With the King of Pop's tarnished life behind him, Vegas has the chance to rescue his legacy
By STEVE FRIESS
I know you felt it, too, so I’m just going to come right out and say it: Michael Jackson’s untimely death was the best thing that could ever have happened to Michael Jackson’s music.
Until last week’s shocking news of the Gloved One’s death, it was impossible for most people to hear his peculiar falsetto without thinking about what a bizarre, creepy train wreck he had become since the height of his success. The baggage was overwhelming—the molestation accusations, the strange parenting tactics, the startling physical transformation—and it imprisoned and stigmatized the product.
And so, as heartbreaking an ending as it was to a tragic and tortured life, Jackson’s premature death was the first step toward redeeming and restoring to its rightful pop-culture place the Michael Jackson oeuvre.
The rest, I firmly believe, is up to Las Vegas.
Pretty soon, the fawning eulogies and tributes will wind down, and the constant video and radio play will taper off. This burst of appreciation will subside and give way to protracted tales of how exactly he died, what becomes of his estate and his children and what the promoters of his upcoming London comeback concerts knew about his condition as they plowed ahead with the plans. In other words, we will be back in full-on Wacko Jacko territory.
Still, for those of us who loved his music and hope that his legacy consists of something more than just that, something else needs to happen. And that something not only must occur in Las Vegas but it must also be completely disembodied from the bulk of Jackson’s life story.
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4 comments:
Here's a fun Graceland moment: ask the tour guide if its true Elvis died of a drug induced heart attack on the john in the house.
How old was Priscilla?
Elvis had his peccadilloes too. He was lucky in the JFK sense of the word.
(Ok, jackson was more 'eccentric' )
His legacy will always be tainted with his child abuse scandals. I'm not sad he's dead.
As heartbreaking an ending as it was to a tragic and tortured life.
For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don’t have the words.
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