R.I.P. Michael Jackson

[vaberella]

That was my dude. I'm 29 and I can say he was a fundamental part of my growing up years. I remember having my mum buy me a red jacket so I can pretend I was in Beat It. This is really heartbreaking for me. I am truly upset over this.

I don't care about the drama in his life, I realize that his years as a child were not sweet and he suffered greatly. However, as a performer he was a man who delivered and if at times he wasn't happy, he made others around the world happy.

My condolences go out to his family and as a fan I will be a fan until I die and raise my children as fans of his work. As he can continue in body he will live on for infamy in spirit. His music and abilities will be mimicked for time eternal as they have been during the time he lived. Performers like Usher, Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown, and countless boy bands, and even female performers idolized him and continued his legacy and that will go on and on even my lifetime, I believe.

So as a final statement:

A video of one of my favorite songs!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_hz2am90Hk

[firedupdem]

1. +1

We have been jamming to his songs all evening. I'm torn up too. All his songs remind me of growing up and different really important times in my life.
RIP Michael! You changed the world baby!

[Number23]

2. I'm with you, vaberella

I did grow up listening to Michael Jackson. "Thriller" was the first album I ever bought; I was in the 5th or 6th grade I think.

And you're so right about younger performers idolizing him. Justin Timberlake wouldn't even know what to do with himself on stage if it wasn't for MJ. And Chris Brown actually did an MJ tribute at an awards show a few years ago that really brought home the similarities between their music and performing styles.

The drama around MJ's personal life was terrible and I do think that unfortunately, it's every bit as much a part of his legacy as his music. I think it's safe to say that his mental health was far from great and damned if it didn't seem to be deteriorating even more by the year. But the amount of "FUCK MICHAEL JACKSON" crap and people damn near dancing on his grave here is pathetic and says much more about them and their own mental health than it does about Michael Jackson.

[firedupdem]

3. +1

I clicked one post and quickly came home to AAIG. You said it perfectly.

[Number23]

5. "home to AAIG"

I LOVE that!!!!

That is how it feels here, isn't it??? :pals:

[vaberella]

7. Yes, sometimes you feel burdened in these other threads.

This is actually why I'm a self proclaimed independent. I cannot stomach the amount of hypocrisy that come out of democrats at times and on this thread it is notorious. I'll just hint at prop 8.

[firedupdem]

31. Doesn't coming here feel better? I think we have to step out of

those forums for a breather every now and then. Hope you had a happy birthday.

[firedupdem]

30. Absolutely. Constructive criticism and civil discussion has gone

out of the window.

[SemperEadem]

23. you said it

the vulgarity of their vicious, small minded blather is staggering. A bunch of mediocre, base-born proletariates.

[vaberella]

6. I am shocked. This site is something else. Man.

I agree with you on all points.

[bliss_eternal]

13. LOL! Justin Timberlake...

...right before the time Justin did "Rock your Body" I was watching videos one night with my guy.

Do you know he got highly insulted, and turned the channel while I was watching a Justin T. video? When I asked why he said,"...Justin get's on my nerves! White boy thinks he's Michael Jackson. There's only one Michael and Justin 'aint him."

As far as MJ's mental health:
I say for him what I say everytime I see someone trashing Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan (and others who started their careers as children--but have had "mental health" issues).

It is not normal or particularly conducive to one's mental health to have cameras focused on your every choice (good and bad). People denied privacy, childhood's, friends, etc. have no clue what it means to function in society. It is completely unfair to judge them as though they were never placed in, and forced to function under such extinuating circumstances.

I've only seen child stars become healthy adults when they had incredibly protective and vigilant parents. Sadly, it seems MJ's father attempted to live out his frustrated music dreams w/his kids (at their expense, particularly Michael's as the most talented).

LaToya was the only one to ever speak out against Joe Jackson, to my knowledge.

