It would actually be an overstatement to say we were shocked by Michael Jackson's death. This isn't to say that, like many, we aren't sad about it but to be perfectly honest we weren't shocked.
Yes, Jackson was amping up for his run of 50 shows in London. Yes, there was talk of a new album with Quincy Jones. And, yes, there was the so-persistent-it-must-have-been-true rumor that the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas was renovating its auditorium to accommodate him.
By many accounts it seemed that Michael Jackson was ready to make a comeback - that the third act of his life wasn't actually the messy child molestation accusations, but rather a captivating series of never-before-seen concert performances that would remind people why he was the King of Pop.
Still, the fact remains that Michael Jackson was a shell of a man. He looked it - physically, little remained of the man adorning the "Thriller" album cover. He acted it - whisking his children away to Bahrain after his trial concluded which, itself, was probably an exhausting nightmare.
SIDENOTE - No obituary or tribute should be written without including Jackson's trial and the accusations of child molestation. You take the good with the bad, folks.
Jackson was raised by crazy parents in a crazy family in the crazy world of show business. He never seemed able to fully grasp what everyone else saw, seeming exactly like the "most talented boy-man" who Paul McCartney - his former friend and collaborator - described upon hearing of his death.
Without a doubt, both Pop and Hip-Hop music - as well as most modern dance choreography - wouldn't be the same without Jackson's influence. There is simply nobody who could perform and move like him.
But off stage he always seemed lost in a world of grown ups. He appeared constantly frustrated because others tried to make decisions for him and never showed he was mature enough to act on his own other than when he was Moonwalking.
So that's why shock was never a large part of our reaction to his death. Micheal Jackson defined such a specific part of the world in which he lived, yet he never seemed to understand how it all worked - sort of like he never really belonged here in the first place.
What do you think?
Monday, June 29, 2009
Michael Jackson - Gone but not shocking
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4 comments:
Matt - Not sure if you have come across this article, but it was the most interesting write up I have seen: Anyway, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196009/Im-better-dead-Im-How-Michael-Jackson-predicted-death-months-ago.html
No doubt he was a tortured soul, but mental illness and substance abuse is common among artists, and the link between art, 'freakiness', and insanity is a fascinating topic. The global response to his demise shows that if we are to be judged how we treat the least among us, maybe there's hope for this planet!
Can't get that tune outa my head...
Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
RE: CeeCee
Thanks for the link. Some people question Ian Halperin's integrity as a journalist but he still makes some good observations.
I cannot help but feel sorrow for the way his life formed him. From the age of eight, he was treated as a cash cow by his father. All the boys were beaten, starved and deprived of sleep and education for years. Their lives stopped as normal children when they hit it big on American Bandstand and they became the de facto slaves to their father.
Michael was exposed to sexual antics from the age of 8 when they were touring and he slept in one of the TWO rooms the father would bugdget for them and the older boys were having sex in the same bed Michael was sleeping in.
Things were NEVER, EVER normal for him and he never learned what the real world was like. Still, his talent lives on in his music and we are better for having heard it, as does all good music affect us.
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