RIP MJ

I never thought I would be so saddened by Michael Jackson's death. But I really am. Now, I was a fan of his music, but his questionable lifestyle certainly cast a large shadow on my personal opinion of him in the last years. Lets just call it massive skepticism. However, he was a pop icon and deserved the status for his talent even if his private behavior was suspect.

The thing I love about pop culture is... as sad as this may be... that it provides a unifying trend among our immensely disparate society. I genuinely feel sorry for the celebrities lives it eventually ruins, but pop culture and its icons play huge roles in our lives even if they are inadvertent. We all remember watching the Thriller video for the first time, or if you're like me, him singing at the end of the movie Free Willy. (Free Willy was one of my top 5 movies from growing up, so it's very sentimental to me.) And those memories strangely matter. Maybe it's because the common unifying institutions have begun to erode, but more likely it is because pop icons are far more democratic than any political election could hope to be. Granted, the music execs play a large role in deciding who gets a shot and who does not, but the public ultimately decides if that person/group will be a success. We listen to radio, buy concert tickets, and buy albums. And if we do not like the artist, we simply don't bother. It's a relatively simple process that is often unfair to those who go undiscovered and are truly talented. But that does not lessen the impact of those that are.

So, here's to you Michael Jackson. May your afterlife be much more peaceful than your earthly one. Thanks for your great contributions to music and our pop culture. They will not be forgotten.