Point to Point: The Legacy of Michael Jackson

 

I think that Michaels legal woes and bizarre lifestyle will be forgotten for a good long while, and that he will be sainted in the public eye as if he never did anything wrong or bizarre. I have mixed feelings because I thought for years that his behavior tainted his music in a way. In other words it was hard for me to listen to his music because I couldn’t help but think about what he had become. I know that begs a question so I’ll answer it. I think that Michael Jackson was a very disturbed individual whose life had grown almost out of control where there was nothing close to normal ever going on with him. He couldn’t go anywhere and couldn’t do anything without being mobbed and that had a profound effect on him. I guess I’ve always pitied MJ; at least now his suffering is over?

 

Elvis Presley had become a grotesque disgrace by 1977 and could barely pull himself together to perform on stage. Elvis consumed an ungodly amount of drugs, which ultimately led to his death, and also caused bizarre behavior that eventually drew the spotlight off his career. Just like Michael and the child molesting, plastic surgery, ethnic swapping behavior, the people haven't really given a crap about him until this very day. I don't remember the last time I really cared about Mike, with the exception of hearing a Jackson 5 song on the jukebox. Let’s get back to my point, Jackson was forced into stardom before he was even 15 years old, he probably was so fond of small children because he never had the chance to be one himself. Either way I've never had mixed feelings about his musical career, the Jackson 5 is still being played all over the place and all of his records have been hits from the get go. You have to expect for the musical genius to break down in the midst of the world that none of us can ever understand.  

 

I think that’s a fair comparison when you look at how Elvis is viewed now. His later years are totally ignored. MJ will be treated the same way; the question is whether or not he deserves that treatment. The child molestation charges are huge but I’ll bet you five bucks people will start taking offense if those issues are continually raised. I think in times like these the music industry takes care of its own, and will circle the wagons around his legacy just like they did with Elvis. The fact is he was a musical genius and with that genius came a great many short comings. There should be a lesson in here somewhere but I think that lesson will be lost in the mad dash to pay tribute to him instead.

 

 

The world is undoubtedly paying more tribute to the music right now than the fact that he is a supposed child molester. The solo albums, Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995) have become some of the world's all-time best selling records in history, and he has waved the rhinestone gloved hand to fans as, "The King of Pop," for over a decade. The man; dead or alive, is as famous as the Beatles for god's sake, regardless of his hidden desires to transform himself into a 12 year old girl that looks like Edward scissor hands significant other. 

 

It looks like we’re starting to agree, Michael Jackson will be forever immortalized for his deeds in the music industry, not his deeds behind closed doors. It says a lot about us as a people when we can so easily cast aside misdeeds and antisocial behavior. But still, the jury is still out on MJ, and the next few weeks should be rather interesting for the music industry.