Friday, June 26, 2009

There's isn't room for anything else today

Here's the songs I have on iTunes by him:

ABC

I Want You Back

Never Can Say Goodbye




Rockin' Robin

The Way You Make Me Feel

Human Nature

Do you think Farrah is bitching him out right now in the land of afterlife for taking all her press? Ed McMahon was used to being number two, so he probably got over it pretty quickly, but I'm not so sure about Farrah.

Ciao, Michael and Farrah and Ed.

43 comments:

(S)wine said...

my take on this shit is different (see my FB page) but i appreciate MJ up to and including Thriller. after that, Jacko became Fucko for me.

but anyway, this reminds me of when Robert Mitchum--an incredible talent--died, and literally 20 hrs. later Jimmy Stewart kicked the bucket and that was THAT for Mitchum. But, as w/Ed, MItchum was used to not getting the press.

Farrah didn't mean anything for me, ever. So I have no thoughts on that. I leave you with a Hemingway quote, which pretty much sums up the entire farce we call life. When asked about the death of a close friend Hemingway said: "He died like everyone else; and then he was dead."
The End.

Erin O'Brien said...

That is as brilliant a quote as I could ask for today.

henri Banks said...

Long live the king of Pop
Long live the king of Pop

Michael A. Miller said...

As long as it's not John Waters or Drew Carey...

Not today, Lord, not today...

Erin O'Brien said...

Henri and I think alike.

Michael, I'm thinking Liz Taylor might be next. How long can the old broad hold on? She's pushing 80.

Leslie Morgan said...

I picture Farrah stamping her foot and tossing her golden mane back with a pout. He only spotted her a few hours.

The song for me: She's Out of My Life, purportedly about Diana Ross. You can hear the man sob as he sang it.

The men I work with had some interesting takes on these deaths. One, about Michael, said: "OK, our kids will be safe now." Another is so young he'd never seen the iconic red swim suit poster.

philbilly said...

What (S)wine said, great musical talent, then demented freak. Joe Jackson is the prick who screwed up Jocko's head. The world is a better place with one less pedophile.

Farrah did some good with "Burning Bed" in 1984, bringing attention to domestic violence.
Everybody I knew had that poster, our parents somehow gave it a pass, they were mesmerized by those eyes, too.

Ed, first and foremost, was a decorated veteran of two wars. And a class act, who represents that side of the American entertainment industry that doesn't stink like an open sewer.

Near the end of his life, he was beset by parasites like Citibank.

Filthy animals, credit bankers. Their day is coming, and soon.

Think Nicholson coming through the door in "Shining".

Anonymous said...

To paraphrase John Adams ..."But Keith Richards lives...."

I thought of Elvis, I thought of that poster, then I realized Mark Sanford must be the luckiest man alive. It was he not Farrah that got swept off the front pages.

MJ was an extraordinary talent and the "tortured artist" cliche seems made for him but I just can't get that Neverland Ranch thing out of my head.

Sad anyway...

RJ

paul bitzan said...

President's day celebrates the whole bunch at once; Lincoln, Washington, Iacocca, etc.

We should probably hold a special day on the calendar for celebrities such as the late King of Pop.

How 'bout "Michael Jackson, O.J. Simpson, Gary Glitter, Jeffery Dahmer Day"?

No offense, but the vigils and dedications and hoopla following a child molester's death is a bit sickening to me.

Marc said...

Try to find the song "Petals" by the J5 on Itunes or somewhere. Awesome -- If I remember back 35 years correctly. And Dancin Machine is worth a download.

Glass Houses said...

I'm with Earl.

I mean, yeah, his father screwed him up. But that's no excuse to mess with kids. None of the other Jackson children ended up charged with pedophilia.

If there is a hell, I'm hoping he's got a spot next to the radiator.

And shame, SHAME on the parents all those years ago who took the hush money **ahem** settlement and let him stay free to do it again to someone else. They're worse than he was.

Erin O'Brien said...

Although I'll grant you that he was one weird duck--and admittedly I might be naive--but I am not convinced Jackson molested those kids.

Mr. L said...

"These things come in threes...." - My mother

Glass Houses said...

As far as I'm concerned, he was accused more than 10 times.

He paid the families of these children millions of dollars.

Why would he do that if he was completely innocent??

People are registered with the state as sex offenders for much, much less. We freak out if they move into our neighborhoods and keep our children away from them.

Because this man was talented he deserves to have these things overlooked? I think not.

The rest of the Jacksons are weird ducks. I think Michael passed the weird duck line long ago.

Anonymous said...

Am disgusted with the lack of sensitivity displayed here.

Leslie Morgan said...

Never can stay, goodbye. Nice hair, Erin.

DogsDontPurr said...

No matter what he was or what he became, it's still shocking when an icon dies. Same with Farrah and Ed. These people made an indelible mark on the history of entertainment...even if that mark started out as something fabulous, then turned into a train wreck.

