Michael Jackson, 1958-2009

The irony, so goes the "wall of sound," good ? evil? it just sucks anyway you look at it.

He touched kids where they pee. How does everyone forget this? He's apparently Caesar's opposite. The bad is interred in his bones.

You were wrong from the very first phrase, "One of the brightest stars in today’s pop culture constellation..." He is (was) most definitely NOT a part of today's pop culture. He was 50 years old and most of the "pop culture" saw him as a weird relic from the past. He hadn't had a best seller for over a decade. "Has been" is a very apt phrase.

That man had more grace and goodness in his little toe than you people commenting here. I'm sure he's glad to be rid of YOU.

srev: Since you were there and saw this, why didn't you present this evidence to the prosecution?

Hey Bill - I was much closer to the case than most.

Mr. Beethoven was the rock star of his time, similar to the celebrity of Mr. Jackson. Both were abused as children. Both had personality disorders and behaved badly often. Mr. Tchaikovski molested teen-aged boys and his music is played every Christmas for children. Others like Hayden were gentleman, kind and courteous. The moral is, the personality has little if anything to do with the music one makes. Just as doctors and judges can be raving alcoholics and still function, so can composers create their craft and their personality characteristics be average or askew.

srev how close were you?

I think he died of a broken heart. And is Herr Sneddon crowing again "We got him?" His star witness, Janet Arviso, is the kind of abusive mother Santa Barbara enables - gold digging false accusers. And she taught her children well - trot out the "abuse" and go for the big bucks.

Think of the real child abuse that could be addressed with the millions spent on Sneddons farewell show trial.

Michael Jackson was definitely a part of the soundtrack to my life. I remember listening to the Jackson 5 on my tinny AM radio when I was a kid. And after being abroad for sometime and away from American music, I remember returning to the states just before Thriller came out. Man, that video was playing everywhere! And who could forget that voice cameo by Vincent Price.

Old timers like Mick Jagger and David Crosby are still with us and pushing 70 so it seems unfair that MJ only made it to 50. Despite the controversy that surrounded Jackson's personal life, we'll never know how his upcoming tour could have changed his career or the public's perception of him. Certainly his fans have lost out.

I hope his last words weren't "Damn, I can't believe Kieth Richards outlived me"

It's certainly the way I want to go, unexpected and doing what I love.

Not just me but all people that like his singular style of dancing, without mention all his amazing songs. We all got surprised and chocked with this heavy news. Michael's death sounds like the world could not expect any better singer so longer, because he will be the best forever. Taís from Brazil

Matt:

I am very disappointed in this article. M. was aquited by a SM jury, Sneddon's chosen ones. Give it a break. Your involvement is insignificant to the greatness of the King of Pop. He was one of the all time greatest entertainers of all time. Give him that credit in this time of our mourning and put your minisquiual part in its proper perspective. I doubt there will be anyone in our lifetime to equal his talent and fame and that is all you need to say. Listen to the music and appreciate that you and no one else could possibly duplicate it.

minisquiual? I am so curious what that means! Can't find a definition for it anywhere.

minisquiual- also sp as-miniscule- very small; limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent; as in small minded weirdos named santabarbarasand, and the quality of Matt's article here that does not do justice to M. who has been recognized over the last couple of days as maybe the most famous and most appreciated and loved person on the face of the earth for the music he made for us.

Matt K., I feel your pain about not getting a better meal ticket out of MJ. My scheme to get rich off of his talent didn't work either.

Initial videotape of the accusation? Would take a lot more to convince me... corpus delecti at least.

MJ certainly went nuts in his own way, though. But he left the world with mostly debt, gotta be impressed that he didn't try to take it with him. Wish his kids the best.

It's clear from these comments alone that people are still really divided about this guy.

Personally, I think Sneddon is a world class tool and a horrible DA who, in his small town bravado, acted shamingly unprofessionally and ridiculously.

But this is not rocket science, here. People are mercurial and unpredictable and are sometimes possessed of the most shocking dualities. Even famous and talented ones.

Michael Jackson was one of the greatest entertainers of all time. He was truly talented, though in the last couple of decades he was more riding on hype than his once flawless talent, it's clear he was a legend. A true star and an original.

He was also a man of pathological shyness and insecurity. He referred to his childhood as abusive and painful and on many occasions described himself as still a child, in essence. Add to that his inexplicable admission to the world that he enjoyed getting into bed and cuddling with someone else's children, even calling it "charming".....well, I know what I'm thinking. If my best friend invited my child to sleep in the same bed with her slept in the same bed with my child, I'd consider *that* inappropriate. The very idea that a grown man can't understand what is wrong with that, even if he did nothing wrong, shows how out of touch with reality he really was and how sheltered from reality he was by his friends and advisors.

Certainly, as someone pointed out, he WAS acquitted. He's not been found guilty of anything. But there's certainly reasons to believe he could have been gulity of these charges, regardless of how shoddily they were presented and carried out.

The people who defend him based on his fame or talent alone remind me of those who think a person couldn't be a rapist because he's "too good looking." Sometimes, things aren't what they seem.

flamnikita wrote: "...is the kind of abusive mother Santa Barbara enables - gold digging false accusers."

I'm interested in knowing how SB enables gold diggers.

I will forever recall the Summer of 2009 erupted with the jaw-dropping news that Michael Jackson was dead. It felt like a blow to the stomach, stunning and breath-taking. A speculation and sadness spread like wildfire as every news facility hammered out the news: The King Is Dead.
The artist who gave a pulse to our lives for decades was gone: a victim of excess- too much exposure, too much pressure, too many indulgences, too much pain, and failure to listen to angels of better judgement. There had been warnings. But how does one see the end when you're traveling on a yellow brick road?
Yes, he was both blessed and cursed. The further he reached, the closer the flame. Eccentricities took him down a path of exploitation, self-serving paparazzi, and crushing debt.
Here, he was consumed and when the media had its' fill, they left behind a tormented soul who never recovered from the personal tresspass. His life converted to one of concealment and he left the world to muse his doings.
Somewhere along the line the choices became overdrawn and our dear Michael was taken from us. But there is talk of a new recording that was in the works and hopefully, the powers that be will one day release that joyful noise.

Wow, Matt, just a bit full of ourselves,huh??
Like every sentient being on the face of the planet doesn't have some "personal" memory although fewer of us had the chance to ca$h in.

Seriously, you lost me when you seemed to realize that MJ's accuser was telling the truth but still felt the need to spin out further groupie wanna-be blather.
Talk about Neverland.....