Twitter was on fire in light of Michael Jackson’s unexpected passing tonight. I first hear the news that he was in the hospital on Twitter. I then heard the news that he died on Twitter (and interesting reflection of media today I think).
As the night goes on, many discussions are hatching about him, his music, his videos, his iconic status. Who doesn’t know a Michael Jackson son? For that matter, who doesn’t know the Thriller video? (Which, by the way, when I was younger scared me!)
I can remember when my parents bought Bad. We listened to it over and over. When my dad got a new surround-sound, kickin’ stereo system (it was the 80’s people, this was huge at the time!) he would show it off by playing the song ‘Bad’ so that the bass could be heard in it’s full glory.
Someone on Twitter commented that our reflection of his life was more to do with his music and what it meant to us than with him as a person. This may be true. I didn’t know him personally, but could feel something through his music. Fear when Thriller came on. Excitement at Beat it or Bad. etc.
But I feel that connection to a lot of music. There are songs that make me feel angry (A Matchbox Twenty song in relation to a break up), sad (a John Denver song that makes me think of my Father-in-Law), happy (Sonnet by Richard Ashcroft cuz we played it on our honeymoon all the time having just gotten the album), silly (Kajagoogoo’s Too Shy), mushy (Buddy Holly’s True Love Ways, our wedding song) and so on.
Sometimes, all it takes is a well-placed song clip in a tv show or movie to make me cry.
So what is it about music that makes us feel so connected, so emotional? It’s more than just the melody. It’s more than just the lyrics. We develop memories around those songs and they stick with us forever.
Tonight I think a lot of people will be pulling out their Michael Jackson albums, doing a little moon walk and thinking about the past.
What songs do you connect with?
