Michael Jackson - Making Money

[Mr BHT]

I was never a big fan by any means, but it is indeed a sad end to a sad life, and an event that makes me think about wealth and talent and happiness and how it isn't always possible to have all three. In the end Jacksons life comes down to many factors. I think he was surrounded by 'yes' men myself, and that's not good for anyone. Did anyone see the documentary that Bashir did? When Michael held the baby over the balcony only Bashir had the balls to tell him off for it, whilst everyone else stayed silent. I imagine that's the way it's always been, and now the poor man has paid the price. I hope he's been able to find some of the peace that alluded him in life.

RIP Michael.

[Larry]

quite a shock to see the headline Michael Jackson, was undoubtedly a very talented individual but sadly a very emotionaly unstable person aswell.

[Si Hunt]

Hearing this news has been hard, astonishing even, but as in life, it's made even harder by the naysayers spouting the same old tired cliches that are either incorrect or irritatingly lazy. I'm not interested in stupid tabloid jokes ("Wacko Jacko"), I am, and have been, simply fascinated in this amazingly talented man and what we can draw from him in terms of great music.

Everyone knows the classics of course, and they get trotted out all too often - "Billie Jean", "Thriller", "Beat It". There's stacks more, because he rarely did a bad track before 1993. "Human Nature", "Dirty Diana", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man In The Mirror", "One Day In Your Life", "She's Out Of My Life", "Thriller", "The Girl Is Mine"....but it's when he started two discrete agenda's in his songs, roundabout 1987, that people start being polarised in opinion.

The first is the rally back against the press. This is where Anger rears itself in Jackson's music, namely in "Leave Me Alone". I'm not quite sure why people react against this - maybe because it's harder to listen to an angry song, or they don't like the idea of him fighting back, or that the devastating aggression sits very contrary to the "child inside a mans body" persona to the extent where people can't believe they can both be the same person, and begin to doubt the latter (more on the topic of cynacism in a moment). But I still think the aggressives songs are good - "Leave Me Alone" has a pounding, irressistable beat and is as well defined as any of his tracks. They would get a bit much on "HIStory", but they would essentially form the heart of the 'dance engine' of his albums in the future.

The second agenda he has is to spread his idealistic vision to his audience. This is the part of him I find most interesting. That vision, for better or worse, is clear and constant from when it first appears (probably the first inklings on "Man In The Mirror" - change yourself, make the world a better place) right up to the end. Drop your weapons. Don't have wars. We are all brothers. Don't kill the elephants. The messages really are that simple and, some would say, naieve. And it is, I find, what splits the people who are MJ fans today, and those that arn't. Because you DO either love him, or hate him, or think he's a talented musician but hate all that stuff as well. Why is this? Why do some buy totally into the vision and others roll their eyes and just want to slag him off because of it? I think it's to do with cynacism. Personally, I hear those words and they are so simple, so innocent, that they just melt my heart. You may laugh, or think I'm a fool, if you are cynical:

We Could Fly So High
Let Our Spirits Never Die
In My Heart
I Feel You Are All
My Brothers
Create A World With
No Fear
Together We'll Cry
Happy Tears
See The Nations Turn
Their Swords
Into Plowshares

I just love one of those lines in particular - "in my heart, I feel you are all my brothers". A lot of lyrics like these unfortunately come over as preachy, but here he just says something about himself. He says how he feels. And even if you hate the sound of children playing in the song, or the way at the end a chorus of adults voices fade into a childs voice repeating "Heal the world we live in, save it for the children", you can't deny the intent seems to be there - the vocal seems to yearn for you to see his point of view. It sounds so crass now, doesn't it? "Save the world for the children". Like "be green" and "save the whales" and even the song's title, people have absorbed the phrase until its become a cliche and meaningless. The whole thing almost seems too trite to be true. But that's because we're all cynical. Just suppose (no, please, just suspend your media-blitzed, reality-ravaged, cynical belief for a moment) that Jackson is, in his heart, just ridiculously, childishly, idealistic. I believe this is why those of us who, deep in our hearts, have a place where we are still kids, still uncynical, can accept these lyrics, while others just can't. I believe that, at least while writing songs, Michael Jackson may always have been a child inside.

