A Brief Interlude In Which We Discuss The News

Photo Credit: Michal Czerwonka/Getty Images

A fan wears a Michael Jackson t-shirt outside the Los Angeles hospital where Jackson died yesterday.

It doesn't seem right to go on with the business of a music blog without acknowledging the music news of the day. For all the dialogue about jazz occupying a privileged High Art position among the various forms of music — to which there is some sense, I should say — jazz musicians have always existed within, and in their own twisted ways refracted, the popular culture of their eras. Scanning the blogophere proves this to be true in the case of Michael Jackson too. (UPDATE: Christian McBride weighs in too.)

Personally, I come from a generation for whom a full MJ appreciation would be something of an exercise in historical imagination. (Not that it isn't for Sidney Bechet too, but there are a lot more smart journalists who personally recall the King of Pop in his prime.) So rather than subject you to my thoughts on Thriller or whatever, I direct you to NPR's full coverage of Michael Jackson.

This Artist Index Page links to just about everything Jackson-related on NPR and NPR.org. There are remembrances, multimedia features, news updates, and archived stories from the last eight or so years. We'll continue to update as stories develop — and they will throughout the day and even weekend.

I've been really quite impressed with the NPR network and my immediate colleagues at NPR Music in their tireless efforts to generate interesting views on the Michael Jackson story. It's a effort I necessarily have a small hand in too, which is why today's link dump is a little late in coming, if anyone's wondering. (No, ABS is not nearly my only job here.) So hang tight, and watch a little Internet tee-vee to tide you over.