ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The whole life of those societies in which modern conditions of production prevail presents itself as an immense accumulation of spectacles. All that once was directly lived has become mere representation. As a final document, Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) works. Indeed, it works well. It offers the fan all that she or he may desire in this, the "final" goodbye from their desired object. The dance moves are exquisite, the determined, if not workaholic, authority of Michael Jackson is impressive. Michael Jackson, with the help of MTV, anchored the contemporary bridging between popular music and video, of sound and image. As such, to know Michael Jackson's music was to know Michael Jackson's image. The consequences of this are quite dramatic, if not completely invisible in today's popular music market.
