Michael Jackson dead at 50

[JollyRoger]

While he did have pre-MTV success there is no doubt that nonstop video play of Beat It, Thriller, etc. certainly helped launch him into superstardom.

Yep. If it hadn't of been for Eddie Van Halen playing the guitar solo on Beat It, he may never have had so much crossover success. He may not have gained the traction for the Thriller video to be so highly anticipated and MTV may not have had the patience to play such a long video so often.

 

[Ramius75]

Oh no, Michael Jackson is dead.

Your Avatar is very appropriate...

 

[Berzerker]

rip

10chars

 

[azzaman333]

While he did have pre-MTV success there is no doubt that nonstop video play of Beat It, Thriller, etc. certainly helped launch him into superstardom.

Self promotion is a very important part of being a successful pop musician.

 

[Death_Machine]

Wish it was just the nightly news. It was CNN that I expected to air news coverage about Georgia, but they didn't. The BBC did though. Part of the reason I don't get much news from TV anymore.

CNN = nightly news 24 hours a day.

Self promotion is a very important part of being a successful pop musician.

I agree with what you said, but you could drop the word "pop" and have it ring even more true as every entertainer starting out needs to self promote.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

Odd, that most people here are honoring his death and his talent, when his heyday was before most of you all were even born.

Only those who know at least a bit about music.

RIP you wierd genius

 

[Shaihulud]

He was a sad man I think and one of the greatest performer of our times. I wish his end was more dignified and people remember him for his music.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Moderator Action: All the personal attacks and off-topic comments need to stop.

 

[Danielos]

Moderator Action: All the personal attacks and off-topic comments need to stop.

Do you mean personal attacks on Michael Jackson or to each other?

 

[aelf]

The non-conformist thing to do today is to be conformist

I think, if we're to be reasonable, this is quite noteworthy. Not everyone knows who some important historical figure is, but I would wager that a lot of people knew who he was back in the day. Clearly he's an icon.

That said, the lengths to which the media and some people are taking this exceed all manner of reasonability.

 

[Danielos]

Well, with his early, spectacular death Michael Jackson will be the Elvis of our time. Instead of slowly aging into obscurity, he will become a legend and enigma. I wouldn´t be surprised if we would soon hear people saying that they have seen Jackson alive and well somewhere in the world...

 

[Formaldehyde]

People have limited attention spans, so they'll pay the most attention to the biggest story at the time. They won't forget about other things, but they'll stop caring as much.

The death of MJ, or anybody else for that matter, has not made me forget anything and it hasn't caused me to stop caring as much about any other topic. And I can't imagine any other reasonably intelligent person acting in any other way.

While it is certainly true that network news providers have a limited amount of time to address all the stories they wish to cover, I seriously doubt any of them quit covering the other important stories completely after MJ died.

Exactly- this thread is getting more activity than the one about Iran had at it's height.

That only means that that the people in this particular thread feel they have something worthwhile to contribute as opposed to the other. Or at I would hope that's the case...

 

[kill fire]

Edit: sh** my keyboards acting all weird.

 

[MobBoss]

The real odd thing I see about this entire thing is now that MJ is dead, he was (insert word here) to everyone. That is, every news outlet, every comment, is about how great he was, and blah, blah, blah, while over the last decade or so, they continually treated him like a freak and deservedly so.

I dont get it.

He died somewhere between 400 and 500 million dollars in debt. And to be honest, when I heard about him going to the hospital, I actually thought he was doing it to avoid another court date - he faked illness many times as an excuse for that. And I dont believe for one instant that he was on the 'verge' of a huge comeback and going to make huge bank. His last few musical offerings tanked pretty badly, and he absolutely hasnt been the model of consistency over the last 5 years or so.

I say this as I really liked Michael Jackson....before he got weird and before the media tore him apart the way they did. I see a lot of file footage from his Jackson 5 days, and I cant help thinking 'what the heck happened'....

 

[Danielos]

The real odd thing I see about this entire thing is now that MJ is dead, he was (insert word here) to everyone. That is, every news outlet, every comment, is about how great he was, and blah, blah, blah, while over the last decade or so, they continually treated him like a freak and deservedly so.

I dont get it.

He died somewhere between 400 and 500 million dollars in debt. And to be honest, when I heard about him going to the hospital, I actually thought he was doing it to avoid another court date - he faked illness many times as an excuse for that. And I dont believe for one instant that he was on the 'verge' of a huge comeback and going to make huge bank. His last few musical offerings tanked pretty badly, and he absolutely hasnt been the model of consistency over the last 5 years or so.

I say this as I really liked Michael Jackson....before he got weird and before the media tore him apart the way they did. I see a lot of file footage from his Jackson 5 days, and I cant help thinking 'what the heck happened'....

Well, mass media are like ruthless piranhas. They would write anything that sells. Jackson the Freak sold well. Now, Jackson the Beloved Artist and Hero is better, and that is their angle to sell.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

Well he was the American equivalent of Princess Di I suppose. She was a mental too.

 

[Drakan]

Michael Jackson was a genius.

It's like if a modern day Amadeus had passed away. I still cannot come to terms with it.

His musical legacy will live on forever.

Let's hope he now finds the peace he never got in life.

R.I.P.

 

[choxorn]

The death of MJ, or anybody else for that matter, has not made me forget anything and it hasn't caused me to stop caring as much about any other topic. And I can't imagine any other reasonably intelligent person acting in any other way.

Exactly the problem: The majority of Americans aren't reasonably intelligent.

 

[kill fire]

^ thats what i was trying to say before my keyboard screwed up.

 

[Formaldehyde]

I can't very well disagree with that sentiment. But they usually don't watch the news, either.