In a philosphical mood following the sad news about Michael Jackson.
Granted, there are some people who would point to the more questionable things he did in his life in recent years, but from my perspective his songs were the soundtrack to a lot of memories in me and my friends’ lives.
Without doubt he was a master at what he did and in his earlier years at least, came out with songs, unexpected styles and dance moves that broke from the norm. Take, for example that scary Thriller video and the ‘leaning’ move in Smooth Criminal – it plays at 7.15 in this video.
In so many fields, one of the pillars of enduring success is innovation. Michael Jackson was great at this and it’s probably one of the reasons that he has created so many classic songs and dance moves. He could always be relied upon to make the audience sit up and take notice with something fresh, energetic and exciting.
However, even though innovation was a natural talent with Michael Jackson, it also needs to be combined with focus, because, as the last few years of his life show, it appeared that his self absorbtion and various personal dramas clearly took the edge off his ability.
Whatever your opinion, the force of emotion is clear – not sure that news about anyone else would have the effect of slowing the web down!
RIP MJ