What an odd week...to lose three at the same time. Even though their stories were quite different, they were oddly quite the same.

Glass Houses said...

Well, Anonymous, frankly I'm disgusted that the world is making excuses for the actions of a child predator. Not only that, but idolizing him.

And sensitivity to whom, exactly??? It's not like I wrote a scathing letter to the Jackson family. I posted my thoughts on a public forum. I did so without swearing or (hopefully) directly insulting the moderator.

Yes, Michael Jackson was a pop icon. Yes, it is the end of an era. But the idolatry of someone who honestly believed it was okay to share a bed with other people's children???? Come on, people.

philbilly said...

We're getting to the core of the rot in the American Zeitgeist.

A century of consumerism has addled our collective ability to publicly acknowledge despicable, corrosive behavior in an individual when the public persona is compelling.

Pretty Boy Floyd and Dillinger were folk heroes because they stuck it to the banks, just as the banks were sticking to everyone else. But even then, even as thousands turned out to throw flowers on the funerary train tracks, the average person then understood that these were also cold blooded murderers.

In recent decades, this sycophantic infatuation with stardom uber alles has skewed the moral compass of our nation, and that has not gone unnoticed by certain factions in the world.

Harvard, I think, has published a study related to the stultifying effect of television/ mass media on developing brains. Big surprise.

Again, one less pedophile is the epitaph.

Children have never been more at risk than they are now. There's currently a trio of white meth/ crack heads cruising around in Cleveland trying to snag young girls off the street. And that's a hell of a reality in such a wealthy nation.

It gets much worse in other parts of the world. Jocko could have lent his voice and wealth to their plight, but not to be.

Harry Finch said...

Meanwhile, we are losing Afghanistan. Meanwhile, violence is on the rise in Iraq. Meanwhile, the flicker of sanity in Iran is extinquished. Meanwhile, the idea that global warming is a fraud makes a comeback. Meanwhile, more people on the planet live in palletboard shacks than don't. Meanwhile, there are still a lot of nuclear bombs around.

In a world as complex and horrifying as ours, we are desperate for our freak shows to distract us and get us through our days. And what a show Michael Jackson was.

The carnival has left town. Thank god (at least for a while). How much cotton candy, pig-in-a-blanket and funnel cake can the stomach take? How long can we bear to hear the calliope play? Have you ever noticed that in the garish light of the midway, everyone looks slightly insane?

Erin O'Brien said...

I am not insulted. This is exactly what this site is about.

My flippant comments were a bit unfair to Farrah--call it a joke in poor taste. I guess I just didn't think anyone really needed to point to the tragedy of her demise. I guess I thought it was obvious.

I'll save all my thoughts on Jacko's tragedy for another day.

But man-o-man, you people give good comment.

Lord Basil said...

Michael jackson was a pervert who deserved no adulation. Farrah Fawcett was puff movie star with nothing to say.

And as philbilly has pointed out, this is symbolic of our culural rot. This cultural rot resulted in the election of Barack Hussein Mohammed Obama (the first unconstitutioally elected president in US history until he does the right thing and produces his birth certificate). He is a rock star, not a president, and not only is he totally unfit to serve, I am convinced he is on a mission to destroy the free market so he can socialize everything. After that, we may see this Muslim homosexual in office for the rest of his life.

Glass Houses said...

Basil - all your other comments aside, what have you got against Muslims or homosexuals?? Even if the president were either of those things, I don't see why either would make him unfit to serve.

In my opinion, this sort of prejudice is part of the rot that we are talking about.

Anonymous said...

Glass Houses - I think any kid (or their parents, more like) can come up to you claiming you have sexually harassed or abused them. Why not try and dig for gold if you think there is plenty to get.
Why call someone a pervert and a pedophile when there's no proof, really? Just because he's not only sexually ambiguous but rather asexual in his overall behaviour and being? Freakish? OK. Strange? Sure. And if his kids weren't conceived the usual way, so what?
I deeply empathize with a person who kept clinging to a childhood he never got, someone who obviously prefered the company of children to surrounding himself with false adult friends. Can't see what's wrong with all that.
He's weird, alright, but no perverted child molester.

philHusseinbilly said...

Well said,HF

Basil, Gadzooks!
I support your constitutional right to interpret at will. Disagree with everything you said.

Anon; The unfairness of life allows the piece of shit known as Joe Jackson to coast through life on the blood money of his son's mental agony and shattered ego.

Hate the sin, not the sinner, eh?

Erin O'Brien said...

My Sweet Lord,

Thank you once again for your ongoing Support of the important Work I do within these Humble Pages.

Sincerely,

Erin O'Brien
Your Devout Follower

paul bitzan said...

Seriously? No proof of pedophilia?

So, I guess OJ is innocent because he wasn't convicted of murder.

