Attending Michael Jackson’s Memorial

By Dale Nixon Monday July 13, 2009

This past week, I heard a fair number of interviews of people who had flown great distances to pay their respects to the late Michael Jackson. Knowing that Michael had very few close friends outside of his family members, I couldn’t help but wonder why so many people drop what they are doing to make a trip like that. Are they crazy? Do they have nothing better to do? Here is my theory…Think back to your childhood years. There is probably a song that really got you in the groove at the roller skating rink. There is probably another song that reminds you of your first school dance. And another for the first time you kissed a girl or felt a boob.

If you really liked a song you probably saved a few dollars and rode your bike down to the nearest Tower Records store to pick up the LP. When you got home, you played that record over and over until you knew every word to every song. Some of the lyrics probably seemed like they were written about your life and you thought that there was somebody out there who understood what you were going through.

When you couldn’t stand to listen to your parents arguing in the living room, you’d put on your headphones and crank up the volume. If you went to the beach with your friends, somebody had to carry the big boom box with its 8 D batteries to make sure that there were good on tunes. And when you finally started talking to the cute girl in your homeroom class, how long was it before you were trading mix tapes?

Music is huge especially for kids and teenagers. A great song means so much more than the sum of its notes, sounds and rhythm. As the years pass, that song serves as a reminder of fond memories. To this day, hearing Beat It reminds me of my friend Chuck who, in high school, spent hours upon hours trying to perfect it.

It’s easy to see how some people develop a sense of connectedness to a particular artist without ever meeting the artist. Michael Jackson, with his 13 number one hits and dozens of superb B-side tracks, probably played a large role in the social and emotional development of an entire generation. I’m sure that for some people, losing Michael was like losing a member of their family.

Okay. So that is where my theory ends and I still don’t really get it. Do Michael’s fans not watch the news? Do they knowingly to turn a blind eye to Michael’s eccentricities? What about the fact that, as a grown man, he was sleeping with young boys in his bed? Even if he wasn’t convicted of the crime, he did admit to sleeping with these boys. That’s creepy, right?

Putting all the negative stuff aside, I still have a hard time understanding why people would make such an effort to attend. For me, the memorial symbolizes the launch of a wave of the shameless commercialization of Michael Jackson properties. Joe Jackson is using the spotlight to push his record label. Sony, UMG, and MJJ Productions will get their big windfalls. And the street vendors are out in full effect with all sorts of unlicensed Michael Jackson paraphernalia. It won’t be long before you see the Time Life commercial on late night TV hocking some digitally re-mastered CD compilation. But my key objections can be summarized as follows.