Here's a sampling of what's being said about Michael Jackson's death:
Musicians' Twitter posts collected at Pitchfork: M.I.A. says the first two English words she spoke were "Michael Jackson." " the future sucx!"
Ben Greeman at The New Yorker: "Jackson, who was unlike anyone else in so many ways, made his name performing music that convinced everyone else that he was like them in so many ways."
Jon Pareles at The New York Times: "The world-beating success of "Thriller" was Mr. Jackson's triumph and burden. He had the sales, the Grammy Awards, the screaming audiences in every country he toured. And he would spend the rest of his career trying to repeat the experience working many of the same maneuvers into his music: another duet, another rock guitar, another ratcheting dance track. Mr. Jackson never stopped being catchy, but behind the sheen some of the songs grew darker and stranger, like "Smooth Criminal," with its intimations of violence, on the 1987 album "Bad.""
Ann Powers in The L.A. Times: "Throughout his career, Jackson never let go of the mandate -- and privilege -- to transform. It became the great source of his art, and his biggest burden. "Magic is easy if you put your heart into it," he told Sylvie Simmons in Creem magazine in 1983. But magic, the delusion of illusion, also might be what destroyed him."
Comprehensive coverage at Vibe.com, including a fairly recent but undated Q&A.
Musicians' Twitter posts collected at Pitchfork: M.I.A. says the first two English words she spoke were "Michael Jackson." " the future sucx!"
Ben Greeman at The New Yorker: "Jackson, who was unlike anyone else in so many ways, made his name performing music that convinced everyone else that he was like them in so many ways."
Jon Pareles at The New York Times: "The world-beating success of "Thriller" was Mr. Jackson's triumph and burden. He had the sales, the Grammy Awards, the screaming audiences in every country he toured. And he would spend the rest of his career trying to repeat the experience working many of the same maneuvers into his music: another duet, another rock guitar, another ratcheting dance track. Mr. Jackson never stopped being catchy, but behind the sheen some of the songs grew darker and stranger, like "Smooth Criminal," with its intimations of violence, on the 1987 album "Bad.""
Ann Powers in The L.A. Times: "Throughout his career, Jackson never let go of the mandate -- and privilege -- to transform. It became the great source of his art, and his biggest burden. "Magic is easy if you put your heart into it," he told Sylvie Simmons in Creem magazine in 1983. But magic, the delusion of illusion, also might be what destroyed him."
Comprehensive coverage at Vibe.com, including a fairly recent but undated Q&A.
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