Gone Too Soon..An MJ Rememberance - Chris 'Preach' Smith

If anything else today lets you know how fast time flies away
from us, it's the fact that Michael Jackson, the undisputed King
of Pop left us a year ago on this date.

Memories of that day seem so surreal. I can remember that
evening sunset, and how the sky seemed to bleed rather than
fade away as every stoop in the Lower East Side blared an MJ
cut. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE was not prepared for
this man to leave this planet. A year later, we're still dealing
with it hard. And yet, MJ still reigns supreme. Even in an
industry where talent is either compromised for profit or just
as disposable as Wet Wipes, Jackson's estate made close to
one billion dollars since his death. One billion dollars. Even
Elvis would be dumbfounded. There have been people who
now make claims that present pop icons like Justin Bieber
and Lady Gaga are the proper artists to whom the torch can
be passed. To those people I say, stop sniffing the propane.
Neither one of them, and anyone else on the current scene
can even come close to the generational effect this man had
on the world. And it's an insult to him to even make that claim.

Say what you will about the man, but you can't deny the fact
that a whole lot of people feel he's gone away from us too soon.