MJ

In the week following Michael Jackon's untimely death, we've learned the following:

• None of MJ's three children are (surprise!) actually his. (How anyone could think otherwise is beyond me. MJ used to be black. Becoming a white man doesn't give him white genes).
• Al Sharpton needs to have his voice box removed.
• Joe Jackson is a bigger opportunist than Speidi.

MJ's death is as tragic as it is intriguing. How someone equally talented and tortured could spend his final years with absolutely no resemblance to his former self, speaks volumes to the severe mental issues MJ dealt with.

What's even more disturbing is that despite the breaking news aspect to it, MJ's death wasn't sudden at all.

There's good reason to believe he suffered from anorexia for at least the last ten years, and possibly much longer. Couple that with his addiction to prescription drugs and you have someone who has been slowly killing themselves for a decades.

One thing that continues to blow my mind is the realization that MJ spent almost half his life as a white man. It's beyond absurd. Imagine looking in the mirror and seeing the complete opposite of what you used to be. It's like me deciding to go "Soul Man" for the next quarter century.

But before the surgeries, Bubbles and Blanket, what originally made MJ famous was the music. Granted, nothing post Dangerous has aged particularly well, in large part due to MJ's voice turning into a glorified grunt.

Regardless, after spending the last few days going over his entire catalog and watching his old videos, it's clear that Michael's contribution to pop culture is unrivaled and will never be matched.

To commemorate his 50 years, I thought it would be fitting to list his 50 best songs.

1. Billie Jean
   
2. I Want You Back (J5)
   
3. Rock With You
4. Remember The Time
5. Maybe Tomorrow (J5)
6. Don't Stop Til You Get Enough
7. Say, Say, Say (McCartney)
8. I Want To Be Where You Are
9. Wanna Be Startin' Something
10. Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) (Jacksons)
11. The Love You Save (J5)
12. Never Can Say Goodbye (J5)
13. Beat It
14. Who's Loving You (J5)
15. Leave Me Alone
16. Off The Wall
17. Can You Feel It (Jacksons)
18. Smooth Criminal
19. Human Nature
20. Jam
21. P.Y.T.
22. Somebody's Watching Me (Rockwell)
    
23. Scream
24. You Rock My World
25. Ready Or Not (J5)
26. Dancing Machine (J5)
27. Working Day and Night
28. Lady In My Life
29. ABC
30. Blame It On the Boogie (Jacksons)
31. Thriller
32. In The Closet
33. The Way You Make Me Feel
34. This Place Hotel (Jacksons)
35. Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming (Jermaine Jackson)
36. Dirty Diana
37. Blood on the Dance Floor
38. Baby Be Mine
39. Another Part of Me
40. Man in the Mirror
41. You Are Not Alone
42. Torture (Jacksons)
43. I Just Can't Stop Loving You
44. Let Me Show You (Jacksons)
45. Enjoy Yourself (Jacksons)
46. They Don't Care About Us
47. Liberian Girl
48. Whatever Happens
49. Life of the Party (J5)
    
50. Who Is It

A few notes...

*I firmly believe that MJ's voice hit its peak post Thriller, pre Bad. It's like he realized he was the shit and you can hear that. He didn't record much during this period, but almost all his work from this period is great.

*"Say, Say, Say" made up for MJ and McCartney's first duet, "The Girl Is Mine". Undoubtedly the weakest song on Thriller, it should have been titled, "The Boy Is Mine".

*For a guy who never had a sexual experience with a woman, MJ sure had some stage 5 clingers on his hands - Billie Jean, Dirty Diana and Susie ("Blood on the Dance Floor").