[quote]Professor X wrote:
At his peak, Mike surpassed the popularity of The Beatles. There isn’t one kid who was alive during the early 1980 who doesn’t remember Thriller unless tv’s didn’t exist where they were.
There are no artists alive now on that level. NO ONE in the last 20 years has come close to that degree of fame.
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Dunno if this was mentioned before, but I agree. While their popularity in the Western world may have been about the same, I don’t think that in their time Elvis or the Beatles ever had the GLOBAL audience that Michael Jackson did.
The technology and the availability of the technology needed to discover these artists wasn’t there around the world the way it was when Michael was big. My parents are immigrants, old enough for the Beatles and Michael Jackson and they don’t know anything about the Beatles, but they do know the chorus’ to a few Michael Jackson songs. Not saying my example would suffice as proof, but it does illustrate what I’m saying.
As far as influence on music goes, just look at the dance/R&B oriented pop that dominated the airplay and singles charts (and had a big presence on the albums charts too) from the late 80s through the 90s. A lot of that was Michael’s influence.
And as the R&B singers today like Usher, Neyo, and Justin Timberlake if Michael was important to their development. Even Chris Brown shows you that record companies were still looking for artists in the MJ mold, because it would still work. When some reaches the level of success that Michael Jackson had, people try to follow in their footsteps and record companies look for those people, it’s quite simple.
No there hasn’t been a star in music as big as Michael in 20 years, and I’m pretty sure there won’t ever be. Audience fragmentation, and technology that ultimately makes mono-culture damn near impossible now means that there won’t be a star that has Michael’s global presence.
[quote]adamhum wrote:
Anyone who names their kids Prince Michael the I, and another one Prince Michael the II requires evaluation.[/quote]
Uhhh…George Foreman named his first 5 sons George…and his baby girl Georgetta.
Some of you need to take your judgments and shove them up your ass because by some of these standards, nearly every iconic figure in pop culture is in need of an insane asylum.
I find it pretty ironic that the majority of the people here tell people to be leaders/individuals and don’t be sheep. Yet, when people act in ways that we don’t understand, they are ridiculed for being different. Pick a side and stick with it.
Look at how many great artists, musicians, scientists, etc. have been considered crazy/eccentric/geniuses, either due to or in spite of varius mental issues, drug problems, whatever… If they were “normal” and thought just like others, then i’d highly doubt that we’d have the great things that they contributed to our lives. It’s what drove them to be what they were. It’s also sad that so many self-destructed, but it is what it is… Life.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
What’s funny…is that most of the true insults seem to be coming from people who never even experienced life when Mike was truly on top. At his peak, Mike surpassed the popularity of The Beatles. There isn’t one kid who was alive during the early 1980’s who doesn’t remember Thriller unless tv’s didn’t exist where they were.
There are no artists alive now on that level. NO ONE in the last 20 years has come close to that degree of fame.
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Yeah, this is right on. While I’m not really a Michael Jackson fan now, I was a kid in the 80’s and everyone knew Thriller, Beat It, Bad, etc… I loved those songs and he was truly a superstar then.
As for his later years, I don’t know for sure if he molested kids. I do know his behavior seems quite odd to any normal adult and I would always just shake my head every time he made the news in recent memory. Remember though, he was acquitted at trial, and even if you still think he is guilty, liberty loving individuals should err on the side of innocent till proven guilty. To support what Prof X said about seeing himself as a kid, look at it this way: He was in the public spotlight since the age of 10. I have to wonder how “normal” his childhood really was and how much of an impact that had in creating his child-like adult personality.
Michael Jackson was a superstar that made some questionable personal decisions, like a lot of high profile personalities do. Overall, he was just trying to live his life the way he wanted to. Absense any proof of molestation, as long as he was not violating others rights, he should have the freedom to do so.
Two serious questions:
For those of you who say you hate him, why? You can think he was a freak, or that he was guilty of molestation or that he had a sexual identity problem, but did you really hate him? What did he do to make you hate him?
Not sure if there are any on this board who actually cried when they heard he died, but why? Was it the recognition that he was part of your childhood and that you too are getting older and a reminder of your own mortality? Was it just that you were anticipating his tour or next album and now that won’t happen? Is it about him, or the way he won’t impact you any more?
[quote]imhungry wrote:
I find it pretty ironic that the majority of the people here tell people to be leaders/individuals and don’t be sheep. Yet, when people act in ways that we don’t understand, they are ridiculed for being different. Pick a side and stick with it.
Look at how many great artists, musicians, scientists, etc. have been considered crazy/eccentric/geniuses, either due to or in spite of varius mental issues, drug problems, whatever… If they were “normal” and thought just like others, then i’d highly doubt that we’d have the great things that they contributed to our lives. It’s what drove them to be what they were. It’s also sad that so many self-destructed, but it is what it is… Life.
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[quote]
2) Not sure if there are any on this board who actually cried when they heard he died, but why? Was it the recognition that he was part of your childhood and that you too are getting older and a reminder of your own mortality? Was it just that you were anticipating his tour or next album and now that won’t happen? Is it about him, or the way he won’t impact you any more?[/quote]
Watching his old videos on MTV alone at 2am the night he died, I admit I got quite choked up.
Why? A lot of reasons I suppose. It was emotional for me to reminisce about how he affected my own life and childhood, but that made me feel more grateful that he was here than sad that he is gone. No, what really makes me sad is thinking about how he was viewed by most of the world during the later part of his life.