[Fire1]

4. I'm with you, vaberella.

[Kind of Blue]

8. Me too. I go waay back to the Jackson 5

as a pre-teen. The first song I remember besides ABC and still love to this day is Got To Be There. Amazing how one short life can span generations. Truly a sad day for me and my sisters who had posters from Right On magazines plastered all over our walls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgHKvz4k9KI

[Number23]

11. Oh my GOD! I remember Right On magazine!!

And just like that I am LAUNCHED back to 7th grade. Wow, memories... :)

[Political Tiger]

9. I was more sad than I had thought I would be over his death

not that I had ever really thought about it before because I had never really thought about him dying. But looking back at how much his music has played a part in my life I started realizing what a loss this was. Sure, he had a controversial private life, but his music was an inspiration to millions around the world.

[bliss_eternal]

10. same here....

(sadder than I could have imagined)

when I think about it, his career has spanned that of at least three generations including those I consider elders (like my aunt and cousin's age), myself and husband's generation (we were teens in the 80's, and people Usher's age who were influenced by him.

[bliss_eternal]

12. Michael Jackson helped to integrate MTV....

...(perhaps Prince predates him on the network..I'm not sure at the moment:blush:)

but there were few (if any) black performers shown on the channel before either of them.

He changed the face of music videos, forever. When I think about 80's music videos I can't help but laugh. I love them, and have a nostalgic sense for them--because they are of my youth. I still recall when many originally aired. Most made little to no sense, and were very low budget--but were fun (and some funny).

After Thriller, the bar was permanently raised for music videos.

An attraction at Disneyland bore his name, and featured him for several years.

I recall the time that Michael Jackson performing for a MTV awards show (or similar function) meant everyone was at home, watching their television, eager to see "what will Michael do." His performances were memorable in that he spared no expense, and pulled out every stop to "blow us away."

No other black male musical artist (to my knowledge) has been so frequently imitated.....by everyone. Kids tried to dance like him (and in some cases dress like him). How many black men in music created a frenzy of hysterical crying crowds wherever they traveled?

If only he'd known how truly handsome he was, he wouldn't have felt the need to change himself so much over the years.

But I will always think of him, and see him in my mind circa Thriller--brown Michael, with the "curl"...a man who lost his childhood and spent his lifetime attempting to recapture it. A profoundly talented black man, that spared absolutely no expense to entertain his public.


I hope you are dancing in heaven with Fred Astaire, James Brown and Jackie Wilson.
Peace be with you, Mr. Jackson. May you rest in peace.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

18. Captain EO.

I LOVED Captain EO. It was my favorite attraction at Disney World. It was a 4D attraction...the first one that I know of. It was awesome 3D...directed by Francis Ford Coppola...with some other effects thrown in.

I only found it again on the internet about a month ago.

Here's a You Tube link to the fantastic song in that show "We Are Here To Change The World"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRlh_UYDMGA&feature=related

[SemiCharmedQuark]

19. According to Wapo, you're right. It was Michael that made it possible for Prince to rise to the top

"Ironically, it would be 's success with "Thriller," and particularly the various "Thriller" videos, that would override the subtle apartheid of pop, opening up MTV and subsequently the pop market for Prince. Before that, Prince was at best a popular cult figure whose records-"Dirty Mind" and "Controversy" in particular-received little air play. His reputation was built on precociousness (he wrote, produced, arranged and played all 27 instruments on his debut album) and on his outrageous concerts."

http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73636369.html?dids=73636369:73636369&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Oct+9%2C+1988&author=Richard+Harrington&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=g.01&desc=Prince+%26+Michael+Jackson%3A+Two+Paths+to+the+Top+of+Pop

[Number23]

25. Thanks for that, SemiCharmed

Prince is a damned genius. That man IS music. I remember how he used to do those little tricks at the end of his albums. He knew that people were scared of him, so he used to do little things like have a song that sounded like it was being played backwards so that people could try to guess how many times he was saying "Hail, Satan!" or whatever people were accusing him of at the time. :)

I have no doubt that when his day comes (and pray that it is not for many, many years) people will be dragging him through the mud just as they are doing with MJ.

[ellacott]

21. Michael played hardball with MTV

His reps demanded that his videos be played on MTV. MTV tried to counter by saying they wanted exclusive rights to show his videos. He refused. His videos had to be shown on both MTV and BET.

