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celebrity death and music
Jun. 26th, 2009 12:08 amI have to say I am surprised at the super-supreme media coverage of Michael Jackson's death. I get that he was influential and important and his death was a surprise, but apparently I missed the Jackson fan-train a long time ago.
I am sure this feeds my mystification. And I mean no offense to those who were fans, I just would not count myself as one of them.
When Michael Jackson was at the height of his popularity (Thriller-era) I was an eight year old groovin' to The Beatles, wishing the remaining members would magically re-group. When I turned nine (in 1983) I had a Yellow Submarine birthday cake. I never really liked "pop" music and never cared much for Michael Jackson. It amuses me now for the nostalgic/cheese factor, but there are no great memories tied to it. Seriously, I remember watching the Thriller video, but I wasn't in love with it or the music. I just didn't care all that much. I was busy memorizing the lyrics to every song on "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". By the time Bad was released I was in junior high and on my way to becoming a bona fide REM, U2, Midnight Oil, and Love and Rockets fan girl. I would have rather died than listened to anything remotely resembling Jackson's music. By the time I hit college I was devoted eternally to U2 and was introduced to the Grateful Dead (and Blues Traveler and Phish, but those took longer to "take). Jerry Garcia's death in 1995 hit me like a ton of bricks and a large part of that was that The Dead was still touring. I had just seem Jerry onstage. They were celebrating thirty years of Dead shows and there was so much more planned for coming years. Jerry's death cut all that prematurely short. The remaining members have done some great work since, but it is not the same as it was. Over the past ten years I have really, really grown to love Phish and had a minor meltdown when they split, seemingly for good, a few years back. (They are back together and I am seeing them in August.)
Through all my years of music listening I don't think Michael Jackson was ever a voluntary choice of mine and I don't think I am entirely alone on the planet, or even country, in that. Again, no offense to those are/were fans, but I am not sure that his death warranted quite the epic level of coverage it got today.
Celebrity deaths are treated so strangely at times.
I am sure this feeds my mystification. And I mean no offense to those who were fans, I just would not count myself as one of them.
When Michael Jackson was at the height of his popularity (Thriller-era) I was an eight year old groovin' to The Beatles, wishing the remaining members would magically re-group. When I turned nine (in 1983) I had a Yellow Submarine birthday cake. I never really liked "pop" music and never cared much for Michael Jackson. It amuses me now for the nostalgic/cheese factor, but there are no great memories tied to it. Seriously, I remember watching the Thriller video, but I wasn't in love with it or the music. I just didn't care all that much. I was busy memorizing the lyrics to every song on "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". By the time Bad was released I was in junior high and on my way to becoming a bona fide REM, U2, Midnight Oil, and Love and Rockets fan girl. I would have rather died than listened to anything remotely resembling Jackson's music. By the time I hit college I was devoted eternally to U2 and was introduced to the Grateful Dead (and Blues Traveler and Phish, but those took longer to "take). Jerry Garcia's death in 1995 hit me like a ton of bricks and a large part of that was that The Dead was still touring. I had just seem Jerry onstage. They were celebrating thirty years of Dead shows and there was so much more planned for coming years. Jerry's death cut all that prematurely short. The remaining members have done some great work since, but it is not the same as it was. Over the past ten years I have really, really grown to love Phish and had a minor meltdown when they split, seemingly for good, a few years back. (They are back together and I am seeing them in August.)
Through all my years of music listening I don't think Michael Jackson was ever a voluntary choice of mine and I don't think I am entirely alone on the planet, or even country, in that. Again, no offense to those are/were fans, but I am not sure that his death warranted quite the epic level of coverage it got today.
Celebrity deaths are treated so strangely at times.