Even now, nineteen days on, I can remember where I was when I discovered that Michael Jackson had passed away: sitting in front of my laptop reading this very site. It seems like only yesterday that we all switched from not thinking about Michael Jackson unless we heard a song of his in a cab to sharing an endless celebration of his legacy. It seems like only yesterday, but no: It was almost three weeks ago. We live in a completely different world now. Still, while we may have moved on, it's not a terrible thing to look back every now and again. For instance, I just discovered musician David Byrne's reminscence of the fallen Pop King. It captures the sorrow, shock, and anger we all felt back in those simpler times.
The shock, to me, was that a young black man who was conquering the world of white pop (and video! He was the ONLY black man on MTV!) was simultaneously ashamed or very mixed up about his blackness. What kind of example does it set for black adolescents watching Michael get whiter and whiter every year? How's a Brother supposed to get further with this shit going on?Damn right, Dave. But let it go: The man is at peace now.
who's bad?
If only Michael could have found solace in a big suit...
Growing up in the eighties, I worried about nuclear attack, Reagan, AIDS, and crack; but, my friends, this hits me oh so much more harder.
(no)
Wow! Reminiscence by a live white guy who has desperately wanted to be black since 1982 about a dead black guy who desperately wanted to be white since 1982. We're through the looking glass here people.
Oh, he's wanted to be black since at least 1979.
David Byrne was an inspiration for all us nerds that we could be as pretentious as we wanted and move to New York and be anointed geniuses.
But now we're grown up and hate all the twee music he's made since the Talking Heads broke up.
and Laurie Anderson, don't forget Laurie Anderson. I wonder what she has to say about all of this...
Of course Laurie Anderson. Did you and I go to school together? Did we both come to be terribly disappointed by Michael Stipe at exactly the same time?
don't include me in the "we"... i love his post TH stuff. not all of it, but a lot. "glass, concrete and stone" and the newest... very nice.
Had Keith Richards introduced Michael to the vampire that bit him, Michael would be on stage in London right now . . .