Thoughts about Michael

Thinking about it for the last few hours, I've come to a conclusion. This is truly the most powerful death, I remember feeling. It'd be comparable to Snoop Dogg, Hammer, Deniro, Pacino, Clinton, or any other celebrity that has been a big part of my life. I still remember listening (and quasi-dancing) to "Beat It" in the mid-80's while living in NJ. When I finally got into music, Dangerous was one of my first albums. I also loved History (which re-introduced me to the old stuff) and even Invincible was quite good. Watching the "Jacksons: The American Dream" re-introduced me to the wonderful tunes of the Jackson 5, the first true "boy band". New Edition, Backstreet, N'Sync, NKOTB - they'd never be if it weren't for MK and the brothers.

So, over the years, I've seriously gotten more and more connected to MJ and his tunes. I was heavily debating whether or not to attend the 2001 tribute concert in NYC, even at $1000 a ticket. I ended up snagging a bootleg DVD of the concert, and it was terrific. All the oldies and even "Rock My World" (his only single off Invincible).

Many celebs have died over the past 15 years. Sinatra, Martin, Nixon, Ledger, Ford, Princess Diana, Jam Master Jay, Biggie, Tupac, Tim Russert, Peter Jennings and others I can't think of. None have hit this hard. Wow.