tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326339.post2545270475599339372..comments2023-10-21T07:14:37.880-07:00Comments on Jazz: The Music of Unemployment: We are the world, and we suckAndrew Durkinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11471871547839907538noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326339.post-722802950737014372009-07-01T07:49:30.279-07:002009-07-01T07:49:30.279-07:00Great post Andrew. Sullivan's obit sums up wh...Great post Andrew. Sullivan's obit sums up what I've been saying, which is that essentially Michael has been mostly dead for years now, a walking (and occasionally dancing) corpse if you will. Only now are we grieving for the man, when we should have been grieving for him all along. Instead we marveled at the circus that he quite literally created for himself. Now that he is really truly dead, we all grieve. But are we actually grieving the loss of a man who was a genius of music and movement? Or are we grieving the loss of the circus which we won't get to watch anymore?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11815804649501530258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326339.post-13425310155664055292009-06-29T20:51:43.966-07:002009-06-29T20:51:43.966-07:00One more thing: a few commenters seem to take it a...One more thing: a few commenters seem to take it as a given that he was a pedophile. Of course, he showed no concern about behavior that would contribute to this impression, but it strikes me as telling to contrast this with the lengths to which he supposedly went to conceal his sexual relationships with adult men. Anyway, for what it's worth, the more I read about him, the more I feel that he probably wasn't one.Anonymous #2noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326339.post-43142079753584331442009-06-28T10:20:21.483-07:002009-06-28T10:20:21.483-07:00Everyone needs friends, friends who will give you ...Everyone needs friends, friends who will give you reality checks every once in a while like, "Dude, that's just stupid." I suspect Michael didn't have these kind of friends, or couldn't handle them. Sad that so many greats die early. Absolute Power corrupts absolutely.The Dissonancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09160734938372753738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326339.post-46161075767733388402009-06-28T09:04:31.369-07:002009-06-28T09:04:31.369-07:00Many thanks, all, for reading.
Anonymous no. 2: I...Many thanks, all, for reading.<br /><br />Anonymous no. 2: I agree that the abuse was the root problem. But I also think the two problems (abuse / celebrity culture) were interrelated, especially if you go back to Jackson Sr.'s motivations for sending his kids down this path in the first place. I don't want to make too many calls from the sidelines here, but it seems clear to me that any parent who gets caught up in that sort of thing (I notice this in the pageant culture Moms too) has their own self-esteem issues, and they see the potential stardom of their kid as a solution to that. But why? Because of all of the power and prestige that seems to accrue in the celebrity world, I think.<br /><br />I'm also partial to the Jackson 5 era stuff, though I do like many tracks from the <i>Off The Wall</i> and <i>Thriller</i> era.Andrew Durkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11471871547839907538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326339.post-49294760939427595942009-06-27T13:43:30.429-07:002009-06-27T13:43:30.429-07:00Yes, a powerfully written post, and yet, and yet.....Yes, a powerfully written post, and yet, and yet...I suspect the celebrity stuff was less important than than the physical abuse, which is a common enough problem, independent of the former, and the victims of which often end up much, much worse off than Michael did. <br /><br />As for the idea of celebrity culture going away, well, I think I've linked to the relevant essay in one too many blogs (maybe even here), but you can google "Krugman" and "celebrity economy" if you're curious.<br /><br />I have always loved the Jackson 5, whereas my reaction to the later hits was mainly, "God, what happened to his voice?" Though, (in case you're actually interested in reading more about him) <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/06/ann-powers-jackson-was-one-man-with-a-thousand-public-personas.html" rel="nofollow">this article</a> by Anne Powers in today's Calendar section makes me curious about some of those later songs...<br /><br />Anyway, Sullivan has been on a roll lately, hasn't he? Almost makes me forgive him for being such a c. back in 2003 or so. Almost.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326339.post-42778781565806700322009-06-27T00:03:10.100-07:002009-06-27T00:03:10.100-07:00Love this existential post. I wish I had as much ...Love this existential post. I wish I had as much compassion as you do.<br /><br />BTW, thats not me in that video. NOT me...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326339.post-46054661570074555922009-06-26T21:37:42.824-07:002009-06-26T21:37:42.824-07:00I think a story told by Cousin Brucie (!) is emble...I think a story told by Cousin Brucie (!) is emblematic of Jackson's sad life and the media's misunderstanding of his predicament/pathology.<br /><br />Brucie said he went, with a camera crew, to interview Michael Jackson when Jackson was about eight years old. Jackson, most assuredly exhausted from touring, making personal appearances, etc., was napping. Joe Jackson, however, insisted that he wake up, come downstairs and do the interview.<br /><br />Brucie laughed. He thought it was funny and cute, but it's a small slice of what ultimately drove Michael Jackson insane. Let the kid sleep! He's eight!<br /><br />Most folks would channel their childhood angst into more socially acceptable tics and quirks, but Michael Jackson had enough money to indulge/cover up his grotesque fantasies. Some of them might seem cute at first glance ("He has a zoo at his house! For the children!"), but if any middle-aged man in my neighborhood did that, we'd peg him as a perv in an instant.<br /><br />A tragic man, a horrible man, a supremely talented man, until his past got the best of him.<br /><br />(And why did I write all this? Off the Wall is great and all, but ...)Mr. Tapewormhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05691371853224287439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326339.post-51030909903687371202009-06-26T19:04:08.278-07:002009-06-26T19:04:08.278-07:00Wow. I have enjoyed your writing for a while now, ...Wow. I have enjoyed your writing for a while now, Andrew, but this is something else. Of all the MJ talk I've heard and read in the last 24 hours this is by far the most powerful. And disturbing (in the way I think you meant it to be).<br /><br />Wow.Jason Parkerhttp://oneworkingmusician.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326339.post-49383395574395999332009-06-26T18:01:14.140-07:002009-06-26T18:01:14.140-07:00Good post, I clicked through via a facebook commen...Good post, I clicked through via a facebook comment...what a life...Stephanie Hanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05436291491636218103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326339.post-50347686408689725712009-06-26T10:42:08.871-07:002009-06-26T10:42:08.871-07:00Excellent post.Excellent post.Bradnoreply@blogger.com