Jake. July. 2009.

[Jake Patterson]

Sorry I've been absent lately. I think that the House of Junto is a
really good forum and I need to support it more. I don't have a
question, I have something I wrote in Facebook and really pissed off a
lot of people. So here it is, for you to get pissed off as well.

The praise Michael Jackson has collected since his death has been
inappropriate.

When Usher dies, I hope dozens of black artists claim that they owe
their careers to him so that I can guffaw like a mad cow. While
Michael Jackson's influence has greatly affected the general evolution
of music, it is quite a stretch to claim that he opened doors for
black artists today. Do hot blonde actresses owe their careers to
Farah Fawcett? Bearded salesmen to Billy Mays? Losers to Ed
McMahon? Didn't think so.

You might claim that freakish people can be taken more seriously
because of him, but I think those freaky freaks owe more to Ozzy
Osborne, who, against all odds, is still alive.

What Michael Jackson is to our culture is recent. He's the most
famous influential person to die recently. But for all you people who
think the black artist would be extinct without him I have two words
for you: SCOTT JOPLIN.

If black artists owe their career to anyone, it's this guy. He was
the first, he established himself as a master of a magnificent beat,
syncopation, and lasting melodies (something lost on modern hip-hop
artists). Ice cream trucks will be playing the Mapleleaf Rag for
hundreds of years after no one remember who Billie Jean was. There's
the groundbreaker.

Secondly, this guy was born a few years after the Civil War to former
slaves in Arkansas. He had nothing. He had no one to come before him
and still had a fantastic career. Maybe we're looking a little too
hard for a legacy. Scott went without one and did just fine.

But really? Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Louie Armstrong, Duke
Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix and somehow
we're all adorning Michael Jackson with the praise of a thousand
gods. Don't get me wrong, MJ was groundbreaking, but it is not
groundbreaking that he was groundbreaking. He's a pop icon, and
that's all.

I would also hasten to point out that this kid was born with a silver
spoon jammed down his throat by an unrelenting father. He was pushed
into fame as a child, and had no choice about that. He had the talent
to carry on to a great career. But he didn't have the personal
integrity to stop that fame from ruining him. So let's reevaluate our
praise. I would assert again, it has been inappropriate in its
lavishness and in its direction.

This is not a rag on Michael Jackson, or I would have focused on other
issues. So don't bleed all over this article with your respect for
the dead. This is a rag on how his death has been misinterpreted.

[Isabel Patterson]

I think that Jake is absolutely right.  Yes MJ was a great artist, but saying that his career made others possible is a bunch of crap!! 

 

I look at artists from the past who broke through the racial barriers and they are truly the reason MJ was where he was.  These people were forced to come in through the back entrances because they were not considered equals.  Sometimes they couldn't even perform in "white clubs."  Harlem is famous for black entertainment.  They had clubs where these incredibly talented people could share their talents.  In fact they are the pioneers in rock and roll.  I think that they would be apalled at what a lot of the black artists are doing today. They paved the way for individuals to sing about drugs, sex, and all kinds of violence. 

 

I really do love MJ's music but to me grabbing your crotch as you dance across the stage does not constitute a legend!

--
Isabel  Patterson

[Binyamin]

I suspect the truth lies somewhere amongst all these positive paeans
and negative diatribes. Michael Jackson's music was important to some
people living today, and a much larger percentage of people love a
bandwagon.

For those who dislike his music or find little to recommend it in the
near or distant future, you can be assured that, if you are right, his
work will fade. For those who love his work, well, continue to love
it.

