Today marks three years since the passing onto eternity of the late, great King of Pop Michael Jackson.
Ever tragic, in that his demise at age 50 was entirely premature, there’s also a certain sweetness to be sourced from the fact that his impact remains inescapable. Think about it: be it in a commercial, video game, blasting from a car, playing in a store, or even a reference from your favourite artist – the music of Michael Jackson is still a feature of our everyday lives. Literally.
Much ado is made about the words “icon” and “legend” – both of which are used these days with careless “flimsy”. Yet, one needn’t rely on the propaganda of PR spin to know what those words represent. For, put simply, Michael Jackson is the blueprint.
Longtime readers will know that it was Michael’s musicality, vision, and precision that birthed my love for music; and ultimately my desire to share that with the masses via the creation of That Grape Juice five years ago. As such, like millions the world over, MJ occupies a special place in my life personally.
And while classics such as ‘Billie Jean’, ‘Black or White’, and ‘Bad’ are etched in mass consciousness, it’s the lyrics from ‘Unbreakable’ – the opener on Jackson’s 2001 opus ‘Invincible’ – which resonate the most for yours truly:
“You can’t believe it, you can’t conceive it
and you can’t touch me, ’cause I’m untouchable
and I know you hate it, and you can’t take it
You’ll never break me, ’cause I’m unbreakable “
While, in life, an emphatic response to his many critics, the song’s lyrics carry with them a potent new meaning now that he is no longer with us: love it or loathe it, the legacy of Michael Jackson is insurmountable. Indeed, unbreakable.
With that, there is little else to say than: Michael Joseph Jackson, we salute you. We thank you. As generations to come will learn, greatness lives beyond the body.
Michael Jackson: 1958 – Forever
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