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Michael Jackson: No Groundbreaking Genius
Pajamas Media ^ | July 29 | Carol Gould

Posted on 06/30/2009 8:52:45 AM PDT by AJKauf

Am I the only person in the world not moved by or concerned with the death of Michael Jackson? Like all bereavements my heart goes out to his family and close friends.

But — a “genius”? “The greatest entertainer of all time”?

Why am I writing this article at all?

I believe it is important, especially for the young, to understand the true meaning of greatness and to appreciate the real essence of “genius.” This may sound like a sacrilege but, as I write, millions of youngsters are breakdancing to Jackson tunes and evidently thinking this is the be-all and end-all of life’s expectations. If I had a young child now I would want him or her to read books, go to orchestra concerts, and be exposed to selective media under my — and my partner’s — supervision. Whether or not the stars I am about to venerate grew up in such a rarefied atmosphere is debatable, but after hearing Al Sharpton’s pronouncements I would like to reflect on what true greatness entails.

The Rev. Sharpton said this week that Michael Jackson broke down a barrier: he made it acceptable for black entertainers to rise to the top in a white world. What is Al Sharpton talking about? ..

(Excerpt) Read more at pajamasmedia.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
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To: AJKauf

It’s sort of humorous reading people here attempting to downplay Jackson’s standing in the entertainment industry. His accomplishments in the music industry speak for themselves, really.


41 posted on 06/30/2009 9:30:30 AM PDT by GSWarrior
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To: Mr. Mojo
The best entertainer of all time was Al Jolson. ...and then probably Louis Armstrong. And of course Elvis Presley is right up there. And Sinatra. THOSE were entertainers.

And as for dancers...


42 posted on 06/30/2009 9:31:13 AM PDT by COBOL2Java (Big government more or less guarantees rule by creeps and misfits.)
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To: AJKauf

You obviously have not learned your pop culture lessons yet. Sentence yourself to 100 hours of MSM watching until cured or insane, whichever comes first...


43 posted on 06/30/2009 9:31:18 AM PDT by bigbob
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To: dfwgator

I hated Thriller. The only album I liked was Off the Wall made in 1979. After that I was praying for Judas Priest to kill Michael Jackson.


44 posted on 06/30/2009 9:31:31 AM PDT by angcat (FUBO)
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To: WayneS

I agree that Sammy Davis Jr clearly had a lot more talent and broke more barriers than Michael Jackson.


45 posted on 06/30/2009 9:31:50 AM PDT by seawolf101
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To: dennisw

I am glad to know that I am not the only one who did not care for his music at all. I think that deep down, he was one of the most unhappy people I have ever read about.


46 posted on 06/30/2009 9:31:50 AM PDT by MamaB (Heb.13:2)
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To: EggsAckley; Cagey; Larry Lucido; MotleyGirl70; Mr. Brightside
"In my opinion the best thing MJ ever did was his role in “The Wiz”"

Huh? I'm confused.


47 posted on 06/30/2009 9:32:44 AM PDT by Rebelbase
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To: GSWarrior

No question that MJ was a marketing phenomenon.


48 posted on 06/30/2009 9:33:19 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Rebelbase
“why couldn’t he write a decent song the last 10 years?”

Stevie Wonder, who really IS a genius, hasn't written a decent song in the last 10 years either.

49 posted on 06/30/2009 9:33:21 AM PDT by Maceman
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To: AJKauf
The Rev. Sharpton said this week that Michael Jackson broke down a barrier: he made it acceptable for black entertainers to rise to the top in a white world.

Sammy Davis did this, back when there was REAL discrimination, when black people weren't even allowed to watch at the same Vegas shows as white people. He went from sleeping in segregated hotel rooms to sleeping in the main buildings with everybody else, and he did it 40 years ago in the face of actual violence and bigotry. By the time he was in his heyday and most popular, the hard-core bigotry in the US was history.

Bill Cosby went from small time venues to TV, to big theaters to being a multimillionaire who has the political capital to turn right around and lecture the "black community" that they need to stop blaming the Man and start condemning their own druggy ways and moral-less rap music, but of course, that never even blips on Sharpton's radar, because that is a call to work hard and gain respect of everyone not because of the color of your skin but because you make your own way in the world by your own hard work. And Sharpton lives off the dispair of others.

