I was walking down the streets of downtown Hong Kong in early August of last year, 2009 and was totally caught off guard by seeing and hearing this video played on big screen TVs in front of every music, electronic, t-shirt, snack bar and jewelry store with crowds of people standing and gawking. I do not know which surprised me more, the amount of shops and people watching or how captivated they were. It was as if they had never seen or heard music before in their lives, not just Michael Jackson; music or dance in general.
I have the image still in my head at how a man’s recent death had reached the attention of the global pop world with such force and energy. I remember the day that I heard the he had died. I was in South Korea at the time teaching English to young kids. For days, kids would walk up to me and ask me if I was Michael Jackson’s brother. As you know, in most of Asia the family name is first and given name is second. From their perspective, the name ‘Michael’ is a family name, not a given name. He was the talk of every young and old person for a month or two no matter whom I was speaking to.
I have wondered just what Michael Jackson had that nobody else could match. I used to play his stuff on vinyl in clubs when Off The Wall and Thriller were still on the charts and was amazed at how his music would transcend race, age, genre or taste. It was that forceful.
Today, one year after his passing, I maintain the awe I had when he was first releasing the videos from Thriller. He was doing things nobody had done before and spitting it out so quickly it was as if he found a muse the rest of us just talk about. I wonder what Michael Jackson’s legacy will be in twenty-five years from now? Will it be his music? His dancing? His choreography? His public image? Or maybe his general greatness and ability to create magic?
