The real drama of Michael Jackson’s passing
July 6, 2009
There are many, many things that bother me about the passing of Michael Jackson.
First and foremost is the loss of an incredible entertainer. But I think I made my point of view on how amazing he was pretty clear already, so enough about that.
Second, that a mere week and a half after his passing, his children are already caught in a terrible, terrible game, used as pawns in the premiere of “Who Gets Michael Jackson’s money”. I wish there was something I could to help those poor kids, who have lost their dad.
Third, that the funeral service has a feel of an amazing ‘show’ that people want to attend rather than a spiritual event. Yes there are many fans who truly want to pay their respects, but there are also many (some we see on television) who, after getting tickets to the funeral service tomorrow, act more like they won tickets to a fun concert rather than a funeral service.
Fourth, that anything surrounding Michael Jackson is going to become a huge frenzy, and most probably, everyone and anyone is going to try to get their money’s worth (or their 15 minutes of fame).
I’m sure everyone reading this has already heard about the Neverland Ranch ‘ghost’ of Michael Jackson. We are now going to be drowned with ‘expert’ analysis within the next couple of days. Now while I love anything related to the paranormal and to Michael Jackson (and, understandably so, I’d be more than exciting to have Michael Jackson’s ghost hanging out at Neverland), this is bordering on ridiculous. Yes, we have lost a great entertainer. Yes, we want to pay our respects. But at what cost? We aren’t allowing the family to say their good-byes; we aren’t giving those poor kids the space they need to grieve; and we are barely paying attention to the coup in Honduras of the still ongoing aftermath of the elections in Iran.
I am again reminded of the words of Andrew Sullivan: this is the culture that we have created, the culture that contributed and fed Michael Jackson’s erratic behaviour, and the culture that sweeps aside the deaths of innocents and the casual dismissal of human rights to focus solely on an entertainer.
No wonder we’re in so much trouble.
Stevie Wonder tribute to Michael Jackson
July 2, 2009
A wonderful clip of Stevie Wonder singing an adapted version of ‘I just called to say I love you’ dedicated to Michael Jackson. He performed it during a press conference given at the Montreal Jazz Festival on June 30th 2009, during which he received a Spirit Award.
The Montreal Jazz Festival opened on Tuesday night with a free outdoor concert by Stevie Wonder, another Motown Records child prodigy.
He kicked off the over 2 hour long concert with a speech about Michael Jackson who, as we know, was his friend.
He talked about the legacy of Michael Jackson as being his music and his dancing; he talked about the often vicious rumours that have brought Michael Jackson down; he basically reminded us that Michael Jackson was, first and foremost, and human being, and we can each choose the way we interact with him.
Andrew Sullivan is right to be grieving the culture that created Michael Jackson and, ultimately, destroyed him – because it’s doing the same thing to everyone else.
I don’t know how many people actually listened to Stevie Wonder last night and heard the message: we should stop contributing to this mad culture which has already taken a lot from us.
To read more about the concert, go here, here, or here, or here.
Some clips:
And clips from the earlier sound check:
From CNN: “Columnist Andrew Sullivan, on his blog for The Nation magazine, wrote that he grieved for Jackson “but I also grieve for the culture that created and destroyed him.”
“That culture is ours, and it is a lethal and brutal one: With fame and celebrity as its core values, with money as its sole motive, it chewed this child up and spat him out,” Sullivan wrote. “I hope he has the peace now he never had in his life. And I pray that such genius will not be so abused again.” “
Read the original article here.
Another tribute to Michael Jackson from CEBU prison
June 27, 2009
Less appreciated Michael Jackson music
June 27, 2009
One good thing I hope Michael Jackson’s passing will result in is that less hardcore fans will rediscover some of his music – not the massive hits that everyone knows, but rather the other songs that didn’t get enough credit.
More specifically, I’m thinking about two songs that were on the ‘Invincible’ album.
The first one is the song ‘Whatever Happens’, which was a song he performed with Carlos Santana.
Then there is this one, a beautiful song that makes me cry almost every single time I listen to it (and obviously it made me cry today). It was written for all the lost children in the world, wishing them home safe and sound. While an official video clip was never produced, someone put together a collage of pictures of missing children, which makes the video all the more poignant. Someone else also created a video putting this song to the video clip of Michael Jackson’s song ‘Childhood’ and I found it beautiful, too… So I put them both up.
