excited about your crush for MJ at the age of 7 though! i like that!
@Nana Yaw; Glad to hear we think alike on this and many other issues! In fact..could we have been separated at birth? Who am I kidding...I am not worthy!
@Nana F-A: I love that description.."avant-garde with a silky girlish voice" so accurate...We all seemed to have spent lots of time imitating Michael! The interesting thing was no-one could quite imitate MJ to perfection!
@Novisi: So true so well put...MJ was pretty multi-dimensional and complex. As for the crush, I was going around telling everyone who would listen that I was going to marry MJ. Alas, the crush ended very quickly after my sister's best friend who was around 16 years old at the time laughed at me and told me MJ did not like black people! I was crushed and it was all over. In retrospect, it became apparent that MJ had some real issues with being black..
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