The Legacy of Michael Jackson....continue...

Since MJ’s death last week, everytime I put on my headphone of my ipod. I would listen to his songs. It is weird that we don’t pay attention to someone when they are alive than after they are gone. Yes, I’m a fan of MJ, I also a fan of many musicians as well. That’s why my limited music- listening time have always been allocated among many artists. I think I’m the biggest fan of MJ’s music during the time of his Thriller and Dangerous albums. Perhaps I had more free time to listen to music back in those days. Anyway, during the past weeks, as I listened to his songs more, I begin to appreciate more of his songs than before. For those fast tunes, those dances beat, I love time for sure. But even for the slower tunes, and particularly the lyrics, which was usually overlooked by me, I began to pay more attention, and I have renewed a deeper appreciation of his music and talent. There was a song in his Dangerous album, called ‘Gone too soon’. The title of which really fit the tragic end of his life. I usually skipped that song before, but now, I just found out how good that song is.

With the recent flood of news and comment about what he was planning to do, just full of ‘what ifs’, it seems so sad….I’m not a shrink to comment on his mental state and all that, also there is no way I can understand the truth about his real life, what he had been through as a person day to day. However, I am entitled to my opinion that he is a genius with artistic talent. He is a king on the stage and in studio, but he is tragic figure in many other aspects in his life.

Of course, with his passing, there will still be news about his life and death in the coming weeks and months. As a passive fan like me, I don’t really care too much about how much money his children or his family gonna get, what is the cause of death, who’s gonna be blamed and all that? Cos, he is gone. That’s it, just as his never materialized concert’s title as. For us, what matter is his music (and his visual performance as well). That would have two aspects of it: the songs that alright out, and those that will be released in years to come.

As most fans do, I will definitely pay attention to more of his music in the vault. Though, it is believed that MJ had chosen to release those songs that he thought were the best in his album, it doesn’t mean that those in the vault were bad at all. They are just hidden gems that pending to be heard and I’m sure many of them could be very good as well. We will just have to wait and hear…

Just like other past icons: Elvis, Beatles, etc. They are already bigger than life and become part of our culture. I’m sure MJ are joining them. Fans of Elvis and Beatles are largely older. Yes, every now and then, we would watch news and see eight or ten years old kids would dress like Elvis and singing Jailhouse Rock, etc. However, the commotion from MJ’s fans would be even larger in years to come. Cos, his fans are younger, more diverse, and have a bigger base. With the abundant records of his songs and performance, and the aids of visual recording and technology, he will have a wider and deeper impression to more fans to come in future. When I listened to his Billie Jean, and Beat it last week, the beat and rhythm doesn’t get old though they were recorded more than 25 years old. It really proves that his music has been tested of time. I think the aura of his works will stay for decades to come. Cos, in the world today, it becomes very hard to have artists that can achieve and get that big these days. The closest one is Madonna, who got famous around the same time as MJ and often viewed as able to achieve a female version of MJ. Other than her, who else? Nobody! Not Britney, Justin, Eminem….I think as a fan of pop music, we do all thank God for MJ for all he had done for the world of entertainment and culture.