interesting and balanced article about mj
Jackson’s Pop Magic Turned to Eccentric Freak Show: Commentary
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Commentary by Mark Beech
June 27 (Bloomberg) -- Now that he’s no longer with us, the hesitant speech Michael Jackson gave to the world’s media and a few thousand fans back in March has assumed extra significance.
“See you all in July,” he told reporters and 2,000 cheering fans at London’s O2 -- words that will no longer come true, with the 50 sell-out shows at the 20,000-seat venue canceled.
“This is it,” he told us. He repeated that. “This is really it.” That at least was true. It was “the final curtain call.”
I already was wondering how my review of the first night might read. We could expect the music to sound pristine, like a greatest-hits CD. The show was certain to be spectacular, with a fragile Jackson looking pasty-faced as he moonwalked during a no doubt peerless rendition of “Billie Jean.”
Looking back at the King of Pop’s career, it’s easy in retrospect to see warnings of his decline. Even in his concert announcement, which was inexplicably delayed for hours. Rather than giving a news conference as we had hoped, Jackson made the briefest of halting announcements, turned on his shiny heels and left. Many reporters were asking “what was all that about?”
Much the same has been asked about his marriage to Lisa Marie Presley (why?), his sale of the Neverland Ranch (what happened?) and his changing skin color (how?).
Crystal Glove
What was all that about a lawsuit filed by a Bahraini prince who had sued Jackson over a $7 million advance? (Jackson settled and didn’t testify.) Or that on-off Jackson memorabilia sale? (Julien’s Auctions said it had an agreement to sell items including the singer’s trademark crystal-covered glove, Rolls- Royce and faux-military uniforms, then called the whole thing off after the star’s attorneys stepped in.)
Jacko’s career is a cautionary story about the perils of A- list celebrity. Compare and contrast with the case of Elvis Presley, where the star’s uncurbed desires led to his death.
If absolute power corrupts, absolute pop fame combined with limitless amounts of money corrupts absolutely. Especially if there’s no adviser who will say “No Michael,” when you come up with the worst idea ever. Or even when such advice is ignored.
“I want my best friend to be a monkey.” “I want to sleep in an oxygen tent.” “I want to look like Liz Taylor.” “I want kids to sleep over at my mansion.” Whatever the truth, he should have listened to the critics who wrote, “bad idea.”
Shopping Excursions
Every time I saw Jackson I was struck by his remoteness from reality. Only a star who lives in Cloud Cuckoo Land, or Neverland, can order London stores to give him exclusive shopping evenings so he can spend loads of money fulfilling his childhood wishes. I was in the crowd on Regent Street outside Hamleys Toy Shop hoping to throw a question at the star as he emerged and dodged the flashbulbs after one such spree.
A few cynical music retailers may be pleased by the news. They can expect Jacko’s sales to leap just as they did after the deaths of John Lennon and Presley. Jackson, who died aged 50, sold 750 million records in his lifetime.
Like Maria Callas, maybe he couldn’t bear getting old. Both are frozen in time. Perhaps the most scary relic is the “Thriller” video in which Jackson’s transformation is a spooky reflection of his own physical and psychological changes.
The real tragedy is how the happy, chubby kid who sprung to fame with such Jackson Five gems as “ABC” went on to become a pale shadow of his former self, a one-man freak show.
What he should be remembered for is his music. Long after all the weirdness has faded, “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” and “Bad” will be blasting out of radios and making future generations smile. Yet the eccentricity overshadows the musical legacy in headlines right now, and probably will continue to do so as more revelations inevitably come out in the weeks ahead.
Pumping Prime
Remember him by playing “Thriller” in any of its many versions (it has been reissued a few times with bonus tracks) or “Number Ones,” which has almost every Jackson song that matters.
It will disturb many fans to put on a CD of Jackson at his prime pumping out “Beat It” or the genius of “Off the Wall.”
Or “Billie Jean,” which is as close to purest pop perfection as anything in the 1980s (or maybe any decade).
Listen to that pulsating drum beat, the slabs of synth and then that lyric: “And mother always told me be careful of who you love/ And be careful of what you do ‘cause the lie becomes the truth.” Exactly. Sad.
(Mark Beech writes for Bloomberg News and is the author of “The Dictionary of Rock and Pop Names.” The opinions expressed are his own.)
