Park Life

A Tribute to My Friend, Michael Jackson - by Deepak Chopra http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopr...i_b_221268.html Jackson will be remembered, most likely, as a shattered icon, a pop genius who wound up a mutant of fame. That's not who I will remember, however. His mixture of mystery, isolation, indulgence, overwhelming global fame, and personal loneliness was intimately known to me. For twenty years I observed every aspect, and as easy as it was to love Michael -- and to want to protect him -- his sudden death yesterday seemed almost fated. Two days previously he had called me in an upbeat, excited mood. The voice message said, "I've got some really good news to share with you." He was writing a song about the environment, and he wanted me to help informally with the lyrics, as we had done several times before. When I tried to return his call, however, the number was disconnected. (Terminally spooked by his treatment in the press, he changed his phone number often.) So I never got to talk to him, and the music demo he sent me lies on my bedside table as a poignant symbol of an unfinished life. When we first met, around 1988, I was struck by the combination of charisma and woundedness that surrounded Michael. He would be swarmed by crowds at an airport, perform an exhausting show for three hours, and then sit backstage afterward, as we did one night in Bucharest, drinking bottled water, glancing over some Sufi poetry as I walked into the room, and wanting to meditate. That person, whom I considered (at the risk of ridicule) very pure, still survived -- he was reading the poems of Rabindranath Tagore when we talked the last time, two weeks ago. Michael exemplified the paradox of many famous performers, being essentially shy, an introvert who would come to my house and spend most of the evening sitting by himself in a corner with his small children. I never saw less than a loving father when they were together (and wonder now, as anyone close to him would, what will happen to them in the aftermath). Michael's reluctance to grow up was another part of the paradox. My children adored him, and in return he responded in a childlike way. He declared often, as former child stars do, that he was robbed of his childhood. Considering the monstrously exaggerated value our society places on celebrity, which was showered on Michael without stint, the public was callous to his very real personal pain. It became another tawdry piece of the tabloid Jacko, pictured as a weird changeling and as something far more sinister. It's not my place to comment on the troubles Michael fell heir to from the past and then amplified by his misguided choices in life. He was surrounded by enablers, including a shameful plethora of M.D.s in Los Angeles and elsewhere who supplied him with prescription drugs. As many times as he would candidly confess that he had a problem, the conversation always ended with a deflection and denial. As I write this paragraph, the reports of drug abuse are spreading across the cable news channels. The instant I heard of his death this afternoon, I had a sinking feeling that prescription drugs would play a key part. The closest we ever became, perhaps, was when Michael needed a book to sell primarily as a concert souvenir. It would contain pictures for his fans but there would also be a text consisting of short fables. I sat with him for hours while he dreamily wove Aesop-like tales about animals, mixed with words about music and his love of all things musical. This project became "Dancing the Dream" after I pulled the text together for him, acting strictly as a friend. It was this time together that convinced me of the modus vivendi Michael had devised for himself: to counter the tidal wave of stress that accompanies mega-stardom, he built a private retreat in a fantasy world where pink clouds veiled inner anguish and Peter Pan was a hero, not a pathology. This compromise with reality gradually became unsustainable. He went to strange lengths to preserve it. Unbounded privilege became another toxic force in his undoing. What began as idiosyncrasy, shyness, and vulnerability was ravaged by obsessions over health, paranoia over security, and an isolation that grew more and more unhealthy. When Michael passed me the music for that last song, the one sitting by my bedside waiting for the right words, the procedure for getting the CD to me rivaled a CIA covert operation in its secrecy. My memory of Michael Jackson will be as complex and confused as anyone's. His closest friends will close ranks and try to do everything in their power to insure that the good lives after him. Will we be successful in rescuing him after so many years of media distortion? No one can say. I only wanted to put some details on the record in his behalf. My son Gotham traveled with Michael as a roadie on his "Dangerous" tour when he was thirteen. Will it matter that Michael behaved with discipline and impeccable manners around my son? (It sends a shiver to recall something he told Gotham: "I don't want to go out like Marlon Brando. I want to go out like Elvis." Both icons were obsessions of this icon.) His children's nanny and surrogate mother, Grace Rwamba, is like another daughter to me. I introduced her to Michael when she was eighteen, a beautiful, heartwarming girl from Rwanda who is now grown up. She kept an eye on him for me and would call me whenever he was down or running too close to the edge. How heartbreaking for Grace that no one's protective instincts and genuine love could avert this tragic day. An hour ago she was sobbing on the telephone from London. As a result, I couldn't help but write this brief remembrance in sadness. But when the shock subsides and a thousand public voices recount Michael's brilliant, joyous, embattled, enigmatic, bizarre trajectory, I hope the word "joyous" is the one that will rise from the ashes and shine as he once did.

