A final thought on the King of Pop.

Oddly enough, when the news broke about the cardiac arrest of Michael Jackson, I was out walking down Sawtelle in Santa Monica, very close (about a mile!) to where the UCLA Medical Center is. I got a text from a friend on my way back to my friend's apartment, saying that he was in the hospital.

When I got home and logged into Facebook, everyone was already shitting a brick, saying he was dead. Very soon after that, I could hear a hornet's nest of news helicopters buzzing overhead.

Now, my own history with Michael Jackson goes WAY the hell back. I can remember being eight years old and returning to Tucson after I had returned from Guam with my mother and sister. We stayed with my grandparents, one aunt and two uncles in a pretty big house. My 20-something aunt had cable in her room, and of course she was an MTV addict. When the TV wasn't on blasting the videos for either 'Beat It' or 'Billie Jean', she'd rock either Off The Wall or Thriller on her turntable. I remember thinking these songs were awesome, even though I was much more into rock (the likes of Def Leppard and Quiet Riot were my faves). Later I can remember renting videocassettes with my uncles and usually begging to bring home The Empire Strikes Back (of course) and Thriller. Even though I thought the zombies were scary, I thought it was a really cool video.

Of course, I got older. Hip-hop, the likes of Run-DMC, NWA, Public Enemy, and the like took hold, and Thriller wasn't exactly on the top of my playlist anymore. But every time I heard one of those old gems on the radio, like Rock With You or Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough, I would stop and listen, enjoying a ridiculously talented blast of pop genius.

As for the dark side of Michael, I don't think anyone has a monopoly on the truth regarding all the accusations. Michael had demons thanks to a terribly abusive childhood, and as a good friend of mine said, probably led an unbelievably lonely life that led him to some bad decisions. That doesn't excuse what he may have done, but I really don't think that the outpouring of remembrance of him now in the wake of his death has a lot to do with the man and his own failures.

So many people have memories just like mine. MJ's music cut a swath through American culture that really did unite everyone, regardless of race or what genre of music they usually listened to. He was the first black artist to seriously rock MTV's playlist, and probably had a lot to do with the eventual crossover of hip-hop. He paved the way in so many countless ways it's really staggering to behold. More than anything though...the music itself stands. Timeless. Songs that can be played in any club on Earth and still cause those in attendance to hurry back to the dance floor to shake their asses even if they were on their way out.

Has anyone been able to dance like that since? Fuck no.

Given the splintered nature of music consumption thanks to the Internet, we just may never see another undisputed global superstar like him ever again.

Remember the music, and blast that shit as loud as you can.