Michael Jackson Dies

[Lester]

I remember an old old OLD rumor (I might have been a teen at the time?) that Joe had Michael castrated to stop his voice from changing (and damaging the family cash cow).

Then we hear that he didn't father any of his children.

When the real autopsy comes out, it could be enlightening. Wouldn't that be something if he'd quietly put up with being called a child molester because he was so ashamed of being "nutless"?

[AmpedNow]

I got to watch the star-packed memorial service today, and would be lying if I said I wasn't moved. Besides John Mayer and Stevie knocking it out of the building, his little girl breaking down at the end was a little too much for me, for a moment...

Lester, that's an, um -- interesting theory...

We'll have to wait and see.

Or, not.

[Bob Campbell]

I went from seeking the weird in the coverage to being totally captivated by it. And yeah, if you weren't moved by Michael's daughter, you don't have a pulse.
Check out my complete opinion on the topic on my fresh new, still smells good blog.

http://bobblebrain.blogspot.com/

Sorry, I don't know why it's not coming up as a link.

[jag]

As a consumate professional, driven to perfection, you know in your heart you could never top 'Thriller.' Where else to go, but down?

Well...not necessarily.

True, it would have been exceedingly difficult to top "Thriller" in any way, be it artistically or commercially. Of course, there's no accounting for taste (or lack thereof), but one can easliy envision the commercial aspect of "Thriller" being surpassed. As you well know, there was a time when if a recording sold a million copies, people were astounded. Two million units moved was breath-taking. Five million? Simply a rare phenomenon.

Now, the million-two million sales numbers hardly merit a second glance. Even five-ten million is still not the huge shock that it was. Supposedly, Michael had wanted--and expected--a "Thriller" follow-up to sell a hundred million. One hundred million. Unheard of? Certainly. Quixotic? Perhaps. Out of the realm of possibility? Not at all. And, given the unprecedented wave of popularity that Jackson was riding, it might have, in different circumstances, come close to being a reality. Indeed, it almost certainly will happen to somebody, eventually.

Jackson hit the lottery with "Thriller." Who's to say he could have won big only once?

[Jet Black]

Jackson made two great and one really good album with Quincey Jones, and crapola IMHO afterwards without him. After Bad MJ was flying on fame alone.

[Greg Goodfellow]

Good point, Jag. Should never use 'never.' Also, one would have to believe in his/her heart of hearts that they didn't peak either artistically or commercially so young.

Does anyone have an idea of how many CDs have been sold over the last two weeks? Also, with all the material Jackson allegedly recorded (according to wifey) and soon to be released, including recordings of his rehearsals, one might expect sales to enter another dimension-as has he.