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Michael Jackson - King Of Pop

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Fraser McAlpine | 10:34 UK time, Friday, 26 June 2009

Michael Jackson

Thoughts on the day's events:

1: When I first heard the news last night, my very first reaction, after years of being snowblinded by news coverage about his life, was something close to "chuh, TYPICAL! What will that man do next??". That's not a nice way to react to something, I'm not proud, but it does reflect the kind of media hysteria and cynicism that surrounded the man all the time.

It took about half an hour to break through all that and realise that he was an actual human man to whom a terrible thing had happened.

2: It's hard to know how to react emotionally to the death of someone who was so famous, sorry, IS so famous, that in a sense they were never really alive. Not in the sense that you could picture them sitting in your front room sipping tea. And yet all you need to do is hear a bar or two of his music and it's clear something enormous has happened. That's where the emotions are coming from.

3: I've had a few conversations with people expressing surprise that teenagers are just as blown away by Michael's death as people who were sentient during his absolute peak as a performer. But they forget three key things:
a) this is a star whose music broke boundaries all over the world, from Africa to Eastern Europe to Greenland. His global musical impact is as big as it gets. No-one else really comes close. The man's music is in a home very near you, that's my point.
b) everyone under the age of 45 grew up with Michael Jackson, he's part of the cultural fabric of the modern world. Pull that thread out, and everything changes. It's upsetting.
c) the good stuff is BRILLIANT. What, you think young people have no taste?

4: Pop stars are supposed to be mysterious, enchanting, charismatic, spell-binding, bewildering, alluring beings. Michael Jackson was very very good at being a pop star. Whether that means he was also good at being at human being is a whole other question.

5: It was an act of hubris from Team Jackson in the late '80s to insist that journalists refer to Michael as the King of Pop as if it was his trademark - they even did it when announcing his death - but if anyone can think of someone else who better deserves that title, I'm all ears (no, Mr Andre, not you).

6: It is fair to say that any music collection which does not contain a single Michael Jackson-related song is the poorer for it. Even hardcore metal-heads have to respect the Eddie Van Halen guitar solo in 'Beat It', or Slash on 'Black Or White'. Anyone with half an ear to the world of pop knows that Michael Jackson was, and is, a big big deal.

7: The news of Michael's death was such a sudden spike of interest on the web, Google were afraid that they were under attack. His death almost crashed the internet. Even if people are just exchanging off-colour jokes, that's still an amazing thing

That's all I've got so far. Feel free to add your own thoughts below. I'm off to listen to the 'Thriller' album...

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    Michael Jackson is a musical genius.

    I say "is" because his legacy of music will live on forever .

    Whatever people may feel about Michael Jackson the person... there can be no denying that Michael Jackson the musician , is one of the most famous and influential artists that has ever lived.

    In 1991 he became the first US artist to enter the UK singles chart at NUMBER 1, since Elvis Presley in 1960.

    An outstanding ,innovative singer/songwriterand performer has broken countless records for his singles , albums, videos and tours.

    Thriller is the world's biggest selling album.

    In the u.k he has sold over 11 million singles !

    Michael Jackson's influence can be heard in many ,many songs.

    I received many sad messages last night, and anyone who appreciates good music will be mourning the loss of a musical genius.

    Michael Jackson r.i.p

    You leave us with an amazing musical legacy !

  • Comment number 2.

    Spirit's ten favourite Michael Jackson songs, in no particular.....

    1) Off the wall
    2) Billie Jean
    3) Smooth criminal
    4) Man in the mirror
    5)Wanna be startin something
    6)They don't care about us
    7)Beat it
    8) Black or white
    9)You are not alone
    10)Dirty Diana

    So hard to pick just ten...

  • Comment number 3.

    Firstly, I agree with Fraser, my first reaction was also a "tuh! what won't he do for publicity!"

    Secondly, whatever you might think about him, there is great music in the world because of him.

    Thirdly, although I tend towards Jarvis Cocker's attitude towards him, I think Michael was probably misunderstood, and definitely badly advised.