It just doesn’t seem fair that after nearly two decades of having everything he touched turn to gold, to have so much of the world turn their back on him for many of the very same reasons they loved him in the first place.
What kills me is that so many people view him in the exact opposite way (I believe) he wanted to be viewed. I sincerely hope that his legacy is one of talent and innocence, and not of rumors and jokes.
Not sure if there are any on this board who actually cried when they heard he died, but why? Was it the recognition that he was part of your childhood and that you too are getting older and a reminder of your own mortality? Was it just that you were anticipating his tour or next album and now that won’t happen? Is it about him, or the way he won’t impact you any more?
Watching his old videos on MTV alone at 2am the night he died, I admit I got quite choked up.
Why? A lot of reasons I suppose. It was emotional for me to reminisce about how he affected my own life and childhood, but that made me feel more grateful that he was here than sad that he is gone. No, what really makes me sad is thinking about how he was viewed by most of the world during the later part of his life.
It just doesn’t seem fair that after nearly two decades of having everything he touched turn to gold, to have so much of the world turn their back on him for many of the very same reasons they loved him in the first place.
What kills me is that so many people view him in the exact opposite way (I believe) he wanted to be viewed. I sincerely hope that his legacy is one of talent and innocence, and not of rumors and jokes.
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I think the generation gap did him in along with his appearance. No kid born in 1990 is going to have a fucking clue just how big Michael Jackson really was. They missed every kid in school wearing his jacket (if they could afford it…I couldn’t). They missed EVERYONE trying to do the moonwalk in the hallway before class…or how everyone was fucking glued to the tv when Thriller came out…or how on the night he went solo on stage with his brothers how you could just FEEL how important a moment that was. He went into history that night…because no one had seen a man float backwards on stage since Fred Astaire.
All they remember are jokes. All they experienced was the aftermath when everyone acted like they hated the man for being the exact same way he always was.
His entire “Moonwalker” (video/movie) was for kids. It was also one of the first times anyone put music videos together for a whole cd to tell ONE story.
He was the first black man that MTV played on their network. He deserves more than jokes.
People have made their living cracking jokes about him.
How many people do you know who can handle all this yet still kick ass?
What can you do, or think you can do to harm him? Despite all the bullshit people did to him, he still puts out great music, sells out shows like no one else, and will be talked about for beyond my years.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
He was the first black man that MTV played on their network. He deserves more than jokes.[/quote]
True that. Up until the Billie Jean video debuted, MTV was all rock. They took a chance on a cross-over musical hit, as it was already getting airplay, but it was the video with Michael dancing that was the hook. And the rest is history.
To the people saying that the 90’s generation didn’t appreciate Michael for what he was, I remember trying to impress my classmates by doing the moonwalk and singing Billie Jean when I was young in the late nineties.
Michael was a massive influence in EVERY decade he graced. Remember him voicing the bald guy in the Simpsons? And that was when celebrity cameos in that show weren’t a dime a dozen and were actually worth a damn.
Its funny, I have a feeling that Michael will become bigger than he ever was, with everyone remembering him more for his music than his eccentric behaviour. Its just the douches who like to make unfunny jokes craving attention are more vocal.
Look at 2pac. People forgot about his questionable behaviour and simply remembered the music and messages he preached. Michael Jackson will follow him.
However, it does seem like more than ever respect of any kind if just lacking lately. You now get to make jokes about people THE SAME DAY they die and then act like that is OK.
what? lately?
this place has always been full of spoiled bitches. the amount of foul stuff said on this forum has made me try to deactivate my account many times. the only reason i didnt was because i cant access my old college email account.
i wish some of the proper posters with actual character would only post. people on this site seem to care more about their dog’s than they do about other people, or should i say “brothers of iron”. None of the asshole unneccesary crap said online here is EVER said in proper gyms. EVER.
ever. thats because anyone worth talking to in real life has a bit more class.[/quote]
[quote]Yo Momma wrote:
Professor X wrote:
He was the first black man that MTV played on their network. He deserves more than jokes.
True that. Up until the Billie Jean video debuted, MTV was all rock. They took a chance on a cross-over musical hit, as it was already getting airplay, but it was the video with Michael dancing that was the hook. And the rest is history.
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I really liked MTV in those days, it was about the music and not so much fluff like it is now. No crying emo’s or douchebags with orange tans, just good music.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
I think the generation gap did him in along with his appearance. No kid born in 1990 is going to have a fucking clue just how big Michael Jackson really was.[/quote]
This is no excuse. I was born in 1987 (surprise), and I never view age as an excuse to remain ignorant about the history of art. Did you catch the cringeworthy Lil Wayne performance at the BET awards? When the superstars of today are people like him, I would much rather listen to music from the previous century.
DickBag, I think you’re generalising. I agree that the forum is foul and has plenty of douchebags, but I’d be surprised if the same people who love dogs would rip on MJ. Then again, I don’t know, and would be sad if you were 100% correct.
I really think if he could have kept his head screwed on somewhat straight and aged gracefully he could have continued to produce quality work forever.
He was 50 years old and probably older than that physically. There was no way he was going to be able to pull off those athletic performances any more. If he could have faced that and applied his innovative juices in accordance with his age his career could have gone on and on.
Then again if he were able to do that I doubt we would have seen most of his frighteningly childish behavior either. Its’ true that visionaries are often crackpots as well. It’s probably their crackpot-hood that eliminates barriers that average people would let stand in their way.