Very silly reasoning. That's all I'm saying.

Erin O'Brien said...

Those parents took their children to visit Jacko. My bullshit detector tells me that if those kids had really been molested at least one of the parents would have toughed out the charges.

Jacko's gone the way of Marilyn and Anna Nicole and Elvis and Janis Joplin and all the rest of them, gobbled up by the giant monster called Fame. Who's next? Dunno. Maybe Britney.

I thought OJ was guilty and Jacko was not. So what? We have a legal system and when it spits out a verdict, that's that.

I'm one of the people who detests the "scarlet letters" we assign to sex offenders by way of mandatory notifications of where they live when they get out of jail. To me, OJ sewed the scarlet letter on his own back. Jacko did not.

I hate those yellow license plates for drunk drivers as well.

I'll teach my kid what to look out for and how to react to it. Watch out for weaving cars--or a driver talking on a cell phone for that matter. And if the coach or neighbor or uncle or priest says the words "our little secret," that means trouble.

Anonymous said...

If I praise Allah, eat funnel cake and have homo sex can I have my fifteen minutes of fame?
RJ's diabetichomomuslem traveling show.
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

RJ

P.S. We are the world.

Leslie Morgan said...

Erin, you are a good parent. You take responsibility for your own kid. Rare breed.

A comment from a (probably) overgenerous person with just a little naivete: before I brand anyone or put the scarlet letter on them, I have to weigh whether I have enough information. I didn't sit on the jury. I didn't read the transcripts. I only know what the media printed for me to consume. I don't think I have too much information.

Michael certainly aroused a lot of passion in people - positive and negative energy.

Anonymous said...

But seriously, Erin. BRITNEY? Who'd care? W-H-O?
@ whoever that was: what's less naive about believing in somebody's guilt rather than his innocence?! what you say doesn't make any sense at all! So ok, take your side, claim he's guilty, but don't fool yourself into the make-believe of some socalled 'proof' to back up your point.
And what the heck! what's so outrageous about sharing a bed with some kids anyway. Damn prudish America. You make me angry.

Leslie Morgan said...

YIKE! I'm simply saying I don't have any personal knowledge of whether he did or whether he didn't. I didn't know the man. He didn't have access to my child. Who the hell am I to call him a "this" or a "that"?

John Ettorre said...

She's #1 to me, while as for the child molester, good riddance to that swine. May his carcass rot in hell, and leave only that stupid white glove.

Kirk said...

I would argue that Michael Jackson was something almost more shocking than a pedophile.

He was overrated.

philbilly said...

@ Kirk Jusko:

Oh no you dint!

Good one.

Al The Retired Army Guy said...

Michael Jackson touched a lot of folks - mostly under 14.

Al
TRAG

Anonymous said...

Al - get a grip

Erin O'Brien said...

Actually, I think the one thing Jacko touches is "a nerve."

I was stunned at the reactions/emotions this post evoked. To me, it was just a softball blog entry, but WOW, do people have something to say about Jacko.

Anonymous said...

Erin, I'm with you 100% on this one. Celebrities are routinely victimized by golddiggers. The higher you climb the ladder, the more your ass is exposed.

Erin O'Brien said...

I think the celebs have themselves to blame as well. It's mostly sad to me. Think of what a brilliant, talented and good looking young man Jacko once was and what he became.

At the other end of the spectrum, you've got Madonna, who's one celeb that truly wags the dog.

And a note on Jacko in the news. I think We The People are a bit worn down with the oppressively bad news of late--the economy, vicious politics, Iran, deadly plane crashes and wars. I guess I am a little indulgent for the collective desire to turn away from it all for few minute and listen to "Human Nature" a few times while musing over the mysterious King of Pop.

Leslie Morgan said...

And this morning yet another small collection of smaller celebs have kicked off . . surely they won't be as fascinating as the King. However, the King's mother has filed to handle his children and estate, so maybe we can all chew on that for a few years.

Al The Retired Army Guy said...

Anonymous,

How about IDing who you are?

Al
TRAG

Dudesworthy said...

Michael Jackson was a good (not incredibly brilliant but good) artist and a very shrewd businessman who had a profound influence on a generation of musicians who came after him.

In the beginning his music was unashamedly commercial. The earlier songs like Thriller and Bad do not reach for some deeper meaning and more importantly they don't try to; they are entertainment products crafted for consumer consumption.

But in the 90's Jackson abandoned meaningless pop and began to write songs in order to deliver a message (Black or White), and I think that's important, because it marks the point at which he began to believe in his own myth which had been generated by the marketing buzz and the screams of thousands fans.

In the last few years his actions seemed to be increasingly deluded such as his accusation of racism against Sony at a time when the music charts were dominated by rap, hip-hop and rnb.

My opinion is that he deserves to be mourned (doesn't everyone?) but he wasn't a martyr.