I’d forgotten how good Michael Jackson’s music was. But in light of his death yesterday, I’ve been playing some of his songs on my iTunes this afternoon and it’s really good stuff. I can’t help but laugh when I hear “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough”. Have you ever seen the video for that song? Cheese-y.
The ubiquitous media coverage of Jackson’s death reminds me of what a celebrity-inundated culture we live in. I can’t help but think of Jackson’s life in tragic terms. Here’s what I mean: you have to wonder if some of the problems he dealt with over the course of his life were the result of being cast as a celebrity at such a young age. I’ve always thought the whole Wonderland estate thing was just an attempt to re-capture whatever childhood Jackson lost by beginning his recording career so early. I sort of feel the same way for the children of a popular TLC reality show; you just hope they turn out OK in spite of being thrust in the limelight at such a young age.
And our 24/7 newsfeed addiction is just fuel to the fire of our love affair with celebrity. I watched the morning news programs for about an hour this morning and didn’t hear anything about North Korea, Iran, health-care reform, the economy….it was 45 minutes of Michael Jackson and about 10 of Farrah Fawcett.
Sigh.
already & not yet 
And now that he's gone, many try to make him out as a hero – when he had many "questionable" situations going on with children in his own home. The American public is so fickle. I sigh with you.
Grrrr–this hits my anger spot. We need to ask ourselves: does it really matter to our lives or to the world that MJ is no longer in it? Ok that sounds harsh (I mean, I really DO love his music)…but then follow it by:-Does it matter that people are being beaten and jailed in Iran for wanting to have a choice in their leadership? And that it's beginning to look like all that work and passion was for nothing…no voice. no choice.-Does it matter that a leader in N Korea wants to use weapons to showcase power and control?-Does it matter that a person working full time in America, one of the countries with the most advanced medical technology in the world, cannot afford to get sick without risking bankruptcy?-Does it matter that China…nevermind. I'll just get carried away.I just wish that there was some way to block the punditry and voyeurism of what so many channels on TV seem to be spewing these days. I only see clips over here–but it really seems so nasty. And unkind. And unhelpful. Anyway–that has less to do with MJ's death and more to do with the extremes of cable/24 hour networks…I just wish that we all chose to shed our communal tears more significantly.
soooo..I'm totally using what I just wrote as a facebook status update…i'm so lame.
I'm with you, ladies. 🙂