Comments on: The King Of Pop

By: May

May — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:21:36 +0000

I may be a bit late with this, but I need to acknowledge this brilliantly written article.
You have truly conveyed the sentiments of the generation and without being judgmental at that, Joe.

Funny how old songs bring back time. Michael Jackson’s music was the “soundtrack” of my childhood and teenage years. He was there with “Got to be there” and “Never can say goodbye” when my mom died in 1970. Sang “One day in your life” when I broke with my first boyfriend, was rocking with “Rock with you” when I dated my boyfriend who would later become my husband. Shocked my 2 yr old daughter with the “Thriller” video. I was not a fan too, but there he always was, singing in the background of each defining moment of my young life. So that his death, to me, was like the death of a long lost childhood friend. Give it to the psychotherapists to analyze, but that was how I felt.

Thanks again for this wonderful insight.

By: Garrett KBwsb

Garrett KBwsb — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 07:09:14 +0000

Jackson’s career probably mirrored Barry Bonds closer than anyone else’s; brilliant early on, a lull period where he was still good but not the best anymore, but then with a little help (plastic surgery/steroids) suddenly reemerged as a complete titan, with a stunning, historical peak. And following that, a dissolve into lawsuits, accusations, and an unpleasant, too-soon ending.

At his peak, Jackson was selling one million albums a WEEK. At his peak, Bonds had a .609 OBP for a YEAR.

Anyway, great column. It stirred memories of my own childhood.

By: Eric Haynes

Eric Haynes — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:43:00 +0000

Great piece Joe. Michael Jackson was truly one of a kind.

If you list the top singer/dancers of all time Michael would (of course) rank#1 – he’d rank #’s 2-10 too.

By: Juancho

Juancho — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:32:03 +0000

Aw, c´mon, Dave. Woody married a college-age girl who’d grown up in his family. That’s gross. As for Townshend, you buy that crap about him downloading that stuff in order to investigate child pornography? Yeah, right. As for Jerry Lee, there’s a lot of stuff that’s legal but not exactly the kind of thing you ought to do. Marrying your thirteen-year-old cousin is among those things.

I see nothing spurious or condescending about saying that doing that stuff is wrong. And “moralizing” seems to be your code word for saying that some behavior is moral and some is not. Well? Some is and some isn’t, and everyone has his own code. Diddling little kids goes against mine. I don’t know about yours.

And as for “save it for some other site,” you can kiss my butt on the Capitol steps. This is an open forum and unless Joe bans me (fair enough, it’s HIS site), you’ve got no right to tell me to shut up.

By: Jay

Jay — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:42:05 +0000

Like the author of this column, I do “hear” the music when a cut from “Thriller” comes on the radio. It brings me back to a time in my life that I thoroughly detested, and reminds me of people I’ve spent the past quarter-century trying to forget. Nothing against the late artist, but when “Beat It” or any of the others comes on, I turn it off.

By: David in NYC

David in NYC — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:18:26 +0000

Juancho #67 –

I certainly cannot, and will not, dispute your contention that lots of famous people are “sad and twisted”. I can, however, dispute your “evidence” of this contention.

To name just two:

Woody Allen did NOT marry “his adopted daughter” (presuming you mean Soon-Yi Previn, not his first wife, Louise Lasser — though Ms. Lasser was also not his adopted daughter). Soon-Yi is the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow and Andre Previn.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Allen#Soon-Yi_Previn

Pete Townshend does not “[dig] kiddie porn”. According to The Guardian, he was “falsely accused of accessing child pornography”. Scotland Yard admitted that after an extensive four-month forensic investigation of Townshend’s computer and other seized materials that they found NO evidence of child abuse images.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Townshend#Legal_matters

Also, while Jerry Lee Lewis did marry his 13-year-old cousin, obviously that was legal at the time and place the marriage occurred (otherwise, how could it have been a legal and binding marriage?). What exactly is “sad and twisted” in your mind about getting married legally?

Please save the spurious allegations and condescending moralizing for some other site.

By: Blue

Blue — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:36:44 +0000

MJ was mainly played on Q-104. It was always a big fight on the bus between KY, Q, and the Fox.

By: Juancho

Juancho — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:34:43 +0000

KY played “Beat It” because of Van Halen and they played “The Girl Is Mine” during the late morning show (larger female audience, somewhat mellower music) because of McCartney. But, yes, it is true that KY102, the home of Journey, Foreigner, REO, Styx, Boston, and all that other crap I suffered through during high school, used to play Michael Jackson. Better than Huey Lewis and the News, I guess.

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:27:58 +0000

MJ is old news now.
The way more important, way more awesome Billy Mays is dead.

He could sell sand to the Taliban.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:27:34 +0000

All you 30 and 40-somethings remember rock station KY-102 right? I distinctly remember them playing “Beat It” when the song first came out. Mostly because of EVH’s guitar solo, but still…Michael Jackson on KY-102?? Seems strange to think about it now but that’s how ubiquitous he was back then.