Michael Jackson’s music is everywhere in the air in New York City today. Walking along this morning, his songs were pouring into the streets from the doorways of shops. There was a crowd of about ten people, outside, singing “I’ll Be There” at the top of their lungs. Even my snooty Brooklyn coffee shop had “Off The Wall” playing when I arrived, then switched to the Jackson 5, and eventually, to “Thriller.” “Thriller” was my very first album purchase as a kid. It’s very weird to think that this brilliant, albeit beyond strange musician is gone from the world.

As you listen to his gazillion hits playing everywhere today, be sure to check out Anthea Butler’s excellent article: “When The Gods Die: Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett Take the 70s With Them,” which talks about Michael Jackson as a “pop theologian” of a sort, and follows his life’s spiritual twists and turns (in addition to exploring Fawcett’s as well.”
Now I’m going to go listen to “PYT,” one of my all-time favorites.