A friend of mine had some interesting thoughts on the recent death of Michael Jackson:
Yes, I know...Michael Jackson is Dead
I know that for certain because each and every time I turn on cable news ,CNN tells me. Changing the channel, MSNBC told me, click. Headline News told me, click. Eyewitness News Live Action Team and The Sky6 Traffic copter told me. They also told me about the " local connection" to the "Gloved One". Apparently the Gloved One's limo had a blow out on 95 on the way to a concert in Miami. Click.
Every morning show, click. Cooking show, click. Reggis,click. Oprah, click. Dr Phil, click. Even Billy Mays told me. Fortunately I did get a "Beat This!" deal on an Awesome Auger and a years supply of ShamWows! The only person who hasn't told me is Willford Brimley ( his sugar was low) and that moron that sells Progressive Insurance.
I turned to print media, The Miami Herald, Florida Today... Orlando Sentinel... each told me in one entire section ( imagine the hollow sound of the recycling bin receiving the goods) Web media, ditto, except for Science Daily News.
Et Tu Foxy?
In desperation I turned back to cable and Fox news. This was the first time I had purposely tuned in Fox in 8 years. Alas, they told me as well, even though they hinted it had something to do with Obama , socialism and liberal values. They showed footage of Jackson meeting with Louis Farrakhan, Jessie Jackson and the usual "liberal" suspects. "Micheal Jackson, (D) dead at age fifty was the headline with picture of Obama by mistake. Click.
Yes Michael Jackson is dead.
I have heard "Thriller" more in 12 hours than the entire time it was popular. No I don't care who in the hell Billy Jean is and yes, his dad was a jerk. Once again we celebrate a person in death that in life most of us wouldn't trust to tie our shoe or babysit a pet hamster.
Excluding the song/video Thriller, Jackson's music was catchy pop fluff, devoid of meaning or lasting artistic merit, perfect for the shallow , quick profit, quick reward "me" period of the Reagan years. He was the product of a culture that elevated instant gratification to art and celebrated work one step above mediocre as genius. Just like Reagan himself.
Jackson was the victim of his own hype and a group of sycophants that bled him dry at every turn by keeping him pumped full of drugs and complements. In death Wacko Jacko will supply hours of ink and revenue well beyond what he earned in life. In retrospect it is clear that Jackson was yet another idiot savant of the entertainment world; incapable of normal function outside of his own, insular world of stagecraft, fleeting fame and drugs.
Childlike
" He was so childlike with wonder...." twitter the fans . Yes, that's certainly true. Keep in mind that adults who are childlike and can't sing or dance are selling candy at a news stand or institutionalized.
There have been so many, Elvis, Monroe, Tyson, Garland, ...I cant name them all. The sad truth is we love to watch these train wrecks. By doing so we feed the monster that created them and feel better about ourselves.
Jackson's case is truly sad ; the man had real talent beyond the basic boy band or Top 40 fad. If he hadn't been so exploited and damaged, what could he have achieved? If his choreography and musical skills had matured ,Thriller would have been his first popularly and critically acclaimed work...not the pinnacle of his career.
Shame on us.