Micheal Jackson is dead...

...and I am spectacularly unmoved.

Objectively, I can recognize the enormous contribution the man made to music and fashion over the past four decades. I have a very vivid memory from 1987, of sitting in the car of a school friend's Dad so we could listen to 'Bad' on cassette tape.

But in all honesty, I never particularly liked his music. I didn't like his style. He creeped me out, especially with that skeevy movie 'Moonwalker.' No, I was over the castrati-voiced star long before his 'fall from grace' following accusations of child-molestation in 1993.

In fact, let's not ignore that. Although he was acquitted of sexually abusing a child in 2005, Jackson was dogged by frankly weird behavior around kids his entire life. Dangling an infant over a hotel balcony, for example, isn't exactly grounds for great parenting.

I'm old enough to remember when 'Bad' actually mean bad. Or was that a Huey Lewis song?

The media's been obsessed with Jackson's crazy antics for almost a decade. We've vilified him as a paedophile, a lunatic, a bad parent and a bankrupt has-been. That's why it seems deeply hypocritical to suddenly start revering him now he's dead (before the poor bastard's even gone cold.)

Newsreaders are crying. Stores are piping out 'Thriller' and 'Billie Jean.' People are wailing about what an important part of their lives Micheal Jackson was. A friend of mine complimented somebody on their 'MJ' t-shirt and that person shook their hand and burst into tears!

Insane!

So Jackson died. He was clearly a deeply troubled man and we, the gawkish public, contributed enormously to that condition. In fact, even though they're still awaiting the autopsy results, we're probably all complicit in his demise. We suffocated him beneath a pile of news reports, gossip magazines and childish exposés.

The very same people who are wailing about missing him today were demanding he be strung up as a kiddie-fiddler three years ago.

Where there's smoke, there's fire? I argue that Jackson was acquitted, so it's really not cricket to throw the 'paedophile' label about... Although I still wouldn't have let him babysit Mini Militant!

So in marking Mr Jackson's passing, I thought I'd do the opposite of everybody else. I'll recommend catching a show from some modern-day musical legends who are very much around (despite rivalling MJ for lyrical longevity.)

How about Metallica? These legends of heavy metal started out just two years after Micheal Jackson did and are still going. In fact, they just launched an enormous comeback with a new album, a Guitar Hero video game and you can catch Metallica Tickets for a whole new tour in 2009.

U2 went live three years before Jackson launched his solo career. They've never slowed down and are on a world tour this year. U2 concert tickets for July, August, September and October are available now.

Chickenfoot is the opposite of U2 and Metallica (and Jackson himself.) They started off just last year, but are already being labelled a 'rock supergroup.' That's because this hard rock band feature venerable talent in the form of Van Halen and Red Hot Chilli Peppers alumni - meaning that even for a 'new' band, they've got decades of rock 'n roll experience to bolster their credentials.

They're kicking off a tour this October, in Toronto, and Chickenfoot Concert Tickets are still available for performances in Chicago, New York and Atlanta (plus many other less salubrious locations.)

So if you're like me - and Micheal Jackson's death hardly registers on your pop-culture radar - than do what I do and crank up the stereo with some other performer's music.