Tuesday, 30 June 2009

• MICHAEL JACKSON: 1958 - 2009

  Like many others around the world, I was alerted to the the fact that Michael Jackson had died by a text message from a friend.  So I turned my computer back on and watched online as the first reports broke across the world news.  Yet it all seemed surreal, unexpected and sudden - making it hard to really take in.  This icon, this musical legend, was gone. Of course, to many he had been lost for years.  Michael Jackson's career had waned from it's 1980s heyday as child abuse allegations and his changing appearance helped to undermine his stardom.  Added to this was the ongoing media barrage and the simple fact that the world had seemingly moved on from the time when he unleashed his signature 'moon walk' while performing 'Billie Jean' at the Motown 25th anniversary show.    After releasing three of pop music's greatest albums back-to-back in 'Off The Wall', 'Thriller' and 'Bad' - not to mention securing the best selling album of all time in 'Thriller' - Michael Jackson seemed to struggle for the same levels of relevance.  Not to say that he didn't still see success, as continued number ones testified, but rather that his all-conquering superstardom became sullied. Despite being found not guilty and having taken the generally accepted and advised option of an out-of-court settlement it was perhaps the child abuse charges that hurt his career the most.  He never quite seemed to be able to escape the spectre of the allegations and Michael Jackson the man became somewhat seperated from his musical legacy as his almost child-like purity and innocence was lost to the world.  Michael also struggled with his personal appearance as his skin-tone lightened considerably leading some to speculate that he was looking to distance himself from his African American roots.  Perhaps the truth will finally be revealed, although it is just as likely that Michael Jackson's secrets will go with him to the grave. There is, however, something about Jackson that could never be kept under wraps, his talent.  it is his talent as a singer, performer, dancer and entertainer that we shoudl really try to remember him for.  Michael Jackson became arguably the most famous man in the world - his music crossing social, ethnic and geographical boundaries.  He had his own distinct style of movement, one that was not classically trained, but rather one that seemed to come from within.  Jackson seemed to move instinctively, his performances apparently lacking organized choreography, except where his dancers had to keep up with him.  Fittingly for a chilld born just four years after the end of segregation and signed to Motown the same year as Martin Luther King was killed,  Michael Jackson's songs helped break down racial barriers as he heralded African American inroads to MTV.  Yet he seldom seemed to play upon his heritage, becoming an everyman even as his appearance changed.  Through all of the controversy, Michael Jackson's work will live on as his impact continues to be felt through the work of others.  His music will continue to be played at parties and in clubs and it seems that with his death Michael Jackson's legacy may grow stronger than it was even during his lifetime.  There will be many feeling a strange sense of loss for a man they never knew.  Perhaps it is a feeling of personal loss too as a constant part of the lives of many is gone.  Another piece of childhood lost with the man that was himself like a boy.  A true legend, Michael Jackson's impact cannot be over-stressed and perhaps now, with his untimely death, we can all once again appreciate the talent above the failings of the man.  Many more words will be written before Michael Jackson can truly rest, there will no doubt follow legal battles and more controversy.  But finally Michael Jackson can rest and for him only three words are now needed; rest in peace.

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