Share | Email | Print | A A A
Commentary by Mark Beech
June 27 (Bloomberg) -- Now that he’s no longer with us, the hesitant speech Michael Jackson gave to the world’s media and a few thousand fans back in March has assumed extra significance.
“See you all in July,” he told reporters and 2,000 cheering fans at London’s O2 -- words that will no longer come true, with the 50 sell-out shows at the 20,000-seat venue canceled.
“This is it,” he told us. He repeated that. “This is really it.” That at least was true. It was “the final curtain call.”
I already was wondering how my review of the first night might read. We could expect the music to sound pristine, like a greatest-hits CD. The show was certain to be spectacular, with a fragile Jackson looking pasty-faced as he moonwalked during a no doubt peerless rendition of “Billie Jean.”
Looking back at the King of Pop’s career, it’s easy in retrospect to see warnings of his decline. Even in his concert announcement, which was inexplicably delayed for hours. Rather than giving a news conference as we had hoped, Jackson made the briefest of halting announcements, turned on his shiny heels and left. Many reporters were asking “what was all that about?”
Much the same has been asked about his marriage to Lisa Marie Presley (why?), his sale of the Neverland Ranch (what happened?) and his changing skin color (how?).
Crystal Glove
What was all that about a lawsuit filed by a Bahraini prince who had sued Jackson over a $7 million advance? (Jackson settled and didn’t testify.) Or that on-off Jackson memorabilia sale? (Julien’s Auctions said it had an agreement to sell items including the singer’s trademark crystal-covered glove, Rolls- Royce and faux-military uniforms, then called the whole thing off after the star’s attorneys stepped in.)
Jacko’s career is a cautionary story about the perils of A- list celebrity. Compare and contrast with the case of Elvis Presley, where the star’s uncurbed desires led to his death.
If absolute power corrupts, absolute pop fame combined with limitless amounts of money corrupts absolutely. Especially if there’s no adviser who will say “No Michael,” when you come up with the worst idea ever. Or even when such advice is ignored.
“I want my best friend to be a monkey.” “I want to sleep in an oxygen tent.” “I want to look like Liz Taylor.” “I want kids to sleep over at my mansion.” Whatever the truth, he should have listened to the critics who wrote, “bad idea.”
Shopping Excursions
Every time I saw Jackson I was struck by his remoteness from reality. Only a star who lives in Cloud Cuckoo Land, or Neverland, can order London stores to give him exclusive shopping evenings so he can spend loads of money fulfilling his childhood wishes. I was in the crowd on Regent Street outside Hamleys Toy Shop hoping to throw a question at the star as he emerged and dodged the flashbulbs after one such spree.
A few cynical music retailers may be pleased by the news. They can expect Jacko’s sales to leap just as they did after the deaths of John Lennon and Presley. Jackson, who died aged 50, sold 750 million records in his lifetime.
Like Maria Callas, maybe he couldn’t bear getting old. Both are frozen in time. Perhaps the most scary relic is the “Thriller” video in which Jackson’s transformation is a spooky reflection of his own physical and psychological changes.
The real tragedy is how the happy, chubby kid who sprung to fame with such Jackson Five gems as “ABC” went on to become a pale shadow of his former self, a one-man freak show.
What he should be remembered for is his music. Long after all the weirdness has faded, “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” and “Bad” will be blasting out of radios and making future generations smile. Yet the eccentricity overshadows the musical legacy in headlines right now, and probably will continue to do so as more revelations inevitably come out in the weeks ahead.
Pumping Prime
Remember him by playing “Thriller” in any of its many versions (it has been reissued a few times with bonus tracks) or “Number Ones,” which has almost every Jackson song that matters.
It will disturb many fans to put on a CD of Jackson at his prime pumping out “Beat It” or the genius of “Off the Wall.”
Or “Billie Jean,” which is as close to purest pop perfection as anything in the 1980s (or maybe any decade).
Listen to that pulsating drum beat, the slabs of synth and then that lyric: “And mother always told me be careful of who you love/ And be careful of what you do ‘cause the lie becomes the truth.” Exactly. Sad.
(Mark Beech writes for Bloomberg News and is the author of “The Dictionary of Rock and Pop Names.” The opinions expressed are his own.)