On Jul 15, 11:47 am, Isabel Patterson <isabelcpatter...@gmail.com>
wrote:

> I think that Jake is absolutely right.  Yes MJ was a great artist, but
> saying that his career made others possible is a bunch of crap!!
>
> I look at artists from the past who broke through the racial barriers and
> they are truly the reason MJ was where he was.  These people were forced to
> come in through the back entrances because they were not considered equals.
> Sometimes they couldn't even perform in "white clubs."  Harlem is famous for
> black entertainment.  They had clubs where these incredibly talented people
> could share their talents.  In fact they are the pioneers in rock and roll.
> I think that they would be apalled at what a lot of the black artists are
> doing today. They paved the way for individuals to sing about drugs, sex,
> and all kinds of violence.
>
> I really do love MJ's music but to me grabbing your crotch as you dance
> across the stage does not constitute a legend!
>

[Jake Patterson]

Brenden, that is actually a very provocative thought, "a much larger
percentage of people love a bandwagon." I suppose I've been dimly
aware of this for quite some time. It adds a new dimension to what
I'm saying. Bandwagons are temporary. Michael Jackson is recent,
therefore people are jumping on the "praise MJ" bandwagon. Maybe it's
nothing to get on edge about, and the praise will fade when the
bandwagon does.

Thanks for that...

[Binyamin]

He was a weird—reall weird—talented guy who died on the brink of a
possible reunion tour. And everything that surrounds him has been a
circus for so many years. It's no wonder everybody wanted a ticket to
the Big Top, err, funeral.

[Scott Nesler]

Hello Brendan and Travis. I look forward to conversing with both of
you.

---

Here are my tangent thoughts to this post. Let me start off with
two great quotes by Winston Churchill:

- History is written by the victors.
- History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.

Certainly there are many great things to remember MJ for. Just as
Elvis Presley, his oddity will keep his legacy alive.

Society gives too much credit to individuals and ignores the
contribution of others. The other day I was listening to a local
(St. Louis) public radio program about Jackie Robinson. I was
perplexed at the response when a caller pointed out that the
retirement of number 42 for every baseball team was a bit over the
top. The host and the program guest politely, but firmly
disagreed. The caller made perfect logical since to me. The fact
is that no other baseball player's number has ever been universally
retired. Every baseball team had a first black player. Each of
these pioneers may not have provided the contribution of Jackie, but
who would know. The media does not give any attention to them.
No disrespect for Jackie Robinson, but personally I am more interested
in Satchel Paige's career and his role in baseball/society
integration. Jackie Robinson deserves credit, but not at the
expense of others.

One could suggest this is expected on a radio programs that allow
authors to promote their book. Though, I thought it was a
unprofessional of the radio host to back the author on the callers
argument.

[Adam Webster]

The sad thing about Michael Jackson is the sad thing about a lot of
dying performers: people make a stink about them when they go, a stink
they hadn't made for a lot of years. Johnny Cash won lifetime
achievement award just before dying. A year before that, most people
had forgotten he was still making music. The entire music community
suddenly up and worshiped the man, and I dare say it was because they
figured he was about to die. The same would have happened for MJ if
enough people had expected his death. Unfortunately for him, this all
happened posthumously. His last studio album came out near the
beginning of this decade and was considered to be a flop (only going
multi-platinum with next to no promotion). Micheal Jackson was more
than just a talented singer/dancer/songwriter. He was an icon. The
world cried for Princess Di's death in the '90s. They demanded that the
queen give her a royal funeral even though tradition went against it.
Can you imagine being forced to bury your son's ex-wife in the family
shrine? Oh yes, she was a great humanitarian, but she was really just
an icon. MJ was a humanitarian too, but it doesn't really matter. To
really understand why MJ's death was a big deal, you have to understand
what he was as an icon. People won't mourn Usher the same way because
Usher stole his flowing dance moves from Micheal Jackson, and any
pre-Civil-Rights performer will be remembered as a pioneer but not as a
shining beacon for civil rights. To understand what got the world crying
for him, you have to understand his nearly religious fan following
around the globe. He basically invented the modern music video. His
choreography is legendary. Everyone knows his songs (even the cheesy
ones) and can attach them to him. Even before he bleached out, the
world saw him as an "entertainer," not as a "black entertainer." Sadly,
that's still a bit of a big deal for some. Was he a great man? Well, I
don't know. Was he a powerful and controversial icon? Absolutely. Attach
him to whatever cause you will. The man grabbed more than his crotch.
He grabbed our attention. He grabbed the whole world's attention over
and over again. So, it only makes sense that the whole world stops to
note that it won't be happening any more...until the leaks of his new
album start showing up on the internet.