MJ in memorium - July 12, 2009
As the hype dissipates, let us not forget the true lesson in Michael Jackson’s passing.
I watched the memorial intently. Afterwards, and for the days that followed, I was engaged in an array of conversations that ranged from the inane wrap-up of the memorial service to the very sincere statements of what MJ was as a cultural icon. The thru line was that we, the planet earth, had lost a one of a kind artist with immense talent and an original soul. This gave me hope.
What we loved about him was that he was an original. True artists always are unique. We can’t always relate to everything that they do or how they live. We can’t always relate to the person that contains the gift…but that’s point. Artists are not regular folk.
I’m not saying we’re better or that our souls are worth more. (The world simply would not work if everyone was an artist just as the world would not be worth living in if there were no artists in it.) But there is a sacred covenant between the Creator and the artist that demands a different path.
In life, Michael Jackson was the inspiration for at least three generations. His signature dance moves, his tenor and his beautiful falsetto have been integral portions of every group that followed the Jackson 5. When an artist is inspired by another it is one thing, but when the accountants and lawyers who control the biz conspire to replicate an artist’s success by formula it is a mockery. To add insult to imitation, all of the industry creations that borrowed from his artistry, did so without consideration of the covenant and perpetrated the myth that anyone with the desire, effort, and a team of industry professionals could become an artist.
In death, this celebration of MJ’s originality should also serve to destroy the cookie-cutter molds that have diluted the real and brought us to this sad state of soul-less, auto tuned madness. It is this blasphemy that has the music business at the brink of extinction.
If you truly honor the spirit of Michael Jackson then it is incumbent upon you to seek out the real. I challenge everyone who reads this to ignore the hype, turn off the radio, search for music that inspires you (it is easier than ever), buy it, play it for someone younger than you, then request it on radio, request it from your cable provider on video shows, ask for it by name from your satellite radio, tell 100 people you know would like it…take back your music! I dare you…or let the same bastards that drove Michael Jackson to an early grave have the last laugh all the way to the bank while they rape you in the earholes.
I watched the memorial intently. Afterwards, and for the days that followed, I was engaged in an array of conversations that ranged from the inane wrap-up of the memorial service to the very sincere statements of what MJ was as a cultural icon. The thru line was that we, the planet earth, had lost a one of a kind artist with immense talent and an original soul. This gave me hope.
What we loved about him was that he was an original. True artists always are unique. We can’t always relate to everything that they do or how they live. We can’t always relate to the person that contains the gift…but that’s point. Artists are not regular folk.
I’m not saying we’re better or that our souls are worth more. (The world simply would not work if everyone was an artist just as the world would not be worth living in if there were no artists in it.) But there is a sacred covenant between the Creator and the artist that demands a different path.
In life, Michael Jackson was the inspiration for at least three generations. His signature dance moves, his tenor and his beautiful falsetto have been integral portions of every group that followed the Jackson 5. When an artist is inspired by another it is one thing, but when the accountants and lawyers who control the biz conspire to replicate an artist’s success by formula it is a mockery. To add insult to imitation, all of the industry creations that borrowed from his artistry, did so without consideration of the covenant and perpetrated the myth that anyone with the desire, effort, and a team of industry professionals could become an artist.
In death, this celebration of MJ’s originality should also serve to destroy the cookie-cutter molds that have diluted the real and brought us to this sad state of soul-less, auto tuned madness. It is this blasphemy that has the music business at the brink of extinction.
If you truly honor the spirit of Michael Jackson then it is incumbent upon you to seek out the real. I challenge everyone who reads this to ignore the hype, turn off the radio, search for music that inspires you (it is easier than ever), buy it, play it for someone younger than you, then request it on radio, request it from your cable provider on video shows, ask for it by name from your satellite radio, tell 100 people you know would like it…take back your music! I dare you…or let the same bastards that drove Michael Jackson to an early grave have the last laugh all the way to the bank while they rape you in the earholes.