    Favourite Michael Jackson Tracks (in no particular order):

    1. Billie Jean
    2. Beat It
    3. Black or White
    4. Don't Stop Till You Get Enough
    5. Bad
    6. Smooth Criminal
    7. Man in the Wurzels
    8. Thriller
    9. One Day in Your Life
    10. Wurzels Be Starting Something


    Thranjax

  • Comment number 4.

    A legend to the end, RIP MJ

  • Comment number 5.

    I'm not a big fan of michael jackon's music (say about my music taste what you will - all music is subjective) and these past couple of days have only served to make his songs even less appealing to me as you cannot escape them on the radio.
    However, I do understand that so much of today's music stems from his, and so in that respect, he has done enormous amounts for popular culture, in much the same way as the beatles.
    I am also saddened for his family and friends, as it is always a horriffic experience to lose somebody you love.
    Yet I find myself unable to feel much sympathy towards the man himself. I know he clearly had issues, but to my mind that is not an excuse for the crimes he allegedly committed towards young children. I can't bring my self to empathise with somebody who themselves clearly had little empathy for others.
    It is a shame his personal life had to tarnish his outstanding career.

  • Comment number 6.

    Rest In Peace, Michael Jackson.

  • Comment number 7.

    i went running today and listening to the show , M J came on with man in the mirror , i was running so fast and a rush came all over me my feet never touched the track , MJ the greatest , RIP

  • Comment number 8.

    It will be interesting , after the sad passing of Michael Jackson , to see the impact of recent events has on tonights charts.

    In the album chart , it has been reported that his Number 1's collection could indeed be number 1.

    In the singles chart ,you will probably see a lot of Michael Jackson songs , that many people have downloaded .

    Next Sunday , if there is an MJ single that really grabs the public consciousness, it will feature very highly in the chart indeed and be very near the top.

    Hearing his music everywhere , just underlines just how brilliant and influential he was !

  • Comment number 9.

    I don't think he was a child molester. He had the mental age of a ten year old - no wonder, since he never had a proper childhood. Imagine how hard it must be for someone who was abused as a child and probably had body dysmorphic disorder, to have that amount of money and that amount of people talking about you and making things up. I think his music is amazing.

  • Comment number 10.

    I truly believe that, as this is a music blog , we should just be discussing Michael's music here .



  • Comment number 11.

    It is quite dis -heartening that the new chart was announced at 7pm tonight , it is now midnight and neither the singles or album chart on the Radio 1 website has been updated.

    If you look at it now , Kelly Rowland has the number 1 single and Kasabian have the number 1 album.

    It breaks my heart , because Michael Jackson has the number 1 album , and Radio 1 should be the first to put it on their website ! ( I am sad that I have had to go to another site to gain this chart information.)

    If there is a technical problem then I apologise, if not, then I lose a little faith , as five hours after the chart, I should be seeing Michael Jackson's name at number 1 ! It should be updated straightaway.

    Sorry for a bit of a rant but the fact that Michael Jackson has about 20 singles in the top 75, and many in the top 40 , adds fuel to the fact that the site needs to be updated at 7.pm every Siunday ! No excuses ! This is the best radio station in the world and this is a basic requirement .
    The chart show is the jewel for Radio 1, and should be treated so. It is one of the foundations of what the entire music industry is based.

    Man in the mirror is number 11 , and could go to number 1 next Sunday.

    Michael Jackson , may peace be with you.

  • Comment number 12.

    It has kindly been brought to my attention ,that there is a technical error, and this is why the chart could not be updated straight away at 7pm like it always should be.

    Hope it gets sorted quick, and we can all see the King of pop's name at Number 1.

  • Comment number 13.

    no matter what bad press MJ had, seperate the music from the man and there is no denying what an amazing artist he was/is/will always be.

    No one could possibly understand what his upbringing and childhood did to him mentally. I accept he was a troubled man, and it always breaks my heart when i see photos of him when he was younger and see what a gorgeous young man he was, and how he could have look at 50.

