I hate to break my silence here on the blog on such a somber note, but as a fan, I’d be remiss if I didn’t take this moment to pay homage to the man, the legend, the greatest entertainer of my generation, The King of Pop, The King…Michael Jackson.

Hours later, and the thought of his passing is still as shocking, numbing as it was the first second I heard it reported, and later confirmed across the media last evening.

And today, as I look around and see manifestations of the undeniable impact that he had on our culture, on music, on people, I can only think that this may well be the most devastating loss that we’ve ever endured collectively as fans of music. That is, since MJ impacted everyone, regardless of race, culture, generation, location or musical preference. All boundaries were transcended on his watch.

I mean, just with my generation alone (true 80’s babies), you’d be hard pressed to find individuals who, at some point in their lives, didn’t try to emulate him on a talent show stage or dance floor (hell, sometimes breaking into an MJ dance move was just instinctive); who didn’t own a screenprinted t-shirt bearing his image at some point in their lives or other memorabilia; who didn’t want to dress as him atleast once for Halloween (respectfully); who didn’t have an extreme appreciation for the Thriller video (though most of us were way too young to remember when it premiered); who didn’t go to school buzzing about the “Black & White” (the morphing sequence) or “Remember the Time” (the cameos and guest appearances) videos the day after they premiered on Fox; who didn’t wish they could hang out with the dude just once (no *pause* necessary). I could go on and on.
I’m not sure how much music he was able to record in the time leading up to his planned comeback, but if there is some I hope that it receives a proper release.

Peace to his kids, the entire Jackson family, and the millions of devoted and loyal fans around world, who I count myself among, that admired and respected him, as both a person and an artist.

If not for every official Michael Jackson video on YouTube having the embed feature “disabled by request” at the moment (I’m guessing the content owners are trying to keep the views local), I’d end this by posting one of my all time favorite MJ vids here, Bad.

Instead, here’s a clip of him at the 2007 BET Awards, making a surprise appearance alongside his idol James Brown. James was in shock, the crowd was in shock; it was a thrilling moment all around, and also one of MJ’s last televised performances. RIP: