Remembering Michael Jackson

MJ has left such an indelible mark in the minds of the masses, expecially those who are now pushing 50.
Following his sudden and untimely death, the radio and TV stations have been playing his songs and music videos non-stop and the MTV generation have suddenly been reminded of the great talent that he possessed.
It is best to forget about the later part of his life when one was not sure if he was black or white of if he had been nipped and tucked too many times. And, yes, forget about all the scandals he was involved in, the bad press and bad debts.
It's best to remember him in his heydays when Thriller thrilled millions of fans worldwide - even in a remote corner of the world called Malaysia.
I remember a lot of wannabes from remoter corners of the world called Sentul and Brickfields who stitched sequins and epaulettes to their military-styled coats, hung chains on their pants, bought red or purple socks, wore white gloves, grabbed their crotches and sung in high-pitched voices as they impersonated the great King of Pop and moonwalked their way to some semblance of fame.
I remember standing in a square in Shinjuku in Tokyo sipping hot coffee and watching the Michael Jackson Billie Jean video on a huge TV screen on the wall of a building outside the train station. That was in the mid-1980s when the King of Pop reigned in Planet Music and everyone of us in the post-Elvis Presley generation hailed MJ as the great saviour of the times.
We thought he would be the Peter Pan of MTV and would not grow old even as we did. But he turned out to be as human as we were, as fallible and as fragile.
And now he is HIStory and reports of his debts, extravagance, quirkiness and dabbling in prescription drugs are spoiling the image of the entertainer extraordinaire.
Like I said before, it's best to erase from your mind that part of his life and remember him for his best moments - singing Ben, I'll Be There, You Are Not Alone, his fabulous dance moves and how he moonwalked smoothly into our hearts.