Solely because everyone seems to be talking about it, I wanted to avoid talking about it. However, as a fan of music in general and Motown, I'd be remiss not to dedicate a few lines to the late Michael Jackson.

I'm not a Jacko fan, per se. I don't own any of his albums (okay, I do have Thriller on vinyl). I could recite the lyrics to "Eat It" and "Fat" a thousand times before I could ever do the same to the originals. His megalomania creeped me out— in particular, that HIStory trailer with the Sovietesque motif and giant MJ statue was a WTF moment for me. And that Moonwalker video game for the Sega Genesis was terrible.

But my caveats aside, it can't be denied that this guy was a musical and entertainment capital-F Force for decades; it's my hope that his overall legacy overshadows the bizarre tabloid circus that became the final portion of his life. I remember growing up when his music videos were debuted on prime time network TV and, whether it was loved or hated, everyone would be talking about it the next day. The summer that HIStory was coming out, MTV was had some sort of 24/7 Jackson Marathon (you know, back when MTV and "music" weren't mutually exclusive). The documentary on the making of Thriller completely blew my mind. and in spite of it being easy to poke fun at his public persona, I could never say the man wasn't good at his craft. And let's not forget the Jackson 5 had some fucking awesome tunes, too.

I've been watching a few videos of him performing and it struck me that in every sense of the word, Michael was a performer. He could sing on key, dance unbelievably well, and— the kicker— he could do both at the same time. In the current world of Britney Spears, et al, lip synching their way through concerts so they can do some uninspired dance routines and cash a paycheck, I wonder if we'll ever see an entertainer of this caliber ever again.

God, I hope so.

Henry



(PS... about 8 minutes in = Money)