The Los Angeles Times reports that Michael Jackson was rushed to UCLA Medical Center Thursday afternoon.
Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda told the newspaper that Jackson was not breathing when paramedics arrived at his home and they had to perform CPR.
The pop star's immediate condition is not known, but TMZ.com is reporting that he may have had cardiac arrest.
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E! News reports online that Jackson's father, Joe Jackson, said, "I am in Las Vegas but, yes, people in Los Angeles called me and are with Michael and tell me he was taken to the hospital. His mother is on her way to the hospital now to check in on him. I am not sure what's wrong. I am waiting to hear back from them."
As far as I'm concerned he's been dead for years. I still listen to his older cds (I suppose you could say "back when he was black") because they were good. His Jackson 5 stuff was awesome too.
Surveying various forums on the Net, it appears to me there is a kind of generational divide regarding MJ. To help the young (under 20) understand Michael's popularity, take your favorite artist and imagine he is just as popular to your friends as he is to you. Now multiply that by everyone in the country. OK, now multiply that by 200 countries. That is how God damn big MJ was in the 1980s.
I heard about MJ coming out of the movies tonight. Shame really. Ed McMahon was old so you knew it was only a matter of time. Farrah Faucett was sick so you knew it was also a matter of time. But Michael Jackson, that was unexpected. It's always the unexpected ones that make you stop for a moment. I'm sure the media will be talking about this for at least a week or two.
I didn't care much for his music, but there were a few big hits that I liked and will remember.
This is a place where a signature goes. Enjoy some Airi instead.
[quote name='Tallgeese' post='65856' date='Jun 25 2009, 05:43 PM']Surveying various forums on the Net, it appears to me there is a kind of generational divide regarding MJ. To help the young (under 20) understand Michael's popularity, take your favorite artist and imagine he is just as popular to your friends as he is to you. Now multiply that by everyone in the country. OK, now multiply that by 200 countries. That is how God damn big MJ was in the 1980s.[/quote]
Oh I agree, he was huge. I was born in 1986 and was basically raised off his music. I remember watching Thriller in Preschool...it was huge. I miss him so much already <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... #>/sad.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':sideways:' />.
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MJ was my generation's Elvis. It sucks to think about what he became, but goddamn he was a great singer. "I Want You Back", "I'll Be There" and "The Love You Save" are all perfect pop songs. Perfect. And he sang lead on them as a freaking child. Thriller is an unbelievably great album.
[quote name='JPope' post='65862' date='Jun 25 2009, 09:22 PM']MJ was my generation's Elvis. It sucks to think about what he became, but goddamn he was a great singer. "I Want You Back", "I'll Be There" and "The Love You Save" are all perfect pop songs. Perfect. And he sang lead on them as a freaking child. Thriller is an unbelievably great album.[/quote]
It still amazes me to hear his voice as a child. He had more soul than grown men.
I'm the sole MJ defense brigade at my workplace. He was an extremely talented man that unfortunately had some serious issues with enablers. All they're doing is bitching how the "child molesting disgusting freak of nature" stole Farrah's limelight. :/ Her death is sad too, but the unexpected death will always get more press than the expected and Farrah was never as huge as MJ was.
God, this is so surreal. That's like everything I have to say.
RIP.
To extend myself a little bit more, I don't know, it's like, I can't believe he's dead. Not because I was a particualry big fan (although I did grow up listening to him and watching people imitate him and stuff), but because... I don't know. It's like someone that you wouldn't expect dying anytime soon, it's like in your mind he's immortal or something.
I'm probably not making any sense at all, but whatever. I just feel this is very surreal. It's like a moment in history you didn't expect to see.
[quote name='Monkeypretzels' post='65855' date='Jun 25 2009, 08:34 PM']He can't be dead he is Michael Jackson. I'll listening to him sing right now.[/quote]
And this is how he should be remembered.
Sudden but I knew that he'd been barely able to perform for a few years now. Not really sure as to why.
I truly hope this will make people forget about the later years and focus on what he did best: some of the best music ever made, along with basically basically the invention of the proper music video, and the spectacular extravaganza performance.
Michael Jackson has not released a single truly crappy album, with the possible exception of Blood on the Dance Floor, or at least the remix section. Starting from his Jackson 5 material, with some of the most memorable Motown tracks ("ABC", "I Want You Back", and now tell me you didn't get those choruses stuck in your head when reading the titles), and basically perfecting the signature mix of pop, disco and jazz in Off The Wall. Of course, most people would consider Thriller to be the best pop album ever produced, and I certainly think it contains the best pop songs, but when it comes to pop production, Bad and Dangerous were possibly even better. If "Thriller" is the best composed pop song, then "Jam", on the Dangerous album, is arguably the best produced pop song. The influence of these tracks can be heard to this day. Even later albums, that have been not quite as acknowledged as his earlier work, were genuinely good albums.
