mj - one more observation...

[qthewetsprocket]

i'm noticing an interesting division on my f'list as regards the reaction posts to michael jackson's death. some are focusing only on the positive aspects of his life: his talent, his music, his charity work. a number of others, though, are focusing only on the negative: the scandal, the self-mutilation, the financial excesses...as though reminding

Comments

[syzygy_lj]

I'm old enough to have owned Thriller on vinyl-- I was probably about 10 at the time. I must have listened to that album a bazillion times.

As a child of the 80s, much of Michael Jackson's music is on the soundtrack to my childhood. As you say, he was massively talented, and his songs are classics that will never be forgotten. I never really liked the "King of Pop" persona, but I can't deny that he had a huge impact on all genres of modern music.

However, you can't mention Michael Jackson without conjuring up memories of all the bizarre things he's done over the years. You mentioned Elvis, and I think it's an apt comparison. By the time they died, both of them were defined by their weirdness and excessiveness as much or more than they were by their music.

The tragedy of Michael Jackson's life is that he was horribly exploited as a child, and never managed to recover from it. He became a symbol of all the negative aspects of being a celebrity. Although I haven't considered myself a fan in 20 years, I am sad that his death means that his strange life is going to be picked apart by the press for everyone to see. I hope that he's found some measure of peace.