June 26, 2009

Dancing with the Dead

When someone ridiculously famous dies, the media gives us little flashbacks of their lives as the former years is where the departed spent all their time. Now that their work is done.
Having it all, MJ became the most indispensable singer to ever set foot on this earth. He didn’t just score a few great tunes and slept away. Rather, he rode on top of it, like a surfer coming in on the perfect wave, consistently. That said, with the best will in the world, his songs weren’t just brilliant. His videos were pieces of art to relive. They helped made many high school parties and events such a wild ride. He was like the mechanical hare at the greyhound track, if a mechanical hare could swing: he’d take off.

Apart from the horrible things our dear ‘Thriller’ hero might have done, he lived fearlessly, took bold, principled stands to bridge racial communities and spread awareness of poverty and many such things.
And if not this, he did teach the world something about music and dance and sometimes, I think, it takes the dead, of all people, to teach us about passion.

The star dies away, and the last King of Pop lays down his burden: one for us and one for that long, long road.

This track below is easily one of my favorite numbers ever laid down by Michael Jackson and I was pretty sad when I heard it on the radio today. It’s not every day that a musician can take a song and make it absolutely magnetic. This is my way of honoring the King of Pop. It’s ‘Man in the Mirror’ for all you MJ fans. Enjoy the track and have a good weekend.

6 Pulses Say:

iAmCha said...

:(

Eveline said...

This guy is ground zero for bizarre and probably psychologically immature. But in terms of music and dance and - most importantly - passion, for my money there's no one better. :)

Anupama said...

Hey Eve,

Nice tribute there...he was such a phenomenon...I mean you could hate him, you could love & adore him but you just couldn't ignore him and his music despite all he did...and yes, I do love some of his music...takes me back to when I was growing up...

May MJ RIP...

abhishek singh said...

true words, the write up extends the feeling of remorse yet love for him

FifthBeatle said...

Oh the sweet irony—the only part of his body that was probably natural gave out on him! Wow! If only he'd substituted his heart for something fake as well, he might even still have been alive.

Best headline I (did not) read on this – "Pop". The editor told my friend that it was, apparently, too "insensitive". Gah.

Eveline said...

@Anupama: He was a tremendous musical talent, and likely the most popular person on the planet and just for that- who couldn’t love him?  Thanks for the comment.

@Abhi: When I got my first Michael Jackson album, I must have played it 20-200 times until I got into college. His talent was immense, and the influence he had on contemporary music is larger than any artist in the last decade.
I wasn’t around when Elvis Presley died and I really didn't understand the effect it had on some people I knew. Jackson is really the first popular culture icon of this generation to have died. I get it now.

@Arnold: I can't say I was wild about Jackson's music, but it was hard not to feel any sadness for him. Given what he went through as a child, and then with the skin-disease, I feel some pity for him. I suspect that death might have come as a relief, when you consider his circumstances. Apart from the shit he must’ve pulled, he did reshape pop-culture, make lasting contributions to music and donated millions to charities. MJ was loved by millions, and will be missed by millions. I'd like to think that we could forget the crappy things about him and show some compassion for the death of another person.