The death of Michael Jackson was not surprising, in many ways we were all expecting the King of Pop to shuffle off the mortal coil and moonwalk into the hereafter, his gem encrusted fist firmly a fixed to his groin, since well before his last pedo scandal. The Jacko legacy had been in a steep, ever-widening doom spiral of shocking excess, bewildering eccentricity, ludicrous self-aggrandizement and petty litigious spats with parents for whom the equation MJ+child+alone=$$$ rather than D-: , since the late 90's. In fact, the last song that held any of Mr. Jackson's power was 1997s "They Don't Care About Us".
The song caused significant amount of controversy due to the use of the lyrics "Jew me, sue me, everybody do me/ Kick me, kike me, don't you black or white me". Mr. Jackson was accused of antisemitism, a charge which he vigorously denied stating:
... The song in fact is about the pain of prejudice and hate and is a way to draw attention to social and political problems. I am the voice of the accused and the attacked. I am the voice of everyone. I am the skinhead, I am the Jew, I am the black man, I am the white man. [...]. It is about the injustices to young people and how the system can wrongfully accuse them.
While Jackson was eventually brow beaten into making an apology, Spike Lee, who directed the fantastic video in a Brazilian favela (shanty towns which have legitimately been compared to Baghdad on a bad day), rightfully pointed out that never once had there been a similar uproar about the use of the word "nigger" in songs.
I for one, think the song was the last flare of the Jackson genius. While his previous attempts at social commentary had ranged from sappy (Heal the World) to oversimplifying complicated ethnic tensions (Black or White) to "Oh cmon man, fucking come off of it already!! (Earth Song), "They don't Care about Us" thrums and bumps with all the anger and frustration of the young, the disenfranchised and the downtrodden. While most sane people would choke at Jackson's above statement, or at the very thought that the shambling, dessicated, grotesque, cocaine-fueled pseudo goth that MJ had become somehow embodied the whole of humanity, I agree with Michael. He isn't stating that he is the embodiment of these people, but is giving voice to the frustration and anger of those who are abused, challenging the abusers to come at him again and see what they will get. Arguably Mr. Jackson may even have been the best person to embody so many different groups, since his extensive plastic surgery allowed to shatter racial definitions (at least superficially). Even the video, which was made despite severe pressure from the Brazilian government who feared that filming in the favela would make them look bad, was powerful and visceral. The song stands for something in a way that Mr. Jackson's music hadn't done in many many years.
However, what struck me most of Mr. Jackson's death was a picture I came across while surfing the interwebs.
That is what he would have looked like!! Maybe at fifty he would have been a bit heavier from age and whatever drug abuse he would undoubtedly undergone at least three stunts of rehab for. But look at him!! He looks like a fairly well adjusted, fairly good looking black man, instead of Dr. 90210's Monster. He looks like he would be making under-appreciated blues with Quincy Jones while vocally supporting Tupac's bid for Governor of California. But then again this brings up the question: How much of Michael Jackson's talent was owed to his obviously shattered psyche? How much of this mans confusion fueled Thriller or Off the Wall? Would he have been the King of Pop or just "that guy who used to sing for the Jackson Five as a kid"? We will never know, but it is something that one should keep in mind when contemplating this gifted and profoundly disturbed man.
The King is dead. Long live the King. God fucking help us all.
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