I'm not shedding a tear today for Michael Jackson. Firstly, I was never a fan of his. I certainly grew up during his heyday, but when I was younger I was listening to Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, the Stones and the like. Although, there was a period of time when it seemed like you had to pick Michael or Prince, I went with Prince. Not so much b/c I thought he was a musical genius when I was 16 years (although clearly he is), but b/c he was not Michael Jackson. I watched "Thriller" on MTV, what choice did I have, it was on a loop, but I attended Prince's Purple Rain concert, and never bought a MJ album or CD. Prince was the "freak" back then, but in later years that turned around didn't it?
The tragedy for me, is that a 50 year old man died why before he should have. I feel for his friends and family as I would with any stranger who dies at such a young age.
Much like when Princess Diana died, or Kurt Cobain I really don't get how people lose their minds over someone they've never met. I often look at these people and wonder if they carry on in such a way when their grandmother died, I wonder how much of the outward grief is for public consumption and a sense of commandeer with other mourners (Look at me, I'm like you, we are emotionally ravaged by the death of a guy I didn't know and never met). It all seems like so much theater to me, and it's not just Jackson fans, it's whenever something like this happens. I wonder how much of this is mourning the loss of their youth instead of a guy they didn't know. What is missing in their lives that causes them to so closely "identify" with a stranger?
I know that some of his work was good, maybe great. "Off the wall", "Thriller" and some of "Bad" are great. Some great songs, but he wasn't a revolutionary, maybe not even an evolutionary artist. Sorry. He was a great entertainer and dancer. I still remember the day after he Moonwalked on National TV, it was the talk of my suburban/rural central New York school the next day. It was an event, but it wasn't a musical revelation...it was a dance move. I don't even know the song he was singing when he did it.
His contributions to Music Video are undeniable. He made MTV in the 80's, but you have to wonder how lasting that contribution to the arts is when you consider that MTV and VH1 don't even play music videos any longer. The form is all but dead. Is "Thriller" a great song without the video? Is "bad"? No doubt he had other great songs ("PYT", "Wanna be startin' somethin'"), but he should be remembered for his contributions to Videos which is huge, where his contributions to music are less.
I read poll yesterday where the question asked was Jackson the "greatest pop star of all time". Besides being a flawed survey geared toward people with no sense of history, the other choices were The Beatles or Madonna. I would have voted for the Beatles, but what about Sinatra or Louie Armstrong or a host of others with longer and more influential careers? Even if you go for straight Pop Star cred, Madonna's career as a relevant artist is longer than Jackson's as he has turned into a Late Night TV joke and resided there for the past 15 or 20 years. He's tabloid fodder, not even an entertainer any more.
He sold more albums than anyone else, no doubt. He was a music sales machine, but sales/revenue has never been the standard for artistry. Otherwise Brittney Spears would be one of the greatest "musicians/artists" ever. Michael didn't invent Pop or even expand the genre very much. His whole deal is just a continuation of the work of James Brown and others who came before. James Brown invented genres of music, while being the consummate entertainer. Michael entertained, but simply followed the path Brown set for him and others.
Jackson was a man so seemingly ashamed of his blackness that he did everything he could to radically alter his appearance turning himself in a grotesque caricature. While Brown was singing "I"m black and I'm proud" Jackson spent untold monies on erasing the image of that kid who sang in the Jackson Five.
Sitting her today with ESPN on, I keep hearing about how magnificent he was. First, the strained effort to make this into a sports story is just annoying and second...it appears everyone has forgotten about the past 15 years of his life. Like it didn't happen.
This is my memory of Michael. Outside the Moonwalk and the videos, my thoughts are most about weirdness. Bubbles, John Merrick's bones, charges of molestation, Emmanuel Lewis, Neverland Ranch, buying the Beatles catalog and selling the songs for commercials, huge amounts of debt, dancing on Limo roofs in his pajamas and of course the mutilation of his face. This is the legacy he left. You can't ignore the charges against him and even his own creepy answers about sleeping with little boys. Dancing to a funky beat doesn't absolve him of that, despite everyone seemingly forgetting that in the past 24 hours.
