Michael Jackson Dies in LA

After producing such amazing hits as Thriller, Billie Jean, Beat It, and a host of others, the King of Pop has gone the way of all the earth today. Michael Jackson, the King of Pop (and the King of Headlines, some may say), is now making headlines in a new way: Michael Jackson dies in LA. Today, he was pronounced dead at the UCLA University Hospital. His death brings sorrow probably to millions of pop fans around the world, some of whom might be the same ones who remember him having started out as the little kid with the afro and the nifty suit.
It's been a long ride from then to today, the day that Michael Jackson dies in LA. That ride has included such memorable moments as his dangling a baby out of an upper-story window in a Berlin Hotel; several rounds of plastic surgery and skin bleaching; accusations and even prosecution for various kinds of indecency; and a host of other things that could be called ills-but at the same time, knowing that he is gone does not mean that his spirit is gone as well. And by spirit, we don't mean anything metaphysical, religious, or sentimental-we mean simply that Michael Jackson is and was the King of Pop. Whether his crown goes into his grave with him remains to be seen, but Michael Jackson is not really as gone as some would think. For though the great pop star has died today, thinking that the spirit of Michael Jackson dies in LA today is to be thinking a falsehood.
What now will the great satirists of our age do? To whom will they turn? The great body of humor about Michael Jackson dies in LA today, that is for certain. It's a lot more difficult to embrace so great a body of humor when the subject is so black and bleak. (Though, truth be told, the Irish sense of humor is rather black, and so perhaps there will be Irish who can yet wring a joke or two from the poor corpse of the dead pop star.) Great researchers of pop culture will likely venerate him, while certainly being sure to balance the view with a bit of the darker truth, and so the satirists of our age will have to turn to the likes of Paris Hilton and Justin Timberlake for their kicks-Paris Hilton for the satire, and Justin Timberlake for the kicks (and the air guitar, and the crazy dance moves and . . . but it's not the same as MJ).
Because even though the spirit of pop and the greatness of the body of Michael Jackson music literature-spanning CDs, albums, vinyls, probably even 8-tracks, in addition to mp3s-will yet live, there is a little bit of the fact that some of the history of Michael Jackson dies in LA. And so however you choose to honor him, make your choice, and give him that honor-the King of Pop deserves at least a nod

Article written by Clinton Q Hester