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The Michael Jackson Debate

Is Jackson's death the biggest music death we will ever see, and should it be treated as such?

Mark Steffen - Michael Jackson’s death will most likely be the greatest musical death of our lifetime.  Let’s face the facts: his music was good.  This was no Madonna with her tragedies like Confessions on a Dance Floor or Bob Dylan with his sidesteps like Street Legal and Down in the Groove.  Everything Jackson did turned gold.

That’s not to say I personally prefer everything Jackson did.  After all, I hate most pop music, I don’t enjoy dancing, and I like my children unmolested.  But fans of his music are some of the most passionate out there.  He demolished the pop charts every time he released an album and managed to put on spectacular shows every time he went on tour. 

Sure, there will be more important deaths during our generation: the aforementioned Madonna (what will all of her adopted kids do without such a sterling feminine role model?), Bob Dylan (don’t even get me started on describing the alcohol induced stupor I’m headed towards when he passes), or even the remaining Beatles (face it, McCartney, your days are numbered and Starbucks isn’t gonna pop for the Walt Disney cryo-treatment).  But none will be marked with such an extraordinary outcry of fans, with reactions pervasively infiltrating every moment of our existence for the next few weeks ranging from public mourning to involuntary iTunes purchasing to all of the waitstaff at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Brooklyn breaking out into choreographed dance, as I witnessed on Friday.  Anyone that can motivate a staff so typically lazy and slow to get up and dance while serving me Caribbean Jerk seasoned boneless wings is definitely the greatest musical death of our generation.

Wes Soltis - I don’t think Michael Jackson’s death is actually the most important death we will ever see musically - I just think people are pretending it is.  Was Michael Jackson important? Completely and utterly – but I fail to see the significance in this all. Michael Jackson being dead is really no different than the last fifteen years of his life.  The last story I remember hearing about Michael Jackson (before this aforementioned tour that was going to happen) was about the allegations of him and Aaron Carter having sleepovers.  Five years ago people thought he was a weird, disgusting man – and now since he is dead everyone is praising him for being this beautiful, unique creature.  Just give me my chicken wings – I don’t really want to watch you dance to “Billie Jean.”  It’s completely baffling. 

I understand that without Michael we probably wouldn’t have Justin Timberlake and all related pop acts. But Dylan’s death will be more important, McCartney’s death will be more important and I bet you Madonna’s death will be a bigger deal as well. The importance is surely there, there is no doubt about it – but the public outcry is acting as if he just released Thriller two weeks ago.  I think the most important thing here is that he was fifty years old! I had never really put an age to him, and not because his music is timeless.

Mark - Thank you for proving me right.  There will be more important deaths musically.  But the biggest death? Unfortunately, since it seems motorcycles and Tony Montana-sized piles of cocaine can’t kill Dylan and he’ll have to pass relatively unnoticed - if anything is unnoticed these days - just like Woody Guthrie (which he probably would prefer).  McCartney’s death will always be overshadowed by John Lennon’s legacy, and, let’s not kid ourselves, Madonna will shell out any amount of money that keeps her (or an image of her) alive forever.  Nothing but nothing says spectacle like a fifty-year-old (possible) child molesting pop star kicking the bucket only weeks before a career re-launching tour.  Now that’s news. 

Wes - Which I guess is what is confusing me in the first place – the guy (allegedly) was a child molesting pop star.  A very popular pop star (well, at one point), but still an alleged child molester – people just seem to be tossing that fact underneath the rug. Sure Madonna and Dylan and McCartney have done some questionable unmoral things, but now as big as what Jackson was accused for doing.  So I guess you are right that Michael Jackson’s death is the biggest one we will ever see – I just wish it wasn’t the case. And seriously – I hope you got free food at the Buffalo Wild Wings.