A Few Thoughts On Michael Jackson
My views on the death of Michael Jackson may piss some folks off. These are my opinions and in no way reflect the opinions of the station or management.
Let me just start out by saying I am old. I am years older than most of my friends and acquaintences. Some by a few year and some by 20 years or more. My views on Michael Jackson are colored by my age I suppose…
I was 15 years old when the Jackson 5 had their first hits. I liked them. It was fun, happy pop music that never did anyone any harm. I still sing along with ‘I Want You Back’ and ‘A-B-C’ and the like and I think that stuff holds up remarkably well all these years later.
When his solo career began, I was grown. I had a family and responsibilities. My daughter was a year old when Thriller came out. I, of course, heard his music and watched the videos. It was good, though not really my cuppa tea. As far as I was concerned, he was just another pop star of no real significance. To my ears, there was much better music out there. His stuff was essentially dance music, and I don’t dance, so why bother?
Then Michael went all weird. I won’t go into that stuff. Everyone knows about it already and I don’t particularly feel the need to rehash it. His ‘troubles’ overshadowed his music then and a lot of ways, still does. When I think about Michael Jackson, what do I think about? Do I think about ‘Thriller’ and ‘Bad’ or do I think about old weird Michael with his plastic surgeries, his genetically engineered children wearing masks and him sleeping with kids and monkeys? I have to honestly say it is mostly the latter.
And now he’s dead. I hate it. He died young. Things like that suck and they suck hard. I hate it for all the folks out there who are feeling a sense of loss due to his passing.
Tonight, I tuned into the NBC evening news. The first 22 minutes of the 30 minute news broadcast was on Jackson’s passing. At 5:52 pm (cst) they did one minute on the Iranian situation and another minute on a bombing in Iraq and then broke for a commercial, after which they finished out the half hour with more Michael Jackson coverage. Twenty eight minutes of the national news (not counting commercials) of a 30 minute show was devoted to Michael Jackson. Is this truly the most important thing that happened in the world today? To some, maybe. To me, not in the least. He was just another entertainer. He was a good one I suppose and in some fields, quite influential, but in the grand scheme of things, he was a guy who could sing, dance, write some songs and he beat the odds and became a star. As an entertainer myself, I envy his success and I hate that the talented kid grew up to be such a fucked up adult.
So rest in peace ya weirdo. I hate to hear you are dead.
Let me just start out by saying I am old. I am years older than most of my friends and acquaintences. Some by a few year and some by 20 years or more. My views on Michael Jackson are colored by my age I suppose…
I was 15 years old when the Jackson 5 had their first hits. I liked them. It was fun, happy pop music that never did anyone any harm. I still sing along with ‘I Want You Back’ and ‘A-B-C’ and the like and I think that stuff holds up remarkably well all these years later.
When his solo career began, I was grown. I had a family and responsibilities. My daughter was a year old when Thriller came out. I, of course, heard his music and watched the videos. It was good, though not really my cuppa tea. As far as I was concerned, he was just another pop star of no real significance. To my ears, there was much better music out there. His stuff was essentially dance music, and I don’t dance, so why bother?
Then Michael went all weird. I won’t go into that stuff. Everyone knows about it already and I don’t particularly feel the need to rehash it. His ‘troubles’ overshadowed his music then and a lot of ways, still does. When I think about Michael Jackson, what do I think about? Do I think about ‘Thriller’ and ‘Bad’ or do I think about old weird Michael with his plastic surgeries, his genetically engineered children wearing masks and him sleeping with kids and monkeys? I have to honestly say it is mostly the latter.
And now he’s dead. I hate it. He died young. Things like that suck and they suck hard. I hate it for all the folks out there who are feeling a sense of loss due to his passing.
Tonight, I tuned into the NBC evening news. The first 22 minutes of the 30 minute news broadcast was on Jackson’s passing. At 5:52 pm (cst) they did one minute on the Iranian situation and another minute on a bombing in Iraq and then broke for a commercial, after which they finished out the half hour with more Michael Jackson coverage. Twenty eight minutes of the national news (not counting commercials) of a 30 minute show was devoted to Michael Jackson. Is this truly the most important thing that happened in the world today? To some, maybe. To me, not in the least. He was just another entertainer. He was a good one I suppose and in some fields, quite influential, but in the grand scheme of things, he was a guy who could sing, dance, write some songs and he beat the odds and became a star. As an entertainer myself, I envy his success and I hate that the talented kid grew up to be such a fucked up adult.
So rest in peace ya weirdo. I hate to hear you are dead.