Michael Jackson rushed to hospital - He was not breathing / Michael Jackson is dead

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lazarus said:
...but this isn't an RIP thread.
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It's a thread marking the death of a musical entertainer, which most posters are treating as an occasion for recounting their personal associations with his professional output. As is appropriate for the forum it's in.
Strawman arguments FTW!

This isn't a private memorial service, it's a discussion thread on an essentially public forum dedicated to U2.

Or do you think some of us are spending the rest of our free time trolling on Michael Jackson fan sites?
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That was pretty clearly not an 'argument' at all; there's nothing of substance to argue in this thread. I can agree that it's a kind of discussion thread, but only the people who are here to criticize seem to be interested in making it a discussion about Michael Jackson's moral stature, so it feels like a derail regardless of the sincerity of the criticism. I have no reason to care what other sites you visit or what you say about Michael Jackson on them.
 
news_flash.jpg
 
The BBC has a list of tributes from people who knew Michael, from Madonna to one of his former bodyguards, in case anyone would like to check it out. Some very touching words there.

Tributes

My favorite one, from his former bodyguard:

"He's the most misunderstood man in world. Everyone thought he was this weird freak but when you're with him he's as normal as everyone else. I don't think he felt he was as famous as everyone else thought, he didn't know any different.

"He was a very caring guy who would go out of his way to help the sick. One night in London he wanted to see some homeless people. He sent them loads of pizzas in secret. The guy had a good heart."
 
HeartlandGirl said:
The BBC has a list of tributes from people who knew Michael, from Madonna to one of his former bodyguards, in case anyone would like to check it out. Some very touching words there.

Tributes

My favorite one, from his former bodyguard:

"He's the most misunderstood man in world. Everyone thought he was this weird freak but when you're with him he's as normal as everyone else. I don't think he felt he was as famous as everyone else thought, he didn't know any different.

"He was a very caring guy who would go out of his way to help the sick. One night in London he wanted to see some homeless people. He sent them loads of pizzas in secret. The guy had a good heart".
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Thanks, this is very good. I'm still sitting here watching coverage on TV, kind of shocked and numb. Can't sleep. Dejavu of when Lennon died.
 
you know, trolling this thread shows a stunning lack of class...even for the people who are doing it. even if he was a polarising figure it's still just a guy who died who was loved at least by family and stuff. sure, he's open for a lot of mocking because of his celebrity status - like any celebrity - but there's no point trolling the thread just to get a reaction out of people.
 
coolian2 said:
you know, trolling this thread shows a stunning lack of class...even for the people who are doing it. even if he was a polarising figure it's still just a guy who died who was loved at least by family and stuff. sure, he's open for a lot of mocking because of his celebrity status - like any celebrity - but there's no point trolling the thread just to get a reaction out of people.
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Thanks for explaining everyone's motive.

Trolls don't usually stick around to discuss their positions in detail.

But feel free to throw around more labels that aren't relevant.
 
Saw this live on television last night and was like - what?! Whatever people's feelings on this guy's stardom or lifestyle may be, it was also a human being just like you and me, who died. A few months ago I had this weird gut feeling that I thought he couldn't even get 1 show of his tour done - maybe collapse on stage or something. But now it happened at home. Sad.
 
lazarus said:
Thanks for explaining everyone's motive.

Trolls don't usually stick around to discuss their positions in detail.

But feel free to throw around more labels that aren't relevant.
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yeah, sars. i'm only casually watching the thread scroll by so i'm not really catching everything in context and was more referencing the running jokes and stuff that isn't necessary where some people are posting genuine feelings. no problem with you putting your position forward either but personally i'd wait until the dude is cold first.

it's not bothering me either way, god knows i've already made enough tasteless jokes about it today.

the way i saw it, it just read like you guys were looking for a reaction. but you probably aren't, so yeah.
 
No hard feelings.

That's not to say that there haven't been a lot of juvenile jokes made in this thread, and I'm certainly guilty of some.

And I do recognize that myself and others are being insensitive. In this case, my motive was simply to try and balance out the hagiography, which I don't think the man has earned.
 
At the office right now. The windows are open, the sun is shining and a car just drove by while Billy Jean was pumping out of the speakers. I looked at the sky and thought to myself: Life is such a strange and wonderfull thing and I will never be able to fully understand it.

In total sentimental phase right now :sad:
 
lazarus said:
And I do recognize that myself and others are being insensitive. In this case, my motive was simply to try and balance out the hagiography, which I don't think the man has earned.
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i can understand that.

there needs to be a distinction between michael jackson the musician before he went all weird and then the michael jackson that followed that. i don't think this thread has struck that balance. but still, that's the internet.
 
I never cared much for the person Michael Jackson, but I really respected the musician he once was. I'm sure he'll be missed by many.
With all the great songs he made, there has to be at least one song that even the biggest haters will like. Or at least respect.
 
it must be awful for his family and his kids, but it's the whole media circus surrounding it that scares me
 
Aussies, Rage are doing a MJ special on tonight and again tomorrow morning. All the clips that made him great. Sure he turned into some kind of freak show and was obviously emotionally stunted/disturbed/whatever you want to classify it as, from 79 to the mid 80s, his music was brilliant and there was no artist bigger. I remember watching the Grammys whichever year Thriller won and he won EVERYTHING. And he got a standing ovation every time. Yeah it got boring :wink:

r a g e | playlist - Friday, 26 June 2009?
 
