“Michael Jackson died in LA hospital, last night.”
I got this sms from my dad early in the morning while I was in the midst of shifting office.
“Another loss of our pops n mums generation’s defining icon……”
That was the first thing came to my mind upon receiving the news.
While I was on my way back home from work, an anonymous radio station was paying tribute to this pop idol by playing his songs non-stop, from Ben to Bad, from Thriller to Back or White. Then only I realized that how I used to came across these songs while I still had no idea about what ‘pop music’ is, and gawd, his songs are still that infectious!! Honestly, they fare much better than those robo-pop snacks and yo-yo-yeah-yeahs that dominate the radio airplays today (however, I still heart Britney Spears though).
‘It really needs to take death to make us realized how we used to love someone’.
Just moments after the breaking news of MJ's untimely death, the post impact is unprecedented: all radio stations blasting off his tunes hits 24-hours non-stop; vast news coverage of his death; skyrocketing sales of his albums in every local outlet; plentiful blog comments and facebook statuses; and of course, tears and mourning from fans around the world.
I was still yet to arrive in this world when MJ corpse-danced to every household with Thriller and I was never an avid fan of his, as I was too young to worship an idol when he was in his prime. Yet I was aware of how broad his musical appeal is, and how his music transcended generations and races, young and old alike. You may not know who John Denver is, but you definitely know who Michael Jackson is. I can see the big hole created in the hearts of many people of the generation. The feeling is like losing your best friends, your loved ones. In this case, it’s losing an important figure in their memories.
The scenario is pretty much similar to the decease of Hong Kong veteran entertainer Lydia Sum two years ago, who entertained and accompanied our mums and dads through their ups and downs all through the decades. When she left, the whole generation lost an always ever-optimistic Dai Ga Jie.
And this day, we’d lost an idol of an entire generation. A figure is gone, the past is far behind us and suddenly, we realized that we’d grown up.
Ironically, months before his departure, he was always the target of media tabloids scrutiny for his weird behaviors and deteriorating physical appearances. It somehow feels sad to accept the fact that people could be so cruel to each other while they are alive. Now that he has died, would they feel a little bit ashamed or regret for what they’d done to him? Sadly, it’s money that matters.
Negative press aside, it was still a sad day for the older generation. The millennium babies may find it hard to understand this feeling. May be it’s time to let them know how you used to blast his songs with your cassette player during picnics, how you roller-scatted to ‘Bad’ at roller-skating center, how you tried to imitate his moonwalk, and how used to wear those flashy jackets while courting girls.
May be it’s time to embrace the memories, for the sake of nostalgia.
I may not be your fan, but I still like your music.
RIP, MJ
I got this sms from my dad early in the morning while I was in the midst of shifting office.
“Another loss of our pops n mums generation’s defining icon……”
That was the first thing came to my mind upon receiving the news.
While I was on my way back home from work, an anonymous radio station was paying tribute to this pop idol by playing his songs non-stop, from Ben to Bad, from Thriller to Back or White. Then only I realized that how I used to came across these songs while I still had no idea about what ‘pop music’ is, and gawd, his songs are still that infectious!! Honestly, they fare much better than those robo-pop snacks and yo-yo-yeah-yeahs that dominate the radio airplays today (however, I still heart Britney Spears though).
‘It really needs to take death to make us realized how we used to love someone’.
Just moments after the breaking news of MJ's untimely death, the post impact is unprecedented: all radio stations blasting off his tunes hits 24-hours non-stop; vast news coverage of his death; skyrocketing sales of his albums in every local outlet; plentiful blog comments and facebook statuses; and of course, tears and mourning from fans around the world.
I was still yet to arrive in this world when MJ corpse-danced to every household with Thriller and I was never an avid fan of his, as I was too young to worship an idol when he was in his prime. Yet I was aware of how broad his musical appeal is, and how his music transcended generations and races, young and old alike. You may not know who John Denver is, but you definitely know who Michael Jackson is. I can see the big hole created in the hearts of many people of the generation. The feeling is like losing your best friends, your loved ones. In this case, it’s losing an important figure in their memories.
The scenario is pretty much similar to the decease of Hong Kong veteran entertainer Lydia Sum two years ago, who entertained and accompanied our mums and dads through their ups and downs all through the decades. When she left, the whole generation lost an always ever-optimistic Dai Ga Jie.
And this day, we’d lost an idol of an entire generation. A figure is gone, the past is far behind us and suddenly, we realized that we’d grown up.
Ironically, months before his departure, he was always the target of media tabloids scrutiny for his weird behaviors and deteriorating physical appearances. It somehow feels sad to accept the fact that people could be so cruel to each other while they are alive. Now that he has died, would they feel a little bit ashamed or regret for what they’d done to him? Sadly, it’s money that matters.
Negative press aside, it was still a sad day for the older generation. The millennium babies may find it hard to understand this feeling. May be it’s time to let them know how you used to blast his songs with your cassette player during picnics, how you roller-scatted to ‘Bad’ at roller-skating center, how you tried to imitate his moonwalk, and how used to wear those flashy jackets while courting girls.
May be it’s time to embrace the memories, for the sake of nostalgia.
I may not be your fan, but I still like your music.
RIP, MJ
