2 posts tagged “michael jackson”
So, not long ago I wrote about the still-shocking passing of music icon Michael Jackson, who died of a cardiac arrest at the age of fifty. I listened to his music fervently for days (and still doing it, in fact). In doing this I found that his heart, his soul, his pleasure and pain - in short, his very essence - lives in the music. From the driving bass line of "Beat It" to the back-to-basics soul stylings of "Butterflies," from living life "Off The Wall" to starting with the "Man In The Mirror," his art was intertwined with his life. To listen to the songs, one could not feel that this man was now gone.
That is, until Tuesday's memorial.
I can't say much about it, for the sake of preserving what little composure I have left on the subject. To see the casket that encased Michael's body was surreal in and of itself. Outside of that, it was a gathering fit for a King - celebratory, somber, intimate, and altogether humbling. I was particularly struck (as much of the world was) by Michael's 11-year-old daughter, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson.
Tears cascaded and hearts shattered at the pain in this child's voice. I felt as though I were mourning my own father all over again. I knew and understood what she felt in that moment.
Again, to listen to his music, one could not feel (or fathom) that he's actually gone. That is a testament to the God-given talent which he possessed. His body is an empty, immobile shell... yet he lives every time someone turns on the "Thriller" album, whenever someone imitates the moonwalk, whenever an artist makes his mark on the music world and attributes it to the greatness of MJ's genius...
He will never truly die.
It's difficult to write this as I listen to his music. Particularly, the song 'Stranger in Moscow.' Of all the stories he's told, of all the songs I had been raised on, this one is his most revealing. The loneliness and solitude he expresses in the lyrics resonates with me as I have experienced the same isolation.
I believed in his plight - maintaining a childlike innocence in the face of a world ready to strip it cruelly away - because I was living it as well. It was as if he knew my heart, even though we never knew one another. But he was as much a part of my life growing up as he was for anyone else in my generation. The same man that terrified me as a little girl with his transformation into a fearsome monster also delighted me with stories of love, loss, the nature of human beings, and the importance of making a change in the world by first changing myself. He inspired me to be me, regardless of whether it's socially acceptable.
There aren't enough words to fully express my shock and dismay at the loss of such an amazing personality. He was a Godsend, a life born into a world that didn't understand him but he gave his heart and soul to bring everyone together through music. I can say that my life has been blessed by his music and his life, no matter how the media looked to twist and spin it. A piece of my heart (along with millions of others) has been lost with his passing, but there is solace in the fact that he lives through the music that he invested all of himself into.
His body is an immobile shell - his influence, his art, his soul will live on.
Thank you Michael, for being who you were. Rest well, my childhood friend...
