You are reading a single comment by @Oliver Schick and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@Oliver Schick
I never understood his star appeal either (although given his success he was of course not 'just another run-of-the-mill pop star'). Never listened to his music much except when it was unavoidable, always wondered why people bought all this stuff about him being the King of Pop. I for one have never particularly wanted a 'leader' in cultural affairs. I can understand why people were fascinated by his dancing, but that's about it--again, it never interested me much.
There's no question that he was a good entertainer, but he never moved me with his work. It did move me to follow his personal story, though, as I think that was quite tragic, and it goes without saying that sniping and cheap jokes are tasteless and completely wide of the mark.
Like many damaged people, he will have hurt others. There is a lot of outrage that eventually he didn't fit into people's preconceived image of the perfect human being with a lot of talent who is deservedly successful and might have enabled them to see a part of the world through rose-tinted spectacles forever. That the glittering heights which he reached are counterbalanced by his association with one of the worst crimes that we can imagine is a bitter pill to swallow for his fans (some of whom are in complete denial). Those who don't achieve so much that is acclaimed in public may have their seeming lack of achievement balanced by lesser iniquities, and wish that someone could overcome that undesired balance, but life isn't like that.
Who knows, his early death may well be for the best. Seeing how physically fit he must have had to be for his stage shows, with that unimaginable pressure on him to be perfect in every move, the fitness régime required could well have been too much for him. How much might he have disappointed come July 13?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99cXRmH4_Qo"]YouTube
- The theme from the film Limelight [Charlie Chapli