Another favourite of mine is the "Earthsong" video. The moment when suddenly time reverses, and the creatures come back to life, and the elephant grows back its tusks and gets back up, just makes me cry. Every time. It's such a pure, childlike thing to "make" happen. Some people hate this. But fine. I think again it's because they are incapable of just stopping for a moment and letting themselves fantastise that it could happen. Again, the message in the song is a great one, no? Do you not think the idea of such beautiful creatures not being slaughtered is wonderful? So why did so many people just pour scorn on it? Well, they didn't at the time because it was Number One for weeks but we erase that from history and pretend they always did. But, again, we don't believe anyone could be that idealistic and mean it, so it must all be to flog records, right? Even though he never tried to sell us these ideals during the "Thriller" era when most people claim he was at his commercial peak. And he didn't ever have to sing about saving the animals, or racial equality, did he? He must have done it, because he believed it. People just arn't interested though. They focus on the BRITS performance of the following year where, because he was dressed in white and surrounded by kids (another image that anyone with an ounce of cynacism, and I sadly include myself might interprete as having an alterior agenda), and we claim he was trying to "be Jesus". And we somehow feed this image back through time and today claim that the "Earthsong" video, in which he sings while a ravaged Earth is blown to dust behind him, is him trying to "be Jesus". Seemingly just because he's dressed in white - go figure.

But criticism of Jackson spiralled out of control long ago. I don't mind too much when it's fair, but it frequently isn't. I think, for what it's worth, that most of his problems started in his early teens. The Jackson 5 petered out in the early-mid seventies and the sensible thing to do would have been to let Michael grow up for a few years. But if you check the record books for listings of lost albums, the gap between the end of the group and "Off The Wall" is not release free. It's chocked full of flop albums, because he was locked in the studio churning out crap filler records because a money-hungry father and record company were ever eager for new "product". One of these albums in particular shows a pimply, awkward teenager staring out from the sleeve. Consider that, also at this time, his Father regularly teased him for being "ugly" and having a "big nose", and beat him. Now imagine that, AND having your mishapen, puberty-ridden face splashed on record sleeves as well. Doesn't that seem to explain his fixation with altering his face for the rest of his life? But don't bother to think about it, just believe it's because he was trying to look more white. People tried to slag off "Black or White" because "it's hypocrical, because he's trying to be white!" but they were thinking about it the wrong way round. Instead of saying that, and not bothering to consider why someone would WANT to preach a message they didn't believe in, why not think "If he believes in racial equality, that must mean there's another reason why he keeps messing with his face"? Because it's easier not to.

All these 'factors' just get more so as his career progresses through the '90's, and that's why people turned against him, I think (well, not record buyers, "HIStory" was the biggest selling double album ever at that point, and spawned seven Top 10 hits. Again, people just pretend this didn't happen). His appearance gets more bizarre, his songs go from being more angry ("Tabloid Junkie") and at the same time more idealistic ("Earth Song", "HIStory") and more 'pure', so paradoxically more difficult to believe. By "Childhood", he is saying this:

Have you seen my Childhood?
I'm searching for that wonder in my youth
Like pirates in adventurous dreams,
Of conquest and kings on the throne...

Before you judge me, try hard to love me.
The painful youth I've had

Again, it's such a plain, almost childishly uncomplicated thing to say, that we don't believe a word of it. But is there not a case for saying that, as human beings, we should read the above and not wonder if, just perhaps, that's how he feels? That it's a cry for help? "try hard to love me". If you have any love in your heart, that's an unbearably sad thing for anyone to ask.

But I don't know. Perhaps the song WAS written by a marketing genius. Perhaps he sat down and decided to write a song to get sympathy for himself. But I don't honestly think I really believe that. I think Michael Jackson was a lot of things - I think he had shockingly bad taste in clothes, for someone who summoned up so much aggression to rally against his detractors in music, he had a lack of backbone when managing himself that meant he was trampled over in life. But he was, in a sense, too good to be true. When someone is so obviously pure of heart, it must be a trick. Mustn't it?

Well, we should all make up our own minds I suppose. But it strikes me that he had a lot of friends, a lot of people that knew him well that would have known the truth. If you'd met him, worked with him, got to know him, I think you'd be able to tell if he was for real. And, funnily enough, I can't think of a single person that's actually worked with him (integral, respected people from all generations - Quincy Jones, Diana Ross, Will.i.am) that's not said he's not ok. I suspect that might tell us something.

"No one understands me"

Oh Michael, how right you were.

Si.

[Thasc]

I've never been a fan of his, but it's always sad news to hear of somebody passing away at such a young age

[SiHart]

That was an excellent post Si. It was nice to read the thoughts of a fan and there was some thought provoking material in there.

Si xx

[Perry Vale]

Agreed.

I love this story a friend of mine posted eslewhere....

Ice T once said about Michael Jackson that he had issues with Jacko's cosmetic surgery and "that thing with the kids", but that he could "take the meanest mother****er out of the block to a Jackson concert and in 5 minutes he'll be screamin' like a biiitch..."