People tried to say that he forgot his roots but that wasn't true. He always acknowledged James Brown as his inspiration and when he did the moonwalk during the Motown special he refused to take credit for creating that dance. He acknowledged that he got it from the breakdancers on the streets of New York.

I also had a bedroom that was plastered with Jackson 5 pictures from Right On and Tiger Beat. My first concert was a Jackson 5 concert.

He was a gift to this world.

[bliss_eternal]

14. Photos from msn.com

http://music.msn.com/fans-react-to-jackson-death/photo-gallery/feature/?GT1=28102

Comments from (and photos)of stars regarding Michael Jackson:

http://music.msn.com/stars-react-to-michael-jackson-death/photo-gallery/feature/?gt1=28102


...i'm having such a hard time w/the fact that Elizabeth Taylor and Dick Clark have survived Michael Jackson. It just makes no sense at all to me that he's gone at 50. I think Liz and Dick have both survived a stroke.

:cry::cry::cry:

[Number23]

16. I know! That's the thing that gets me.

This was not some 79-year old 3-pack a day smoker with 40 extra pounds on him. This was a trim 50 year old!

My husband is 47. Needless to say that every time I mention that MJ was only 50 he looks more than a little uncomfortable.

[Number23]

15. They've been showing his videos all day here in Australia

My favorite song was Off the Wall but this is BY FAR his best video in my opinion - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDxsM5jLNxM

[bliss_eternal]

17. That's a GREAT video...!

I love his long format videos, that tell a story (ie. Smooth Criminal, Thriller, Beat It, etc.) I remember the night that it premiered on prime time television-- after an episode of the Simpsons! LOL!

Earlier my husband went to VH1 classics. He HAD to see the Dirty Diana video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hg-IRZk4D0

I guess he saw an odd look on my face, and asked what was wrong.
I said, "...why is it so windy on stage?" lol.

[Number23]

27. Forgot about Smooth Criminal. You're right -- that video was magical.

[Brewman_Jax]

20. I was shocked to hear that yesterday

and almost cried driving to my parents' house. :cry: On route, there was a tribute to Michael on the old school radio station, and at the same time, they were playing Michael on the oldies radio station. He had incredible crossover appeal. He not only integrated MTV, but made music videos the artform they are today. It was sad to see personal issues eclipse and derail a brillant musical career. I hope he will be more remembered for his talent rather than his scandals.

Here's to Michael Jackson! :toast:

[SemperEadem]

22. A great artist has left us, but he left us with so many memories

his music can take us back to times when we sought refuge in his melodies and lyrics. I can be 10 yrs old again while listening to "ABC"; I can be 19 yrs old again while listening to "Off the Wall"; I can be 25 again while listening to "Bad". That says a lot about the endurance of his craft and I'm so sad that he will not be adding another song to take me back to my current age of 49 when I'm in my 70's.

I cannot believe that he is gone. My condolences go out to his children, family and to his fans all over the globe who have been impacted by his passing.
**********************************************************************

On another note: I also cannot believe how utterly tacky and lacking in good breeding some people are, both on this website and on others, who blantantly display their lack of couthe by spitting on the man's corpse within hours of his death. Their vulgarity is nothing more than a statement of their vindictive mediocrity.

[akbacchus_BC]

24. Thank you for this thread vaberella and for all the sentiments

expressed about MJ. I was so devastated yesterday when I saw the news in GD and for sure, there were quite a few negative comments and some nasty ones as well. So I immediately went and lurked at JackandJill Politics where I could identify with the sentiments.

MJ was the king of pop in my eyes and like some DUers mentioned, his private life should not be used to bash him. He is gone and millions of people are mourning him and he will still be an icon.

My daughter and I were looking at the news yesterday and she was crying. She even reminded me that when she was younger, she wanted the Dangerous CD so badly, the cost was $40.00 here in Canada, I told her that I don't own such an expensive CD, she pleaded a bit more and got it, then she said "aren't you glad now that you bought it". She is now 28. Just thought I'd share that.

