"Hey, you put the ooooh-mau-mau, oh-oh-oh-oh...."
Posted on 06/30/2009 8:52:45 AM PDT by AJKauf
Am I the only person in the world not moved by or concerned with the death of Michael Jackson? Like all bereavements my heart goes out to his family and close friends.
But — a “genius”? “The greatest entertainer of all time”?
Why am I writing this article at all?
I believe it is important, especially for the young, to understand the true meaning of greatness and to appreciate the real essence of “genius.” This may sound like a sacrilege but, as I write, millions of youngsters are breakdancing to Jackson tunes and evidently thinking this is the be-all and end-all of life’s expectations. If I had a young child now I would want him or her to read books, go to orchestra concerts, and be exposed to selective media under my — and my partner’s — supervision. Whether or not the stars I am about to venerate grew up in such a rarefied atmosphere is debatable, but after hearing Al Sharpton’s pronouncements I would like to reflect on what true greatness entails.
The Rev. Sharpton said this week that Michael Jackson broke down a barrier: he made it acceptable for black entertainers to rise to the top in a white world. What is Al Sharpton talking about? ..
(Excerpt) Read more at pajamasmedia.com ...
The Band. 10 years later, I'm still grieving over Rick Danko's death.
"Hey, you put the ooooh-mau-mau, oh-oh-oh-oh...."
Right. I’ve still got some questions about Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. LOL.......
Yeah me too
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_(film)
Ever see “Performance”?
Mick was very gay in that movie
Plus there was nasty rumor which Bowie’s wife spread about her bursting in on David Bowie and Jagger in bed
Michael Jackson was a great entertainer, up until the release of his album “Thriller”, which in my opinion, wasn’t nearly as good as his previous album, “Off The Wall”.
“Thiller” was where he made the turn from actually singing (which he could do ably), to all of the cooing, screaming, and whining that characterized his later “style”.
Much of what MJ was, was a wholly manufactured publicity creation. In my view, his later public persona mirrored the freakish twist in his vocal styling.
His 2001 album (I forget the title) had some of the old MJ magic on it, though I felt the songwriting and arrangements fell short of being up to the level of the Quincy Jones production on “Off The Wall”.
I’ve got mixed feelings about the guy, much as I do about most Hollywood personalities. I love the output of most of the bigger-than-life stars, but can’t stomach their opinions or the way they conduct their lives.
Artists in general are known to have weirder lives than normal people, and their opinions, publicly expressed, often tend to cast ugly shadows over them.
Even though Jackson attempted to live reclusively, his strangeness and perversion couldn’t be contained. His high profile court cases, and the Martin Bashir documentary broke the last remaining veil of secrecy on his bizarre private life.
For what it’s worth, he was utterly damaged goods in most people’s minds after all that. Mine included.
I believe that Al was misquoted; what he really said that it was acceptable for a black entertainer to rise to the top as a white woman.
I’m a huge fan of The Band (especially the “Brown Album” from ‘69), but the fact is their prime was very short. ...around four years (from “Music From Big Pink” through “Stage Fright”). Robbie saw the writing on the wall.
Bob Dylan is the only guy to last nearly a half century with little to no drop-off in (extremely high) quality songwriting and recording. ...although even Bob went through his dry spells.
“...you know how I feel about your singing. That s—t doesn’t impress me. Wanna impress me? Take the wheel mf!”
(I suppose in your little sketch Stevie Wonder crash into a tree, right? Haha very funny mf!)
The Band. 10 years later, I’m still grieving over Rick Danko’s death.........
“Big Pink” was so huge back then. Eric Clapton was very affected by and wanted to jam with them.
Rick did some great live versions of “It Makes No Difference” just him on guitar pretty much
Read the life stories of major composers and songwriters. You'll find that on average, most of them hit their peak of creative genius at age 24 (not that I'm agreeing that MJ was a genius).
Not to denigrate the great Frank Sinatra here, but I never "got" him, either. He was before my time, and I'm in my mid-fifties.
She’s doing OK. She has kids now to raise
http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/06/17/susanna-hoffs-cashing-bangles-fame/
B-!! S5!T
I agree. A lot of posts like “Michael Jackson couldn’t hold a candle to the Andrews Sisters!” “It was all Quincy Jones” “It was all marketing”.
If Michael Jackson had been a republican the same people would be praising him to the stars...
Like all in the entertainment industry, once you attempt to parlay your celebrity into social relevancy, you hae begun a long, slow decline into irrelelvancy.
The Cosby Show come to mind.
Like all in the entertainment industry, once you attempt to parlay your celebrity into social relevancy, you hae begun a long, slow decline into irrelelvancy.
The Cosby Show come to mind.
"I got chunks of guys like you in my stool!"
According to Levon Helm's book, This Wheel's on Fire, after Robbie decided to take credit for writing all the hits, on the advise of their manager, his time with the Band was finished. Robbie Robertson still collects royalties from all the songs.
His Thriller album was a perfect storm. Quincy Jones was at the top of his game, and MJ could sing and dance.
True, but all that doesn't elevate him to the level so many are claiming for him.
I agree with Carol.
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