[Mr BHT]

I just love one of those lines in particular - "in my heart, I feel you are all my brothers". A lot of lyrics like these unfortunately come over as preachy, but here he just says something about himself. He says how he feels. And even if you hate the sound of children playing in the song, or the way at the end a chorus of adults voices fade into a childs voice repeating "Heal the world we live in, save it for the children", you can't deny the intent seems to be there - the vocal seems to yearn for you to see his point of view. It sounds so crass now, doesn't it? "Save the world for the children". Like "be green" and "save the whales" and even the song's title, people have absorbed the phrase until its become a cliche and meaningless. The whole thing almost seems too trite to be true. But that's because we're all cynical. Just suppose (no, please, just suspend your media-blitzed, reality-ravaged, cynical belief for a moment) that Jackson is, in his heart, just ridiculously, childishly, idealistic. I believe this is why those of us who, deep in our hearts, have a place where we are still kids, still uncynical, can accept these lyrics, while others just can't. I believe that, at least while writing songs, Michael Jackson may always have been a child inside.

What always gets me with artists when they make this stance in their music is their lifestyles don't always measure up to these lofty ideals. In what ways was Michael Jackson 'green' for instance? He lived in a obscenely big house, rode around in fuel guzzling cars, had planes all to himself etc. It isn't a accusation that can be laid solely at Michael Jackson though.

It's like charity songs when we hear people like Bono saying 'a million pounds will make all the difference to so and so,' and you feel like shouting back 'you've got a 100 million pounds, why don't you pay out a bit more!' It's the sort of thing that turned me against Madonna. She started preaching all the 'be kind and start sharing' mantra, but it's not like that when she can cream £150 per concert ticket out of gullible fans is it?

For what it's worth, I think Michael Jackson was as genuine as he knew how to be. It's just been surrounded by people who would never say 'no' to him that would have messed him up the most in my opinion.

I did enjoy the post Si. In many ways it describes the appeal of Doctor Who for me. The 'childlike' ideal to try and be better, to make a stand, to say no, even if it's only in a small way. It's an ideal worth believing in.

[Ralph]

It's shocking news isn't it?

I have to say, as is possibly well known, I've never been a huge fan and that's probably not going to change, but it is very sad to hear. In many ways he's a tragic reminder that fame doesn't always bring happiness with it and thatalways being in the spotlight, right from your childhood isn't healthy.

RIP Michael.

Si xx

This pretty much sums it for me.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Ironically with the Royalties from all the airplay today his money worries were probably over.

[Si Hunt]

You don't get royalties from airplay.

Si.

[Wayne]

You don't get royalties from airplay.

The composer does, but not the artist/band as such. Unless of course they're one and the same.

ETA: I have my opinions about MJ, but this is not the place, & 50 is no age for anyone to die.
Ian & Si's post perhaps sum up my feelings about his life & untimely death.
RIP Michael.

[Larry]

Ironically with the Royalties from all the airplay today his money worries were probably over.

and apparantly HMV, never one to pass up an oppotunity to make money are alreading cashing in ..

[Si Hunt]

How?

Si.

[Matthew T]

Black balloons, big displays, playing his music.

I wouldn't class it as cashing in myself tho, they're a music store, it's just right that they'd do something like that.

[Si Hunt]

Also, giving them the benefit of the doubt, if *I* worked there, that's the sort of thing I'd do. I've been playing MJ all morning in tribute. If I worked in a music store, I'd do the same. I'd think that was what people wanted to hear as well.

Si.

[duncan]

I see some of the Bad merchandise is going for large sums on ebay already. Two items in particular, the Bad tour programme and the Bad LP are both well over £50 each already. I have both, but am I ruthless enough to cash in? I'm not sure I could do it.

[Si Hunt]

I find it hard to understand why his death would suddenly prompt anyone to want to buy a 20 year old tour programme! A CD? Maybe, to listen to. But a tour programme? Is it a general feeling that these things are now more valuable, so the dealers are trying to stockpile them for years to come?

Si.

[Lissa]

As of 4pm today his death is still "BREAKING NEWS" on Sky News.

[Captain Tancredi]

Interesting that BBC News and Sky News still have it as practically the only story- Fox News and CNN are covering Barack Obama and Angela Merkel meeting and discussing Iran. Then again, anybody who's followed 'The West Wing' will understand the significance of "take out the trash day".

[Stuart Wallis]

and apparantly HMV, never one to pass up an oppotunity to make money are alreading cashing in ..

Not that I was a fan, but this does make me feel uncomfortable - if they must make a couple of bob out of him, could they not at least wait til the corpse is cold and the coffin lid screwed on? As Lissa said, even Sky only appeared to find out he was dead three hours ago!

[Captain Tancredi]

I suppose HMV are going to argue that they're only giving people what they want- any musician's death tends to spark a fresh interest in their work, and (particularly in a recession) it would be asking a lot of HMV or any other retailer to say "sorry, we've decided to take all his CDs off the shelves as a mark of respect".

