I'd first note that I don't actually like music most of the time. On occasion, I listen to music and enjoy it. But, most of the time, I find it boring because of its repetitiveness, and most music is irritating to me because it intrudes on everything else that goes on in the brain. Of course, earplugs can shut music out, though I have seldom resorted to them.

So, largely because I don't like most music, I never liked Michael Jackson's music, and never liked Jackson himself. After he had his skin lightened and his nose reduced, every time I saw a photo or video clip of him, I had a feeling of dislocation, as if I was looking at a caricature instead of a person. His mannerisms added to this effect. He seems clearly not to have been a "normal" male, and, for one reason or another, it seems unlikely that he had a normal hormonal profile. Possibly he was eunuchoid, I doubt that he was physically or functionally a eunuch.

Again, perhaps my dislike of most music affected my assessment of Jackson's music, in particular, but I never thought his voice was exceptional, and also didn't find the melodies or lyrics of his songs to be anything other than average. His rhythms were relatively fast most of the time, and probably were the biggest reason why his music became popular. Also, he made very effective music videos, and this made the recordings more salable. I wonder if he would have become as popular, had he made the recordings in the era before music videos became available on cable television.

That said, it should be pointed out that, ever since the 1950's, marketing researchers have known that the biggest market for popular music recordings is girls under fifteen years old. For certain types of popular music, that demographic group has during some periods bought over half of all recordings. (As far as I know, this isn't true for either country music or for rap music.) Jackson, who was a reasonably intelligent businessman, undoubtedly realized that his music was mostly being sold to children. And he would also have understood that, as soon as he began to look like someone who is in his late twenties or thirties, the young girls who had been buying his music, would no longer feel that they could identify with him, and would switch to the music of someone who was younger. This happens with all young male pop singers, and also to most female singers.

So you can argue that Jackson's attempt to keep himself looking like a teenager, and his practice of singing in a range higher than the usual male range, was simply a clever business decision, which helped to prolong his appeal to the main demographic group which bought his recordings. This could also account for his decision to have his skin lightened--he probably had a much higher proportion of African American girls who bought his music, than most causasian singers have had; but the majority of his fans must still have been white or Hispanic. And having lighter skin made it easier for those buyers to identify with him. But why would he have distorted himself so grotesquely? Because he was spending money as fast as he earned it, and felt an overwhelming need to keep the cash rolling in.

I find Jackson's lavish spending to be appalling. As a chld, I was taught that money was to be considered something over which I had stewardship, not something to be spent on personal indulgence. Jackson is reported to have earned over seven hundred million dollars as a singer, writer, and performer, and nevertheless was probably insolvent at his death. (Though his estate should be able to retain copyrights and other continuing income elements, which should bring in hundred of millions more in the future.) He apparently spent practically all the money he earned, almost as soon as he had earned it. He did do some philanthropic things, but his earnings would certainly have been used more effectively if he had invested them instead of squandering them.

There seems to be substantial evidence that he was a sexual predator, that he carried on activities of that kind over at least twenty years, and that he was therefore a habitual criminal. I'd guess that was probably the case, but I am willing to give Jackson the benefit of the doubt, since he was never convicted of a crime. I would guess that the vast majority of sexual criminals are never convicted.

Because most men find Jackson unattractive, I doubt that he will have the enduring appeal of Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, or Elvis Presley. I think women find him more accessible than most macho males, and perhaps female buyers will always purchase his recordings and idolize him in a way.

All in all, when you consider Jackson's life, it looks as though he had a very miserable life, never satisfied with himself, essentially uneducated, unperceptive, and confused, doing all sorts of impulsive things which probably caused him much more harm than good. But, to the extent that his music gave pleasure and diversion to people, I would guess that society will, over time, judge that Jackson's effect on the human race was positive. I wouldn't give a thumbs up to him, but wouldn't condemn him either.

Well, I disagree on some points with you Beau Geste, but over all I did really enjoy reading your post and noting your sound observations.

I also find music to be simply annoying most of the time, but sometimes, for the right sort of music and the right time, I do really enjoy music then, but those times are few and far between. That said, I must also say that I believe Michael Jackson was truly a musical genius, and now that I contemplate your sound observations about the music buying demographic and his seemingly insane obsession with plastic surgery.... Michael Jackson may very well have been a very cunning businessman, his clearly bizarre behaviour and seeming obsession with children, his own lost childhood, and all things fascinating to children may have all been someting done only to appeal to that demographic. His real personality may have been quite different from the one we got to see, and what we did get to see was so out of this world odd, but that odd image was in fact very appealing to the music buyers.

Thankyou for your observations and thoughts on this, it caused me to really take a different look at all the "sleepovers" at the Neverland ranch... Maybe he was doing that just to appeal to all the adolescents who had their sexual fantasies about him.

Two good posts. Thank you two.

I enjoy music that moves me to deep/sad thoughts or has me tapping my toes whether I am in that mood or not. Michael Jackson's music did not do that for me nor was he like the men and women that make the music I like. To me he was just bizarre.

That said, it is obvious that a lot of people do not share my tastes and they really liked his music. That is fair enough.

Jackson was a bit of an enigma in the modern world. A male who dared to be not quite male, a man who was close to( perhaps too)children, but it is undeniable that he did some VERY good things with regard to funding hospital wings and providing for sick children.

I was no fan of his music, although I can recognize genius when I see it. Both as a performer, and as a business man, he was hard to imitate in 20th century music.

As to his oddities, well here are some thoughts some old, and others gleaned after viewing much of what is now on the airwaves about him.

1. He obviously had some sort of issue hormonally. He has the classic angrodgenous frame, and long limbs of a natural eunuch. Whether he was actually castrated or simply had non functional testicles, will likely not be known, but his physical appearance, (surgery aside) was not that of a normal male.

2.In listening to his voice in recent days, I am struck by the fact that there is no real change from when he was a 10 year old boy. The voice matured , and grew in strength, but the pitch remained the same. By contrast other "high voiced" male singers are all working with a falsetto, which has a limited range, and is nothing like Jackson's voice.

It would seem reasonable to me that either Jackson was an endocrine eunuch, or was actually castrated to save that voice. Given his age at the point when that decision would have been made either way, its very reasonable that he would have agreed to either withold hormone therapy or to have ageed to castration , to "save his voice for the future". The kind of bastard that Joe Jackson is known to have been, makes either choice seem possible. He is so mercenary that the idea of castrating one of his sons, to keep the cash flowing would be an action he'd do without blinking an eye.

3. Those things said, what would an adult Michael have in common with "real men"? Natural , and prepuberty eunuchs have occasional sexual ability, but it is fleeting, and elusive. Procreation surely is out of the question, and add to the the very ambiguous nature of Jackson's sexuality, and it all starts to fit together.

I will not glorify any one claim, but there are more than a few gay men, who claim to have had relations with him, although they do not mention his status testicle wise.

4. His fondness for children was both distubing , and heartening, since while I did not approve of some of his admitted actions, he surely was a torch bearer for poor and sick children.

That fascination surely had some roots in his own lost childhood, and a desire to re-capture those years of his life.

The controversy will surely wage on for years to come, and now with him dead, I am betting that numerous books will appear from his former "lovers".

While his music may not have been to your taste, he made a major impact on the end of the 20th century , and his work will live on forever.

Ray