The King of Pop

There's a fairly vocal minority of people who are almost rejoicing in Michael Jackson's death. Even as I heard of his passing from my friend, my first reaction was disbelief and that led, immediately, to mockery. I'm not sure why, but I think it has to do with how immortal he has always seemed to me. I can't claim to be in awe of him like so many millions of fans were, but he never quite seemed of this world.

Of course, he came from the not-so-exotic Chicago neighbor Gary, Indiana and was borne to normal folk who looked at their brood of talented musicians and saw something special, something revolutionary. He went from being a star in a boyband to being an adult icon seamlessly.

Yet there are those of us who demonize him and cast his career asunder because of his alleged indiscretions. I'm not here to speculate the chances that he was guilty of some kind of sexual misconduct, or at the very least, something inappropriate. I'm reasonably sure that there were some shady doings going down in the Neverland Ranch and I can't help feeling awfully disappointed in Mr. Jackson.

But are we still unable to look at a person and judge him not on one (or two or three or etc) bad thing he did, but as a complex, multifaceted human being?

I could have sworn that we were past the Hawthorne days of pinning red letters into the bosom of wrongdoers. Didn't the Jules Dassin of the 50s sacrifice enough in the name of tolerance...or at the very least, open-mindedness?

The fact remains that Michael Jackson may have done some bad stuff, but can we really vilify him after we consider all of the good he has done? He tried to heal the world and make it a better place. For you and for me...and the entire human race. He was the voice of a generation and made people smile. Everywhere.

So before you cast a stone, remember that schadenfreude isn't enough to rejoice a man's death and ask yourself how well you personify perfection in the way you expected it from Michael Jackson. Think on all of the people you may have disappointed or wronged or hurt. Think about the promises you never fulfilled. Think of all of the bad stuff you have done.

Then...after you take stock of your life in that context, ask yourself one question:

If your legacy was being determined for perpetuity, your strengths and weaknesses not withstanding, wouldn't you want to be judged based on both? So let's give The King of Pop a break and allow his legacy neither entirely good nor entirely bad, but complex, fuzzy and messy like everybody else.

5 More!!

So The Academy has added five more nominees to the Best Picture Award.

This is great news. There many years when I have agreed with the winner, let alone the five nominees, so hopefully this will open things up a little bit. Maybe we'll see some foreign, animated and documentary films being nominated. Either way, it's a surefire way to ensure that the Academy Awards mean something again.

So since I'm a giant film dork, I'm going to write a megapost about what the Oscars should have been, starting Monday.

Get excited.

In the mean time...

Changes of Venue

Richmond sounds like a good place to be right now.

Ne-Yo Soul

I obtained the latest Ne-Yo album about seven months ago, but never listened to anything from it until I recently put one of his songs on a mix I made for the drive up to Pennsylvania this past weekend.

The song is called "Part of the List"; it's kind of a run-of-the-mill love song, but I don't think Ne-Yo (who co-wrote the song) takes himself so seriously that he has to write about how much he "loves his shorty" or how "fine his bitches be". What is so interesting about this song is that Ne-Yo comes off so vulnerable singing it and how this song is so dissimilar to the current urban music zeitgeist of clockin' bitches and pullin' hoes. It's not that there's anything particularly wrong with that machismo and jocularity, but it seems disingenuous for a famous pop star singing or rapping about how pimp he is because he sleeps with so many women. Of course you do: being able to sleep with whomever one likes is one of the fringe benefits of having such vast exposure.

The song evokes emotions that haven't been willfully evoked by many pop stars in decades. I'm not saying that Ne-Yo is a modern day Al Green, nor am I claiming that he's an important artist...

But this song...this song is great. If this one song is indicative of the quality of the whole album, (which I recently purchase...just to make things legit) then the nomination it received for the Album of the Year at the Grammys is well-deserved.

The video is pretty interesting, too. I wonder if the videos from his current album are telling a linear narrative, because the end of this video seems to be abrupt and really needs to lead somewhere.

Check it out and get to know Ne-Yo and this song before it becomes one of the biggest hits of the summer.

Make 'Em Laugh: 6/17/09

I haven't seen something so sublimely hilarious in a long time.

Yes, it's simple; no, it's not high concept.

But it is really, really funny.

Enjoy.

Sarah Wailin' Palin and Her Wah-Wah Band

One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game, during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez.

I dunno...I lol'ed.

Alex Rodriguez is a noted Lothario.

Sarah Palin has a daughter who was impregnated.

Seems like a fine joke to me.

The Iran Situation

I don't have a strong affiliation to Iran: my aunt's first husband was Iranian, so I guess I could kind of claim the Iranian struggle for freedom as my own, but not really. Who am I kidding? I'm a white guy from suburban DC who hasn't known in his whole life the troubles that your typical Iranian person experiences in a day.

But I feel as though I understand the Iranian youth face and I have to tell you...election fraud ain't gonna help one bit.

If the Supreme Leader wasn't so supremely idiotic, he'd get to the bottom of the election quick because if he stands in the way of progress, no matter how small, he's going to get steamrolled.

I'm not the expert, though, so check out this commentary from Fawaz A. Gerges, who is much more knowledgeable (and rockin' that mad unibrow) on the subject.

Commentary: Iran's hardliners are the real losers

courtesy of CNN.com