[Si Hunt]

I'm fed up of all the nasty, ill-informed comments everywhere. Like: (all real examples, observed round the net during the last 24 hours)

- "How can you possibly post messages of regret over the death of MJ when [insert heroic persons name] is dead too" - like you can't grieve for more than one person?!

- "Get some perspective". Aside from the dubious action of actually telling someone how strongly they can feel about someone's death, it's not like it's someone who's not had any impact on peoples lives - only the biggest pop icon of the last century

- "Don't be a sheep". Like you have the right to tell me WHY i'm posting about this person?

- "Has everyone forgotton he was accused of child abuse". No, but he was proven INNOCENT. That doesn't make him innocent, but it does mean that as human beings, in the absence of any proof, evidence or information, we have a moral right to judge him innocent. Unless you think anyone ever accused of anything should be suspected guilty forever.

- "... when he was declared bancrupt" (he wasn't)

- "He probably faked his death to get out of the tour"

ABOVE ALL ELSE these people have been peddling their spiteful, mis-informed shit for the past twenty years. Can't they just let up for ONE DAY while those of us who liked the man can celebrate and remember him? Not out of respect to him, but to us. Just one day.

Si.

[Perry Vale]

Wow, Eastenders put in a Michael Jackson mention, way to go!

[Paul Clement]

I was a huge fan when I was younger, when the album Thriller had not long come out. I think it was one of, if not the most, played album I've ever owned. Sometime over the years I actually found myself disliking some of the songs on the album because I'd overplayed it. I still don't like Billie Jean as a song because of it, but it still had some gems like Human Nature and Baby Be Mine that didn't get overplayed ad nauseam.
I still remember the excitement of Bad coming out. Getting it the first day it was released and playing it over and over again, giving the songs a real run through, buying Off the Wall and Got to be There on LP (both albums I still own). Bad was never as good an album as Thriller IMO, and at the time there were a couple of songs I really didn't like. One of them, Smooth Criminal, is probably only second to Human Nature as my favourite Michael Jackson song. My biggest, and most enjoyable memory of Michael Jackson will always be going to the opening night of the Bad Tour at Wembley in '87. I remember it vividly, even down to the long wait before we went in. I'm delighted to say I got to see one of the greatest performers ever at the peak of his career.
My love of his music waned over the years, and although I bought Dangerous when it came out, and even liked most of the songs, it never scaled the heights of the two previous albums for me. I found, as the years passed, that I even lost my fondness for some of the tracks I'd used to like, although new ones had grown on me. It wasn't that I'd outgrown his music, more that his music had outgrown me. I still pined for him to release a Thrilleresque album, while he had moved into a completely different direction.

I'm listening to Thriller at the moment and loving it. Beat It is playing and it's a cracking tune. I'm even prepared to give Bille Jean another go.

[Anthony Williams]

The one thing that's always struck me about Michael Jackson is that he seems to have led a very sad life. Abused from a young age by his own father, then thrust into the limelight at aged 8. It's no wonder that a number of people made the accusation that he "never grew up" - after all, what sort of childhood must he have had?

Undoubtedly hugely self-conscious, hence numerous rhinoplasties. Likewise, he was diagnosed with vitiligo, which is why he had his skin bleached. Some say that he had his skin bleached due to a desire to be white - although given how distressing a condition like vitiligo can be, I suspect that this is completely false, although no-one bar his immediate family can be sure. He was also diagnosed with lupus, an auto-immune disorder, that was in remission.

No-one was ever entirely sure as to whether he had large amounts of plastic surgery to his face - supposedly numerous rhinoplasties, a forehead lift, thinned lips and cheekbone surgery. However, others have attributed his radical change in appearance due to annorexia. Again, it's not something that we are ever likely to know.

The two sets of allegations of paedophilia undoubtedly had a major impact on his mental state, even though he was found innocent on both occasions. His affinity towards children undoubtedly drew much criticism since the early 90s. He began taking prescription painkillers, which have been rumoured to be what brought on the heart attack that is being reported to have killed him.

There was, of course, the whole Bashir documentary farce, which brought about the second set of charges of child abuse, as well as showing how he had no concept of how the real world works. This, of course, all went on at the same time as the whole dangling-baby-off-a-balcony incident.

There are hundreds of examples of his eccentricity, but there can be little doubt that the man was a musical genius. Spawning numerous hit albums (as well as Invisible), with many fantastic songs. But every genius has something to counter that - and in Michael Jackson's case, that was undoubtedly at the cost of his health, both physical and mental.

Although I rarely appreciated his music, it is clear to me that the world has lost someone who had a great deal of influence amongst many, many musicians from the late 70s to the present.

However, what also seems clear to me is that although Michael Jackson died yesterday, the King of Pop had died ten years ago.

Ant x