Both these men came though the hard times by showing us that black people were just...people. They destroyed the false gods of race hate by being the best they could be, not by rhyming fancy words and grabbing their crotch. They won fame by hard work, not by being flat out crazy and wearing one glove. They were performers; Micheal Jackson was far less...he was only a celebrity.

50 posted on 06/30/2009 9:34:10 AM PDT by 50sDad (The Left cannot understand life is not in a test tube. Raise taxes, & jobs go away.)
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To: AJKauf
It's beyond silly to compare Michael Jackson to my holy Jewish brother Elvis Aaron Presley. Don't get me started.

Do NOT get me started.

51 posted on 06/30/2009 9:35:07 AM PDT by Cinnamon Girl (G-d Bless President Bush. He kept us safe.)
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To: Maceman
Stevie Wonder, who really IS a genius

You're supposed to wipe your nose when you say that.

(Obscure Eddie Murphy "Delirious" reference)

52 posted on 06/30/2009 9:35:36 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: AJKauf
Michael Jackson had mediocre talent at best. He was just lucky with his timing, coming out with thriller just as MTV hit the scene.

Never bought a single record of his, and never even felt tempted to go to one of his concerts. I did enjoy watching the thriller video at the time though, and thought moon walking was a pretty neat invention of his (at least until I learned later that he just stole the technique from mimes and actors on stage)

53 posted on 06/30/2009 9:36:01 AM PDT by TexasFreeper2009
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To: 50sDad
Bill Cosby went from small time venues to TV, to big theaters to being a multimillionaire who has the political capital to turn right around and lecture the "black community" that they need to stop blaming the Man and start condemning their own druggy ways and moral-less rap music

I still think Richard Pryor did more for race relations, because he made whites and blacks laugh at each other, and with each other.

54 posted on 06/30/2009 9:37:22 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Maceman
“As” is my fav. from Stevie. I think Stevie blows Jackson away when it comes to music.
55 posted on 06/30/2009 9:38:47 AM PDT by angcat (FUBO)
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To: seawolf101
I agree that Sammy Davis Jr clearly had a lot more talent and broke more barriers than Michael Jackson.

Here is Sammy Davis Jr. at his best.

56 posted on 06/30/2009 9:39:31 AM PDT by Maceman
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To: GSWarrior

It is funny, isn’t it? A lot of these posters are fueled by something other than a dislike for his music. Most of them are feeding the wrong wolf. For those of you who are in denial of his place in history a little investigation will reveal what I’m talking about.


57 posted on 06/30/2009 9:40:13 AM PDT by WatchOutForSnakes
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To: COBOL2Java
And as for dancers...

Fred Astaire was pretty good for a white guy... The Nicholas Brothers were the very best!

Watch this to the end. It just keeps getting better as they continue dancing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBb9hTyLjfM&feature=related

58 posted on 06/30/2009 9:40:24 AM PDT by Dixie Yooper (Ephesians 6:11)
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To: rlmorel

To anyone other than blacks under 40, Hollywood types and those who were 12 year old girls when he peaked, Jacko is nothing but a bleached out pervert.

People who go on and on about his music breaking the race barrier must have never heard of Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Chuck Berry, The Mills Brothers, The Ink Spots, The Coasters, The Drifters, Ben E. King, Clyde McPhatter, Eartha Kitt, Laverene Baker, Barbara Lynn, Barbara Mason, Baby Washington, Barbara George, Barbara Lewis, Aretha Franklin, Dee Dee Sharp, Darlene Love, Chubby Checker, Hank Ballard, The Shirelles, James Brown, The Angels, The Crystals, and about 10,000,000 other black hitmakers and Doo Wop groups.


59 posted on 06/30/2009 9:40:46 AM PDT by Iron Munro (Obama as President is like hiring a mechanic who never saw a car before.)
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To: Deo volente
I told a friend one time that I thought Frank Sinatra was probably the greatest male singer of the 20th century...

No probably about it - he was! Who else had a career spanning six decades and who could still pack them in? Whom else from the fifties and earlier, had pop and rock singers clamoring to perform with him? Frank, the skinny guinea from Hoboken, was a one-and-only!

60 posted on 06/30/2009 9:42:12 AM PDT by Rummyfan (Iraq: it's not about Iraq anymore, it's about the USA!)
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