Warning: before playing this song, I suggest having a box of Kleenex’ around. Or two.
I was listening to ‘Heal the World’ when I received a great email from the Earth Institute (how apt). It read:
Dear Reader,
How will the world continue to meet its energy needs as the global population swells and economies grow? We will likely need some combination of energy efficiency, low-carbon alternatives like solar, wind and nuclear power, and technologies to make the burning of coal less damaging to our world’s climate.
At the Earth Institute, researchers are investigating strategies like carbon capture and sequestration that are a critical part of a climate-friendly energy future. This update, the first in our new series of redesigned e-newsletters, provides an introduction to our work on this subject.
Klaus Lackner, Director of the Earth Institute’s Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy
What a great idea! After all, knowledge is a prerequisite to action; without it, there is only a limited amount of things we can do for the environment.
I have to admit that the first webisode is pretty basic and at times a little childish. But it’s highly informative, easy to watch, and very easy to understand. It fulfills a great purpose. By making such a hot topic (pardon the pun) easily accessible to all ages and walks of life, the Earth Institute is empowering everyone and anyone to make the change and make the world a better place.
Great. Not I have ‘Man in the Mirror’ mixing up in my head with ‘Heal the World’. It’s going to be a long night.
Take a look at the first webisode here.
Lisa Marie Presley’s Blog Post about Michael Jackson
June 26, 2009
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
Find the original post here.
 |
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 |
The Life and Times of Michael Jackson
June 26, 2009
Excerpts from an article written by David Smyth for the London Evening standard.
Despite a bizarre life, Jacko was the greatest star of his time
The death of Michael Jackson at the age of just 50 should perhaps come as no surprise.
In the quarter of a century since his crowning achievement Thriller, which remains to this day the best-selling album of all time, the self-styled King of Pop’s life had spiralled out of control. (…) Yet what should not be obscured by those years of madness is that Jackson was the greatest pop singer and dancer of his era, responsible for some of the most famous pop songs of the past 30 or so years.
Jackson changed the face of the music industry. The then-nascent MTV was given its kick-start thanks to the 1982 release of Thriller, which has sold 59 million copies to date, and was accompanied by some of the most lavish and brilliant pop videos of all time. Jackson quite simply electrified the world when he debuted his Moonwalk.
He was born in Gary, Indiana, on 29 August 1958, the fifth of mother Katherine’s nine children. Despite the size of her brood, she had already marked him out as special. “I don’t believe in reincarnation,” she once said, “But you know how babies move uncoordinated? He never moved that way. When he danced, it was like an older person.” (…)
Jackson was still only six when the group secured their first gigs, playing in strip clubs and burlesque palaces in their hometown. By 1968, they had recorded their first single through a local record label. The big break came when singer Gladys Knight spotted them at a performance in Harlem and recommended them to Berry Gordy, founder and president of Motown.
A year later, the Jackson 5 had moved to California, released their first album Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, and enjoyed their first number one hit single I Want You Back, with an 11-year-old Michael Jackson singing lead vocals. They never looked back. Other hits quickly followed including ABC and I’ll Be There, transforming Jackson, still not even a teenager, into a recognisable star who could no longer walk down a street without attracting attention. Soon, the Jackson 5 had their own television series, a morning cartoon show and licensed merchandise. (…)
By 1972, Jackson had recorded his first solo album, including the hits Rockin’ Robin and his first solo number one single Ben. He was still only 14, a teenager ridiculed by his overbearing father for his pug nose and acne — stinging criticism that would lead later to his obsession with plastic surgery to alter his appearance.
The turning point that transformed Jackson from a teen sensation to worldwide superstar and a pop icon, however, was his decision to quit Motown and team up instead with producer Quincy Jones. He had met Jones while playing the Scarecrow in his first film The Wiz, a modern adaptation of The Wizard Of Oz, in 1978. A year later, their first album together Off the Wall went on to sell 19 million copies worldwide. It includes such hits as Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough and Rock With You. Jackson, who had been around seemingly for ever, was still only 21.
In November 1982, he released Thriller, which remains the biggest-selling album of all time and the single body of work for which he will be best remembered. It was a stunning, crowning achievement, producing such hits as Thriller, Billie Jean and Beat It.