Sicy said:
It's really just unfortunate that some people cannot have enough decency to just not say anything at all if they don't have anything nice to say.
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This.

ClaytonsKitten said:
I pray that the media has the common sense to leave his kids alone during all of this. They're just kids. Kids who have lost a daddy. That's not something you wish on anyone.:sad:
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I hope so too. It will be difficult enough for them as it is without press intrusion.
 
Just a few thoughts from me.

When I was growing up, Michael Jackson was far and beyond my idol. The moves, the songs - as a teenager I thought he was unbelievable. I remember when they first screened 'Thriller' and the making of special on TV here in Australia. The next week my parents bought the VHS and it didn't leave the video player for months. By then we already had the album and were mimicking the moves from the 'Billie Jean' and 'Beat It' clips. I remember vividly dancing around the lounge room with my sister like the warring gang members in 'Beat It' - that kind of wave dance movement when the dancer does the whole body wave motion - I still bust that one out every once in a while.

When Michael was injured on the set of the Pepsi commercial - that iconic image of him waving with the gloved hand from the ambulance... just stayed with me all today. There was no glove today. Man - how I wished there was.

The first CD I ever bought was 'Bad'. To this day 'Man In The Mirror' is far and away my favourite, favourite song in the whole world. Has been for 20 odd years and will probably never be replaced. Ironically Michael didn't even write it - but when that middle section just builds and builds to that bellowed out "CHANGE!" - goosebumps. To this day.

I was lucky enough to catch MJ on his 'Bad' tour at Olympic Park Stadium. An amazing show - and one at the time I never thought would be topped. I remember rushing to the Village Cinema on Boxing Day to watch 'Moonwalker' when it came out in 1988. I still try to do that lean forward move he does in 'Smooth Criminal' - and I am still convinced I will snap my ankle if I ever get it right.

I followed Michael through to the 'Dangerous' era - I had third row tickets for his 'Dangerous World Tour' show at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Sadly due to the first lot of molestation accusations and a painkiller addiction the show was cancelled. I must admit I was dubious about MJ's innocence. I was in awe of the guy for so long but something rang a little bit true. Watching that Oprah special and then reading the kid who accused him was there - I don't know. It didn't feel right. Nonetheless time proved that he was mostly innocent.

I still lined up the first day 'HIStory' came out in 1995 - the local cd chain (Brashes I think) gave away a free video of the 'Scream' clip and the TV ad for the album. I lined up at 7am for it. And was late for work afterwards as I sat in the car and listened to CD1. 'Earth Song', 'Stranger In Moscow'. 'HIStory', 'Tabloid Junkie', 'Smile' - I was hooked again.

MJ toured Australia in 1996 and I saw him twice - once at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and again at ANZ Stadium in Brisbane. By then things had changed. He barely sang a note live - but man - what a show! Those two shows rank in my top ten all time concerts. The crowd (and I know this sounds dodgy) just gelled and it felt like one big love fest. In hindsight it could have been the pre-show beers - but when he stopped that fucking tank on stage during 'Earth Song' - I'll admit it - I cried!

Since then he kind of lost me a bit - 'Invincible' had a few winners - 'Whatever Happens' and 'Cry' are two of my fave tracks of his. I always got excited however when there were rumours of new material. I bought the 4 CD boxset he brought out for the handful of new songs. I bought the 'Number Ones' compilation because it was the only was to get 'One More Chance' - it wasn't released as a single in Australia and I wasn't savvy enough to figure out Napster. I didn't pay any attention to the second molestation case - that one seemed ludicrous.

I even had a ticket for the September 3 show at the O2 in London - and yeah he was the main reason for flying 23 hours to bloody London from Melbourne.

But now that doesn't matter. I woke up this morning, headed out to work and while sitting on the train I got an SMS from my Mum - "I am so sorry - have you heard - Michael Jackson died this morning". I literally started shaking and I'll own up to tearing up on the train into town. A grown man - who should well and truly be over his teen fandom years - was moved to tears when he heard his childhood hero passed away. Funnily enough as we pulled into Richmond station the train conductor made the usual announcement - "Next stop Richmond - and in case you haven't heard I just heard Michael Jackson died - they're talking about it on Fox FM (local radio)".

The chatter pretty much died down and I heard sniffling that wasn't coming from me.

Tonight I had a ticket to see Simon and Garfunkel at Rod Laver Arena here in Melbourne. I didn't feel like going - but wasn't going to throw away a ticket. The show was good - and then Art Garfunkel did a solo set. He sang 'Bright Eyes'. At the end of the song he sat on his stool, put his head down and said "That was for Michael - and all the broken hearts in the room tonight '. Again I was a mess. And the huge cheer of approval is something that will stay with me forever. At the end of the show as they started 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' Paul Simon stated "I sing to heaven tonight". The roar at the end of that song was one of the loudest roars I ever heard.

I'm sorry this went on for so long - but I felt I needed to share and put this out there. Tonight I'll go to sleep listening to 'Bad' and hope that whatever version of heaven exists there is room for Michael Jackson.
 
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