Michael Jackson is DEAD!

[the mongoose]

From TMZ.com:

We've just learned Michael Jackson has died. He was 50.

Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon and paramedics were unable to revive him. We're told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back.

Michael is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince "Blanket" Michael Jackson II.

Jackson had 13 number one hits during his solo career.

[Dirty0900]

I wonder what caused it?

will they blame it on the sunshine?

the moonlight?

the good times?

or as we all suspect, was it the boogie

[Winston]

the king of pop is no more....RIP

[IsiliRunite]

As long as the other MJ is still alive I am

RIP

[holden]

Crazy.
Watching the news, the scenes of crowds gathering at the hospital and other sites, whether mourning or just curious...it's like we're collectively remembering 1983 again. It'd be nice if we could just remember him for the mega-hits and cultural impact rather than the bizarre behavior and scandals of his latter years.
RIP.

and also; Farrah, RIP

[the-star-samurai]

Today is just...so bleak. I can't believe it. At one point I'm happily making comic pages. Next thing I know, I'm hearing of Michael Jackson and feeling absolutely miserable until the multiple confirmations. I honestly cried. I remember listening to his music for all of my life and hearing all those MJ jokes at school and never going along with them because I felt like I was alone in liking him for his music and his creativity. ;n;
I'm sure he's singing and dancing in heaven right now. Aw man.
R.I.P. <3
Drawing him and listening to UW is very theraputic right now.

[Future Proof]

M'eh.

Extraordinary talent locked up in a freak of a man, at best an insane eccentric and at worst a pedophile... I'm not sure if he was just a deep-hearted person whose unending devotion to children made him an easy target, or a sick-minded individual who had a severely difficult time connecting with anyone that could be called his peers, and preyed on the innocence of children to satisfy his needs. I can't say that I'll ever be able to look at him as innocent in light of the worst allegations levelled on him because of the settlements. If I was an immensely successful musician who had the world to lose, I think that I would fight tooth and nail to clear my name instead of throwing money at the problem.

Given the fact that he indeed was socially aloof and that he did pay off those families, it's my personal opinion that he probably had done something wrong, and today it's hard for me to mourn the passing of someone like that. Scratch that, it's not hard... I don't mourn him at all.

What I do mourn though are the 80's, the smooth funk of the Thriller album, the power of songs like "Man In The Mirror" and the general feeling that music was so much better off because of MJ. Once the snowball started rolling down the mountain, any joy and warmth from that era was blotted away. I'm not completely certain if it was MJ or greedy families taking advantage of his kindness that ruined that but someone did, and that force ran completely contrary to everything his music stood for. In the end, the music just wasn't enough once the circus moved in. And this to me is sad -- his music could've carried on for years and years but as for myself, the music ceased to have any meaning once I got to the point where I couldn't divorce MJ the musician from MJ the insane.

Oh well. Here's to hoping that maybe one day someone else can contribute as much to music, only without the mad drama.

[ndrwrld]

i can't fathom the pressure and insanity he had to deal with as a child in a ruthless business such as music.
he obviously had serious problems.
rumors of a demerol injection just before his cardiac arrest.
uncountable plastic surgeries.
a monster payout to a family who's child says Mikey touched him. ( remember...2 accusations...zero convictions ).
RIP Michael.

enjoy his music.

[big screen satellite]

sad news - the tour and stresses of it so undoubtedly killed him, i said on numerous occasions like many, that he would not complete the dates, and it's sad to be proved right, but Michael was under so much pressure and tension all his life that something like this was bound to happen.

i'm shocked but not surprised

its a sad day

lets just forget about his lifestyle and circus around it and remember why he was in the limelight - his MUSIC

that's always going to be the legacy of famous musicians who die...

oddly enough the last item i sold on the internet yesterday (before his death was announced) was Michael Jackson's Thriller album, and a second oddity was yesterday afternoon my Itunes randomly played Thriller the single...

MJ will be most remembered for this Album

i will take a listen to it today...

Matt

[Deckard]

I guess Jacko was one of those larger-than-life characters I always suspected might die before his time, but still it's come as a shock.

More fragile than perhaps many of us today judging him realise. Who knows if he was guilty. I can understand the longing for deeply damaging yet untrue allegations to end, and financial settlements don't always mean guilt.

As for the rest of the weirdness and eccentricity - so what. Far rather that, than all those identikit popstars we have today.

Over the coming days, amongst all the bad taste playground jokes and mean-spiritedness, there will be an outpouring of grief, no doubt tipping over into mawkishness, but at least Jacko had talent and his output was a positive backdrop to many of our lives. Try saying the same about Jade Goody or Princess Di.

I really do feel genuine sadness at the whole tragic way his life ended. Perhaps his tours would have been humiliating and it's best they never happened, but still, part of me wishes he could have ended his days by sticking two fingers up to all the haters and sneerers out there.