"You must to be the biggest asshole that ever had a blog on the web."[sic] - Anonymous
Friday, June 26, 2009
I don't care what anyone says.
This is still one of the coolest things ever. Goddamn but Michael Jackson was talented.
Let us mourn the loss of that entertainer, and not dwell on the obvious troubles that haunted the man.
We should all leave behind something this good.
12 comments:
norby
said...
I was a huge Michael fan as a kid-Thriller came out when I was junior high. I will never forgive my parents for throwing out my vinyl copy of that album when they moved.
I'm not kidding when I say a small slice of my childhood died yesterday.
He certainly was talented, but I never went in for opera/dramas or anything else that required special effects to impress me (so, yeah, I saw Thriller as silly, too) … his Motown moves remain his ultimate performance for me.
That said, I can’t get beyond the $20 million dollar buyout from criminal proceedings. His subsequent acquittal (from another case) and then his move to Bahrain didn’t help his cause much either. Last night I was at the gym so I missed most of the “news” … this morning I was downright pissed off I had to deal with it (instead of the news).
Talented? No doubt. Weird? No doubt. Guilty of child molestation? Who knows what that $20 million bought, but I could care less what troubled him.
When "Thriller" came out, my friends and I were all of an age and associated mindset where we could never admit to liking Michael's work lest we be labeled either a) "A homo," or b) "Probably a homo." Now in my more relaxed forties, I've been serving up my best moves all day with "Billy Jean"playing in my head, driving my wife to beg me to stop.
Now the great news: I was looking at MJ's stuff on Youtube this am, started to stray, and wound up stumbling onto The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain. I don't know how I ever missed these guys/gals (or their live DVD, "Anarchy in the Ukelele.")
Talk about good -- you have never heard "Peace Train," "Smells Like Teen Spirit," or even the theme song from "Shaft" until you've heard it performed by a bunch of middle-aged British folk singers on ukeleles. Check them out RIGHT NOW on my blog (http://blinkifitoldyouso.blogspot.com/) or never mind the bollocks and go right to their web site: (http://www.ukuleleorchestra.com)./main/ShowPage.aspx?PageID=2
I don't understand people that don't like Michael Jackson. I mean, were you, like, born without a soul?
Dangerous is a really underrated album. Billie Jean is quite possibly one of the top 5 pop songs ever. The Lean in the Smooth Criminal video? HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE? The man defied physics.
I think there's a difference between liking the performance and liking the performer who, in this case, became stranded mentally and emotionally living a childhood he missed out on the first time through. As much as people might wish to celebrate it as innocence and/or artistry, it was plain old mental illness -- one that may have damaged children.
As for the forward lean? Not possible -- V-shaped slots in the heels of Michael's shoes hooked onto small pegs that stuck up out of the floor. Oh, well.
Still, some great performances. Dave's right: As the poor man's dead, let's leave it at that.
12 comments:
I was a huge Michael fan as a kid-Thriller came out when I was junior high. I will never forgive my parents for throwing out my vinyl copy of that album when they moved.
I'm not kidding when I say a small slice of my childhood died yesterday.
The dude was pure talent mixed with hard work. But, I always thought that Thriller video was silly and overblown.
He certainly was talented, but I never went in for opera/dramas or anything else that required special effects to impress me (so, yeah, I saw Thriller as silly, too) … his Motown moves remain his ultimate performance for me.
That said, I can’t get beyond the $20 million dollar buyout from criminal proceedings. His subsequent acquittal (from another case) and then his move to Bahrain didn’t help his cause much either. Last night I was at the gym so I missed most of the “news” … this morning I was downright pissed off I had to deal with it (instead of the news).
Talented? No doubt. Weird? No doubt. Guilty of child molestation? Who knows what that $20 million bought, but I could care less what troubled him.
cross posted from Sarah's blog:
The guy only seemed to come fully alive onstage. In front of a crowd, a mike or a camera, he was damn near superhuman.
But you can't live life onstage 24/7, and he could ever seem to adjust to life on Earth.
The poor bastard.
And for all the kids he might've fucked up, especially the ones who didn't get a $20 million buyout ... those poor bastards, too.
When "Thriller" came out, my friends and I were all of an age and associated mindset where we could never admit to liking Michael's work lest we be labeled either a) "A homo," or b) "Probably a homo." Now in my more relaxed forties, I've been serving up my best moves all day with "Billy Jean"playing in my head, driving my wife to beg me to stop.
Now the great news: I was looking at MJ's stuff on Youtube this am, started to stray, and wound up stumbling onto The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain. I don't know how I ever missed these guys/gals (or their live DVD, "Anarchy in the Ukelele.")
Talk about good -- you have never heard "Peace Train," "Smells Like Teen Spirit," or even the theme song from "Shaft" until you've heard it performed by a bunch of middle-aged British folk singers on ukeleles. Check them out RIGHT NOW on my blog (http://blinkifitoldyouso.blogspot.com/) or never mind the bollocks and go right to their web site: (http://www.ukuleleorchestra.com)./main/ShowPage.aspx?PageID=2
Joe- Thanks for the UOGB link. Great stuff.
Yes, thanks Joe.
That reminds me, I have to get my uke back from my daughter's boyfriend.
And for all the kids he might've fucked up, especially the ones who didn't get a $20 million buyout ... those poor bastards, too.
Yep. Fucked up people rarely hurt only themselves.
I don't understand people that don't like Michael Jackson. I mean, were you, like, born without a soul?
Dangerous is a really underrated album. Billie Jean is quite possibly one of the top 5 pop songs ever. The Lean in the Smooth Criminal video? HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE? The man defied physics.
I think there's a difference between liking the performance and liking the performer who, in this case, became stranded mentally and emotionally living a childhood he missed out on the first time through. As much as people might wish to celebrate it as innocence and/or artistry, it was plain old mental illness -- one that may have damaged children.
As for the forward lean? Not possible -- V-shaped slots in the heels of Michael's shoes hooked onto small pegs that stuck up out of the floor. Oh, well.
Still, some great performances. Dave's right: As the poor man's dead, let's leave it at that.
It's the "poor man" bit that gives me agita.
Sorry, no sympathy here.
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