The end of a musical era

Michael Jackson is no more among us. On 25th June 2009, Michael Jackson, one of the biggest pop icons in modern history, passed away at the age of 50. Despite my inclinations towards hard rock and heavy metal, it was the music of pop stars like MJ that I grew upto listening during my schooldays. I still remember Bad, my first English cassette(I got from one of my friends), it was wayback in 1997 when I was in standard 7th in school. Seasoned to the Bollywood song and dance sequences, the first impression I had of Bad was like wow. This was followed by Ricky Martin's Cup of Life a few months later in the 1998 Fifa World Cup season and I was instantly hooked up both to football and Pop music. I knew, a welcome cultural onslaught on me had started.

Although Jackson’s music career hit its peak in the 80’s, his influence on music, and especially music videos, has persisted throughout. The Y2K era saw the advent of audio and video CDs and I still do remmeber my friends begging for and willing to tradeoff anything in return for MJ's CDs with songs like Bad, Heal the World, Thriller etc. I also remember the day when I almost cried after watching the Earth Song. Later I was hooked on to the guitar solos in Beat It(by Eddie Van Halen) and Black or White(by Slash of Guns n Roses) as well as MJ's amazing dance moves which he brought on stage and in his videos. His songs like Heal The World, Earth Song, Black or White, Beat It etc were really thoughtful and built on social issues.

As a kid I had no idea that MJ was a Black American, neither did I know anything about the racial divide in the USA. Infact, Michael Jackson was the man who forced MTV to reconsider its decision to not air Black music on its channel, after phenomenal public demand for Billie Jean forced MTV to put it on air in the 70s. Later, Black or White hit the nail bang on the target. In todays world where we see religious/communal hatred and terrorism and insensitivity all over, its all the more vital for us to find our solace in music and make the world a better place for you and for me.

Michael, hope you moonwalk your way to heaven. You will live on forever in our hearts.

RIP MJ

Heal the world video

Earth Song video