Death of Pop

After watching all the news coverage regarding Michael Jackson’s death, I have realized something. For me, it is far sadder to watch his old music videos than to realize that he is dead.

The Michael Jackson we all loved, respected, and were in total awe of, died many MANY years ago. His talent was almost frightening, but it became so easy to forget that because of his actions. Now, I’m not going to weigh in on whether or not he molested children, but I will say that he let down his fans through years of bizarre behavior and increasingly mediocre music.

When I watch videos like “Beat It” and “Thriller” it saddens me that someone can fall so incredibly far. It is sad that I, and most of the people my age, have to remember that at one point Michael Jackson was a living legend. It is hard to remember a time when Jackson’s talent overshadowed his outlandishness.

So while I am sad that he died before he had the chance to remind all of us why we gave him the title “King of Pop” I am more sad that we forgot it in the first place.