The Memorial

I just watched the MJ memorial service and have been hearing about it all day. I wrote last week that his last 15 years would make it difficult to hear all the eulogies and it was (especially Al Sharpton). Some of the highlights, in my mind, included the daughter and son of Martin Luther King Jr., Smokey Robinson, and Barry Gordy.

Well, last week Bill Simmons and Chuck Klosterman discussed Michael's legacy. Bill is a sports writer for ESPN and discusser of all things pop culture and Chuck is an author and over-thinker of all things pop culture. He literally wrote the book about dead musicians and their legacy. I thought I would post the podcast here rather than write everything they say and pass it off as my own. Michael would've wanted it that way. The MJ part lasts only for the first 30 minutes or so and then goes off in all sorts of tangents including Twitter, The L.A. Clippers, the writer's craft and everywhere in between.

Find it here

Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

So everyone knows now. I must say that I was extremely shocked and have spent the last 24 hours enjoying some of Michael's best songs and watching endless youtube videos. He was one of the finest performers of all time. He invented music videos and the paparazzi. He made Thriller which stayed in the Billboard top 10 for 80 weeks and donated 7 singles to the Billboard Top 10 in one week. He integrated MTV by being the first black artist to have his video aired. "Bad" was my first cassette I can remember and I still bust the moonwalk (sort of) whenever on hardwood without shoes. He followed in line right behind Elvis, whose eccentricities almost matched their talent. The last 10 years were not easy to watch and it makes it even tougher to listen to the eulogies that will arise this week.

Of all the videos I watched today this one was new to me. James Brown calls Michael up on stage who then calls Prince up on stage. It was a rare scene when James Brown was the "well adjusted" one. It seems to me that had Michael had a semi-normal upbringing he may have turned out a lot like Prince. I wonder if they ever hung out?