Sorry, I'm sad about Michael Jackson!

Last night, I was in my apartment getting ready for my 8 o’clock show and was having a mental breakdown. It was the 10th straight night that I was busy and for a second all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and stay home, or hang out with friends I haven’t seen in a while, but no – I eventually found an outfit and left the apartment all miserable.

I waited for the train and got bored, so I took out my phone to look through Facebook and Twitter and whatnot, and then I saw that Michael Jackson had died in just about everyone’s status. I think I said “Oh my god” out loud and then looked around to see if anyone else was sad or upset. Nobody seemed it. So I searched for Michael Jackson on my iPod and the first song that came on was “You Are Not Alone” and I got so sad. I cried. On the train. I felt like an idiot.

But come on! That’s actually a weird memory I have of Michael Jackson. It was his birthday and I was in probably the 4th or 5th grade… and VH1 or MTV was playing a marathon of his music in preparation for a special concert they were doing, or a new video release. And I remember sitting on my couch watching the video for “You Are Not Alone” with Lisa Marie Pressley and I thought how creepy he was looking. Then I got up and went to Roller World.

I also remember listening to “Will You Be There?” in my neighbor’s attic repeatedly. All those were songs that came out when I was young, so that’s why I wasn’t listening to the much, much better songs like “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” and “The Way You Make Me Feel” which I have stronger memories of as an adult. (It probably sucks that the song “Beat It” will always remind me of Zoolander)

When I was walking home last night after the show, “Thriller” was blasting throughout the entire street and it was coming from Lucca, which I thought was funny. And every restaurant or store Kiley and I passed by was playing some Michael Jackson song, and it was great because it showed how big of an affect he had on people – even all the Italians of the North End loved Michael Jackson.

Then Kiley and I watched 2 hours of TV coverage and when they showed his dead body being worked on by the paramedics with his face in plain view. My stomach churned and I almost threw up and I went to bed. And I couldn’t even sleep because the only image I had in my head was that, and the “Thriller” zombie face, which is a terrifying image when you’re trying to sleep, people.

I don’t think there’s a person in the world who doesn’t like a Michael Jackson song! At least one! Come on skinheads, you know deep down the song “Man in the Mirror” kind of made you look in the mirror and think about changing yourself and the world! I mean he was on every playlist and a major player in every dance party!

Sure, he was kind of crazy and even if he wasn’t actually a pedophile, his interest in children was a little too obsessive. But, there’s no denying that he was one of the most talented artists ever. I can’t think of anyone more talented, actually. He was a dancer, singer, actor and just an all around great performer. That’s a good Michael to remember! Not the nose falling off, skin transformation, blankets over children’s faces, sleeping in beds with sick little boys, baby off a balcony, disgusting make-out with Lisa Marie Pressley, child molestation charges, etc. He's the new Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, and maybe he should have died earlier before he went crazy.

Evan sent me this:

I think it's fair to classify Kurt Cobain's death as one brought on by medical problems, specifically the roiling interaction of depression and addiction. Jackson's death is in this sense more purely a suicide, just as Elvis Presley's was some three decades ago. Like Presley, Jackson at some point stepped through a door, closed it, and turned the key. What went on behind the door we'll never know.

Sad. VH1 is playing MJ videos and concert footage all day and it's great. I can’t wait until Elton John releases a new version of “Candle in the Wind”. And today, I plan on strutting down the street to "The Way You Make Me Feel" all day.