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Michael Jackson dead at age 50


Mike

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It's not so much the person as the 'legacy' - his music has been such an important part of people's lives that his death is like losing a little bit of yourself. It's how it feels to me, anyway. Dangerous was one of the first cassettes I bought (and wore out) when I was 5 or 6 or 7. The videos for Remember the Time, Who Is It, In the Closet etc. were perpetually playing on whichever music channel was around in 1991. I wrote in to a music request show asking them to play one of his songs and I remember it being read out by my very favourite VJ and her choosing to play Black or White instead of Remember the Time. I haven't listened to MJ for eons, but his music and especially that album are a part of who I am, y'know?

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My first record purchase was Gary Glitter's "Rock'n' Roll". I can still recall his early 70s Top Of the Pops appearances for "I'm The Leader Of The Gang (I Am)" and "I Love You Love". I appreciate his musical and pop cultural legacy, whilst acknowledging that,on balance, his legacy to humankind is somewhat less impressive. One day Gary Glitter will die. Should I mourn him, as I might the death of brother or favourite uncle? No; I should get things into perspective.

My youthful experiences of The Clash and, moreso, Killing Joke are of important sentimental value to me and undoubtedly played some small part in shaping the "me" that I have become. But the deaths of such people is not in any way comparable to losing one's nearest and dearest. It's a degree of regret several times removed from that kind of cold, cruel reality. Well, that's my experience anyway.

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But you feel terrible cos it's so sudden (though not unsurprising) and the person's been in the public eye for so long that, while they aren't your nearest and dearest, they're pretty 'dear'. Also, I feel a bit sad that, besides music, everyone equates MJ with paedophilia now, happily ignoring any and all charity work he's done. So Heal the World and Man in the Mirror *poof* from people's memories and he becomes a joke and I find it v. sad :(

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I don't quite think that Gary Glitter had the same impact on the world of music that Michael jackson has had. I'd find it very odd indeed if you mourned for him the way the world will mourn for Jackson.

I'm no fan of Jackson's music, not a serious one anyway. I was a fan when he was a child with the Jackson 5 of course. And you couldn't dream up a more controversial personal life than he had. But, the effect and influence the man had on the world of music is undeniable, and huge. And Radhi's right, the man did a lot of good too.

To be honest the end of his life is just as tragic, sad and unfortunate as his entire life was. I hope that he rests in peace, and my thoughts are with his family and children.

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edna, you might understand this feeling .... He was 2 years younger than myself, and I remember being amazed and transfixed watching this little kid, not so very different than I, singing, and dancing, and entertaining, and he was a just a kid, like me. I guess maybe I've always felt a bit close because it almost felt as though we grew up together.

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I don't quite think that Gary Glitter had the same impact on the world of music that Michael jackson has had. I'd find it very odd indeed if you mourned for him the way the world will mourn for Jackson.

You're undeniably right. Maybe I wasn't making my point very clearly; somebody made some music that I appreciated, maybe had some kind of formative effect, whether in childhood or in adulthood; so what? Their eventual death is an inevitability, not a tragedy. I simply can't grasp the concept of "a world in mourning", when there are so many other real occurrences worth grieving over.

To be honest the end of his life is just as tragic, sad and unfortunate as his entire life was. I hope that he rests in peace, and my thoughts are with his family and children.
Well put.
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considering the arguments above for how people feel personally attached to a music star and get depressed, etc. over their death... I sat here and put Roger in the place of MJ, and me in the place of those grieving fans. What I would feel if/when Roger dies (hopefully many many years in the future!) is a sense of loss of a friend, not because he IS a friend, but because he brought me so much happiness. Every concert was a party, and every party we have there's Roger music playing. He's an excuse to take a weekend trip out of town to attend his "parties" at another location. My nephew played his song as their first dance at his wedding. Any way you slice it, Roger is a part of my life. And if he was suddenly taken away in a permanent fashion, I would be devastated. I would grieve, right along with the best of 'em.

So I get it. (not the suicide part... but I get the part that drives people to that point)

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The Top 10 Songs of the Day are all Michael today.

Like Muzik said, the guy was sensational in his teen years, and he actually lived up to his potential and became the greatest Pop Star of the '80s and early '90s. It was those last 15 years when the world closed in on him.

Watching the ABC retrospective, I was amazed at how defiant he was about his behavior, never apologizing for the sleepovers or admitting doing anything wrong. I think he's a classic case of a tortured artist whose talent came at a price. He just didn't fit in with the real world, which allowed him to transcend it.

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Very true Carl...He did live his life as a "fantasy" and not in the real world...I guess it's mostly because he never had the chance to have a normal childhood....He was pressured by his father ever since a young age to be "perfect"...which is probably part of the reason why he ended up being so messed up....

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50yrs old is so young, I'm just in shock right now, cause he's only a few yrs older than me. I remember the first album my mom ever brought us was the live J5 album with Bill "Scoop Newsworthy" Cosby doing the narration, we wore the album out!! Michael Jackson was a phenomenal talent and yesterday the music world lost a true and gifted great! There never has been anyone else like him and never will be.....Gone Too Soon!

