RIP Michael Jackson

[eschatz]

I think of Michael Jackson as similar to Mike Tyson. In their prime they were juggernauts. They did incredible things that were amazing. However, in their late years they both let their lives be controlled by other people and turned out to be wackos. Jackson's got pedaphile charges, Tyson bit off Holyfield's ear. They were young prodigies turned bad in their older age.

Billie Jean still bumps, I don't care what anyone says.

 

[Homercidal]

MJ was the master in his time! No matter if you liked him or his music, the millions and millions of fans and albums, #1's, and top 100 hits speak of his talents. His dancing and on-stage performances were revolutionary.

Many people put him down for his actions, but he is not really very different than The King, who died of OD and got fat and had many of his own "personal problems". Yet the king is never forgotten. Frankly, I think my kids could recognize an MJ song easier than an Elvis song.

As a Detroit Pistons fan, I sort of equate MJ with Dennis Rodman. Both were stars in their prime, but later became freaks. I won't personally miss MJ much, because his day was done, but I still do recognize the effect he had on the world of music in the 80s and to a certain extent, the 90s.

Now sing with me!

I want to love you! (PYT)
Pretty Young Thing!

 

[bernerbrau]

And all this time I thought he just bleached...

Vitiligo is a real condition. I've had it since I was 9. Every year that white patch gets bigger and I dread the day it reaches a part of my body I can't cover with clothing.

Maybe I'm biased but I at least always believed the guy about that.

 

[Bopper]

I think Michael Jackson was a prodigy. Anyone in my generation has to have been touched by his work at some point, going all the way back to the Jackson 5. He is definitely one of the single most talented performers of our time.

He was definitely a bit wacko, and may well have acted innapropriately with some children, and that is inexcuseable by any stretch. Yet I have always felt like so many of his oddities were tied to his father who pushed him relentlessly and never let him enjoy a childhood. Michael Jackson's life was simultaneousy a mammoth triumph of success and a Shakespearean trajedy.

Either way he left an indelible mark on the american pop landscape.

Well said

 

[ohiobrewtus]

"Learn to separate the ART and the ARTIST" - Questlove

That is all.

I agree 100%. As a person, he became irrelevant long ago. I'm a metal fan, but I still respect what he was able to to for pop music. His musical accomplishments are some of the best of anyone.

 

[Homercidal]

Vitiligo is a real condition. I've had it since I was 9. Every year that white patch gets bigger and I dread the day it reaches a part of my body I can't cover with clothing.

Maybe I'm biased but I at least always believed the guy about that.

From what I understand, he was taking stuff to cause it. There was a newsman who had the condition and used makeup for a while to cover it up. He stared out as a black man, but eventually he will stop using the makeup and he'll be "white". White people can get it and it can be noticeable and sometimes embarassing.

Am I the only one who thought MJ was much better looking before he had any work done? Ok, maybe the nose. The first time...

 

[Tonedef131]

MJ, for all his warts, will be remembered for his music, not his predilections.

Hell yeah, if you can write a song as bad ass as "you wanna be startin somethin" you should be allowed to touch children.

 

[SchizoFilly]

I think of Michael Jackson as similar to Mike Tyson. In their prime they were juggernauts. They did incredible things that were amazing. However, in their late years they both let their lives be controlled by other people and turned out to be wackos. Jackson's got pedaphile charges, Tyson bit off Holyfield's ear.

Don't forget the rape and imprisonment, I originally typed that with the intent of pointing at Tyson, but I'm just not sure if he needs to be singled out there.
(side note: Tyson is pretty funny in The Hangover)

I also like the comparisons to Elvis. Give it 30 years and nobody will care much about Jacko either. Although, like Elvis, I'm sure there will still be obsessed fans that mourn for him each and every birthday or deathday gone by.

 

[flylock_jac]

Rest in Peace? The guy was a freaking pedophile.

Being famous doesn't buy a pass for being a pervert in my world.

+1 to that. He should have died in prison.

 

[Brewpastor]

The way his life played out was a tragedy and that is a shame.

I remember watching Thriller on MTV when it first aired. It was great. I watch the Jackson 5 cartoons as a kid but they were not my favorite. I bought Thriller but rarely listened to it. I was into other music at that time (Peter Tosh, the Stones, Talking Heads, the Specials...) Michael has simply been a side show and says more to me about our society then it does about him and his waked out life.

I am simply grateful for the life I have.

So, when are they opening up Neverland for tours?

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I had heard that MJ was about to buy out the Fox News channel and Nickelodeon. He was going to merge the two and call the new channel Michael Jackson Fox Children.

 

[Mutilated1]

I had heard that MJ was about to buy out the Fox News channel and Nickelodeon. He was going to merge the two and call the new channel Michael Jackson Fox Children.

lolz

 

[Aleforge]

I had heard that MJ was about to buy out the Fox News channel and Nickelodeon. He was going to merge the two and call the new channel Michael Jackson Fox Children.