I guess you're right.

Jacko v Usher....Even at 40 he gives a good account.

Don't let up baby.

MOBO reaction. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8120444.stm

Jermaine news conference. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8120129.stm

Worldwide meltdown. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8120476.stm

Christ!!

Jacko takes the web down. By Maggie Shiels Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley The sheer number of queries concerned Google The internet suffered a number of slowdowns as people the world over rushed to verify accounts of Michael Jackson's death. Search giant Google confirmed to the BBC that when the news first broke it feared it was under attack. Millions of people who Googled the star's name were greeted with an error page rather than a list of results. It warned users "your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application". "It's true that between approximately 2.40PM Pacific and 3.15PM Pacific, some Google News users experienced difficulty accessing search results for queries related to Michael Jackson and saw the error page," said Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker. It was around this time that the singer was officially pronounced dead. Google's trends page showed that searches for Michael Jackson had reached such a volume that in its so called "hotness" gauge the topic was rated "volcanic". Fail Google was not the only company overwhelmed by the public's clamour for information. The microblogging service Twitter crashed with the sheer volume of people using the service.

Sublime and magical. Alone in the darkness.

Basically a massive artist, a truly flawed genius.

You mean Off The Wall? Sorry, yes Off the Wall with Quincy Jones and those bedevelling guitar counter riffs. I was banging on about Bad in the MTV context. Mind I loved Speed Demon. When he danced with that Rabbit in Moonwalker. Cool as Who would have thought it would come down to me and you to make a last stand for old Jacko. tbf there's only a couple of people saying they never liked him. Generally the guitar headed muso's. you'd have thought they'd love Give in To Me. Check the guitars on this sheet. The master.

You mean Off The Wall? Sorry, yes Off the Wall with Quincy Jones and those bedevelling guitar counter riffs. I was banging on about Bad in the MTV context. Mind I loved Speed Demon. When he danced with that Rabbit in Moonwalker. Cool as Who would have thought it would come down to me and you to make a last stand for old Jacko. :blush: tbf there's only a couple of people saying they never liked him. Generally the guitar headed muso's. you'd have thought they'd love Give in To Me.

Wish I had his money. Absolutely woeful after dinner / motivational speaker btw. 'I love me, who do you love?' basically. Dodgy fucker. Probably Mossad. Easy Adolf. Well I know a magician here who was one of his disciples, but that is another story.

Wish I had his money. He has a massive house and grounds in Sonning, Berks iirc. Must have had a bloody good agent when he was bending his spoons. I think he wormed his way in as some sort of advisor to Jacko (and all the cash that probably entailed at the time).

Wish I had his money. Absolutely woeful after dinner / motivational speaker btw. 'I love me, who do you love?' basically. Dodgy fucker. Probably Mossad.

You mean Off The Wall? Sorry, yes Off the Wall with Quincy Jones and those bedevelling guitar counter riffs. I was banging on about Bad in the MTV context. Mind I loved Speed Demon. When he danced with that Rabbit in Moonwalker. Cool as Who would have thought it would come down to me and you to make a last stand for old Jacko.

Wish I had his money.

You mean Off The Wall? Sorry, yes Off the Wall with Quincy Jones and those bedevelling guitar counter riffs. I was banging on about Bad in the MTV context.

Goody was a media invention, on the other hand Jacko invented the pop video, some legendary work. First black artist to get rotation on daytime MTV iirc. He invented the excessively expensive pop video to prop up a mediocre song maybe. What does 'rotation on daytime MTV ' mean, is that a significant achievement? And what work do you regard as legendary? Well, its been said this morning that him and Quincy Jones pulled together R & B,pop and Rock music in a way that had never been done before. I think that is pretty unarguable. Whether you liked it of course is entirely subjective. In a way he did a sort of reverse Elvis...he was (then) a black man using elements of popular music which were at the time seen as traditionally the preserve of white audiences and mixed them with what he was brought up with (R & B/Motown) to produce in the eighties two of the (and in fact the) biggest selling albums of all time. That was a huge acheivement for someone who had been up till then mostly performing in the hugely ghettoised black music industry.Motown, the home of the Jackson 5, was very successful,but mainly sold to only black kids. MTV was starting up at the time and he and his record company could see the value of huge flashy videos to promote his music to a huge new audience in what could be termed "middle America". In this, him and Quincy Jones changed the face of popular music. Excellent post. It was also a time when MTV was quite keen to keep black and 'white' music apart in the schedules. "Bad" stopped all that shit in its tracks. True. In a way he was a revolutionary artist. Pity about the way he went in his later years, but he means a lot to absoloutely millions of people who were brought up with his music. Of course he was revolutionary that is without doubt and at a time there was a lot of things holding black music back. As I said earlier an artist can only hope to release 2/3 great works in their time and Thriller and Bad were that. IMO two of the greatest pop albums ever made.

