I was a huge Michael Jackson fan when I was little. I grew out of his music somewhere around 6th grade, when I was more interested in things like Ozzy and Metallica, Skateboarding and BMX Freestyling. Although I stopped buying his records after the Bad album, his music was still there, and for the most part, I could listen to it along with my Metal and other interests, without feeling like his music was old or out dated. It just wasn’t something that was really a part of my life after I reached high school. I am now 35 and revisiting all of his old music, the stuff that really got me into him. “Off the Wall” and “Thriller” are my favorite albums of his, and songs that I think are timeless, compared to some of his later works. His Jackson 5 music is timeless as well, but I am not as familiar with those songs as I am with the “Off the Wall” and “Thriller” albums.
Now that I have time in my life to sit back and rediscover his music after the “Bad” album, I am finding that he really was the “King of Pop”. Along with Elvis, Sinatra and the Beatles, I’d say he is probably the most influential of all the Pop icons of our lifetime.
Jamie Foxx recently said at a benefit show for Michael after his death, that “we are celebrating this Black Man” and “we shared him with everyone else”. This seemes so racist to me, when in reality, Michael shared himself with everyone, of all colors and races, and all walks of life. He was not a “black man” and owned by black people. He was a man, and sometimes we often forget, a mortal who can die a mortal death. (R.I.P). Michael loved everyone, and that in part was his gift to all of us, as much as his music was a gift, it was a gift to him, and we had the chance to witness and share that gift with him. In my opinion, Jamie Foxx should apologize for his comments, because it was Michael who shared himself with all of us, not Jamie Foxx who shared Michael with the world…
Anyway, on a more positive note, listening to Michael Jackson is both relaxing and inspiring. I have recently created two tribute pages to Michael. One, a website template I threw up on Deviant Art for anyone to download and use on their site, and two, a 24hr streaming music page that only plays Michael Jackson tunes, from his childhood with the Jackson 5, to his last album.
If you are interested in listenign to his music, bookmark my page here. If you would like to use my deiantART Michael Jackson web template, you can download it from my deviantART page.