News of the gloved one's death on my car radio while driving actually made my eyes well up with tears and after hearing each station pay tribute by dedicating their airwaves to nothing but his greatest hits, I decided I had to commemorate the wonder that is/was Michael Jackson in whatever way I could. The Barack Obama of rock n' roll and pop music, he was one of those few people who managed to achieve immortality while he was still alive and I sincerely feel like America lost one of its greatest visionaries. What a talent, what a genius, what a loss. What a shame.As they played perennial favorites like "Thriller" or "Beat It," they just brought me back to the days of my youth as I can still recall where I was when I first heard those magical songs, dancing around with my sisters in our old basement to my parents' vinyl or cassettes of Bad, Off The Wall, and Thriller. Or when I first heard "Billie Jean" and was completely awe-stricken by that killer music video, as I was/am by most of his dazzling videos that are each, at best, a visual tour de force . Then they played songs I'd long forgotten how much I loved, like "Do You Remember The Time?" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough." He was so phenomenal... and I blame the media leeches who focused on his personal life instead of his musical achievements and just plain refused to leave the man alone. A prisoner of his own fame, I wouldn't be surprised if he actually died of a broken heart. I myself don't even have the heart to make any Jesus Juice jokes today, I just hope he's moon-walking his way to a much better place (than Los Angeles, at least).
I attempted the unfathomably difficult mental "Top 5 Favorite Michael Jackson Singles" tribute list while driving, and just couldn't settle on 5. Not only is that another testament to his greatness, but a man of his caliber deserves a Top 6 list. Here goes:
6) "Dirty Diana" / "Smooth Criminal" (it was a tie, really)
5) "Wanna Be Startin' Something"
4) "Man In The Mirror"
3) "Human Nature"
2) "Billie Jean"
1) "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (a great, de facto MJ tribute video)
What say you, QuickCritters? Share your cheers, but spare the jeers (this time only).