I have a feeling that it was too much strain on his heart preparing for his London tour next year. He so wanted to excel for that tour.

God bless MJ and may he Rest in Peace.

[Number23]

26. "I have a feeling that it was too much strain on his heart preparing for his London tour next year."

If this is true, that just makes this whole thing so, so much sadder. Heartbreaking...

[akbacchus_BC]

28. Actually, it was supposed to be next month (July) in London and he

knew he was not in shape so was practicing a lot and driving (not sure if he was the driver) for long hours three days a week to practice.

That's what makes it so much sadder for me. MJ said it was his comeback tour and he wanted to really please his fans. According to MSNBC last evening, his London 50 day tour was completely sold out shortly after the tickets went on sale. Apparently, MJ would have earned $50 million from the tour.

So darn heartbreaking and I just cannot stand the vile things that are being said about him by some people on GD and in the press.

[Number23]

29. Two powerful, heartbreaking MJ videos

This one is really tearing me up today. Powerful - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8muMo0fw_M

And of course Man in the Mirror - http://video.yahoo.com/watch/14073/767715

[bliss_eternal]

32. Elizabeth Taylor's comments were read on the news....

...tonight.
Made me :cry: again:

Liz Taylor 'heartbroken' over Jackson death
10 hours ago

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Hollywood screen legend Elizabeth Taylor broke her silence on the death of Michael Jackson on Friday, saying her "heart and mind" were broken by her close friend's demise.

The 77-year-old two-time Oscar-winning actress had been "too devastated" to comment after news of Jackson's death broke on Thursday.

However in a moving statement that revealed the depth of the affection between Taylor and Jackson, the actress said Friday she was struggling to contemplate life without the singing star.

"My heart... my mind... are broken," Taylor said. "I loved Michael with all my soul and I can't imagine life without him. We had so much in common and we had such loving fun together."

Taylor said she had been preparing to travel to London to watch the erstwhile King of Pop's comeback concerts starting next month.

"I was packing up my clothes to go to London for his opening when I heard the news. I still can't believe it. I don't want to believe it. It can't be so.

--------------snip----------------

excerpted from:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hB3kGjcDYvEISCJ_kkuFID3W7R4w

[Karenina]

33. I'm so grateful we have this corner

in which I first received the news, uncharacteristically clicking here immediately after logging on. Did a "hide thread" sweep before attempting to wade through ANYTHING.

Michael was THE EPIC "everyman" for so many of our serious collective illnesses; a perfect scapegoat. I, for one, take some comfort that he's OUTTA HERE before collapsing on stage. He took the last one for the team and perhaps the entirety of his blighted existence on this planet will somehow penetrate the minds of some who cling to the black/white, either/or paradigm. Or at the very least may the pharma pimps be treated to some BIG TIME HEAT.

We've got 1500 prisoners in orange jumpsuits dancing themselves into rehabilitation, FLASH MOBS in public spaces with boom boxes doing the moonwalk, ALL available on YouTube. More important are our own personal memories. The good, the bad and the downright ugly...

[Number23]

34. Just saw you and noire's comments in Laelth's thread

Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful.

He took the last one for the team and perhaps the entirety of his blighted existence on this planet will somehow penetrate the minds of some who cling to the black/white, either/or paradigm.

Wishful thinking. The comparisons being made here between Michael and OJ should be all the proof you need that his death will change nothing.

I'm so grateful we have this corner

Me too, sis.

[Number23]

35. lolol Please don't let ANYONE lessen the impact that Michael Jackson had on music and on the world

Aboriginal 'Jackson Five' wow crowd with tribute

I highly suggest watching the video, if for no other reason than to watch that tiny little boy do his dance. :)

This town, Milingimbi, is in the Northern Territory. It is quite possible to spend DAYS in the NT and come across aboriginal homes with no water, no electricity and little contact with the larger (Australian) society (these folks don't have the slightest interest in interacting with whites).