*sigh*

lol

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

*sigh*

lol

I understand the sigh, but I also realised that this might be my last opportunity to use that joke.

 

[Mirilis]

I thought MJ was pretty awsome as a young black man. His music..especially the thriller album was pretty good, and I normally dont listen to that kind of music. However, when he became and old white woman his music was horrible IMO, and he got all weired.

 

[Recusit8m]

If they cremate him will he actually burn? Didnt think silicone was flammable?

 

[Mutilated1]

he's over 60% plastic so by California law he will have to be recycled

 

[Displaced MassHole]

Since he is almost completely made of plastic I heard they were going to melt him down into legos so kids can play with him for a change.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

I heard K-Mart had a large increase in sales today.

Apparently, they're now the only ones with boy's pants half off.

 

[BrewBrain]

Directly to the wax museum?

 

[Doog_Si_Reeb]

Breaking news, Casper the Friendly Ghost was molested this morning.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Breaking news, Casper the Friendly Ghost was molested this morning.

Hehe!



I'm a bit pissed off at getting no news from Iran lately. I guess they all stopped rioting in respect for MJ?

 

[FlyingHorse]

I'm a bit pissed off at getting no news from Iran lately. I guess they all stopped rioting in respect for MJ?

Apparently the news of MJs death crashed half teh interwebz, including Twitter. So the "news" organizations lost their sight into Iran...

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Apparently the news of MJs death crashed half teh interwebz, including Twitter. So the "news" organizations lost their sight into Iran...

Oh noes!!! Twitter is down!!! CNN can no longer produce the real newses!!! Wher is the fooking lolcat when you needz it!!

 

[david_42]

I have this block about MJ, whenever I hear one of his songs, the lyrics are always Weird Al's parodies. Even when WA didn't do a parody!

Never saw the "Bad" video, but WA's "Fat" is a seam-ripper, literally.

 

[humann_brewing]

I think Matt Good summed it up pretty well here:

matthewgood.org » Archive » So Goes The Scarecrow

Here is the beginning of it

Were I able to literally stand in my inbox this morning, it would have been raining **** on me. The reason? Because last night on Twitter I made a tweet about Michael Jackson’s passing that some thought unwarranted. I wrote – “So I guess this means Peter Pan gets Neverland back.”

I had good reason to.

I will not sit here and deny that Michael Jackson had an enormous impact on popular culture and music – to this day Thriller remains the largest selling album of all time. I will also not sit here and pretend that Michael Jackson didn’t most likely suffer from psychological problems, ones that he was probably deterred from addressing by many of those involved in what was a one man industry. Over time, the fact that those problems were never addressed very likely led to the man’s undoing – but for those that counted on him for a paycheck, I’m sure that their foremost concern was keeping the success train rolling even as he was unravelling. Look no further than Britney Spears for a current example of that phenomenon.

 

[GAbrewer]

I find myself mourning Michael Jackson, more than I would have thought. I don't know if he really was guilty of the things he was accused of. One could certainly argue that his accusers were motivated by more than the welfare of their children when they brought their charges against him. Was he a freak? Certainly. Was he a pedophile? I don't know. Did he make decisions that were unwise? Without a doubt. But whatever else he became in the end, he was once the greatest musician alive. This guy WAS the 80's, and almost every act that followed was a pale imitation of the original. He was the Elvis Presley of my generation, and I will miss him. You can think what you want of me, but that's my take on the whole awful mess and I will stand by it. I am the last person on Earth who would defend someone who would harm a child, but I just find it impossible to take the media's word for it in this case.

PS And for those of you griping about Michael sharing his name with a respected beer advocate: Get over it. It's not like "Michael Jackson" is an uncommon name. My high school football team had a running back by that name. Both Michael Jacksons were legends in their respective fields, and may they both rest in peace.

 

[Evets]

Off you go Michael. No more "Jesus Juice" for you!

 

[Yambor44]

I find myself mourning Michael Jackson, more than I would have thought. I don't know if he really was guilty of the things he was accused of. One could certainly argue that his accusers were motivated by more than the welfare of their children when they brought their charges against him. Was he a freak? Certainly. Was he a pedophile? I don't know. Did he make decisions that were unwise? Without a doubt. But whatever else he became in the end, he was once the greatest musician alive. This guy WAS the 80's, and almost every act that followed was a pale imitation of the original. He was the Elvis Presley of my generation, and I will miss him. You can think what you want of me, but that's my take on the whole awful mess and I will stand by it. I am the last person on Earth who would defend someone who would harm a child, but I just find it impossible to take the media's word for it in this case.
.

I agree 100%.

 

[flylock_jac]

There's a rumor that the cause of death was food poisoning ..... from eating a
10 yr old weiner.