By Steve Bergstein
Many years ago in high school, when I was reading a lot of rock criticism, a common theme among the more politically-oriented writers was that corporate American was killing music. The idea was that corporate-types at the record companies and radio stations were too conservative and afraid to try anything new in the way of innovative music.
While these writers were correct, they overlooked another music-killer: the celebrity and rock and roll lifestyle. Many great rock and rollers are dead because of the lifestyle, either from drugs or wild living. The real cause of Michael Jackson’s death may be debated for a long time, but I know that he was a victim of the lifestyle that only rock stars get to experience. He may not have used hard drugs, but you know that the freak show that his life had become could not have happened without the millions of dollars that Michael Jackson squandered.
Michael Jackson became a mega-star in the early 1980’s, a decade that gave us other mega-stars, like Prince and Bruce Springsteen. At the time, it was fashionable for rock fans to dismiss Michael Jackson’s music as crap. I remember hanging around during lunch hour in high school when one guy said that he liked the Jackson Five but that Michael Jackson had become some kind of a fag. Except that some rock fans had to admit that Beat It was a pretty good song, mostly because of Eddie Van Halen’s guitar solo. But I also remember reading Creem or some other rock magazine and an anonymous heavy metal singer who played in a bar band published a letter to the editor. He admitted that he absolutely loved the Thriller album and that, unbeknownst to his heavy metal friends, he played the album all the time.
MJ sold millions and millions of albums, but for many of us he was a guilty pleasure. Nothing that he did after Thriller made any sense to me, and once he decided to become freak it was all over. But Thriller has its moments. The title track was not bad, though it sounded like a re-write of some of his better songs, like Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough. Beat It wasn’t bad, though it seemed like MJ was trying to hard to write a straightfoward rock song.
But his greatest songs, for me, were Billie Jean and Wanna Be Startin’ Something. Billie Jean had a haunting melody and genuinely good lyrics. Wanna Be Startin’ Something is one of the great grooves of all time. For MJ, it was his Mount Everest, reaching heights which he would never see again. A friend of mine once said that all he wanted out of life was to write two great songs. These two, then, put Michael Jackson in rarified air. Dig ’em now, and don’t be ashamed to admit. These are great songs.
jacqui – yes, i agree but it certainly goes both ways. while most men arent in touch with their feminine side, most women are not in touch with their masculine side. the root of it i think is external influence & conformity. the power of images, icons, and general BS spread by the media and current superficial, materialistic, mainstream culture that most people follow. to be most closely aligned with your spirit, you feel & express the *grounded* balance between both female & male energies. however, i do feel this is changing, and balancing.
mainstream music has been promoting, celebrating, & worshipping artificial, imitated emotional/creative expression the past decade more than ever before. it’s no longer about soul/creativity/art. it seems that the cheesier/phonier the music is, the more popular it is. it’s like any honest creativity & emotion is no longer accepted or enjoyed by the mainstream and hasnt been for a verrrrry long time. and yes, i agree – once Prince became the symbol, he started losing it 🙁
eric’s articles on the gender/sexuality/creativity issues have been so on point. i’m glad he expresses his views on sexuality here without watering them down. and i also feel that we’re heading toward a creative/sexual/spiritual revolution. wow, i truly cannot wait for this.
Here here shape! And it won’t get better until we start first by accepting and then celebrating the Goddess in all of us…Maybe she is too much to handle for you guys 🙂 Yes Prince got it right until he became the ‘symbol’…
Uncle Eric, go for it!!! I am so proud of you!!!
Love
J.
oops, i meant to say ‘jacqui’, not mystes.
mystes – yes i totally agree. it’s the ‘whiteness’ of corporate america. when MJ tried to be someone he wasn’t on a physical appearance level (facial reconstruction and skin bleaching), both the real, black MJ died & the real, blackness of his music mostly died as well. after the mid 80s his music became much more fluffy, watered down, & cheesy – the white mainstream external influence. unfortunately, that’s the case with the majority of white music (not all of course) – lacking emotional depth/soul and either overly intellectualized (mentally applied emotion as opposed to honest, direct emotional creative expression) or watered down. his early music – Thriller, Off The Wall, & a lot of songs with the Jackson 5 (esp the way under appreciated ‘Life Of The Party”) – had a plethora of authentic soulful expression. no other pop artist was able to match the amount of soul on MJ’s Thriller (early Prince came close).
that article above gives him very little credit for creating some of the most amazing tunes of all time. i’m generally not a big fan of pop, certainly not any from the last 2 decades, but in the 80s there was a lot of pop music that had soul. most of it was on the feminine side of expression, or had a lot of feminine/sexual/sensual influence, and that’s why the typical ‘rocker’ wouldnt have liked his music. the ‘rocker’ image of america was about expressing masculinity so any feminine qualities, esp if they were expressed by a man, would turn off such a person b/c it threatens the mainstream ideal of what an iconic, masculine man should be (an ideal which really is immature, insecure, and unnatural imo). he confirms this by stating the reason the guy didnt like his music was b/c MJ had become “a fag”, and solely for that reason. also, what about the songs Thriller & Human Nature? 2 of the deepest pop tunes ever made. MJ’s expression was honest, powerful, & deep. he was also the greatest dancer the mainstream has probably ever seen. unfortunately the best dancers dont get exposure, b/c unless you are a famous singer, you dont get exposure for dance alone (esp street dance).
anyway, it’s very sad that he had to die this young and for someone on such an incredibly high vibration to have such a twisted life & downfall. unfortunately, it’s very hard for those with such childhood psychological pain to ever break free of that, esp someone who never had a childhood.
Good morning my American friends 🙂
Today I’ve decided to celebrate the Art…brought back a lot of memories and good times…Thanks for posting the videos…But, as I was watching them I’ve felt much sadness and also anger towards the ‘white’ disease of our planet…He was so handsome when he was black…and he looks a lot more at peace…hope he is at peace now…
Mystes wherever you are – it’s cool…I’ve learned from our exchange as well…Want to take me up on the ‘whiteness’ issue? 🙂
Much love
J.