(…)
His appearance started to alter, subtly at first. His skin appeared a little paler, his nose a little more aquiline. His best friend was his pet chimpanzee named Bubbles, who would wear matching outfits to his owner, and he took to wearing a surgical mask in public. Jackson was paying the price of his fame.
In 1994, after years without a girlfriend in sight and amid speculation he was asexual, Jackson suddenly married Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis. (…) It was a short-lived marriage — 19 months — prompting speculation he had only done it to avert attention from the first of the child sex scandals that were to engulf him. The year before, a 13-year-old boy Jordan Chandler accused him of sexual molestation. Jackson settled with the boy’s family out of court for a reported $20 million.
(…)
In an attempt to resurrect his career, he was persuaded to let the British journalist Martin Bashir into Neverland Ranch. He still invited children to share his bedroom, he confided to Bashir.
“It’s not sexual. I tuck them in, have hot milk, give them cookies. It’s very charming, it’s very sweet,” he explained.
Not everybody thought so. The latest revelations led to Jackson being charged with seven counts of child abuse, and a trial that mesmerised both the media and fans. He was subsequently acquitted in 2005 after a five-month long trial that featured celebrity witnesses Jay Leno and Macaulay Culkin and increasingly bizarre appearances from Jackson who would turn up to court wearing pyjamas.
Since then, he lurched from one crisis to another, his debts piling up — they were said to run to $300 million — and his beloved Neverland ranch was threatened with seizure. It wasn’t surprising then that he had been coaxed out of retirement by the AEG executives for 50 comeback shows at the O2 Arena. Gripped by stagefright, addicted to painkillers, he had told friends he never wanted the comeback gigs but he needed them to pull himself out of debt.
The astonishing thing is that despite the ridicule, the claims of abuse and the doubts over his health, millions of people were clamouring to see his comeback. Michael Jackson remained even in his final days the King of Pop. And no matter the scandal, they couldn’t take that away from him.
Read the complete article here.
‘Michael Jackson was much more than the King of Pop’
June 26, 2009
By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP MUSIC WRITER
NEW YORK — When Michael Jackson anointed himself “King of Pop” over two decades ago, there was considerable rumbling about his hubris: Yes, he may have become a world sensation with record-setting sales of “Thriller,” and yes, he may have had a string of No. 1 hits with smashes like “Billie Jean” and “Beat It,” but the KING OF ALL POP MUSIC?
Surely, in a modern music history that has given us Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Stevie Wonder and so many musical greats, that title was a more than a bit inflated.
But in actuality, Jackson understated his significance.
While his elaborate, stop-on-a-dime dance moves and sensual soprano may have influenced generations of musicians, Michael Jackson stood for much more than the pop greatness – or tabloid weirdness. One of entertainment’s greatest icons, he was a ridiculously gifted, equally troubled genius who kept us captivated – at his most dazzling, and at his most appalling.
At the height of his fame, he was among the world’s most beloved figures. Heads of state clamored to meet him, screen legends like Elizabeth Taylor were his close friends, and worldwide, simply the mention of his name could make people do the moonwalk, from Los Angeles to Laos (The New York Times once accurately described him as one of the six most famous people on the planet).
His whispery, high-pitched speaking voice was constantly imitated, his fedora hat on his lean frame instantly recognizable, his childlike image endearing.
He influenced artists ranging from Justin Timberlake to Madonna, from rock to pop to R&B to even rap, across genres and groups that no other artist was able to unite. He changed music videos with “Thriller” in 1983, still considered by most to be the greatest music video ever made. Stars like Beyonce still mimic his moves. His one glove, white socks and glittery jackets made him a fashion trendsetter, making androgyny seem sexy and even safe.
Almost everyone wanted that Michael Jackson connection (and those who didn’t were afraid to say so out loud). His celebrity and adoration was staggering.
So when his image began to crumble, becoming twisted and disturbed, that aspect, too, was larger than life. His multiple plastic surgeries and his vitiligo illness, which saw him transform from a masculine looking black man to a wispy, pale-faced, almost noseless figure, was held up as the standard for bad plastic surgery, a freakish-looking character.
His eccentric behavior left people confused, and when allegations (and later criminal charges) that accused him of sexually molesting two separate boys surfaced on two separate occasions, people were repelled by his alleged behavior and the man that their former idol had become.
And yet, it was hard to look away.
Read the rest of this great article here.
