Michael Jackson's passing. This is still sad to me. I enjoyed watching "CBS Sunday Morning" today and seeing different takes on MJ's legacy. A contributor to CBS and Rolling Stone talked about the eras of 20th century music that I found fascinating.
Elvis came onto the scene in the 50s and started "pop music." Glitz and glam ruled. That lasted for almost 20 years until the Beatles arrived with their long hair, anti-establishment and anti-glam look. That lasted until the early 80s when Michael Jackson resurrected the pop music genre again. Looks mattered. Image mattered. Dancing mattered. The whole package mattered again. According to this critic, we're still living in the MJ era where music, looks and marketing matters. That was almost 30 years ago. I think that speaks volumes to MJ's legacy.
I remember growing up Mark, myself, Ben and Rachel (our best friends) would put on "Thriller" in our bedroom record player and just listen to it for hours. We admired the baby tiger on MJ's lap and would play "concert" based entirely on that album. In 1984, I wore out our VCR watching and re-watching the American Music Awards featuring MJ, Cyndi Lauper, Diana Ross, Lionel Ritchie, Huey Lewis and Tina Turner. That was the same night "We Are the World" was recorded. That same year I remember having a black MJ folder that I'd keep inside my Trapper Keeper.
My memories aren't anything special. They're probably not even that different from 90 percent of the population. I downloaded "Thriller" yesterday on iTunes. It was a comforting feeling for some reason. I hope others are enjoying the same feeling this week.
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