Michael Jackson

[Steven J. Gross]

When I hear all the buzz about Michael Jackson, I have often wondered why he is considered so special in the music biz. He had 2 or 3 albums that did very well- but overall, his solo body of work is pretty slim if you take away compilations. Is it all hype?- or am I missing something?

 

[W.B.]

It may not be all that much coincidence. His solo work pretty much went down the sewer after he ditched Quincy Jones as producer and took over such duties himself full-time. But the rot began to set in on the last QJ-produced MJ album, Bad. And this was all before the first of the molestation charges surfaced.

 

[Dave]

When I hear all the buzz about Michael Jackson, I have often wondered why he is considered so special in the music biz? Is it all hype?--or am I missing something?

Er...I think you just answered your own question, there, Steve. :twitchy:

Dave

...who owns NOTHING by M.J., right now...

 

[Steven J. Gross]

Also...The documentary that he did earlier this year was the dumbest thing he could have EVER done- is he TRYING to go to jail? I am offended that the Santa Barbara DA is being portrayed as the villian here. He (the DA) is a hero. Takes guts to stand up to that family.
I don't know about child molestation except that I am sure that it does not occur in public- so how can many dismiss this as a bogus charge?
Even if there is a civil case for damages- why should this boy not be compensated for being preyed upon?
If Jackson thinks he can fool everyone- he is out-of-it!

 

[jimac51]

You may have to go back in a time machine to get the full effect,but post-disco,pre-CD,Michael Jackson probably carried the music industry for about a three-five year period. OFF THE WALL or THRILLER would have been career albums for any artist-Michael had them back to back. Add to this while he had already obtained a career as part of a Motown group that reached sales levels of the Supremes and Michael had a tidy solo career,pre-Epic. Add to that the success that the Jacksons experienced on Epic and these feats would have been adequate for one,two or three acts-Michael was the center of it all. This is not to justify anything in the guy's private life-that is a seperate issue. But he sold TONS of records and toured worldwide(we forget that there are few places on earth he wasn't,at one time or another,the biggest musical act in a given country). THRILLER is responsible for breaking the racial barrier at MTV-no small feat since it is urban music that dominates the channel today. Mac

 

[Dave]

OK, reading this thread some more, Michael DOES sport SOME good musical qualities. OFF THE WALL was justifiable enough to be his last (and only?) Belivable and MATURE effort--I even had it on Cassette at one time. THRILLER only got its place in the GUINESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS, just because it broke the racial barrier (black kids AND white kids bought it) and, not to mention, that he broke the Generation Gap between the older and younger fans who unanimously bought it. BAD, I guess couldn't top it, that is, meet the 'expected expectations' of his past glory. Quincy Jones just seemed to be tied very much to the 'Personal Producer' tag, if only because those three albums mentioned were such a success, and OK, you can count Jackson's contribution to "We Are The World", 'Q's effort there, as well. So, he was just there while the moments were "good", and good for himself, as well. And hopefully, without sounding "racist", Michael made his complexion a "little lighter", NOT whiter than "mine". And at least, he wasn't YET, branded as a Child Molester...just seemed to have kids that were his fans, just became "TOO close of friends" and "sleeping with them and showering with them" became "something more..." in later years, and thus becoming more public. So, that's the HYPE, right there! he just went too far with himself. It was a thin line between where this was "bad publicity" one day and where maybe he was "forced to surrendering to his charges" the next. That is, he at least has a conscious enough to "want to go to jail" and got tired of the running away. Besides, he can still "negotiate his own sentence". So, to quote Jimmie Rodgers: "The Good Times, The Good Times Are All Gone; The Good Times, The Good Times Are Gone".

Dave

...now throw his crazy butt in JAIL...