R.I.P.

I couldn’t believe the news as I watched it unfold Thursday, I mean who would have thought?  I kept thinking to myself, “Not him, not now.”  It was one of those unexpected, surreal moments that everyone will remember in history.

When the news broke, I was walking along First Avenue past a group of street vendors and one of them screamed out in shock, the others stopped me to ask if I could check on my phone to confirm if their worse fears were really true. There were so many different rumors and stories coming across all the social networks, bloggers and gossip sites. I admit, I was disturbed to see that TMZ was being looked to by many as a credible news source. (even though they seemed to have broke the story nobody wanted to believe first) Then I couldn’t access anything online for a second because the whole world pretty much maxed out the bandwidth. As I kept walking down towards home, all I could see were looks of disbelief written on almost everyone’s face, and it quickly became the topic of every conversation I walked by, people of all walks of life and ages. The widespread rumors became reality and each news outlet began to confirm everyone’s fears.

Grief set in and his tragic passing continued to be the topic of conversation that I would overhear for much of the night. I don’t go out as much as I used to, but that night I felt like I should go hear his music and celebrate his life. Ended up at APT and Evil Dee went into an MJ tribute set that made the entire place go crazy! It felt ethereal, such an outpouring of emotion – everyone in the spot was reciting, singing, dancing, some were doing it with tears streaming down their cheeks – smiling and crying at the same time.  There were many others out and about that night at different spots, and I’m sure everyone who was shared that similar, surreal moment when we all rode the boogie and shared in that beat of love.

The next day MTV became a video station again, nostalgia struck me and I wished they’d stay that way. The reflections continued, he meant different things to different people and even generations, there were the obvious pre – OFTW and/or Thriller opinions, but I did find it baffling that shortly after there were some people who would take this time to question his talent and how relevant he really was.  Some arguing that he was pale (not literally) in comparison to other cultural icons like Elvis, Frank Sinatra and The Beatles.  I’ll just presume fans of the latter are just bitter over Michael’s business acumen, which would have made any shrewd capitalist proud. For those of you who don’t know the story, back when MJ recorded with Paul McCartney, he was starting to see some of that “Thriller” money, Paul mentioned suggested to him that he should look into owning publishing and that his catalog would be up for sale.  Michael shortly after purchased half the rights to The Beatles’ publishing owning more than Paul himself!!!  On a side note right around this time, Nike, who at the time was the #2 athletic footwear maker in the world behind Reebok, paid Michael Jackson $500,000 to use the song “Revolution” for their new Nike Air running commercial.  This, along with their signing of the other M(ichael) J(ordan), could be considered the turning point that helped to put the swoosh back on top for good and continue to become the culturally iconic brand it is today.

That is just one story among the numerous others that people shared, it was touching to see the world’s reaction to Michael Jackson’s passing unfold in front of my eyes  - the tributes, the countless status updates, people posting his songs and videos, the Tweets the Tumblrs – people were sharing their thoughts and stories, expressing what Michael meant to them.  There should be no denying that he’s left an indelible impression in pop culture’s history and meant so much to so many.  He was a truly a gifted wunderkind, a pioneer and a cultural icon.

He will surely be missed by all.

Patent: Method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion, inventor Michael Jackson