Even in death Michael Jackson has taught us something about ourselves.
Sadly, so many ghouls and horrible people are focusing only on the controversies that faced him. In the end, his demise proved that it's really hard to see past the media created image that engulfs any person in the spolight. Some say that behind it all was nothing more than a feeble man struggling with overwhelming debt. In Jackson's case $620 million worth bills mounted and were forcing a seemingly insurmountable concert schedule.
In that sense, the circumstances of MJ's career at the time of his death are akin to Kansas City's Mayor Funkhouser with a house mortgaged time and time again along with an unstable home life, at the very least in terms of finances, which have obviously influenced some poor professional decisions.
And Jackson's insane spending in order to subsidize an overly extravagant lifestyle also reminds me of the gigantic cash giveaway that Obama has undertaken in order to save the economy and irresponsible American companies that threatened to bankrupt the entire nation.
At the end Jackson, very much like the United States was burdened by tremendous debt, a tarnished reputation and the very real possibility that the best days were long past.
Still, contemplating Jackson's greatness and what it meant to the people in this country and the world gives me hope.
At the risk of seeming ridiculous I want to note that millions of radio fans in Kansas City have stumbled upon a bright spot in all of this while asking for radio dedications lasting all weekend long. Kansas City music aficionados realize that we'll always have the music despite MJ's death or the controversies that surrounded him in much the same way that the promise of freedom represents the true hope for America.
Real talk: Americans don't care about exploiting children as long it involves the production of cheap merchandise on the shelves of discount stores. And most suburbs in this country are in inhabited by a large percentage of pain killer and prescription drug addicts. Additionally, this recession has taught us that it doesn't take much to push everyone and anyone to the brink of financial collapse. I think Michael Jackson might have been the perfect metaphor for this nation: Frightening and freakish at certain points yet capable of so much talent, skill and greatness.
The legacy endures.
Thank you for reading this week. Have a fun and safe weekend.
great tunes
ReplyDeletethe deer in caught in the headlights photo of the funk... PRICELESS :) !!!!!
ReplyDeleteGod bless this country. Only in America could a 25-year-old black man die as a 50-year old white woman.
ReplyDeleteBeat it must be your favorite Tony
ReplyDeleteThat's the most insightful and clever reporting I've seen on the death of Michael Jackson so far. Excellent analogies! I'm surprised at how grief-stricken the country is. I thought the US general public gave up on MJ years ago. I never would have expected this. I've seen sadness the likes of which I haven't known since the untimely death of the Princess of Wales and before that John Lennon. I hate it (death)
ReplyDeleteYou are very much and so right on the report that you made just now Tony. We cannot look at what the imperfections are in a persons life. We all judge people to be better than our selves. That is why we look up to them and hold them so high. But, once we realize that the are not Gods that the public makes them out to be, we leave them in despair and forget the happiness and hope that they gave us and what we learn from them,until they die."Your nobody until somebody kills you." A quote from the Late Great Notorious B.I.G.
ReplyDeleteAll I see is a bunch of repressed hate expressed in a MSM type of way.
ReplyDeleteYou may still get that coveted job at the Star Tony.
Nicely done.
ReplyDeletewhat a moron
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Tony! Just like pearls...!
ReplyDelete¡Felíz cumple.., behbeh! &:)
He heard they had childrens clothes half off.
ReplyDeleteNow Billy Mays is dead. I can't even take it.
ReplyDelete"And most suburbs in this country are in inhabited by a large percentage of pain killer and prescription drug addicts" you just yap and yap with no facts, just wallowing in whatever untruth suits your rant. you could not make it anywhere but here where you have NO ACCOUNTABILITY whatsoever.
ReplyDeletegood stuff T.
ReplyDeleteniggers all.
ReplyDelete