    I've been a fan since i was 6 and remembering going to buy 'Bad' on vinyl at my local supermarket. I would not have the passion i have for music now if it were not for MJ - he was my first real passion - i doubt any musician off the last 30 or 40 years can say they have not been touched by his music in some way in another, even for a moment. he was a born entertainer and took what inspired him as a child (sammy davis jr, jackie wilson etc) and made himself into a cultural phenonemon that he was and always will be.

    I had never seen him live, and had tickets to the opening night of the show. I am so utterly devasted that I will never get to see him. he is the only person i said i would pay as much money as i possibly could to see him. Interestingly it was more expensive to see britney spears than MJ... and so gutted it will never happen.

    I always thought i was a massive fan until i met a girl i work with now - she loves him 400 million times more. She is so upset, it is like she has lost her dad, brother or uncle. I know alot of people don't understand this and blame the entire thing on the 'cult of celebrity' but to be honest that is a fairly modern phenomenon and i think the reaction to Mj would have been the same 20 or 30 years ago in the height of his fame.

    For me, a piece of my childhood just died. But as long as we have music, we have Michael.

  • Comment number 14.

    Sorry Spirit, but it's unrealistic to expect people to JUST talk about his music when remembering him, Chartblog or not. If the powers that be feel that anything inappropriate has been posted, then I'm sure they'll intervene - they don't appear to be shy about it (I mean the Blog Police, not Fraser).

    And on that note, I've got to respond to Olivia: "I know he clearly had issues, but to my mind that is not an excuse for the crimes he allegedly committed towards young children."

    I want to be clear that I was an MJ fan as a kid, and mourn his passing, but I'm not a die-hard obssessive, so hopefully my credibility won't be called into question when I say this.

    The "crimes he allegedly committed" were just that - allegations only. The guy was tried a few years ago and found not guilty. The parents of the other alleged victim in 1993 accepted payment instead of pursuing prosecution. So he didn't ever need an "excuse", because it was never clearly established that he ever did anything wrong. Of course none of us knows exactly what went on in his home, but unless you know for an actual, verifiable fact something that wasn't available to the jury in 2005, or any of the rest of us, then it's unfair to judge that the man "clearly had little empathy for others".

    All that is truly evident is that the guy had obvious issues with his evidence and an unhealthy relationship with cosmetic surgery, and enjoyed the company of children. Whether the latter was to a dangerous extent, we can't know for sure. And it's not as if it's a case where everyone "knows he did it really", and he's just got away with it. Even in the (unreliable) court of public opinion, he was never clearly condemned - some people assumed the worst and thought no smoke without fire; some thought he was just childlike, naive, had poor judgement and was exploited by cynical people who knew he'd rather pay to silence accusations rather than go through a lengthy and intrusive trial.

    My point is that I think we would all be wiser if we accepted that this is something that we'll likely never know the definitive truth on, and given that fact it's unfair to condemn someone, especially as he can no longer defend himself.

    Phew. Hope that didn't come across as too sanctimonious. Anyway, top ten (in chronological order only):

    Billie Jean
    Beat It
    Bad
    Dirty Diana
    Smooth Criminal
    Black or White
    Jam
    They Don't Care About Us
    Stranger In Moscow
    Blood On The Dancefloor

    I remember songs from "Thriller", but "Bad" is what I consider my era as a kid. Didn't generally like his ballads, the danceable songs were so much better. And it's recently occurred to me that there were real common threads to some of his songs - almost to the point of lack of originality at times. Like "Blood On The Dancefloor" is a bit of a retread of "Smooth Criminal", and "Give In To Me" was a bit of a "Dirty Diana", which in turn reminded me (at least in its theme) of "Billie Jean". And the look and feel of "Bad" touched on "Beat It" as well.

    But man, they were all tunes though. Brilliant.

  • Comment number 15.

    Many thanks for your respect Curtain Jerker.

    You have written exactly what I wanted to say , and you articulated this , extremely well.

    Excellent work.

    Spirit.

  • Comment number 16.

