Well, Michael Jackson's funeral is over, and according to
L.A. Weekly, the crowds in downtown L.A. are filing toward various overpasses to catch a glimpse of Jackson's hearse as the funeral procession winds its way toward the cemetery. Rocks Off doesn't want to use the word "anticlimactic," but the funeral seemed unexpectedly low-key. There were a few over-the-top moments - the Rev. Al Sharpton, Houston congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, the children's choir - but mostly it seemed like, well, a funeral.
Jackson was well-eulogized by almost everyone who spoke, but especially Brooke Shields and Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, both of whom were obviously doing their best to choke back tears. Early word has Stevie Wonder and Jennifer Hudson at the head of the musical-performance line, but Rocks Off thought Jermaine Jackson's "Smile" (supposedly Michael's favorite song, written by Charlie Chaplin of all people) and, most surprisingly, John Mayer's "Human Nature" came off just about as well.
Really, though, what sealed the deal were the remarks by Jackson's daughter Paris at the very end. In just a couple of minutes, she reminded the worldwide audience they may have lost a pop icon, but she and her two brothers had lost a dad. One that they obviously loved very much.
What an emotionally exhausting day. Rocks Off really can't imagine what it must have been like to actually be in the midst of it, but here are a few final tweets from our
L.A. Weekly colleagues, starting about an hour ago (oldest first).
"Walking out. Incredibly emotional as the Jackson family said goodbyes onstage. Now the cameras begin again, and the helicopters"
"Skywriting up above. Mechants shilling crap below."
"Downtown is electric. It's like a flashbulb and helicopter hurricane. Sirens, bells, food, shirts, tears, laughter, more cameras."
"Now have to go make sense of this. Stevie and j hud stole the show, were I asked.
There's always a certain calm in a room with a casket, and the staples center was no different. Just buffer."
"Just bigger, I mean"
"Crowds gathered on overpases to catch a glimpse of the hearse"
