In these weeks that have followed Michael Jackson’s death, I’ve made the mistake of reading a few too many comment boards and blogs with people’s reactions to this whole tragic ordeal. After reading these horrendously insensitive and sometimes downright offensive commentaries, I can hold back my anger no longer. This is definitely the first (and possibly the last) Who’s Simon Defending Now? piece dedicated to an artist who isn’t one of my personal favorites, but if there was ever a musician who needs defending right now, it’s the King of Pop.
I’m absolutely astounded by the number of people who seem indifferent, or even mildly glad that Jackson is dead. One of the most irritating comments I saw was something that popped up on my Facebook newsfeed, as someone had changed their status to “Farah Fawcett (R.I.P)…Michael Jackson (R.I.P…? Maybe not…).” Even if Michael Jackson wasn’t the single most successful and all-encompassing figure in all of music history, these kinds of sentiments show an excruciating lack of empathy and consideration. A man died, tragically, at the very young age of 50. Show some damn respect for human life, people.
Now, I understand why many people aren’t exactly shedding tears for Michael. His exhaustively documented personal problems are something the world has obsessively focused on. For his part, Michael never really helped his case during the past twenty years, since he A) wasn’t releasing very much new material for the world to fawn over and B) kept doing crazy shit. I wouldn’t even dream about trying to argue that Michael Jackson wasn’t a deeply troubled person. There’s no doubt about that. However, I urge people to separate the art from the artist. Jackson’s musical legacy is nothing short of god-like and a good dose of basic human empathy should help people overcome their image of Jackson as nothing more than a freak with a weird nose.
Jackson’s career, of course, started with his family and the Jackson 5. We all know how alternatively adorable and awesome they were. However, when you look at the facts about Michael’s family life, it’s amazing he wasn’t even stranger in his adult years. He endured a horrendous amount of abuse at the hands of his father, who basically did not allow his children to have any degree of a normal life. Plus, Michael’s childhood was spent traveling the country and playing shows with his brothers, who were, of course, much older than him. What kind of lifestyle do you think a band full of young men in a popular band are going to have? For young Michael, he grew up pretty damn fast (too fast, if you ask me).
Where most people would simply go insane at this point, Michael Jackson somehow kept his shit together long enough to launch the most successful solo career in the history of music. Off The Wall, Thriller, Bad, Dangerous…the list of Jackson’s earth-shattering albums goes on and on. These are titles that evoke pop music at its most powerful and, in the case of Thriller, the most popular album in the entire history of music. Over 100 million copies of Thriller have been sold world-wide. One-hundred million. Nothing else even comes close.
Besides recording some of the most successful albums of all time, Jackson’s solo career also features some incredible, peerless music that has gone on to influence an endless list of genres. Songs like “Billie Jean” are famous for a reason: they’re ridiculously good songs. I don’t care who you are or how much you deny it; you get shivers when you hear that bassline. With all of his songs packaged within revolutionary music videos, Jackson pioneered how music could be presented to the public. Of course, without Jackson, there would be no modern hip-hop or R&B as we know them today. The entire face of pop music would be different, virtually unrecognizable and infinitely less soulful. His magical voice redrew what pop music could be.
But that music isn’t what many people remember. What people remember is the endless debate about whether he sexually abused children. People remember the sloppy Photoshop pictures online that exaggerated Michael’s physical surgery. People remember a pop culture caricature, so far removed from anything they could relate to that they forgot he was an actual person. Yes, Michael Jackson was a very weird person and yes, there is a chance that he abused children. To say otherwise is just denial. We may never know the actual truth about most of Jackson’s very mysterious life. But, no matter who he was or what he did, the music Michael Jackson left behind is something that should be embraced above all else. I’m so glad to see people all over the world doing that already, as Jackson’s albums have flooded the charts for the first time in decades. To me, this is the most appropriate way to honor the legacy of one of the all-time greats in music. Don’t focus on his personal problems. Don’t ignore them, but take them in stride and, if you can, try to feel some empathy for this man who survived a brutal childhood of his own. Then, put on Off The Wall, start dancing and don’t stop ‘til you get enough.
