I keep hearing people say how they separate the man from the music or how that is how people will be able to remember his musical legacy.
I just don't understand it. I don't understand why you would want to do so and how you would ever understand and truly enjoy the words and sound of his music without knowing him as a man. "Will You Be There" stands out to me when I hear how he sings the words "I'm only human." To me, Michael's music was what it was because of the person-the man-that he was. His lyrics-even in the sexiest songs-still found their way to be respectful and easily accepted by those of all ages. That is no longer common and expected in music lyrics today. But, that was because of Michael's standards as a person.
The themes of Michael's music came from what he was a man cared about and thought about. All of those different but powerful themes. They were in his heart and thoughts.
How he composed music, recorded music, and danced to music --all intensely tied to his personal persistence, reach for perfection, internal connection to the beats and rhythms that few ever feel or hear in music.
The emotion in the songs-whether happy, sad, or angry-were built on his own emotions and experiences. We got the intensity because that is how he experienced things; his own emotions were intense. We got the contradictions because he was a man of complexities (not simplification that for some reason our society seems to celebrate so much even though it is proving to stifle our society in every stretch of the imagination).
The music and dance was accepted across generations, races, ethnicities, borders because he as a man embraced and emboldened and made it his priority to put all around him at ease. It had to come out through his music to those that listened.
And most importantly, the spirituality in his music was there because of the deep spirituality in him as a man. The spirituality surpassed religious identification. It upheld oneness with nature, spirits, and the Heavens.
Michael Jackson did not ever try to present himself as perfect with no flaws or imperfections. Actually, more than anyone he wore his heart on his sleeve. He didn't try to hide who he was-the good or the bad. The world simply chose not to look at who he really was--a man who experienced pain, misjudgments, hurt, sadness along with incredible joys, pride, happiness, and extreme generosity. He was a humble man who had a creativity and imagination that were both larger than life.
So, for me, I don't think that one could ever separate the man from the music. The music was all about the man. Love you forever, Michael Jackson!
