On hearing the news that Michael Jackson had died suddenly, my reaction was as follows:

1: surprise

2: ...

3: I got nothing

To me, Jackson was the crazy old uncle who went senile a long time ago. Yes, he was still around, but nobody expected anything from him because he clearly wasn't the same man he used to be.

Put it this way: it had been nearly thirty years since Jackson had done anything in the music industry that warranted any real attention. Prince, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, U2... those are four acts that were making music at the same time as Michael and are still making music now. And to varying degrees their music is still relevant.

Or restated: Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a 1990 helicopter crash, meaning he hasn't recorded anything new or relevant for just under two decades, and that's still more current than anything of Jackson's. And I miss Stevie a lot more.

Other than the music, what you have left is a possibly insane paranoid pedophile that has left a $400 million estate debt his family will no doubt have to prostitute his image for the next decade in order to pay off. That's sad, but it's a different kind of sad.