After so many days of celebrity rubbernecking, Michael Jackson's memorial service in Los Angeles reminded us that it was a father, son, brother and friend who was suddenly gone, and the grief in the room was raw.
So there was consolation, in Lionel Richie's promise that "Jesus is love/ He won't let you down." There was confrontation, with mention of the rumors that death had not laid to rest: "Being judged, ridiculed--how much pain can one take?" Michael's brother Marlon asked. Above all, there was community, created by the music Michael made and rendered by the artists he inspired.
That community...