Furthermore, he has both revolutionised and perfected the music video. Even early stuff like Blame It On The Boogie has some fairly high concept stuff, but of course the culmination of that effort was from Thriller onwards. I remember that as a child, every time a music video by Michael Jackson came out, it was a huge event. It was all we could talk about, and every music video was fantastically original and amazing. I may not care too much about music videos and PVs in general, but if done right, they are amazing entertainment, and no one did them more right than Michael Jackson. The Nostalgia Critic even did a review of Moonwalker (which, in his style, was scathing and hilarious), but he couldn't find anything bad to say about the "Smooth Criminal" music video, declaring it "perfection".
On a personal note, I can't put into words how much his music inspired me, and how sad I am that he passed on. The first music album I ever bought, in vinyl, was Bad. I still think it's one of my best decisions ever.
Also, I truly believe he never touched any child.
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[center]Anyway, you can just like whatcha like!☆[/center]
I was really dissapointed none of the radio stations in my area (that I could find) were doing much of a tribute to him. I almost put together a playlist for my iPod, but I thought nah, some station will be playing nothing but Michael. Best I could find was stations doing one of his songs at the top of every hour and lots of talk. Too bad =/
It's still kind of unbelievable to me. He was such a huge part of my childhood. I really wish he'd had a chance to do even one show of his comeback tour.
In later years he was a wreck, but he was also one of the most incredible artists of all time. Can anyone think of another artist whose popularity (and later, notoriety) approaches Michael Jackson's? Maybe Madonna, but other than that...
He really revolutionized the music industry at the time and so many artists today draw influence on him. I respect him for that, however odd his personal life was.
I've been a fan since I can remember (having been born in '81, he was popular throughout my childhood). He made some incredible songs. Favorites of mine included Will You Be There, Beat It, Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal, Billie Jean, etc...
It has been horrifying seeing him deteriorate over the years, and yet I still didn't see this coming. I'm just in shock.
RIP, King of Pop.
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[quote name='TnB' post='65900' date='Jun 26 2009, 04:45 PM']I was really dissapointed none of the radio stations in my area (that I could find) were doing much of a tribute to him. I almost put together a playlist for my iPod, but I thought nah, some station will be playing nothing but Michael. Best I could find was stations doing one of his songs at the top of every hour and lots of talk. Too bad =/
It's still kind of unbelievable to me. He was such a huge part of my childhood. I really wish he'd had a chance to do even one show of his comeback tour.[/quote]
Oddly enough, the AM radio news stations seemed to be playing his music the most, albiet as intro music for updates on the coroner's report, which seemed kinda tacky to me, but hey yay media. But I also heard reports of CDs stores selling out, even Amazon's apparently sold out of everything. But I went ahead & threw "Off The Wall", "Thriller", & "Bad" on my iPod this morning. Those three albums have more than enough material to form some kind of "Ultimate Greatest Hits Ever In Existence So Piss Off & Buy This You Bastards" album.
I was never a HUGE fan of Michael Jackson, only owned a few of his albums in the 80s, but he was an undeniable performer and one of the few people who are genuinely larger than life. True, he became far more of an extremely eccentric personality than a musician over the past decade or so, but as someone who was there growing up as it happened, I can tell you that no other celebrity so completely owned the world's fandom like he did through the 1980s. Y'know how you can go up to just about any person, anywhere in the world, show them a picture of Superman or Spider-Man & they'll know exactly who that is? Michael Jackson was THAT ingrained in the world's conciousness, maybe even moreso. I've heard firsthand accounts from friends & co-workers who saw him perform live & literally felt that the world was a completely changed place while he was onstage. I never saw a live show, and I now regret that.
He was most likely insane, but he had more talent in one of those bandaged fingers than most anyone you or I will ever meet.
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[quote name='CO2 Blasted Idols' post='91599' date='Jan 12 2011, 06:50 PM']Also, this is MM-BBS, the BBS that hates the H!P fans in almost all other forums.[/quote]
[quote name='BeForJess' post='65901' date='Jun 26 2009, 08:03 PM']In later years he was a wreck, but he was also one of the most incredible artists of all time. Can anyone think of another artist whose popularity (and later, notoriety) approaches Michael Jackson's? Maybe Madonna, but other than that...[/quote]
I'm assuming you mean another living artist whose popularity approaches MJ. Jackson is on a tier with Elvis, The Beatles and no one else. Sinatra arguably comes closer than Madonna, and even he isn't that close.