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I'm another fan that grew up with Michael Jackson. Tho I didn't approve of his behavior in his later years, I always kinda felt sorry for him.

I wasn't really surprised by his death because he's looked so sickly for so many years it was just sad to hear not a shock tho.

Money can't but everything was so true in his case. He was one of the most talented men in the world and IMHO one of the saddest. I don't think he could deal with reality at all. I think the only time he was really happy was when he could pretend he was a little boy.

He'll go down in history as one of the greatest musical geniuses of our time but he paid a very high price to get there.

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I am constantly surprised at what the shock jockeys will say and how quickly they toss it out. They had Detroit's 101.1 WRIF on at work this morning. The two morons on there, Drew and Mike (I loathe these guys), on about Jackson dying of food poisoning and I'll leave it to you to figure out the rest. But I winced as they were chortling about it. Chrissakes, someone did die...

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It's one of those "be careful what you wish for" scenarios. I saw a thing on him yesterday that said he wanted to emulate PT Barnum as an entertainer, and that he wanted to be the most talked about, remembered, and possibly controversial entertainer of his time.

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Apparently Lisa Marie has recalled ( and posted ) a conversation with him where he stated that he understood and hoped to 'go out' like Elvis rather than any other way ...mind you this is a 15 year old conversation , but I guess it stuck with her , and was a bit of what she didn't want to be a part of anymore .

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There's only ever been one "King of Rock" so why on earth would there need to be another "King of Pop"?

For the record, Kevin, Lisa Marie's post from her Myspace blog is below. She actually says he was afraid he would end up like Elvis.

Friday, June 26, 2009

He Knew.

Years ago Michael and I were having a deep conversation about life in general.

I can't recall the exact subject matter but he may have been questioning me about the circumstances of my Fathers Death.

At some point he paused, he stared at me very intensely and he stated with an almost calm certainty, "I am afraid that I am going to end up like him, the way he did."

I promptly tried to deter him from the idea, at which point he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded almost matter of fact as if to let me know, he knew what he knew and that was kind of that.

14 years later I am sitting here watching on the news an ambulance leaves the driveway of his home, the big gates, the crowds outside the gates, the coverage, the crowds outside the hospital, the Cause of death and what may have led up to it and the memory of this conversation hit me, as did the unstoppable tears.

A predicted ending by him, by loved ones and by me, but what I didn't predict was how much it was going to hurt when it finally happened.

The person I failed to help is being transferred right now to the LA County Coroners office for his Autopsy.

All of my indifference and detachment that I worked so hard to achieve over the years has just gone into the bowels of hell and right now I am gutted.

I am going to say now what I have never said before because I want the truth out there for once.

Our relationship was not "a sham" as is being reported in the press. It was an unusual relationship yes, where two unusual people who did not live or know a "Normal life" found a connection, perhaps with some suspect timing on his part. Nonetheless, I do believe he loved me as much as he could love anyone and I loved him very much.

I wanted to "save him" I wanted to save him from the inevitable which is what has just happened.

His family and his loved ones also wanted to save him from this as well but didn't know how and this was 14 years ago. We all worried that this would be the outcome then.

At that time, In trying to save him, I almost lost myself.

He was an incredibly dynamic force and power that was not to be underestimated.

When he used it for something good, It was the best and when he used it for something bad, It was really, REALLY bad.

Mediocrity was not a concept that would even for a second enter Michael Jackson's being or actions.

I became very ill and emotionally/ spiritually exhausted in my quest to save him from certain self-destructive behavior and from the awful vampires and leeches he would always manage to magnetize around him.

I was in over my head while trying.

I had my children to care for, I had to make a decision.

The hardest decision I have ever had to make, which was to walk away and let his fate have him, even though I desperately loved him and tried to stop or reverse it somehow.

After the Divorce, I spent a few years obsessing about him and what I could have done different, in regret.

Then I spent some angry years at the whole situation.

At some point, I truly became Indifferent, until now.

As I sit here overwhelmed with sadness, reflection and confusion at what was my biggest failure to date, watching on the news almost play by play The exact Scenario I saw happen on August 16th, 1977 happening again right now with Michael (A sight I never wanted to see again) just as he predicted, I am truly, truly gutted.

Any ill experience or words I have felt towards him in the past has just died inside of me along with him.

He was an amazing person and I am lucky to have gotten as close to him as I did and to have had the many experiences and years that we had together.

I desperately hope that he can be relieved from his pain, pressure and turmoil now.

He deserves to be free from all of that and I hope he is in a better place or will be.

I also hope that anyone else who feels they have failed to help him can be set free because he hopefully finally is.

The World is in shock but somehow he knew exactly how his fate would be played out some day more than anyone else knew, and he was right.

I really needed to say this right now, thanks for listening.

~LMP

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