Aaaand we’re back. I had a lot of personal issues and projects to take care of over the last month, a couple of interviews fell through (don’t worry, there will be new ones), but the SZ isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Usually when a dramatic topical event happens in news or music, everyone feels a compulsion to rush in and be the first to talk about it, usually in 140 characters or less – but the death of Michael Jackson’s put me in a more reflective mood. Hearing the news break (through Twitter, of all things), listening to all the speculation about drug abuse and physical therapy and this, that, and the other, watching the funeral and a surprisingly stirring speech from Al Sharpton. It gave me a chance to really think about what made the man unique.
First, he was maybe the only singer in modern history who everybody liked. I know everybody’s made this point, but you could take or leave the Beatles, plenty of people didn’t like Elvis. But Michael Jackson’s popularity stayed somewhere between ice cream and free hugs for most of his recording career – the songs worked regardless of your age group or race or background. Second, and this is something a bit more interesting – there was more variety and unpredictability in Michael Jackson’s tracks than anybody out today. There were the standard i love you/let’s hook up numbers, but I mean there were songs about STD’s, the environment, the media (in the global sense, not just the “woe is me I’m famous” sense, although he did a couple of those), the fight between spirituality and materialism – I mean, hell if you hear half of that kind of variety on an R&B record in 2009. And third, the variety from an instrumental standpoint stands out, too. Really, MJ’s voice formed the core of his work, and it allowed his producers and co-writers to build backing tracks around it. One track could have a new-wave feel, one could have loud guitars, but when that voice came in, you know you were listening to a Michael Jackson song. Now nobody can sing, so everything’s gotta sound like a T-Pain knockoff.
Ew.
Tags: Michael Jackson