With the death of Michael Jackson comes a lot of issues. The one that I find interesting is if it is correct/appropriate/acceptable to separate the man from the art. It seems in creativity we find many odd characters and Michael Jackson is the poster child for oddity. Some have vilified him as a child molester, at the very least most call him a weird guy.
But what about the music?
I spent a rather long time driving the other day on my way to and from Torrey Pines and part of the trip I spent listening to an L.A. station, KJLH, and it's tribute to the King of Pop. After a couple of hours of hearing hits like "Thriller", "PYT", "Remember the Time" and countless other tunes I felt happy. I like the music. I am thankful that he was here for as long as he was and created such joy with his music.
Listening I remember where I was the first time I heard "Off the Wall" (it was my first trip to Hawaii) and the first time I saw the video for "Billy Jean" (on that video show Richard Blade hosted in the 80's called MV3). I remembered how with "Billy Jean" Michael Jackson opened the world media to black artists. Before he came on the scene with the lighted sidewalk MTV was exclusively white artists. MJ changed everything. I remember Richard Blade introducing the video on MV3 and starting off by saying that he knew he would get some flack for playing it on a "new wave" show but he also knew that this was something extraordinary that he needed to share.
There is no doubt that his legacy will be the music but is it appropriate to support his legacy even with the child molester claims?
I think so.
I think that creativity comes with the price that ultimately cost the man his life. Just like artists that commit suicide (Kurt Cobain). Just like people who get famous for being crazy and fall to the excesses of celebrity (John Belushi, Chris Farley). I believe that many of the most revered men in history (e.g. Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson) had demons that they fought with that never got the in depth coverage of a tabloid or a website. Do we really know what being a "womanizer" was back then?
I do not condone child abuse of any kind but I can separate the personality from the art and say "I like the music".
Thank you Michael.
3 comments:
The county coroner has confirmed that Michael Jackson hasn't been this stiff since Macaulay Culkin slept over ...
When Farrah Fawcett died, God took her into heaven and said, "Farrah, you were a good person, but you suffered in life. I will grant you one wish, anything you would like."
Farrah thought about it a moment, then said, "God, I want all the children of the world to be safe."
So God killed Michael Jackson.
You know, they can't cremate Michael Jackson. Apparently he's 99% plastic, so they're going to melt him down and make legos with him.
And now little boys can play with him, for a change.
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