Gentlemen,

We're all entitled to our opinions.
That doesn't necessarily make them right.
As I stated in my previous post - music
like art - is subjective.

The history of music is made up of a very
wide range of tastes. And it will be history
that will judge the extent of Michael Jackson's
musical talents - regardless of what we may think.

Cheers.

I'm not trying to put Jacko on a pedastal.Billy Joel,Paul Simon,Jackson Brown,Elton John,Paul McCartney are in a league way above Jackson.Jackson was an amazing stage performer but I think he lacked deep insight into his own being.The fanatasy became reality and he could justify a lot of wrongs in the name of his feel good philosophy.You cannot be whimpishly kind all the time.Love and caring is demonstrated through a wide range of emotions from anger to elation.Jacko really lost in the end and money could not save him.He did not have one friend or relative who could set him straight.

Dylan Thomas was another tragic genius who wrote Under Milkwood.What I'm really expressing is the perceptive genius of TS Eliot that has universal insight into people from all stratas of society.There is a bit of Prufrock in each of us.

Dear Arjay,

As I wrote in an earlier post -
your choice of TS Eliot's character -
Prufrock, was extremely perceptive in
regards to Michael Jackson. Jackson
like the character of Prufrock -
was a vain, weak man, who sadly lacked
the will to change his life.

Music is very individual aye Foxy. I love Leonard Cohen, Marianne Faithful, The Who, REM, Queen, Talking Heads, most music but nah not disco. I have a younger teen (not mine) that was very upset about Michael and horrified that I was sitting listening to Insane Clown Posse the other night. But when I played some younger Jackson she didn’t even glance up so I figured not a true fan.

The impact music has is amazing. I listen to random things as I post online and really depending what I am listening to can and does predict quite often how I leave a message or how I feel reading one. I should probably cut it out.

I never believe anything trashy about pop stars so my only feeling about Mr Jackson was that his face looked funny, he put on amazing shows, made lots of money, and many people seemed to like him.

Personally I’d tolerate a funny looking face if I could have the other things.

Jewels you've just listed my iTunes library, although there's also a fair bit of the Stones, Tom Petty, a heap of blues by all sorts of people - some well-known, some not, plus a heap of other stuff, ranging from Beethoven to Zeppelin (AC/DC to Zep really, but Beethoven scanned better and all his symphonies and concertos are there).

I'm going to shock a stack of people here and say I reckon that one of the most powerfully moving songs I know is "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" as sung by Marianne Faithfull, which is about a woman living the suburban dream comitting suicide through depression brought about by sheer boredom and too much time to reflect on unfulfilled dreams. It brings a tear to my eye every time I hear it, because there must be so many people going through the same thing.

To come back to the topic, I reckon Jackson was a bit of a Lucy Jordan. He never achieved true greatness musically as far as I can see, despite incredible early promise. "Off the Wall" was a really good funk/fusion album with great players and awesome production and then there was "Thriller", but then...

Vale, I say. Let the poor tortured bugger RIP. I'd not have wanted his life for 10 times the quids.

Real music.
Europa (Earth's Cry, Heaven's Smile), Santana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBDLQZgntYE&feature=related

Irespect everyone’s right to their own opinions, I’ve said my piece on the whacko, so I thought I’d contribute some taste instead.