The end of an era

[ishtar79]

I was surprised by how much the news of Michael Jackson's death affected me. Despite all the supreme weirdness of the later years, the allegations, the freaky plastic surgery, his influence on music is undeniable.

Thriller was the first album I owned. MTV Greece is playing Michael Jackson videos round the clock (and the fact alone MTV deigned to play actual MUSIC again is noteworthy in itself) and I'm struck by how all those years later, there has yet to be someone who came even CLOSE to his performance levels (and clips of wee!Michael from his Jackson 5 days made me sad for entirely different reasons).

I was joking about becoming old this weekend due to hitting the big 3-0, but damn, this is the first time I felt it. For all that my music tastes have evolved into supposedly too cool for pop, the little girl in me is devastated.

Comments

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

I saw Moonwalker in 3D in Disneyland. It was a bit traumatic.

I'm boggling at the people unable to separate criticism of a person and criticism of their work. Seriously. (Insert inappropriate "The author is dead, no RLY" reference here).

[jollityfarm.livejournal.com]

Lots of artists that people have been fans of for hundreds of years have both produced excellent work and been dreadful people. The difference between them and Michael Jackson is, I suppose, that (a)that was ages ago, possibly before living memory, and (b)the media back then wasn't what it is now. I mean, the internet wasn't around to gossip about what a shit Picasso was to various women, or what a godawful racist H.P. Lovecraft was, or any of the other icons you can think of off the top of your head. Media these days is so concerned with not only the work of celebrities, but their personal lives too. It becomes harder to separate for a lot of people. I'm just ranting, I know. Never mind.

Happy 30th, by the way. One book I read said that 30 year olds are no longer the oldest possible child, they're now the youngest possible adult.

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

I understand where you're coming from, honest. Personally, the way I deal with it is not financially supporting anyone I find personally an awful person. I'll still watch a Roman Polanski film, but won't pay for it, if it makes sense. And of course there are those where I refuse point blank to even aknowledge (Mel Gibson, anyone), because I can only see the person and not, say, the role they're playing.

With Jackson, I haven't been a fan of his later years, but I can't discount the massive impact he had on music, the shattering of the racial barriers when he first came out or the work of little Michael of the Jackson 5, before any of the weirdness and scandals.

Thank you! And heh, I like that theory, it makes me feel less decrepit.