They say there is a hare's breath between genius and and insanity.If Michael Jackson had a normal loving family life,there probably would have not been the tension to create this non ordinary reality that we saw in his stage performances.Right throughout history we see this creative self destructive force that questions the very nature of our being.

Jacko was nothing but pure magic on stage,yet personally,was an insecure unforfilled almost pathetic being.In his later life he reminds me of Prufrock in TS Elliot's poem.Jacko would spend hours deliberating with friends on the possibility of part taking coffee at a restaurant.Prufrock, "Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare eat a peach?" Jacko unlike his stage persona was full of self doubt like Prufrock.There are parrallels that are almost hauntingly familiar.

Prufrock,"In the room the women come an go talking of Michelangelo."Thus we have the superficial banter of fans who have no knowledge of the pain that created the moment,yet they assume possession of his being.

Prufrock was obsessed with going bald and how he looked.Odly Michael Jackson had lost his hair and presentaton was also an obsession.He surcumbed to the black inferority complex via the veil of cosmetic surgeory.

Prufrock,"We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us and we drown"

"I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,
And I have seen the eternal footman hold my coat,and snicker,
And in short,I was afraid."

see http://bartleby.com/198/1.html

Oh thank god, he’s gone, we only need to survive the memorials now!
I realize I’m out of step with the brain-washed general public, but in my opinion he was rubbish.
His “music” was machine-generated, computer-enhanced pop pap, his “dancing” came straight from Monty Pythons “Department of Silly Walks”, his show productions were what any fool can achieve with millions to spend and a record company to promote it, through all the brain-dead radio and music “gurus”.
Garbage is as garbage does!
He was the paragon of putrescence, the king of cruddola, and a blight on the entertainment scene.
His personal life would have landed anyone else in gaol, yet he was able to blatantly buy his way out. He shone a spotlight on the corruption of the American Justice, and Music, systems, and people applauded!
We’re well rid of him!

I basically agree with Maximillion. After living through and enjoying music by bands like the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Cat Stevens, ABBA, the Eagles etc in the sixties and seventies, everything got turned on its head when DISCO became a big thing in 1978. In my opinion, DISCO was trash and Michael Jackson's music was just an extension of that with a highly-staged and furiously-paced visual element added on. If you liked big bangs, you'd probably like Michael Jackson, but I thought the music was ordinary. That was about the time I switched off pop music.

Dear Arjay,

Music as Art is extremely subjective.

Yet there's no denying Michael Jackson leaves
behind him an awesome music legacy. He made
a huge impact globally - on his generation,
and his concerts and albums were sell outs -
confirming the fact that he was a great
performer.

Your link to the T.S. Eliot poem is very perceptive.

The tragedy lies in his choice of lifestyle - his
obsession with cosmetic surgery, prescription drugs,
anorexia, and fascination with children. All of which
took its toll.
The circus that now surrounds his death - will undoubtedly
continue for some time - his family and business associates
will milk it for all its worth.

It will be years later that the truth will come out
regarding the enigma that was Michael Jackson - perhaps
then he will be able to Rest In Peace.

‘Yet there's no denying Michael Jackson leaves
behind him an awesome music legacy.’

But I DO deny it, most emphaticly!
What legacy? A pile of extremely forgettable pop songs, with meaningless drivel as lyrics.
Just because they spent a fortune on promotion, and production of video clips, does NOT make him a great performer, Norman Gunstan would have done as well, or even RinTin Tin, with that level of spending.
He couldn’t sing worth a bishop’s budgie, he was a “screamer”, a poser, and a pratt.
It appalls me the way the industry promotes someone, and the madding crowd follows along, convinced by all the noise and glitter.
Smoke and mirrors, and P.T.Barnhams observation on the birth-rate of certain people, spring to mind!

To get back to Arjay's point, I think Michael Jackson can be summed up as being a genuinely nice guy with a great voice and dancing talent who had crap lyrics and ordinary music and who had bad judgement and did things for the wrong reasons (mostly because of his father's influence).

He was a case study in what happens when one goes past one's sustainable limits; an eclectic, twisted mix of good and bad. John Lennon had a similar problem but was nowhere near as twisted out of shape as Jackson.