Looney Lovegood

It would have been difficult for me to post yesterday afternoon when I heard the news of Michael Jackson's death. It's almost beyond comprehension that he's gone. Being born in 1983 (during a week when Billie Jean was the number one single and Thriller was the number one album), I don't remember a time WITHOUT him on the radar. Some of the earliest songs I ever sang along to, and knew all of the words to, where his.

Say what you would like about the last 10 to 15 years of his life, there are so many clouded stories, but I'd rather remember him as an incredible artist. And honestly, had it not been for Michael Jackson, you may not have half, no, three quarters of the artists that pop music has today. Anyone around my age can't deny the fact that his music was a soundtrack to your childhood. I don't care what music you listen to now, when you were 6 you sang along to "Bad."

MTV played all of his videos today. Sadly it took a major death to get them to play any videos at all. I was just reading how people searching for information that they crashed the interwebs. It's also interesting to note that, although it's not mentioned in that article, he crashed LiveJournal, too. Oh No They Didn't, a fantastic community of people who like to follow celebrity news, had so many visitors that LJ went down for nearly two hours. Yes, it seems the effects were quick and deep.

I don't know if it's really sunk in yet. It's surreal and a little odd, especially since he's been so reclusive in the past several years. There hasn't been any NEW material lately, so it's hard to feel an immediate loss just by listening to the old classics. I suppose that's a sign that the music will live on forever. I hope that will be his legacy.