R.I.P. Michael Jackson
Well, OK. I'm a bit numb really. I'd compare it to how I felt when Elvis died, but I had pretty much never given a shit about Elvis at that time, and only developed an appreciation for his music/acting/scandal/weirdness much later, whereas Michael Jackson has been a presence all my life, and I went through a couple of rounds of liking him and despising him. I've been over Thriller for more than 20 years; it's a fine example of how even good music can become unpleasant to me through overplay.
I still really love Off the Wall, though, and will defend its awesomeness with tooth and claw.
Also I'm glad that I saw MJ perform live twice - once in 1980, and once in 1985, I believe - both times with the rest of the Jacksons. And they were two of the best shows I've ever seen, to this very day. The 1980 one was practically religious; they had a huge video screen and they showed the video for "Can You Feel It?" before the band hit the stage. I'd almost never seen a video before - in fact, I'm not sure I HAD ever seen a video before (I'm pretty sure that my first real one, "Once in a Lifetime" by the Talking Heads, was viewed on the pre-Teletunes video show "FM-TV" on Channel 12 in 1981) and it blew my fucking mind. I cried and shit. It was rad. And then they all came out wearing so many sequins and it was all so dazzling and I really just thought I'd explode.
Michael's such a weird phenom, though. I have vacillated wildly on my outlook toward him over the years. Right now, though, I'm shocked and sad, and really concerned about his children, and wondering what will become of them. Please, let them not end up like Peaches Geldof. Please, Lord, no, anything but that.
So yeah everybody's gonna be digging up their favorite Jackson hits and memories and I kind of look forward to that - as well as the horrifically nasty gallows humor that's already in full force. Naked hatred, though, I'm not so into; nor slavish devotion and praise. Tears are coming out now as I experience shared emotions, but I'm not going to lose it over this one (though the one-two punch of Michael and Farrah Fawcett on the same day - and I love me some Farrah, even more so after seeing her awesome cameo in So NoTORIous when she comes over to Tori's apartment hoping to borrow a potato, and Tori mistakenly thinks that Farrah is asking for pot and is all scandalized - is quite a bit to take). I'll honor the best parts of Michael by listening to my favorite tunes, and keep in mind, as I can't help but do, the amount of torture and suffering and loneliness that went into that sparkly booty music.
Apparently there's going to be a memorial Michael Jackson karaoke bike ride this evening - and man, I wish I could participate in that! That sounds awesome! If you're in Portland and you see a mob of freaks on bikes, singing and crying, those are my people.
I still really love Off the Wall, though, and will defend its awesomeness with tooth and claw.
Also I'm glad that I saw MJ perform live twice - once in 1980, and once in 1985, I believe - both times with the rest of the Jacksons. And they were two of the best shows I've ever seen, to this very day. The 1980 one was practically religious; they had a huge video screen and they showed the video for "Can You Feel It?" before the band hit the stage. I'd almost never seen a video before - in fact, I'm not sure I HAD ever seen a video before (I'm pretty sure that my first real one, "Once in a Lifetime" by the Talking Heads, was viewed on the pre-Teletunes video show "FM-TV" on Channel 12 in 1981) and it blew my fucking mind. I cried and shit. It was rad. And then they all came out wearing so many sequins and it was all so dazzling and I really just thought I'd explode.
Michael's such a weird phenom, though. I have vacillated wildly on my outlook toward him over the years. Right now, though, I'm shocked and sad, and really concerned about his children, and wondering what will become of them. Please, let them not end up like Peaches Geldof. Please, Lord, no, anything but that.
So yeah everybody's gonna be digging up their favorite Jackson hits and memories and I kind of look forward to that - as well as the horrifically nasty gallows humor that's already in full force. Naked hatred, though, I'm not so into; nor slavish devotion and praise. Tears are coming out now as I experience shared emotions, but I'm not going to lose it over this one (though the one-two punch of Michael and Farrah Fawcett on the same day - and I love me some Farrah, even more so after seeing her awesome cameo in So NoTORIous when she comes over to Tori's apartment hoping to borrow a potato, and Tori mistakenly thinks that Farrah is asking for pot and is all scandalized - is quite a bit to take). I'll honor the best parts of Michael by listening to my favorite tunes, and keep in mind, as I can't help but do, the amount of torture and suffering and loneliness that went into that sparkly booty music.
Apparently there's going to be a memorial Michael Jackson karaoke bike ride this evening - and man, I wish I could participate in that! That sounds awesome! If you're in Portland and you see a mob of freaks on bikes, singing and crying, those are my people.