Music and me

Today they buried Michael Jackson. I'm still in shock about his sudden passing and that one of the greatest entertainers in music history is no longer with us. The man was an icon and as a youth I did idolize his dancing and persona. My mom brought up a funny memory of me back in the day about how much I loved Michael. I had the Beat It watch that played the hook for Beat It, a Michael Jackson Action Figure (not a doll as my mama said), and countless MJ albums.

But there are some people out there trying to discredit the man's name and legacy in music. And the Honest Man is here to address the foolishness

1 - Don't Truss It

Yet there are a few people and media outlets out there that refuse to give the man his proper respect. They're using his death as a personal platform for them to make a name for themselves. You got a congressman (Peter King) who no one has heard of crying out that we should not be celebrating the death of a "molester." You got a cable news channel (Fox News) that's determined to focus solely on the financial woes of Michael's estate. You have a washed up ex-daytime TV host (Geraldo Rivera) that's focused on pointing out how "weird" Jackson was up until the day he died. Lost in their ignorance is that this man is someone's father, someone's son, and someone's brother. Interesting, these folks come out of the woodworks a few days (in some cases, literally hours) after he is pronounced dead to voice their opinion.

2 - I'm the GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Michael Jackson is the greatest entertainer of all time. Let me repeat that again. The Greatest Entertainer of All Time. A few years ago, I was in a GMAT prep course and before our class started, the teacher asked us who did we think the greatest entertainer in music was? One girl quickly said "the Beatles hands down" and I countered with the King of Pop. The following is for fans of the Beatles, Elvis Presley, the Eagles, the 'Stones, and anyone else they think is better.


Let's put this in perspective. Michael Jackson has been selling millions since he was 11 years old. He produced a platinum album as solo artist in every decade he has been making music (70s - 00s, check wikipedia if you don't believe me). He's never sold less than gold. He made a song about rats (Ben) and it won an Academy Award. He set the bar so high for himself with Thriller that when Invincible "only" sold 2 million records, people said it was a failure. That's like saying Michael Jordan fell off because he "only" averaged 23 pts a game instead of 35 pts a game. There has never been an artist in history with the King's credentials. NEVER. So stop this silly nonsense about these other groups or artists being better than Michael. Not. Even. Close.

Today's Lesson

Separate the man from his music. Mike may have been eccentric when not recording music. But when it came to his work, there were few better in their prime.