Michael Jackson dead at 50

[Didaji]

R.i.p. M j

[I-n-j-i-n]

While I still believe he probably did some molestin' action, a lot of it can go to his enablers that didn't do a terribly good job of parenting him. Even though he was an adult, a superstar, etc, he needed a real parenting even if it didn't come from within his own family. Just one of the grosses mistakes to let all the drug and pampering enablers take advantage of him and Michael also letting himself be taken advantage. Maybe some blame can go to his own blood and family since they are probably one of the least stable celebrity families ever recorded.

And I'm peeved that some kids don't realize that as an artist, pound per pound, MJ probably was the best there ever was. I honestly don't care about hurt feelings there. If you can't appreciate his musical talents, then you simply have no taste in music.

I honestly have no respect of MJ for what he could've done to the kids (yes, no 'inconclusive evidence'), but as a musician, he simply was the best and the most influential. Even though I don't like the broken human being himself, I'm not ashamed to say that I was a fan of his. It's a bit ironic because my playlist had the Thriller remix (2008 ) going before the day he died.

Yeah, stuff like this doesn't hit me as fast as I think it should be. I mean, when it happened I was down because I *acknowledged* how much of an impact it had on other people, and not on me. But after a couple days, and watching some of his videos on VH1, it's like, "damn, the world just lost the best dancer it's ever had."

I mean seriously, he was just so committed to his movements and put a lot of energy into every single jerk. Guy was phenomenal in terms of dancing, and I knew that before he passed, it just hits it home again that we won't see that again except in videos. That's a sad thing to swallow for me because dancing's become a big part of my life.

Also with his voice... Not even man top artists can quite reach the notes he reaches with such ease. Just the tonality of his voice is simply different from many singers, popular or not.

And as for the whole 'ooh, we wouldn't have missed him if he was alive', isn't that the point? MJ especially is a bit of a martyr of music since his talent was simply lost. That is basically the whole gist of death in general and the grieving/coming-to-terms with them. I also wouldn't really equate the deaths of every peoples to that of MJ. He had talent. I'm pretty sure I don't. lol

[Deathtank]

I hope they make a tribute to him like they did to Freddy Mercury when he died.

[Sir_Downunder]

It's real shame that something tragic like this happened.

R.I.P M.J

[zircon]

For anyone on the fence about how good he was, can you think of a single pop musician on his level today? A combination of singer, songwriter and dancer with the stylistic range and consistency of MJ? I can't.

THIS is considered to be good pop music today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIK-U6ZfyYE

Compare to this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG5NhkxQJQc

More proof of MJ's musicianship-

http://www.jpfolks.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/733474/page/1#Post733474

Read IN FULL. He was NOT just 'made by his producers', like modern pop artists.

One morning MJ came in with a new song he had written overnight. We called in a guitar player, and Michael sang every note of every chord to him. "here's the first chord first note, second note, third note. Here's the second chord first note, second note, third note", etc., etc. We then witnessed him giving the most heartfelt and profound vocal performance, live in the control room through an SM57.

He would sing us an entire string arrangement, every part. Steve Porcaro once told me he witnessed MJ doing that with the string section in the room. Had it all in his head, harmony and everything. Not just little eight bar loop ideas. he would actually sing the entire arrangement into a micro-cassette recorder complete with stops and fills.

During the recording of "Smile" on HIStory, Bruce thought it would be great if Michael would sing live with the orchestra. But of course, we didn't tell the players that. We set him up in a vocal booth off to the side. They rehearsed a bit without vocals in, then during the first take Michael sang, just about knocked them out of their chairs.

His beatboxing was without parallel, and his time was ridiculous.

His sense of harmony was incredible. Never a bad note, no tuning, even his breathing was perfectly in time.

etc.

[Sam Ascher-Weiss]

Somebody needs to do a tribute version of "gone too soon"...it's a beautiful song and not that many people know it.

[Flare4War]

Have to say "Heal The World" gave me chills the first time I heard it. I don't know if he wrote it but he did a spectacular job singing it.

[Strike911]

Man, that comparison between the Black Eyed Peas and Michael Jackson really hit the nail on the head. Yeah, some new tunes are catchy for a while, but the incredibly enormous amount of Michael Jackson's music was not only catchy, but it felt like the music itself had a soul. Combine that with the showmanship and... its something that I don't think any other musician could ever match.

And for the record...

MJ > Elvis

There I said it.

