It’s still sinking in… I know he’s gone but I still catch myself thinking “damn, Michael Jackson died.”

What a strange day. I got home mid-afternoon and my friend told me there were some rumors of Michael Jackson having a heart attack. Twitter started buzzing about “is he dead?”. The next 2 hours were very eerie. People speculating on his death, checking news sites frantically waiting for some sort of confirmation. It’s weird how we feel this entitlement to know right away whether or not the man had passed away. AIM shut down a few times. Then TMZ announced it way ahead of anyone else. I remember thinking “If they’re wrong they’re going to catch a lashing. And I hope they’re wrong.” But slowly, one by one, sources started announcing what we all feared. Michael Jackson died today.

Damn. The icon of our generation when we were growing up. Possibly the last music superstar of that stature. Who since Michael made pop music that was so universal and uncompromising? You listen to Thriller today and it still embodies perfection on so many levels, from the songwriting to the instrumentation, the mixdowns all the way to the pure emotion and well-roundedness of the album. The King of Pop reminded us in this jaded age that pop doesn’t have to be cheesy; on the contrary it can be superior music.

In the evening as I was watching a live stream of De La Soul’s Maceo playing old Jacksons joint, I started hearing that New Yorkers were going to rally in Times Square for a sort of vigil. I decided to go but alas found nothing but a small group of people dancing and the music getting cut off by cops. I thought this would be one of those magical nights where New Yorkers come together. I guess not. I’m sure there will be some proper tributes to come though. This is the biggest loss that the music world could have suffered. Let’s stay positive though and celebrate the man’s life and all the gifts that he left us.

Rest in peace Michael! Your music will live on forever.