Friday, June 26, 2009

R.I.P Michael Jackson

Despite all the "eccentricities" and other issues, there's no doubt that Michael Jackson was the King of Pop. R.I.P.

17 comments:

Torbjørn said...

He has made some of my all time favorite songs, undoubtedly one of the greatest artists ever, if not the greatest.

Wilhelm said...

No doubt he was an icon. And the fact that so many "America/Norway/Whatever country's Got Talent" competitors try their damndest to copy Jackson's dance moves and style more than 20 years after dude originated them speaks volumes

Anders said...

While I don't have any of his music, and his style not included in what I'm usually enjoy listening to, I do recognize MJ as a pioner and giant in music history, in the same class as Elvis and the Beatles.

But, the guy must be the most self-destrutive in the music industry. Only rivaled by Whitney Houston.

Torbjørn said...

I have just the one CD that Wilhelm provided my with a long time ago, when MJ was supposed to live forever.

Wilhelm said...

Anders: Considering that MJ was worked very hard by his dad since an early age (and consequently severely f*cked up) would you agree that he is an interesting link to virtuoso musicians of old?

How would Mozart have fared under the press scrutiny of today? (Not that I think the quality of their music is directly comparable, but still)

Anders said...

Hard to compare the life of Mozart and MJ. But there are similarities as you point out. The classical composeres sure had a lot of hard times, even without the bad press we have today. And Mozart got through them pretty good, if I remember correctly (but feel free to correct me).

Not to be disrespectful, but I can't help to think about his upcoming concerts in London. Would they have been a gigantic sucess, restoring some of MJs former glory, or would they have been an embarrassing event with an artist not capable of singing his old hits?

Wilhelm said...

Not sure that it would have mattered. James Brown flat out sucked in his later years. Tina Turner is a shadow of her former self, and she definitely packs them in. Ditto Cher. Rolling Stones arguably never could play worth a damn, so they don't really count. maybe at this point they've managed to learn their own material?

Anders said...

Well, the fall for MJ would be higher then for the ones you mention. James Brown can get away with it due to a thight band. Cher is more costumes then singing, and thought I haven't seen anything from Tina's latest tour, she still brings energy, charm and a decent voice to the show. A fragile MJ without his famous dance moves and a voice that fails during the show, would have been disasterous.

Johnny Winter did some tours during his illness, and several of his fans didn't go to the shows, because they wouldn't remember him that way.

Anders said...

Btw, did anybody else catch Ron Wood of Rolling Stones fame on the news yesterday? He is in Norway for a concert with Slash (of Hair 'n' Tophat fame) and was asked about MJ deaths, which he replied: "Unfortunate. What more is there to say. Some aren't meant to be 51"...

Wilhelm said...

Well, the fall for MJ would be higher then for the ones you mention. James Brown can get away with it due to a thight band. Cher is more costumes then singing, and thought I haven't seen anything from Tina's latest tour, she still brings energy, charm and a decent voice to the show. A fragile MJ without his famous dance moves and a voice that fails during the show, would have been disasterous.

Not sure I agree. Brown was quite well known for his dance moves. Tina Turner doesn't exactly light the stage on fire presently, and her voice doesn't hold up that well. And what makes you think that Michael Jackson hasn't used playback for a while?

Anders said...

Brown was quite well known for his dance moves.

Yes, maybe. I'm just saying that Michael was even more know. His fall height is higher. Almost everybody can see somebody coping MJ's moves, while I think you can get away with coping James Brown without anybody noticing.

Tina Turner doesn't exactly light the stage on fire presently, and her voice doesn't hold up that well.

As I said, I haven't watched her latest tour (though my gut feeling is that she shouldn't have done it). She gets good reviews, though.

And what makes you think that Michael Jackson hasn't used playback for a while?

The fact is that I don't think I've seen any live clips from MJ apart from the one with Jackson 5. And I'm pretty sure he didn't used playback on that one.
:-D

Wilhelm said...

...I'm not at all suggesting that Jackson always relied on playback, but rather that considering the potential downside coupled with his legitimately ailing health it would make good business sense to have playback. While it's really not my kind of music per se, it is my understanding that the fans expect to hear the songs exactly as on the album, coupled with massive music-video like productions. In 1989 he wouldn't have needed playback. If he'd made it to the upcoming tours, I'm not so sure

Anders said...

As I understand from the news, the rehearsals were filmed and might show up on DVD. So maybe we should come back to this thread then. :-)

Wilhelm said...

..assuming of course that any of us are planning to watch said DVD

Anders said...

Of course we are. There are only two ways of solving this, either we watch the DVD or throw hands at the usual place.

Wilhelm said...

Somehow it always comes down to a throwing of hands :/

Anders said...

Or watching DVDs.