I’m absolutely astounded by the number of people who seem indifferent, or even mildly glad that Jackson is dead. One of the most irritating comments I saw was something that popped up on my Facebook newsfeed, as someone had changed their status to “Farah Fawcett (R.I.P)…Michael Jackson (R.I.P…? Maybe not…).” Even if Michael Jackson wasn’t the single most successful and all-encompassing figure in all of music history, these kinds of sentiments show an excruciating lack of empathy and consideration. A man died, tragically, at the very young age of 50. Show some damn respect for human life, people.
Now, I understand why many people aren’t exactly shedding tears for Michael. His exhaustively documented personal problems are something the world has obsessively focused on. For his part, Michael never really helped his case during the past twenty years, since he A) wasn’t releasing very much new material for the world to fawn over and B) kept doing crazy shit. I wouldn’t even dream about trying to argue that Michael Jackson wasn’t a deeply troubled person. There’s no doubt about that. However, I urge people to separate the art from the artist. Jackson’s musical legacy is nothing short of god-like and a good dose of basic human empathy should help people overcome their image of Jackson as nothing more than a freak with a weird nose.
Jackson’s career, of course, started with his family and the Jackson 5. We all know how alternatively adorable and awesome they were. However, when you look at the facts about Michael’s family life, it’s amazing he wasn’t even stranger in his adult years. He endured a horrendous amount of abuse at the hands of his father, who basically did not allow his children to have any degree of a normal life. Plus, Michael’s childhood was spent traveling the country and playing shows with his brothers, who were, of course, much older than him. What kind of lifestyle do you think a band full of young men in a popular band are going to have? For young Michael, he grew up pretty damn fast (too fast, if you ask me).
Where most people would simply go insane at this point, Michael Jackson somehow kept his shit together long enough to launch the most successful solo career in the history of music. Off The Wall, Thriller, Bad, Dangerous…the list of Jackson’s earth-shattering albums goes on and on. These are titles that evoke pop music at its most powerful and, in the case of Thriller, the most popular album in the entire history of music. Over 100 million copies of Thriller have been sold world-wide. One-hundred million. Nothing else even comes close.
Besides recording some of the most successful albums of all time, Jackson’s solo career also features some incredible, peerless music that has gone on to influence an endless list of genres. Songs like “Billie Jean” are famous for a reason: they’re ridiculously good songs. I don’t care who you are or how much you deny it; you get shivers when you hear that bassline. With all of his songs packaged within revolutionary music videos, Jackson pioneered how music could be presented to the public. Of course, without Jackson, there would be no modern hip-hop or R&B as we know them today. The entire face of pop music would be different, virtually unrecognizable and infinitely less soulful. His magical voice redrew what pop music could be.
But that music isn’t what many people remember. What people remember is the endless debate about whether he sexually abused children. People remember the sloppy Photoshop pictures online that exaggerated Michael’s physical surgery. People remember a pop culture caricature, so far removed from anything they could relate to that they forgot he was an actual person. Yes, Michael Jackson was a very weird person and yes, there is a chance that he abused children. To say otherwise is just denial. We may never know the actual truth about most of Jackson’s very mysterious life. But, no matter who he was or what he did, the music Michael Jackson left behind is something that should be embraced above all else. I’m so glad to see people all over the world doing that already, as Jackson’s albums have flooded the charts for the first time in decades. To me, this is the most appropriate way to honor the legacy of one of the all-time greats in music. Don’t focus on his personal problems. Don’t ignore them, but take them in stride and, if you can, try to feel some empathy for this man who survived a brutal childhood of his own. Then, put on Off The Wall, start dancing and don’t stop ‘til you get enough.
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