MICHAEL

For awhile there I couldn't really believe it.

I've been watching the endless replays of MJ's music on MTV (the channel that couldn't deny him, despite his brown skin) ...and it finally sunk in. The man who formed the blueprint for modern pop music, the one EVERY pop act in the industry still follows?

..Is gone. :(

All those childhood memories. The first person to truly transcend race in a way that was almost godlike. People the globe over loved Micheal because his talent, his magnetism, his music were just that big.

Motown 25.

People flipped over this one move:

Not just kids, EVERYONE was mesmerized by that one moment. A dance move changed the cultural landscape because of MJ. That's how powerful he was. Network television routinely stopped everything to premiere his music. Every other star on the planet scrambled for even a cameo spot in his videos.

There is at least one Bhutanese person weeping, because MJ is dead, y'all. Yes, even the country that has a filter on outside culture knows MJ.

The man was in the first and best "boy band" ever...And yes, I'm blowing by The Beatles, because I don't consider them a "boy band". They were a simply a band. Dance, R&B singing, weren't what The Beatles were all about.

The Jackson 5, the first true boy band and the most talented of them all inspired every group that followed. They spawned imitators like the Osmonds, New Edition, New Kids on the Block, NSYNC, Backstreet Boys...etc, etc.,

Every group that has had five guys singing and dancing? Copied their schtick from The Jackson 5.

See a pattern here? And yet, none of them have music as sublime in quality as "I'll Be There","I Want You Back", "Who's Loving You"....

And then came the videos. Mike wasn't the first see music videos as cinema. I believe Bowie is among those who should be given credit for that, but his vision is what stuck.

Every modern video that has dance owes their existence to him. He was the first and everybody, everybody, has followed the exact. same. formula ever since.

Off the Wall is a masterpiece. Thriller is the biggest selling album of all time. Michael Jackson is the biggest selling artist in the history of music, people.

Today's pop acts, wish they had a tenth of MJ's soul, magnetism, and yes, class in the face of his massive popularity.

The man is known in every corner of the planet and yet, he was self-effacing enough to allow Weird Al to do his thing, heck even be flattered about it. His philanthropy set a standard in the pop industry.

Take notes, Kanye... You won't get even a sixteenth of fame, but perhaps you can at least learn from the class.

And yes, I said class. I'm more than a little miffed at the news coverage of this. Focusing on his lowest moments which, even if the man banged an elephant on live television could not eclipse the fact that he was the blueprint for modern pop stardom.

...Bigger than Prince. (though Prince is arguably more widely talented)
...Bigger than Elvis. (no competition, seriously)

I doubt news outlets focused so much on Lennon's romantic decisions and how that might have broken up the Beatles, when he passed. I doubt, news outlets focused on the many R&B songs Elvis stole remade for white audiences when he passed.

Whatever your opinion is about the accusations of molestation, the fact is that he was acquitted... And given the ubiquity of the knowledge of the accusations, it was likely for good reason.

Personally, I think he was both mentally wounded and ill. Likely, he never got the help he needed for this. It is my biggest suspicion that he was not a pedophile, but was in fact, melosexual. The only thing I think MJ was sexually attracted to was his music. That's what all the crotch-grabbing was about, y'all.

All of the social particulars that most of us grow and learn about as we age, he never did. He looked upon it all with a permanent, stubborn, innocence. I think he really didn't understand why it would be inappropriate to have so many children surrounding him.

Having said that. Many of the world's best artists are or were in a similar boat. For some reason, high levels of artistic genius tends to come with eccentricity and crazy. So, he's not unique in this. Even Van Gogh self-mutilated, people.

When I was a girl, MJ was the only famous black person everybody loved. He was the most famous person period, on the planet. Can you understand the magnitude of that?

MTV, the formerly all-white network, could not deny him for his skin, because he was just too damn popular!

Pop Music.
Boy bands.
Music videos.
Choreographed Dance.
Blending his appeal with commercial endorsements.

Everyone who has done this since MJ, stole their game from him.

He paved the way for acceptance of every other iconic black figure since and yes, I'm saying it...including the president.

That's his legacy.

R.I.P., Moonwalker.