Absolutely agreed.
What a shame his death is. Such a dichotomy his life was...a star of the type that may never come along again (I can't think of any entertainer since that has completely dominated the mainstream pop scene like MJ did in the '80s) and yet a (seemingly) very sad, alienated life.
In the end, I think I probably feel sorry for him despite all the fame and money.
I was once on a flight from Stockholm to Milan with about 15 other people, one of them being model
Linda Evangelista. She had a little middle-aged man servant toting her carry-ons who she didn't speak to and didn't seem to expect to be spoken to, no makeup, bluejeans and a plain white blouse. I'd seen her picture before and recognized her immediately but really had no idea. She was so tall, skinny, and striking, a cartooned woman couldn't have stood out more. During the flight if she did anything at all (like ordered a drink or reached forward for a magazine) every conversation on the flight stammered. The old Italian man seated across from me who I'd befriended just laughed and shook his head each time.
After landing our plane's pod of people merged with other arriving masses on the trams headed into the airports main hub. I'll never forget how she was surrounded by guys 6" shorter then her standing a foot away or so looking her up and down with no shame. No one tried to start a conversation, she was the Mona Lisa to be admired like it or not. Her empty stare went over their heads as if this was the everyday norm.
I've ran into a few celebs types over the years and I'm always struck by how weird and ultimately lonely it must be to be them. What a weird existence for billions of people to know who you are... everyone lighting up and staring at you where ever you go. From early on, this was MJ's life.
though I've never owned an album of his, his music is entwined with some great memories. An epic food fight with Off the Wall blaring on a school bus after picking strawberrrys for $ all day one summer back in grade school reins supreme in terms of sheer joy. There was a particular night with a girl at a club for another. I always felt like something was off with him, but dude could really sing and thats a weakspot for me. As his popularity faded in the face of sordid allegations and his music (& King of Pop crap) wasn't being forced on us daily, I found myself enjoying his stuff a lot more... dude had a gift. He gave us music, the creeps, and memories... he also raised millions for charities.
RIP
STOMP
