MJ.
It's not that I felt a profound sense of loss hearing about his passing. History teaches us that the biggest assholes and perverts and freaks, if their work is recorded, are remembered more for their work. Their madness is but a footnote, to be flamed and made into inacurate movies that even historians have problems separating from reality (Amadeus). Can you imagine when we are dead and eaten by wolves and vultures that MJ will be any different?
I didn't play footage of testimony in his court cases, nor his "Share your behhd" quote, or him obsessively changing his appearence, clawing at his face in self-loathing. Nope. I just played some of his best music, some of our best music.
I'll never forget being on the dance floor with my American Tenors producerFrank McNamara, Billy Boyd (Pip from Lord of the Rings) and his gaggle of girls, my wife and with Bono and the Edge holding court in the corner of this little small club in Dublin -- Dancing to Beat It. Holy Shit, it was an amazing night. And MJ connected the dots.
We were in the begining of the trial, when MJ was being trounced and pounded and hounded and every day was some new horrible thing...light kiddie porn for instance, so it wasn't like we were there unbeknownst. AND yet... when that song came on in that mid-December dance club, we BOLTED for the dance floor, forgetting the news of that wierd little man.
And so now it's just a matter for the historians... and even they won't know the whole story.
When you read Resnikoff's article, you may feel like, if only...If only I had some money. I could be Michael Jackson. Kid, watch out. Jackson was the drummer boy of the army that sold his beat. Think of this.
You've seen movies and images of the pipers and the flag wavers (standard bearers) in the Civil War and Revolutionary War, one good eye, arm in a sling, leading the battle charge. Well after the battle they are either in the hospital or dead. And if they are in the hospital, their compulsion is, if they can move, to go out there and do it again.
There is greatness in those actions, a certain noblesse to march out there with a flag or a drum or even better, a piccolo... and who would not remember that and take some amount of courage that their drummer boy would still banging the cans when they are deciding whether or not to lay in a pool of their own filth and vomit and blood, or to get up and give it another go, were they so lucky to have the presence and constitution to do so.
But for the drummer boy...wow. For the standard bearer, what a mind-blowing trip. All of these other people are there carrying guns and getting into the thick of it and there they are, waving a damn flag. Rah rah. Beating on a hopelessly flat drum, playing on an incredibly dinky piece of metal. How could one not develop a complex? And imagine living, being in battle and all of these folks being killed and you are there, somewhat maimed, but NOT DEAD...
It's an allegory, so shut up, Ali.
Anyway, MJ, drummer boy to an industry. Is that how you want to be?
Of course my answer is yes, BY GOD, YES! If I can make your fight better, Yes! If the last memory you have has some kind of music in it, YES! If I am a better standard bearer than a gunner, YES!
I don't know why, but I've always been the guy who can lead a fight, but I've never been good at fighting. Im not saying if you take your eye off me, I won't give you a good one, but I am not a cool customer in a fight. I am evil and ruthless and... infinitely stupid. I loose my head, take chances and in video games, am usually the first guy with his avatar's head blown off. Paintball...I am a pointillist dream image.
But put me in a battle with a drum, so to speak, I am very effective. I'm not a general...but give me the piccolo and I can lead an army. Figuratively, of course...I am not a woodwind player.
For Michael Jackson leading the charge for all of his record execs and publicists and attorneys and doctors and realtors and and and, say a little thank you to your drummer boy. It is So very difficult to know it is your charge to lead, but with a soundtrack, a beat, a pipers piping, things are SO much easier. Resta in Pace, MJ.
___________________________________________________________________________
Resnikoff's Parting Shot: In Train Wreck We Trust...Michael Jackson is a tough one for parents, just like many other celebrity musicians passed away. The darkside is so difficult to ignore, and so hard to reconcile with all the reverence.
What do you tell your kids? Jackson is among the greatest entertainers, an indelibly influential musician and dancer, a smasher of racial boundaries, and among the most philanthropic of celebrities. On stage, MJ moved his feet with phenomenal grace; but offstage, he was a stumbling train wreck, addicted to surgeries, wild overspending, pills, and even boys - depending on who or what you believe.
But it was similar with other musical icons - Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis, Kurt Cobain - at least in terms of the darker, self-destructive streak. Immense creativity sometimes walks with a demonic cousin, and somehow, society embraces and often celebrates the dysfunction, the substance abuse, the hard living.
And without the train wreck, some stars would never burn as bright. In the case of Michael, the endless attention on surgeries, molestation scandals, financial problems, and baby-dangling helped to prime the pump for a huge postmortem. It wasn't all great music and lovable charisma. In the end it feels like everything is forgiven, but John and Jane Doe loved the entertainment along the way.
If the public loves to build up celebrities only to break them down, then the destruction now seems so easy. Instead of kissing endless handler butts for celebrity access, paparazzi sources like TMZ are bull-charging in a different direction. Not only did TMZ break the story of the Jackson death, they've also broken the well-crafted images of so many celebrities. And the public, often mired in their boring routines, absolutely loves the spectacle.
But can the music industry create another disastrously huge star? Jackson drew huge amounts of cash from his recordings, but his stake in the Beatles publishing catalog proved the precipitous windfall. It took a thriving recording, publishing, touring, and overall music industry - and serious upfront investments - to create such a blizzard of cash. The next Michael Jackson may be just as talented, just as hungry - but this sort of megafame doesn't happen with just a ReverbNation account, a Mac and some DIY desire.
If Michael Jackson helped to break down racial barriers on MTV, then MTV helped to pump Michael Jackson within a much simpler, more focused media landscape. If Thriller the album helped to drive heavy foot traffic to physical record stores, then record stores helped to create a singular place to explore and purchase music - and boost the biggest stars. If Jackson boosted the bottom line of Epic Records for decades, then parent Sony Music (and CBS Records prior) helped to splash this star into a more concentrated, analog world.
Indeed, one hand washed the other, and the machine that was MJ was the product of a different media era. One that ultimately produced so much excess, so much money, and so much glare that Jackson simply fried under its weight.
That level of spotlight is so difficult to channel in the current, decentralized landscape, one characterized by shorter attention spans, endless options, more niches, less celebrity riches, and fewer superstars. Sure, talented musicians can corral their niches, and even squeak out a living. But superstardom may never be the same again - and viewed from the perspective of a struggling Jackson, that may be a good thing.
Paul Resnikoff, Publisher.
Permalink: http://www.digitalmusicnews.
Posts
