Credit: Jason Huntley

There can be no denying Michael Jackson’s musical genius. For those who need a primer: Blessed with an amazingly expressive voice, Michael Jackson is one of the all-time great American singers. He was also an amazingly accomplished dancer—both physically and musically, his understanding of rhythm was supernatural. (He grew up studying James Brown, with his own eyes.) As a songwriter he composed classics: “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough,” “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” “Smooth Criminal,” “Black or White.”

There can also be no denying Michael Jackson’s high-octane freakery, from the kinda cute (dating a chimp) to the possibly criminal (dating children). So how do you memorialize a one-of-a-kind musical genius who went crazy, morphed his race and gender, slept with kids, was repeatedly acquitted of child-molestation charges, and then died, alone and $400 million in debt?
You’ll find our answers to this question in the collection of pieces to the right. (Much like the man’s life, it gets fucked up toward the end.) recommended

David Schmader—former weed columnist and Stranger associate editor—is the author of the solo plays Straight and Letter to Axl, which he’s performed in Seattle and across the US. His latest...

7 replies on “Michael Jackson: A Remembrance”

  1. Respect,and R.I.P to MJ YO!!!!MAN,he will be missed by fans worldwide!!!true, he had a FUCKED UP LIFE,but still,he was a great person in life!!!and yes,his actions were FREAKY,but still we took it in stride,and treated him like a human being{unlike some of THE PRESS}!!!

  7. I think it’s quite likely that Michael Jackson was completely innocent of the pedophilia charges, as the jury found. My theory is that all the female hormones he took for his voice made him impotent (his children are reportedly not biologically his). He was therefore sexless and somewhat androgynous. He was also conscious of his appearance (from runaway plastic surgery and skin treatments), and felt comfortable around children, who would not judge him for the freak that he had become.

    His primary accuser was recorded gushing about the “score” he was going to get from Jackson.

    So I wish you had omitted your comment re “possibly criminal”. It was most likely un-earned; and in any case, he paid for any impropriety many times over.

Comments are closed.