There is a sad truth to this life we lead… we being humans, especially the ones who live in America. The sad truth is, if there is a way to make money on something there is no shortage of people to step up and take that money, regardless of how many lives it destroys. I will not name names and point fingers, but all you have to do is look at the guests who appeared at the MJ Staples Center tribute. It isn’t hard to pick out who was there for exposure (exposure=career resurrection/money) and who was there because they truly cared.
I will point a positive finger at Magic Johnson, a game-changing legend in his own right, who was there ONLY to share his love of MJ. And a sweet new view of Brooke Shields has settled in my heart after hearing her talk about her relationship with Michael. It reminded me that Michael Jackson was not from this planet.
Michael Jackson was in the spotlight since he was 5 years old and had all the perks that go with that spotlight. It’s like being born a king… a king who has to perform, has to produce something the people like, or you lose his crown. Michael Jackson performed better than anyone on this planet. He was never one of US.
US=you and me=U.S.=United States.
There are no more icons. The word itself will have no meaning soon, just like “Diva” before it. The American people, the ones who feed the tabloid media, the ones who thrive on watching celebrities torn apart to the point of death, have destroyed art, artists, and the spirit of creativity. There are no new Michael Jacksons out there because TALENT is no longer required for one to be a superstar. TALENT is a ghost of the past. Who needs TALENT when you have an endless supply of hot teens and pre-teens the entertainment business can dress up to prance around playing Rockstar. Rockstar… is that a drink or a video game? There’s another world that has been castrated. There are no balls left in that word. Just an empty sack of use-to-be-testosterone-filled-power. All the “rockstars” of today are disposable, with shelf lives of 2 to 5 years… if they are lucky.
I am here to spill the harsh reality of life without art to the ones who have given power to the TALENTLESS. Nobody will care when today’s “artists” die because the ones the entertainment business has promoted have created NO ART. When Lindsey Lohan leaves this life the only contribution that will be brought up is… I can’t think of one. She was in a remake of The Parent Trap. And did a lot of drugs and showed her snatch and is/isn’t a lesbian whenever the wind blows. There. That’s her legacy. There will be no Staples Center memorial service for The Jonas Brothers either. Boo Fucking Hoo.
At least when Michael Jackson was torn apart by the media and rabid masses of our American culture, he had an actual legacy to protect. A legacy that was damaged beyond repair. But nothing can erase the impact Michael Jackson had on lives… human lives… lives of the people on this planet that he was never from. My life, the life of my brother, sister, my parents, friends, were all affected by Michael Jackson’s talent. He was a performer that could unite the entire world, as he did on more than one occasion. We Are The World… If you don’t know what it was, and I don’t mean just the song, then google that shit.
Which brings us to our tribute video. It will NOT be in the YouTube partner program. That’s one way that YouTubers can make money, they get a small percentage of the advertisements Google places on their video pages. Our video will not be part of that program. Why not? Because we did not make the video to make money. We made it because we love Michael Jackson and want to express it the best way we can. Imagine that; a Tribute video made to pay Tritbute. Tribute to MJ for all the reasons I’ve mentioned and many more. TRIBUTE… another word that will soon have no meaning. Maybe Coca Cola or McDonald’s will sponsor the next big celebrity wake so we can all mourn and pump a McTurd buger into our bellies at the same time.
All the people in our tribute video have their own special connection to MJ and his music. Dirty Jenny, our friend who plays guitar in the video, played on the MJ Track Stranger In Moscow. She was mentored by David Williams whose guitars you hear on almost every Michael Jackson hit. Jenny was all set to do the big HBO live gig in 1995 that Michael had to cancel due to “health” issues. These issues happened to coincide with the return of child molestation charges and a new media hunger to tear him apart. That’s what sold more papers, made more headlines, and made more people tune in so the advertising dollars could go higher and higher.
My brother, the mighty Ponceman, and I used to perform the song “State of Shock” off the Jackson’s Victory album, duet with Michael and Mick Jagger. We’d perform it every time it came on the radio. We’d set up special performances of it for whatever audience we could assemble. I was 14, Ponce was 6. We grew closer to each other with every performance. Why? Because the music was that good. It made us move. It made us dance, sing, and feel like we could conquer the world. And we still perform it to this day. This video is the culmination of all those past performance.
So when we post our video on Friday, try to empty your minds of all the negatives this world has thrown at MJ and sit back and let the music take you away to a time when performers made news and got ratings, not because of a drug overdose or domestic abuse or some other scandal, but because of one simple little thing historians will soon attempt to explain to future generations who don’t grasp the concept… a little thing known as TALENT. Michael Jackson had it and the business world of entertainment chiseled it away.
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