[quote name='JPope' post='65909' date='Jun 26 2009, 09:28 PM']I'm assuming you mean another living artist whose popularity approaches MJ. Jackson is on a tier with Elvis, The Beatles and no one else. Sinatra arguably comes closer than Madonna, and even he isn't that close.[/quote]
You reminded me of what Dr. Raja said earlier "The three most influential people in the world are Jesus Christ, Muhammud, and Michael Jackson."
Yesterday I spent a few hours watching MJ on youtube. It oddly shocked me how memorable his songs were and how signature his dancing/singing style was. It is like I didn't want to admit --in the final years of MJ's decline-- just how major he was to like 3 decades of music and how much he defined my childhood.
I was born in 81 so the whole Jackson 5 and Thriller era were foreign to me but the Bad album was a pretty huge deal. We watched his Moonwalker video at a slumber party in 2nd grade (I think?) and we spent hours trying to do the Smooth Criminal lean. We all thought he was cute and watched Captain Eo at Disneyland at least twice every time we went to the park (I grew up in OC).
They say it is the MTV generation who can best appreciate him. MJ was the FIRST black singer allowed on MTV and he revolutionized music videos and made them into high quality mini-films with story lines and elaborate dance numbers. But MJ was my first real awareness of what being a super-star celebrity meant in my non-MTV, fobby parent household. EVERYONE knew Michael Jackson and his songs, his distinctive singing style, and his old Hollywood dancing. I knew he was a prince-like figure who was world famous and really rich. I knew he was cool. I knew he hung out with President Reagan, Princess Diana, and had fans all around the globe. And I also knew he was a humanitarian who spent millions doing charity work. We tape recorded the biographical made-for-tv special about the whole Jackson family. We also all sat around the TV to watch the premier of his Black & White music video (can you imagine that happening today??) and I remember my father remarking "is the title supposed to explain why he looks like a white person now?"
Anyway. I think I'm just at the cut of the 80s. I don't think younger generations can understand how huge he was and thus how damning the late 1990s "wacko jacko" persona was in return. Well, despite his personal demons, his music was incredible. Hope people let him RIP.
Last edited by eri on Sat Jun 27, 2009 10:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
[quote name='mEri' post='65923' date='Jun 27 2009, 10:51 AM']They say it is the MTV generation who can best appreciate him. MJ was the FIRST black singer allowed on MTV and he revolutionized music videos and made them into high quality mini-films with story lines and elaborate dance numbers. But MJ was my first real awareness of what being a super-star celebrity meant in my non-MTV, fobby parent household. EVERYONE knew Michael Jackson and his songs, his distinctive singing style, and his old Hollywood dancing. I knew he was a prince-like figure who was world famous and really rich. I knew he was cool. I knew he hung out with President Reagan, Princess Diana, and had fans all around the globe. And I also knew he was a humanitarian who spent millions doing charity work. We tape recorded the biographical made-for-tv special about the whole Jackson family. We also all sat around the TV to watch the premier of his Black & White music video (can you imagine that happening today??)[/quote]
This. I was born in 86, so I missed a lot of his older stuff, but I remember Dangerous and have it on tape!! Black and White was my jam when I was like 5 <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':danceman:' />. I watched Thriller when I was like 3...and I was scared but I basically fell in love with him from there. He will be missed.
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I was born in 1990 and, while I definitely didn't hear a lot of his works, I definitely have an appreciation for what he's done. I only recently got some songs of his (only about a week ago or so) and I'm really going to explore his works. I know he had a lot of personal problems and image issues, but his legacy will live on as an amazing performer who led the way for many artists. There was a lot of talk about his new comeback/finale tour, but I don't really know how his personal life was. I hope he was in a good place. RIP.
What's awesome is the random MJ flashmobs, where people just gather to listen, sing along, and dance to his songs, in various cities all over the world. Just look on youtube. They've happened in London, NYC, SF, Toronto, and Berlin, and probably some other places.
A lot of people say, "he would have wanted this" when someone dies, but I think MJ actually would have wanted people to react this way. He was all about making music that could be enjoyed by people from all nations, races and religions. The crowds seen these past few days reflect this.
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