Regardless of his legal troubles and his innate weirdness, Michael Jackson was one of the greatest entertainers of all-time to grace the pop music landscape. I was a huge MJ fan in elementary school and enjoyed most of his music, even the more recent stuff that didn’t quite have the velcro-stick of his “Thriller,” “Bad” and “Dangerous” recordings. I remember wanting a “Beat It” and “Thriller” jacket in 4th grade and having to settle for sparkly socks that just didn’t look quite right on a baby-faced 10 year-old wearing Levis and burgundy loafers. Love him or hate him, he is an icon and to me the real tragedy of Jackson’s death isn’t the actual physical dying, but that something, even from a young age, had already died and caused him, for whatever reason, to see himself as less than the wonderful person he was, both inside and out.

So my “trailer” for this Tuesday is Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” perhaps the greatest music video of all-time. When I choose to remember Michael Jackson, the way he looks – happy and vibrant (and zombie-ish) in “Thriller,” is how I’ll keep him in my head. Thanks, Michael.