RIP Michael

The first album I ever bought was a Jacksons album.  I didn't really have to buy music in my house because my mother had/has a record collection (and later CD collection) that could rival Wolfman Jack.  But I remember that 2300 Jackson Street came out when I was in middle school, and I bought the album at a summer fair.  I have no idea where that album is today, but you always remember your first music purchase and your first concert.

I was telling gamany via twitter that I used to know all the choreography for "Thriller", "Beat It", "Bad", and "Remember the Time".  So when the videos came on, I would perform along with the dancers in my living room.  And I had every step down in the "Smooth Criminal" video except that lean forward.

It's unfortunate that some people have trouble praising him today without criticizing or slamming him first.  Michael Jackson grew up in the public eye and spent 25 years being lavished with love from strangers and the last 15 years being damned as a pariah from the same strangers.  In the face of it all, he always had my respect as an artist and my sympathy as a man who clearly suffered from some profound psychology problems.  But he never earned my hatred or disdain, no matter how often people insisted he should.

Today, I say to hell with the haters. People are coming together all over to remember how he influenced their lives, and that's the greatest gift he ever gave us.