In this day and age of fast downloads and seeders and leechers, I admit that I am also among those who have been part of the every growing community of file sharers. Yet there are rare moments that I do buy original DVDs and CDS. And for me, it was a crime for me not to buy an original CD of Michael Jackson. I remember that the first time I was able to scrimp enough money to buy his cassette tape, I immediately snapped one. At that time I was a freshman in high school. The album was DANGEROUS and the first single from the album was Black or White. I recall purchasing the albums THRICE. My first album was borrowed by Arnold and it never saw the light of day in my hands. Then the second album went to Jose Aguda who took care most of my comics at that time. Finally, I bought another album when I entered college.
In the course of my college days and also that of my professional career, I bought a few MJ albums. Mostly compilations. It was a surprise when around 12 albums of his became number ones again and selling like hotcakes. I was in college when he had his Manila concert. There was a lot of controversy about it since they said that he lip singed and did not really sing at all. I was reading all the newspapers about it at the time.
There are three concerts that I still want to watch in my lifetime — a live U2 concert [the closest thing I had to it was the U2 3D experience in iMAX], a Madonna concert and the last one was of Micahel Jackson’s. Alas, I shall never see him onstage.
What I like most about MJ’s music is that he was one of the handful of artists that tackled social issues. There’s the WE ARE THE WORLD, then there’s MAN IN THE MIRROR, HEAL THE WORLD and even the ever popular Smooth Criminal is actually a very serious song about domestic violence and literally having a criminal inside one’s home.
Good-bye Michael! I know that you’ve touched the lives of so many people. So many people have started to revive your songs. But if there’s one song that I hope nobody has ever come up with an adequate rendition, it’s THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL. The beat still feels brand new, and with the advancement in technology, even desktop speakers now sound as good as home entertainment systems. May your music continue to touch lives.
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