[MkVaff]

Somebody needs to do a tribute version of "gone too soon"...it's a beautiful song and not that many people know it.

very apropos for the current time. I think some gems from "History" were overlooked and unappreciated for some time now, 'Stranger in Moscow' being my favorite of the bunch.

Definitely agree with that tho

[Jewbei]

Have to say "Heal The World" gave me chills the first time I heard it. I don't know if he wrote it but he did a spectacular job singing it.

damn i remember singing that song in front of hundreds of people in first grade at a school assembly.

[Toadofsky]

Might be a bit off topic, but you need to see this.

So not only did Michael love video games, he had a lot, A LOT of arcade units. He had incredibly good taste in my opinion...

http://www.juliensauctions.com/auctions/2009/michael-jackson/icatalog4.html

Note the amount of Sega games he had.

Simply Amazing.

[lazygecko]

Apparently he pitched Thriller 2 as a game to EA, and they turned it down.

[Salluz]

I was also a moonwalk kid, though my brothers were so much better. I was always a minimal dancer; pulling it off but not being great. Hm, I can do some dancing but I am not much on the street styles.

I'm certain that I'd never be on Mike's level. The writing? I may be able to level with that, but despite my high falsetto, I can't hee-hee for shit and I know that I'll never be the dancer he is.

One thing about him that I share in common very strongly: diversity. I loved how he didn't give a fuck about haters because he was Bad; a Smooth Criminal, but on the other hand, he was the same man who told you to "Beat It"; the same one who asked "Why" in Human Nature; the same one who acknowledged hidden love in "Just Good Friends"; the amazing star who sang on the Soundtrack of Free Willy...

He was the Man. He hee-hee'd, ow'd, permed his hair, thrusted his crotch, was shy and spoke with a soft voice, but he was still manlier than you!

[Aninymouse]

Might be a bit off topic, but you need to see this.

So not only did Michael love video games, he had a lot, A LOT of arcade units. He had incredibly good taste in my opinion...

http://www.juliensauctions.com/auctions/2009/michael-jackson/icatalog4.html

Note the amount of Sega games he had.

"Simply Amazing".

[Art_lover]

I was also a moonwalk kid, though my brothers were so much better. I was always a minimal dancer; pulling it off but not being great. Hm, I can do some dancing but I am not much on the street styles.

I'm certain that I'd never be on Mike's level. The writing? I may be able to level with that, but despite my high falsetto, I can't hee-hee for shit and I know that I'll never be the dancer he is.

One thing about him that I share in common very strongly: diversity. I loved how he didn't give a fuck about haters because he was Bad; a Smooth Criminal, but on the other hand, he was the same man who told you to "Beat It"; the same one who asked "Why" in Human Nature; the same one who acknowledged hidden love in "Just Good Friends"; the amazing star who sang on the Soundtrack of Free Willy...

He was the Man. He hee-hee'd, ow'd, permed his hair, thrusted his crotch, was shy and spoke with a soft voice, but he was still manlier than you!

Lol, well said.

[BlackPanther]

Man, that comparison between the Black Eyed Peas and Michael Jackson really hit the nail on the head. Yeah, some new tunes are catchy for a while, but the incredibly enormous amount of Michael Jackson's music was not only catchy, but it felt like the music itself had a soul. Combine that with the showmanship and... its something that I don't think any other musician could ever match.

And for the record...

MJ > Elvis

There I said it.

Haha agreed.

[Gamelore]

Might be a bit off topic, but you need to see this.

So not only did Michael love video games, he had a lot, A LOT of arcade units. He had incredibly good taste in my opinion...

http://www.juliensauctions.com/auctions/2009/michael-jackson/icatalog4.html

Note the amount of Sega games he had.

Simply Amazing.

Holy cow! I just went through all 230 pages of totally cool stuff.

Geez, after having to sell all that, no wonder he was depressed!

[Toadofsky]

Holy cow! I just went through all 230 pages of totally cool stuff.

Geez, after having to sell all that, no wonder he was depressed!

The more I think about it though, you think you'd really NEED all that stuff? Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have all those arcade units, many of them being my absolute favorites (Crazy Taxi, Top Skater, and Alpine Racer 2 just to name a few).

I will say this, just because you can have almost anything you want, doesn't always make you happy.

[lazygecko]

These are very recent photos from a concert rehearsal. He looks to be in pretty high spirits.

Recorded microphone test:

http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/6/28/2492260/Audio%20Sample.mp3

The claims that "he was a wreck" and "couldn't sing" are pretty much bullshit.

[Salluz]

Well, I've got the hee-hee down, but it breaks in the high falsetto range. I can't stand on my toes very long, maybe a second or two.