    In my post number 8 , I discussed the affect that Michael's death could have on the chart.

    His album is currently number 1 , but it will be Sunday's singles chart that will prove to all music fans the magic of Michael's music.

    The song that seems to strike a chord with most people is " Man in the mirror " , and I freely admit that when I heard it yesterday , it deeply moved me . The lyrics feel poignantly affecting.

    It was at number 11 last week , and there is a groundswell of feeling that may take this song to Number 1.

    Expect the singles chart to prove the magic of Michael Jackson !

  • Comment number 17.

    I have had many discussions with music people recently about the influence Michael Jacksons music has had .

    When it comes down to male solo singers..... the general feeling amongst my colleagues was that the two most influential male singers of all time are ...

    Elvis Presley and

    Michael Jackson.

    In terms of record sales , global impact , image recognition and song and vocal distinction , these were the two on everyones lips.

    That is how high in terms of music , that me and my music buddies hold Michael.

  • Comment number 18.

    music translates all languages and no one understood it,better than Michael Jackson...he is and will always be The king of pop..and by far the best dancer and singer this world has ever produced......i m gonna miss you mj........i love you..we all love you from the bottom of our heart.............
    deepak tiwari
    india..!!!

  • Comment number 19.

    I'm a 13 year old girl, and I am so shocked and absolutely devastated about Michael's death. He was so amazing and extremely talented and he will never be forgotten for his music and his dancing. I wish I had had a chance to see him live, as I was only just born last time he did, because he is just fantastic. I have been listening to all his songs loads since last Friday, and there are so many brilliant ones I have never heard before and his dancing in the videos is phenominal! I love him so much, and all his songs especcialy:
    Man in the Mirror (I'm listening to this now)
    Smooth Criminal
    In the Closet
    They Don't Really Care About Us
    Billie Jean

    I love you MJ, rest in peace xx

  • Comment number 20.

    If it's any consolation Crystal Tipps , what you are feeling is currently being felt by thousands of people all around the world.

    Deepak in India said it well when he or she stressed how music can translate into all languages .

    Michael Jackson's music was felt all around the world by many , many people .

    There is absolutely no doubt , in my mind , that the world of music has lost one of the absolute greats !

  • Comment number 21.

    Yes, but his third single, "I wanna be where you are" wasn't that good lol

    (re. current lady gaga thread)

    Thranjax

  • Comment number 22.

    If you wanna make the world a better place...

    Take a look at yourself and then make a change. !

  • Comment number 23.

    Michael Jackson fans

    Prepare yourselves for the magic of tomorrows chart !
    The genius lives on !!!

  • Comment number 24.

    The download generation has spoken !
    Elvis Presley held the previous record of 7 singles by one artist in the top 40 !
    This record has been blown out of the water tonight !
    Michael Jackson has an astonishing 13 singles in the top 40 !
    A fitting tribute by his fans to a musical legend !
    What do all you bloggers think of this incredible chart statistic ?

  • Comment number 25.

    I do feel I need to pass on a congratulatory note to Reggie Yates who hosted the Radio 1 chart show on his own tonight.
    As you all know I am a huge music fan , and love my chart , statistics , knowledge and facts etc
    Well I will be honest , music fan I am , the Sunday Chart show should be the highlight of my music week !
    Well I will tell you something , I could not listen to JK and Joel because they drove me crazy , and their take and delivery on a Chart Show was so far away from what I wanted to hear that I could never ever listen to it !
    I thought Reggie's performance tonight was absolutely wonderful.
    He handled the influx of all those Michael Jackson new enries with great empathy and a real love of music.
    Just like the best reviews , music quizzes or radio shows , if you come from the love of music angle , your audience will really be at one with you.
    Reggie's knowledge , appreciation of the situation , enthusiasm and ability to add the right amount of drama was absolutely spot on.
    Reggie you did incredibly well.
    Thanks for a brilliant show !

  • Comment number 26.

    "Would we still be dancing the same
    If Michael Jackson hadn't made music ? "

    The Teenagers - Wheel of Fortune .

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