The morning after Princess Diana died, my husband woke me from a deep sleep and thrust the newspaper in my hands. It didn't seem quite real, and I remember thinking that only the deaths of Madonna or Michael Jackson would have been more shocking.
It's an understatement to say that Michael Jackson was a complicated figure - a crazy talented human being who belongs on pop culture's Mount Rushmore. I can't imagine what popular music would sound like without him. As his story became increasingly bizarre and tawdry, I wanted to believe that the handsome icon of my youth was separate from the facially unrecognizable tabloid fixture of the last 15-plus years. Genius and darkness often go together, but the disconnect between what I hoped and what I suspected was pretty extreme in this case.
As I wrote last year, seeing other artists attempt to pay tribute to M.J. - something we'll be seeing plenty of in the days ahead - has always been a little sad. It will be even moreso now.
I'm going to go listen to "Off The Wall," easily one of the best R&B albums ever made. I never get tired of listening to it.
8 comments:
Yeah, major disconnect between talent and personality. I mean, Billie Jean is, bar none, the most carefully crafted pop song of all time. You put that track on, I don't care, everyone will dance. But then you've got MJ the creepy kiddie toucher. I don't even know what to say.
It's so hard to reconcile, isn't it? I know he was never convicted, but at the very least, he displayed abysmal judgment.
I suspect we'll hear a lot more details in the coming days, now that he's not around to pay folks off.
Oh, yes. This is just the tip of a large, strange iceberg.
DTG- Nah, I don't think that much more stuff will come out...the family is still around to "protect his legacy" Especially crazy mean old Papa Joe.
Also, EDP, I was *in London* when Princess Diana died. You have no idea of the true depths of the madness...
Oh, MAN. You have got to tell me about that the next time I see you. Americans were hysterical, so I can only imagine what that situation was like.
Totally. We need to have another coffee outing or lunch or something.
Yes, let's do that soon! I'll send emails.
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