John Lennon released some absolute gash like He did indeed. I think the difference between the two is outlined by Renton though in that you got the feeling there was no way Jackson would ever do anything decent ever again (plenty evidence to back that up as well). He died 10 years earlier than Wacko though...most people would agree that your forties on isn't really going to be peak of anyone's pop powers. Some artists buck the trend. Van Morrison, Tom Waits to name two. Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Leadbelly, BB.King, Lightnin' Hopkins, Johnny Cash and a few more all peaked very late. I don't think many of those had an international number one BEFORE they were forty, let alone after. Either way, it's not even about quality which is subjective, it's about transcending music. It might be that you don't like Michael Jackson. But he's been the most prominent pop culture icon for 30 year, whatever his output. True. His influence on pop culture is lasting, that's unarguable. And his music will endure far longer than his reputation as a child molesting jelly faced madman too imo. Well the earlier stuff anyway. Culture is created by mad men. I thought it was created by absinthe. ...via absinthe perhaps. Normal people make shit music.

I don't think having a number one really matters. I'm not sure Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin ever had a number one single but they shifted plenty of records. White music doesn't matter. Are you calling Led Zeppelin white music? See edit.

John Lennon released some absolute gash like He did indeed. I think the difference between the two is outlined by Renton though in that you got the feeling there was no way Jackson would ever do anything decent ever again (plenty evidence to back that up as well). He died 10 years earlier than Wacko though...most people would agree that your forties on isn't really going to be peak of anyone's pop powers. Some artists buck the trend. Van Morrison, Tom Waits to name two. Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Leadbelly, BB.King, Lightnin' Hopkins, Johnny Cash and a few more all peaked very late. I don't think many of those had an international number one BEFORE they were forty, let alone after. Either way, it's not even about quality which is subjective, it's about transcending music. It might be that you don't like Michael Jackson. But he's been the most prominent pop culture icon for 30 year, whatever his output. True. His influence on pop culture is lasting, that's unarguable. And his music will endure far longer than his reputation as a child molesting jelly faced madman too imo. Well the earlier stuff anyway. Culture is created by mad men.

I don't think having a number one really matters. I'm not sure Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin ever had a number one single but they shifted plenty of records. White music doesn't matter. Edit In this context.

John Lennon released some absolute gash like He did indeed. I think the difference between the two is outlined by Renton though in that you got the feeling there was no way Jackson would ever do anything decent ever again (plenty evidence to back that up as well). He died 10 years earlier than Wacko though...most people would agree that your forties on isn't really going to be peak of anyone's pop powers. Some artists buck the trend. Van Morrison, Tom Waits to name two. Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Leadbelly, BB.King, Lightnin' Hopkins, Johnny Cash and a few more all peaked very late. I don't think many of those had an international number one BEFORE they were forty, let alone after. Either way, it's not even about quality which is subjective, it's about transcending music. It might be that you don't like Michael Jackson. But he's been the most prominent pop culture icon for 30 year, whatever his output. At his peak he was an unstoppable force no doubts. Diddy: Michael Jackson showed me that you can actually see the beat. He made the music come to life!! He made me believe in magic. I will miss him! Samantha Ronson: His music is just as relevant now as it was the day they pressed record, I'm sure it will remain so for generations to come.R.I.P.Mr Jackson. Dane Cook: I'm dedicating my show 2night to Michael Jackson. THRILLER got me laid. Well... At least thats what I told my friends. Heidi Montag: the world has suffered a GREAT loss today Michael Jackson my thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and fans God bless. Ice T: Rest In Peace Mike. People can say what they want but you were 100% original. WE will always love , miss & remember your GREATNESS. John Mayer: Dazed in the studio. A major strand of our cultural DNA has left us. RIP MJ. I think we'll mourn his loss as well as the loss of ourselves as children listening to Thriller on the record player. Ashley Tisdale: So sad. Saying a prayer for Michael Jackson. Miley Cyrus: michael jackson was my inspiration. love and blessings Ludacris: If it were not for Micheal Jackson I would not be where or who I am today.His Music and Legacy will live on Forever.Prayers to the famR.I.P. MC Hammer: I have no words.. I loved Michael Jackson.. RIP.. Kelly Rowland: Michael you left such a legacy on this earth, have touched SO MANY!!! We thank you for such a driving inspiration in music & our lives!! This has got to be one of the saddest days in music history!! Michael Rest In Peace! WE miss you! Star Jones: Death comes to all. But great achievements build a monument." He IS and WAS the greatest entertainer of all times...Peace to you brother.