Look, I'm sorry he's died. I don't hate the guy, but I always thought he was overrated and the Canonization of the man I've seen for the past 24 hours is disturbing. The post is about the reaction to his death. He was a great entertainer, he didn't change music but you can't ignore all the other things just b/c he's gone now.
All that said...RIP Mr. Jackson
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Democracy come from the people...
Things are going well in Iran for Democracy. People are rising up, that is how DEMOCRACY comes to power. If Iraq proved nothing else, it proved that you can't force democracy upon a nation with the guns of another country. Freedom and democracy come form the people and the PEOPLE are doing the rising up in Iran. Let the Iranians focus on changing there government, that is what they are doing. The current Iranina government would LOVE nothing more than for America to get involved so that they can turn the populace against an outside enemy (fortunately, the "Bomb Iran" faction of the GOP didn't get their way, b/c if they had this would not be happening). Don't believe me? Ask yourself, after America was attacked on 9/11 did you worry about petty partisan bickering ? No, you didn't. You focused on the common enemy.
If America tries to interfere here, they create the common enemy that all dictators need to keep power. America should keep it's collective mouth shut and the the PEOPLE of Iran determine their future. Iran has a growing young secular and westernized population, theocracy was not going to last forever and let's hope the time has come for moderate voices in Iran to carry the day
If America tries to interfere here, they create the common enemy that all dictators need to keep power. America should keep it's collective mouth shut and the the PEOPLE of Iran determine their future. Iran has a growing young secular and westernized population, theocracy was not going to last forever and let's hope the time has come for moderate voices in Iran to carry the day
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Let's hope he overplayed his hand with stealing the election
It seems that Iran has a large part of the population willing to take to the streets and challenge the Islamist fanaticism the controls many countries in the region. As I've told my wacked out Bushie "friends" that attacking iran is exactly what the government wants b/c it would turn sympathy toward the government against a common Western enemy. I strongly believe that iranians are capable of taking their country back from the zealots. They are a secular population who doesn't want to live under the yoke of religous tyranny...in time Iran's young people will take the steps themselves to rid the country of the zealots.
My hope is that the government has gone too far this time for the citizens of Iran.
My hope is that the government has gone too far this time for the citizens of Iran.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
NCAA stupid...again
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/31245888/
Don’t get me wrong, my disdain for Alabama is right up there, just below Notre Dame. But this penalty seems a little harsh, it’s not like they shaved points or used ineliglbe players. As usual, the arbitrariness of NCAA penalties is on display. It doesn’t even rise to the level of bad oversight of the program, short of having a member of the Athletic Department walking around 24/7 with every scholarship athlete, who do you monitor this behavior?
NCAA atheletes can get DUI’s and beat up their girlfriends and the NCAA is silent, but get an extra textbook and they bring the hammer.
And don’t forget this is the group that brings you the BCS every fall.
Don’t get me wrong, my disdain for Alabama is right up there, just below Notre Dame. But this penalty seems a little harsh, it’s not like they shaved points or used ineliglbe players. As usual, the arbitrariness of NCAA penalties is on display. It doesn’t even rise to the level of bad oversight of the program, short of having a member of the Athletic Department walking around 24/7 with every scholarship athlete, who do you monitor this behavior?
NCAA atheletes can get DUI’s and beat up their girlfriends and the NCAA is silent, but get an extra textbook and they bring the hammer.
And don’t forget this is the group that brings you the BCS every fall.
More Right Wing Extremists and their defenders
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/feature/2009/06/10/dhs_report/index.html
It's funny to me that Republicans are so terrified of putting untried "enemy combatants" in Super Max prisons in the US next to other terrorists, rapists, murderers, cannibals, pedophiles, etc. BUT if you call out domestic terrorists, who are killing today in our streets, they defend those groups...Interesting, no? Playing to the base, maybe?
It's funny to me that Republicans are so terrified of putting untried "enemy combatants" in Super Max prisons in the US next to other terrorists, rapists, murderers, cannibals, pedophiles, etc. BUT if you call out domestic terrorists, who are killing today in our streets, they defend those groups...Interesting, no? Playing to the base, maybe?
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