Michael Jackson proclaimed himself the King of Pop, but the label caught on because he earned it. I can’t think of any other artist whose death could prompt MTV to actually cover music again.
Obituaries about MJ necessarily note the weird, tabloidish aspects of his life after his music career wound down (most notably, the bizarre change in his skin color and nose shape). 1995 marked his transition from musician to full-time weirdo; that year’s “HIStory” was his last original release, and the fact that it was packaged with a greatest hits disc hinted that the end was near.
But a good chunk of the news coverage and all of the Facebook posts from my friends are about the Gloved One’s music and artistry. “Thriller” is the best-selling album of all time, and it’s deserving of that honor. After all, something has to be the best-selling album of all time, so it might as well be one where every song is a home run.
MJ was one of the first musicians I liked; his tunes were very easy for a music novice to get into. Yet a mature listener could also appreciate the production values that made the songs seem effortless.
At one point, I owned the five major Jackson albums — “Off the Wall” (1979), “Thriller” (1982), “Bad” (1987), “Dangerous” (1991) and “HIStory” (1995). I still have “Bad,” which is a great pop album from start to finish, and “HIStory,” which has a few underappreciated gems.
I like the atmospheric “Stranger in Moscow,” where Michael repeatedly, poignantly asked “How does it feel?” years before Avril Lavigne repeated the sentiment. “Earth Song” also hinted at a career shift toward issue-oriented songs that never materialized.
Maybe it still would have. At the time of his death at age 50 (too young, but he seemed even younger than that), MJ was preparing for a tour in Europe, and I think a decent new song or two would have launched a genuine comeback — he was due for one.
Even if his catalogue is mostly good, simple pop tunes — “Thriller,” “Billie Jean,” “Smooth Criminal,” “Bad” and “Beat It” use movie clichés as song and video topics — Jackson was somehow bigger than his music. Certainly, the dance moves and showmanship played a part.
But how do you explain the success of something like “Man in the Mirror” or “Black or White?” Those songs could be dismissed as manipulative fluff, except that Jackson gives off the air of being as delicate as a child when singing broadly (not as personally as the titles might suggest) about living in a world that doesn’t live up to your expectations.
And, by many accounts, Jackson was essentially an adult child whose playground (the planet) didn’t live up to his reasonable, but also naïve, standards. And certainly there are problems with that approach to life, but my impression is that he embodied the innocent, hopeful aspects of childhood more so than the immature, whiny aspect.
But it’s up to the biographers to determine what his life meant. Michael Jackson’s great music is what I’m remembering today.
Comments
MJ was, and always will be, an icon. There are very few people in this country, and in this world that do not have a favorite MJ song or moment that they remember. Personally, I remember the vinyl albums my parents had. I remember ‘Thriller’ as the album I got to listen to at the dentist (the only fond memory I have ever had involving a dentist… and finally I remember ‘Black and White’ with Macaulay Culkin’s performance in the music video.
I don’t remember him molesting children, hanging babies over a railing, or even his ever fading nose. I commend the population, and suprisingly the media for remembering MJ in a positive light and not tarnishing his image even more. I can only imagine how many superfans are crying and mourning today.
I agree, I believe he was poised for a comeback. If he was to tour anywhere in the US, I would have been there in a heartbeat having never had the opportunity to see him live. At one point I heard rumors of him being a headliner in Vegas. It’s too bad that never happened. I saw an impersonator in Vegas and that alone was a great experience.
Although he was not at the pinnacle of his career as some others were, his death is still as tragic as the death of Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley and Kurt Kobain.
He will be missed.# Posted By shaune | 6/26/09 11:11 AM
I am probably one of the people on a short list that will not mourn Jacko’s passing. This is a man, a very strange man, that had the world at his finger tips
for decades… but couldn’t keep his hand out of the peverbial “candy jar”. He bought his way out of some “sticky” situations. And nomatter how good his
music was or how great of a performer, the man was still a pediphile… period.# Posted By Jeremy | 6/26/09 11:34 AM
Well, we don’t know what went on behind closed doors. It’s certainly a shame that he got so weird. But here’s the thing: What Jackson did in his private life doesn’t affect me personally. His music — like all good music — did. And the music was why he was famous in the first place.
The media coverage is interesting. When he was alive, it was about how weird Jackson was. Now that he’s dead, it’s about his music career. It’s kind of like with the coverage of 9-11. On a day-to-day basis, the mainstream media is pretty ridiculous, but when a tragedy happens, it’s able to instantly snap things into perspective again.
A lot of people loved Jackson for the right reasons (although many of them are probably unhealthily obsessed), and they are mourning for the right reasons. It’s refreshing to see that the media understands that.# Posted By John Hansen | 6/26/09 12:11 PM
A weirdo? Yes. A freak? Maybe. I guess I look at it as a guy that barely had a childhood, and the childhood he did have was completely screwed up.
The guy probably never group up and as John says basically is let down by the world and as so many superstars are, completely destroyed by the publicity. I don’t know if I really believe he is a pedafile. In today’s ‘sue happy’ world it was probably a scam thought up by the parents after Michael stopped buying them stuff, who knows. I think that he was mentally unstable and got along with kids better than adults. So what if he liked to play Candy Land and Legos – who wouldn’t? 🙂# Posted By shaune | 6/26/09 12:57 PM