It’s hard to say what makes the posthumous release of Michael Jackson’s new song “This Is It” so sad. The obvious reason is that it reminds us of the loss of one of music’s greatest—and I hate this word, so you know I mean it—talents.
My problem though, is there’s something about the song/album/movie/concert’s title that keeps reminding me of the debut Strokes album, Is This It, and Ryan Adams’ play on the phrase for his single “This Is It,” from the highly-panned, and underrated IMO, Rock N Roll album. There’s just something about this phrase as a question, a statement, or a eulogy that so perfectly never fits the moment of the musicians employing it.
In this case, Jackson’s vocals are amazing, the song is a definite hit, and it just screams of “idyllic swan song.” The only problem is: this isn’t IT. Listen here or embedded below:
