BI is Courtney Love, rite? I saw photos of her recently and she's looked better. Sad b/c I thought she was pretty kickass in the People vs Larry Flint (and obvsly a talented musician)
today's the type of day that makes want to hug my mom and just still...
Debt is inherited, right? Does that mean that in addition to no doubt having a really screwy childhood so far, and just losing their father, that his three kids are $500 million in debt? That seems like it would be an awful lot to saddle on three preteens.
I was on Demerol after I had major surgery and was in the hospital. It was some SERIOUS shit. It feels like fire going through your veins and then beautiful relief...and then I'm pretty sure I passed out shortly thereafter. Why was he being injected with DEMEROL if he was healthy enough to go on this 50+ show tour he was doing? My take is...he was in financial trouble and he knew this could clean the slate for him...and he pushed himself to do something he physically could no longer do with the medications he was using. His heart couldn't take the physical exertion with the serious medication.
@JinxyMcDeath: I hate to speculate, but it seems like it's going to come out that he had a MASSIVE prescription drug problem. He'd been addicted to morphine and Demerol in the early 2000s.
@Rare Affinity: Yeah, like Uri Geller last night. When they asked him when he'd last seen MJ, he said "Oh, I'm not going to go into that..." because he said it was private, BUT then he went on to talk about much more personal stuff, like why Michael had plastic surgery, and how he'd told him he was very lonely etc etc.
I'm with Rabbi Schmuley on this one. And what really made me tear up was the info about the Beatle's catalog. I can't decide if I should play him or not today - he doesn't actually fall under the classic rock genre header.
Right now I've got a great mix of J5 and early MJ going. I think that maybe a lot of us are mourning our childhood, and our histories, memories that are attached to the music. I see a lot of back and forth about the personal stuff about Michael Jackson, when really none of us can know the truth.
I saw people commenting last night about playing Bille Jean, Thriller, and Beat It on their Fisher Price record players... that made me smile; I had one too and did the same thing.
@SomeAuthorGirl: YES! That's my message! I so clearly remember dancing to Beat It and Billie Jean on my bff's little Fisher Price brown and orange record player. We were jumping up and down on the beds like little monkeys, probably age 4 or 5! I remember one of my friends had one of those little plastic wallets with the snap closure that was printed with the Thriller cover, I was SOOOO jealous. (Might see if I can find it on eBay right now!!!)
@stacyinbean: YES, the brown and orange! That thing was so resilient, you could drop it down the steps and then play a record. I used to rock out to my 45's of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, oy... I vividly remember getting in deep shit with my parents for playing their albums on it. :)
When Thriller premiered, my folks watched it with me because they were worried it would freak me out (it did) but I soldiered through it because... it was Michael Jackson, and you just HAD to.
@SomeAuthorGirl: Oh, our poor parents. My dad is a total audiophile, and I constantly got in trouble for scratching up his Michael Jackson albums with my steel-needled Fisher-Price (and they barely fit under the needle arm anyway, as they were designed for the little kids' record-and-book combos, not full-sized 33 1/3 albums). I remember listening to Bad and putting up a Bad tour poster when I was 7 and MJ was going to play Seattle-- he ended up getting sick and backing out of the date, but I always swore I'd see him perform at least once. :(
Anyone else feel like Michael Jackson's death is the end of an era. I mean his musical peak may have been in the 80's and 90's but his songs continue to be played today all over the world and really transcends time.
Remember those videos of people fainting at his concerts? Can artists today even evoke this kind of response on an international level, I mean even singing live seems like a chore these days and concerts aren't the dazzling spectacular event they used to be. It makes you wonder about the state of the music industry today.
@Eric Northman is mine: I completely agree. I can't think of anyone else in present-day music that I would get this worked up over, or that is such a universal cultural touchstone. Or that brought that kind of talent...in both singing, dancing and showmanship to his concerts. I always hoped to see him live and I am just devastated that he's gone.
Justin Timberlake is the ONLY performing artist alive today who can hold a candle to Michael. Justin, I expect to see you struttin' your stuff at the inevitable tribute concert. ;-)
I feel like I can't exactly mourn him. I didn't grow up when he was 'big,' I grew up when he was bein accused of pedophilia, was rocking the face masks, had the creepy ranch and dangled the baby over the edge. Young Michael had awesome music, old Michael creeped me out. I think his life was a bit sad, however, and it is too bad that he died so young. His effect on pop culture is astounding.
@PumpkinWhoopies: He was still on top for most of my childhood, but I'm still having trouble feeling bad about this. To me, the weirdness of the last 20 years canceled out the fabulousness of before, and while I still enjoy the music, somehow his dying doesn't feel wrong to me.
@PumpkinWhoopies: I keep seeing folks on facebook calling the rest of us to task for posting videos and memories of MJ, and such. I think a lot of the people in my generation (I'm 27) think of MJ as two distinctly different people. There's the entertainer, and the 'weirdo' he became later. He was so hugely famous; I grew up with him as my frame of reference when I thought of music, dance, and entertainment in general. The only other person I can think that even comes close to him in terms of fame and talent would be Madonna, and even she is in his shadow. I think he's the last real famous 'star' - now anybody is famous for nothing at all and this guy actually had talent, and work ethic and such a vision. Everything he did was gold. Even his 'shitty' work was 100x better than most of what is out there now. And I just think so many of us have fond memories of growing up listening to his music and watching his videos, trying to emulate the Thriller dance and the moonwalk and yes, even watching him go from superstar to recluse to gossip fodder. He was/is a cornerstone of our culture, of my generation. After all, he was a star before I was even BORN.
My Dad explained that to me it probably feels a little like he did when John Lennon was murdered. He was a little younger than I am now, and was devastated because JL and the Beatles had been famous before he was born and all throughout his childhood and young adulthood. He'd never known JL not to be an icon, not to be culturally relevant and suddenly he was just dead, and relatively young to boot. Granted Lennon was murdered, and was younger than MJ was, but I see his meaning.
I can see why some folks aren't saddened or particularly interested that MJ died, but I also think its okay for those of us who are shocked and do care to pay tribute to the man he was, the entertainer he was. I think you can separate the two. I feel terribly sorry for MJ. I was never one to poke fun at him, and I always watched the stories about him on the news with horror. It seemed to me taht from childhood on he was on a constant struggle to find just a little happioness, and who knows if he ever succeeded. He neglected his body, tortured his face, had disappointing personal relationships, and lost touch with reality. In the end he was selling off everything that was important to him just to pay bills. When I think of all the things I read about his horrible childhood and how neglected and abused he was, I just want to cry. He grew up a cash cow and died very poor, and ridiculed. The least I can do is jam out to Billie Jean this weekend in tribute to the guy, who defined my childhood.
I could not sleep last night, I lost a major part of my childhood. Michael was my "FIRST LOVE". He and I were two years apart in age, and born on the same day. I too was disturbed with the path his career had taken over the years, with all the bad publicity, and charges that clearly ruined his life. Last night watching all the videos, and interviews etc. I was able to see how much Music, and "JOY" he bought into my life. He was a "GREAT" and talented perfomer from a child for those memories I thank you Michael. He can NO longer be judged on this Earth, by the sometimes hateful media, or anyone else. Last night he was finally at PEACE!
@angryblackgurl: I also had trouble sleeping last night. He was an enormous part of my childhood too. Going back to watch the videos of him...he was a true artist, a visionary. An artist like him will never come again.
@Our Lady of the Massacre: @nyc-caribbean-ragazza: Amazing how he touched so many lives!! He was so many young girl's "first loves"!!! I am focusing on his legacy now,he can never be forgotten.
06/26/09
today's the type of day that makes want to hug my mom and just still...
06/26/09
I bet Flava would be great in a crisis. He would cuddle with you, and maybe whip up some drinks, and some snacks.
And he would have told you not to call an ambulance, because a cab would come quicker. 911 is a joke.
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I saw people commenting last night about playing Bille Jean, Thriller, and Beat It on their Fisher Price record players... that made me smile; I had one too and did the same thing.
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When Thriller premiered, my folks watched it with me because they were worried it would freak me out (it did) but I soldiered through it because... it was Michael Jackson, and you just HAD to.
Oh, 80's.
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Remember those videos of people fainting at his concerts? Can artists today even evoke this kind of response on an international level, I mean even singing live seems like a chore these days and concerts aren't the dazzling spectacular event they used to be. It makes you wonder about the state of the music industry today.
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(And also I will fight you for Eric Northman)
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My Dad explained that to me it probably feels a little like he did when John Lennon was murdered. He was a little younger than I am now, and was devastated because JL and the Beatles had been famous before he was born and all throughout his childhood and young adulthood. He'd never known JL not to be an icon, not to be culturally relevant and suddenly he was just dead, and relatively young to boot. Granted Lennon was murdered, and was younger than MJ was, but I see his meaning.
I can see why some folks aren't saddened or particularly interested that MJ died, but I also think its okay for those of us who are shocked and do care to pay tribute to the man he was, the entertainer he was. I think you can separate the two. I feel terribly sorry for MJ. I was never one to poke fun at him, and I always watched the stories about him on the news with horror. It seemed to me taht from childhood on he was on a constant struggle to find just a little happioness, and who knows if he ever succeeded. He neglected his body, tortured his face, had disappointing personal relationships, and lost touch with reality. In the end he was selling off everything that was important to him just to pay bills. When I think of all the things I read about his horrible childhood and how neglected and abused he was, I just want to cry. He grew up a cash cow and died very poor, and ridiculed. The least I can do is jam out to Billie Jean this weekend in tribute to the guy, who defined my childhood.
06/26/09
GOD BLESS YOU MICHAEL!!!
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