The · Mousehole

Bit of a shocker,eh? Whilst not a big fan he did do some great stuff in the 80's and its sad that his life was so ruined as a child that he became the weirdo that he was.

I know! Such a shock! I heard it on the radio while they were talking about farrah fawcett, Ed Mcmahon, and David Carradine, then they threw in Michael Jackson. And I was like WTF????? OMG!

I sat and watched the news reels over dinner this evening...CNN was amusing. They went from "He's in the hospital" to "he's in a coma" to "he's been pronounced dead" in the course of about 15 minutes. This was ~6:30 my time, so...~3:30 PDT.

Hmm..will do an autopsy? I'll bet that the best they can determine is "heart failure" (code: they don't know)

While I am sorry he died, I think it's too bad that Fawcett's death will be overshadowed by his, simply due to age and the fact that is was sudden. In the end, I think Fawcett's work had more of an impact.

-b

I couldn't believe it when I heard. I had to break the news to Zack because he had recently discovered MJ's music in the last month and it's been nonstop on the iPod ever since. I've been all nostalgic for high school this evening and watching YouTube videos. I think my favorite was "Smooth Criminal."

yeah it broke that he had been rushed in an ambulance when I was watching breakfast Channel 7 news show, then he was dead (unconfirmed) then friend on Skype say it Confirmed on Sky news. What a shock. I dint even know he was sick

I did like his 80's work and he was very talented. I mourn his awful childhood and feel sorry for his kids and real friends and family. At noon in Australia they had a tribute and just played all his hits. I heard it in my car as I was running errands, Was great to hear the late great Vincent Price in "Thriller"

50 is far far too young.

Shocking indeed....I suddenly feel very old and vulnerable because I am 50 also. I find myself drifting back to junior high school remembering the Jackson 5 and how they were all that my best friend Katrina could talk about (even though Michael was our age, she was madly in love with older brother Jermaine). It was because of her that I became aware of their music. I remember my cousins had their first album. It was called, "Stevie Wonder presents the Jackson 5" with all five of their fresh, young faces peeking around a corner of a brick building. They were posed like stair-steps from tallest to smallest and Michael was wearing some crazy leather hat.

In the eighties it was nice to see him emerge from the shadow of the brother act and become a success on his own. But the weirdness was soon to follow and after that, it just became kind of sad to watch him. Such a great musical talent, but such a tragic personal life. I wish him peace.

Yes, kind of a shock, yet, my first thought was: better on him.

Few years ago there was a documentary about him with large interviews and although I've never been a real fan of his it kept me listening.

Judging from the way he was talking and behaving, also from his facial expressions, I thought: there's a big child that's been hurt a lot and that never actually grew up due to it's hard childhood. He's trying to catch up with it and his childhood dreams and that's why he loves children. I'm pretty sure there was no actual sexual interest in them but the desire for love, closeness and finding a way of being allowed to be a child himself again. I felt he was some sort of a neuter and felt pity for him.

Whether I liked him or not, I think it is out of question that he wrote pop history in the 80ies.

I wonder what will happen to his children.

Somehow I always thought that comeback tour wasn't going to happen ... Poor mixed up guy. :-/

I still see a bright eyed kid singing ABC. He was so handsome as a child and I have always been saddened by his penchant for changing his face. So much discomfort with who he was on the inside that it resulted in wholesale change of his face, to the point of grotesquerie. It seems like obvious symbolism in a bad novel. Fame, it always costs too much.

Strange how death of those we do not really know but know about shock us. I actually read it in the doctor’s waiting room. I was being a tech-head and checking the news on my mobile phone *rolls eyes*. I like his music and I am aware watching the dance that is around now how profoundly he influenced the generation of dancers that followed him. The moved that Jackson had to apologise publicly for performing are not accepted and widely used, his influence is everywhere. I’m also sad for his children, and hope that there is someone who actually cares about them as themselves not just as Michael Jackson’s kids and heirs to his name and fortune(if there is one).