Edit: OMG X-Men! Michael Jackson had X-Men games! OMG! N64! Tekken! Pac-Man! Mortal Kombat!

[Toadofsky]

The claims that "he was a wreck" and "couldn't sing" are pretty much bullshit.

From the looks of it, I'd say you're right.

Edit: OMG X-Men! Michael Jackson had X-Men games! OMG! N64! Tekken! Pac-Man! Mortal Kombat!

I told ya, the guy had taste.

[The Coop]

Now that things have begun to settle down, I guess I'll give my thoughts on all this...

I've never been the biggest Michael Jackson fan. That's not to say I didn't recognize his talents, or hated the man. He could dance like no one's business back during his prime (when Fred Astaire said MJ was the best dancer he'd ever seen, it's a compliment that's hard to ignore), and he made some memorable music and videos. He went through a rough and odd childhood, only to become a man-boy as he tried to recapture the childhood he never got to fully experience. There's a part of me that thinks his man-boy personality is what brought him to hang around the young boys so much, and that he really wasn't some child touchy-feely sicko. He just wanted to be around kids, and play. But I do feel this is part of what lead to his downward spiral.

See, there's another part of me that can't help but wonder about the first case he was accused of. The ones that followed it, I questioned, as it could easily have been a "Look how much that kid got!"-type of situation. Once that first case came and went, I could easily see others trying to cash in. But that first case isn't something that fades away so easily for me, as it kind of came out of nowhere.

Then of course, was all the odd behavior. The repeated plastic surgeries, the tabloid-like tidbits, his antics during court cases, holding a baby over a balcony railing... it became almost circus-like at times. He went from "The King of Pop", to "Wacko Jacko". He also went from a black man in Thriller, to the female monkey from the Planet of the Apes remake, in roughly a twenty year span. It's hard for me to just push such strange and seemingly self destructive happenings aside... and it seemed to be much the same for him, as it certainly consumed him quite a bit at times.

But now he's gone (unless you buy into the whole X-Files "He faked his own death so he could spend the rest of his life in peace and solitude from everyone" stuff... though I hear he'll be working at the same 7-11 with 2Pac). He left behind a tragic, strange, and sometimes humorous legacy... one dotted with songs that stick with you, videos that were more like movie productions, and dance steps that untold millions tried to learn. That's something no one can take away from him, and that's why he'll be remembered for many years to come.

Was he an icon? An idol? A force in music that can never be matched? No... I don't think he was. As I said, I feel he had talent, and he made some great music. But he wasn't the messiah, and every song he made wasn't golden. He had hits and misses like so many other artists... musical and personal ups and downs that let us know he wasn't anything other than human. An imperfect, talented, human. Not a god, not an idol, and not someone whose death has forever lessened the music world. I say this not to be mean, or to try and flame bait any rabid fans, but because it's my opinion. There are artists whose music I've enjoyed more of, songs by others that were just as memorable, and there are other artists who had profound effects in their own way. Michael was a one of a kind artist. That much is certain. But he's not the only one to be one of a kind. I think people are forgetting that fact.

With that, I bring my post to a close. It's a shame we'll never know if his comeback would have worked. I was curious to see just what he was going to pull out of his hat, seeing as he was 50 years old. Would he still have the stamina and voice to do show after show, and song after song? Did he still have the song writing abilities that got him so much adoration? Guess we'll never get an answer to that... at least until any unreleased songs surface.

So R.I.P. Michael, and here's hoping you found some of that peace you were trying so hard to obtain.

[Flare4War]

Well said Coop. Very well said, and my sentiments are quite similar.

[Salluz]

For anyone on the fence about how good he was, can you think of a single pop musician on his level today? A combination of singer, songwriter and dancer with the stylistic range and consistency of MJ? I can't.

THIS is considered to be good pop music today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIK-U6ZfyYE

Compare to this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG5NhkxQJQc

More proof of MJ's musicianship-

http://www.jpfolks.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/733474/page/1#Post733474

Read IN FULL. He was NOT just 'made by his producers', like modern pop artists...

That Black Eyed Peas song was brainwashing. Today's music is all about swagger, which can only be good to a degree. Guess it's time for me to step into the scene with true music, rhythm and lyricism.

Auto-tune is starting to get on my nerves because it's a machine, not a voice. Nothing can properly emulate the voice.

[Meteo Xavier]

I think by now this topic could use a more fitting title like "Remembering Michael Jackson". "Dead at 50" makes it sound like its still news.