And yeah, I know that the dancing in this video is not that great, but I was FLOORED that even here, they love MJ enough to honor his passing and even know his old dance moves! If this does not speak to how much of an impact this man had throughout the world, I don't know what will.

[Triana]

36. I'm 49. There has never *not* been Michael Jackson in my life..

...when he sang "Ben" I was there - I know every song - the same pain he felt, being "strange", and "weird" and having skin problems (though not nearly as bad his his, bless his beautiful heart) - and being SO lonely as a child and adult, I felt his pain - AND his heart and his joy and his ecstasy when he sang.

Micheal was always - in a word - MAGICAL. I truly believe he was an Angel. HE didn't know that, but he was. And he IS and always will be. He was love embodied.

That we are the same age (year or so apart) has made his loss much harder. I was there all his life and he all of mine.

After he was gone I learned even more about what a precious gift we've lost and what pure love and beauty and passion and ecstasy was destroyed by our hideous, insidious, tabloid vulture-culture - and my heart shattered - and every piece of it went WITH him. It's gone. Michael has it.

What do I do now? That's what I'm trying to figure out. This is a loss whose pain won't go away quickly or soon. Michael Jackson changed my life - he sang straight into my heart, always. I never forgot that. How could I? There were no filters, no firewalls to block or disguise what he felt when he sang and danced - or what I felt. It was clear, and pure, and unmistakable.

And, I am forever changed again by his sudden death. He wasn't only ripped from my heart but it went with him over the days that followed, piece by tiny, shattered piece. It's all His now.

My inner World is forever changed by MJ - our outer World is forever changed by MJ.

It's a sad testament to a society that such an exceptional human being was SO utterly abused by a culture that likes to call itself "moral" and which pretends to value all that Michael was and did. Pretend as it may - it does not value those things: kindness, compassion, forgiveness, care for the sick and dying, the planet, and the suffering and the poor and oppressed. Heck, it didn't even RECOGNIZE those things in MJ. MJ was defined and seen not as HE was - but as our vicious, tabloid vulture-culture is.

It/we projected all of the worst of ourselves onto him and then punished him for it. How utterly CRUEL.

And now again, his message of Healing the World and Divine Union through Creativity is lost amidst the vile tabloid garbage spin machine.

We can't let this happen to Angel Michael. We can't let this happen to US. :cry:

[Number23]

37. Oh my God, are you TRYING to make me cry again?

That was beautiful. :cry:

[Triana]

38. Sorry...

...I haven't been through a tearless day myself yet.

People are all "oh get over it!" - and they're tired of hearing it. But - if you lose a brother, or a lover, a life partner, or a dear, exceptional friend to sudden death - are you expected to "get over it" in a week. Two weeks?

No. Why would this be any different? It's no different.

[Surya Gayatri]

39. Touchingly beautiful tribute, Triana...

I'm a decade older than you and didn't grow up with the Jackson 5 (especially as I was living abroad during their heyday).
But, I first became aware of the wonder that was Michael while watching the "Thriller" video on French TV. Like millions of others, I was blown away and became an instant fan. I saw him live in Paris during the 1988 "BAD" tour. No other entertainer can touch him--his talent was beyond measure, "magic" like you said.
I felt the "other worldliness" of him from the outset, but am ashamed to say that I bought into some of the tabloid trash during the 90's. I did wonder if he was the pervert they painted him to be.
By the time of the trial travesty in 2005, though, I'd realized that he was a misunderstood victim and not the perpetrator (as the acquittal ultimately proved). How he must have suffered, being the hypersensitive, vulnerable creature that he was.

RIP to an angel unaware. SG

[Number23]

40. "How he must have suffered, being the hypersensitive, vulnerable creature that he was."

Lovely. And I'm sure, heartbreakingly true.

Thanks for your post, Surya. Welcome to AAIG and please hang out and post more.

[Surya Gayatri]

41. Thanks for the welcome, Number23...

but I mostly just lurk, as you can see from my post count--less than 2000 in 4 years. But, I'll try to drop in once in a while. Not of AA heritage (member of the endangered WASP species), but have always been mad about AA music. :hi: SG