Darkness falls across the land

Not even Dr. Jekyll was as polarizing a figure as Michael Jackson.

On the one hand, there's the King of Pop. The man responsible for the Moonwalk, the best music videos ever made, the Thriller album... the list goes on. But on the other... a sociopath, a pedophile, one really fucked up dude.

And with the passing of Jackson, I can't seem to figure out which one to remember.

I mean, you can't ignore the music. The man made "Billie Jean" for fuck's sake, one of the best songs ever recorded. He's one of those artists that inspired "I remember where I was when..." moments. I'm sure there are millions who remember where they were when the Moonwalk debuted.

On a personal level, I remember the hype around his Super Bowl halftime performance. I was over my friend Drew's house. Me, him, his parents, my mother, his sister and other assorted family, everyone glued to the TV. I remember being at my grandparents when the "Black or White" video premiered. I remember my prom, during a down period, resting at the table. Then, the DJ threw on "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and EVERYBODY hit the dance floor.

The man reached a rare level that only he, Elvis and The Beatles have achieved. They are beyond musical icons, beyond celebrities. They are pseudo-deities. Their fans didn't just like them, they worshiped them.

Musically, he revolutionized pop. Every pop musician since MJ has emulated his sound, his style and his every dance move. They aren't just influenced by him, they're trying to be him.

But, but, BUT. There's more to him than his music. There's the freak show personal life. His lack of a childhood, the tabloids, the weird marriage to Lisa Marie Presley, and of course the child molestation. And you can't ignore that. The guy had problems. Maybe they came from a lost innocence, maybe he never had any innocence, or maybe he was just plain wired wrong.

Now I sit and watch the media coverage of his death, the tributes, and I see no mention of these issues. None. And it baffles me. Yes, we can celebrate his music, but we can't ignore his dark side, we just can't.

Sure, I want to ignore it all. When his songs come on my iPod/iTunes I will sing along. When they come on in a bar, I will drunkenly dance. But when I think about MJ, I won't be able to deny the bad. And neither should anyone else.

So I'll remember both sides. After all, you can't have Dr. Jekyll without Mr. Hyde.

Weekend Six-Pack
Uncle Tupelo - Still Feel Gone
Whiskeytown - Stranger's Almanac
Drive-By Truckers - Southern Rock Opera Act I & Act II
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
Steve Earle - Copperhead Road