For the two people in the world who have no source of news (come to think of it, if they have no source of news...how would they be reading this blog?)...singer/entertainer/superstar/walking-freak-show Michael Jackson has died at 50. At the left is how I would prefer to remember Jackson...before he took on plastic surgery as a lifestyle and was accused of doing more than sleeping when he had boys in his bed.Michael Jackson was a seriously talented musician, singer, and performer. There is no denying the power of Thriller and Bad and even Off the Wall and Dangerous were hit machines. I am saddened to hear of his passing, especially when he had not really fulfilled his potential for nearly two decades.
I am also struck by the contradiction that was his life, though. On the one hand, he wanted it all--the fame, the glory, the power. It was he (or his publicity machine, really the same thing) that crowned him "the King of Pop." He wanted people's adoration. He craved the fans acceptance and made a spectacle of himself everywhere he went. And then he started whatever processes that changed his appearance, making himself even more of a public spectacle. At the same time, however, he sang "Leave Me Alone," decrying the tabloids and snoopers. He truly wanted it both ways: to be the most famous man alive and have his privacy. But the real world just does not work that way.
At a certain point, you give up your right to a "real" private life when you put yourself in the public eye. It's like Sean Penn wanting to use his public standing as a pulpit to expound on his political beliefs, but punching out paparazzi when they dare to take his picture. It's like Barack Obama running for President and claiming that actions and words of his wife and/or pastor are out of bounds for political discussion or criticism.
Michael Jackson will be remembered for his music, but--sadly--I think that he will be remembered more for his strange, and possibly immoral and disgusting, behavior over the last 20 years or so. If you can find it in your heart to separate the man from the music, celebrate the music today and grieve for the wasted life the man led.
Two days after his untimely passing, I put together an "All Michael, All the Time" playlist on my iPhone. Just this evening,I went to my favorite hangout, ordered a beer, lit up a cigar and listened to some of his great music. Such memories. Michael was truly the 'King of Pop". Despite the weird behavior, the numerous surgeries, and allegations of child molestation, his music will live on. At the rate his songs are selling nowadays, he just might be able to pay off his massive debt from beyond the grave.
ReplyDelete