2016 has claimed yet another incomparable musical talent. George Michael was truly one-of-a-kind, a consummate artist who performed with plenty of infectious flair and buoyant style, but he was also someone with a strong social conscience as well. He perhaps wasn’t as celebrated as some other 80s artists (at least certainly within my generation), but I felt he was having a bit of a renaissance this year, especially after being prominently featured in Keanu and Deadpool.
One can easily write pages about how awesome songs like “One More Try,” “Faith,” “Father Figure,” “Careless Whisper,” and “I Want Your Sex” still are decades later, but my go-to George Michael song has always been “Freedom ’90.” “Freedom ’90” for my money is the best song of the 1990s, and has a legendary music video directed by none other than a young David Fincher to boot. It also foreshadowed Michael’s coming out as a proud, unashamed homosexual a few years later, and has since been embraced as a triumphant anthem for many LGBTQ people.
With David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen, Glenn Frey, and now George Michael all gone this year, Heaven has got to be having the best concerts. We’ll always keep the Faith, George, so keep dancing away in those jeans and with that five o’clock shadow. RIP.