I used to like Michael Jackson’s music and performances when I was a kid. In fact he was one of my biggest influences for taking up singing and music, which are now passions of mine.

I was eventually put-off by his bizarre behaviour and found other music to enjoy, but now that he’s passed away, I’ve listened to a bit of his music and watched some of his performances again and have come to realise - even more so now that I’m older - just how amazingly gifted the guy was.

Michael Jackson was a freak, not just because of his behaviour and looks, but more importantly, because of his astonishingly unnatural ability to entertain like no one else.

There was a moment where I was disappointed that I didn’t appreciate him more while he was alive, but it didn’t take long for me to remember the behaviour that made appreciation for him difficult. He seemed to finally lose the plot completely in the early 90’s.

Perhaps now, in death, Michael Jackson’s influence in the music industry can be more positive than it was in life. Much like it seemed to be with Kurt Cobain.

Oh and Master, don’t worry about the rubbish that comes from runner. He’s the resident pig whose meaningless contributions and existence serve as nothing but a warning to others that there are those out there just like him, that actually exist.

"Substance" and "Michael Jackson" - not words I would normally crowbar into juxtaposition.

Michael Jackson was all show and no substance, and ultimately popular music was the worse for it. Michael Jackson showed the bloated record corporations, reeling from the assault of punk and two decades away from facing their file-sharing nemesis, just how easy it was to put a dancing marionette in front of a troupe of synchronised dancers, throw in some flashy production, and make bucketloads of money from some of the most truly bland music ever written.

Strip away the expensive videos and the production talents of Quincy Jones, and Michael Jackson's songs - many of which he didn't even write - are revealed as trite at best.

If you think popular music today is vile, if you want someone to blame for the likes of the Pussycat Dolls, N'Sync, Justin Timberlake, Backstreet Boys or, God help us, "Idol": look no further than Michael Jackson.

As Jack Marx has written, "it is hard to think of a modern entertainer who has contributed less to the artform that has made him famous ... a veritable dog sh1t on the shoe contemporary art, which ... turned white but never stopped stinking"

Clownfish, you have chosen an appropriate penname.