This May Lose Me Some Friends

[poliphilo]

The music never dies. It goes on and on and on. Ad nauseum. Someone switch the bloody thing off.

Jackson's work is kitsch. Even the better stuff is slick and empty.

Fred Astaire said Jackson was the greatest dancer of the 20th century. I refuse to believe he meant it.

Bad? Not in the way he wanted us to think.

I find it shocking that people make excuses for Jackson that they wouldn't dream of making for other middle-aged men who like to share their beds with children.

By the time of his death he was a freeloading junkie who indulged himself in every little whim- but couldn't be bothered to pay his staff.

Celebrity turns men and women into monsters. The strong-minded get out before it destroys every last scrap of decency and truth.  Jackson wasn't strong-minded.

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry that you think so.

[algabal.livejournal.com]

In response to your post yesterday, while it's true that there were other blacks who reached mass white audiences, there were no popular performers (of any race) who reached the level of incredibly diverse worldwide popularity that Michael did. Certainly people in Zaire, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Sweden and Morocco don't listen to much Jimi Hendrix or Ella Fitzgerald. But they all know Michael.

While there are a handful of songs on Dangerous and HIStory that are quite shallow and lifeless, the majority of his recorded work is amongst the best that that mainstream pop and R&B has ever had to offer. Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad are all masterpieces. While his music might not contain the pretension that macho, male chauvinist rock critics love in bands like the Beatles, there are plenty of interesting, repeating themes for anyone looking for depth (a beautifully naive conception of good and evil, predatory female sexuality and the female as victimizer, etc.) His work in video was groundbreaking. He was an incredible dancer whose strange combination of litheness and aggression was hypnotic.

On a personal level, he was always an incredibly poignant image to me. Michael was the Christ-like suffering servant, constantly suffering from the cruelty of others while urging us to trust in him. At the same time, he lived the life of a decadent. He was a real-life Des Esseintes, but unlike Des Esseintes he completely lacked self-awareness, which made him even more fascinating. He made enough of an impression on me that the last few days have been some of the saddest I've had in recent years.

To me, he is the defining figure of the twentieth century and a formative influence on my value system. I don't know if I'd have made it through childhood without him.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I respect what you have to say. I recognise it as a possible response- even though it's diametrically opposed to mine.

[algabal.livejournal.com]

I apologize for my original choice of words. I should have said I was hurt.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

No offence taken.

And I'm sorry I hurt you. I don't agree with your views- on Jackson or many other things- but that's no reason why we shouldn't be friends. I greatly enjoy your blog- and am grateful to you for introducing me to art I wouldn't otherwise have encountered.

[idahoswede.livejournal.com]

You can actually take Sweden off your list, although I am sure you were using it just for an example, but people like Ella Fitzgerald and Hendrix were incredibly popular there and are still being listened to.

[algabal.livejournal.com]

Ella Fitzgerald had a level of popularity comparable with Michael Jackson in Sweden (http://www.thelocal.se/20298/20090626/)? Color me astonished.

[brttvns.livejournal.com]

Yes but the power and spread of media is stronger these days, and incidentally - I can't speak for the African countries that you mention, but Europe, particularly northen European countries have always had a great followers of Fitzgerald, Holiday, Armstrong, and Hendrix.
Paul Robeson was virtuallt adopted by the Welsh valleys.

Michael Jackson ''the defining figure of the twentieth century'? You have either a sheltered or shallow view of that 100 years, I'm afraid.