Can you still enjoy Michael Jackson’s music?

[EinsteinsHund]

@aceplace57

I didn’t enjoy his records except for Ebony and Ivory.

“Ebony And Ivory” was by Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney. You may have confused it with “The Girl Is Mine”, which was MJ with Paul.

[aceplace57]

Oops, I mixed them up. thanks for the correction.

[EinsteinsHund]

Thought so.

[kenobi_65]

@EinsteinsHund

You may have confused it with “The Girl Is Mine”, which was MJ with Paul.

Or even “Say Say Say,” which was also McCartney and Jackson.

[EinsteinsHund]

Oh yes, maybe, I had forgotten about that song.

[puzzlegal]

I was never a huge MJ fan, but i enjoy some of his music. I tend not to really think about the artist when i experience the art, so honestly, I’m barely aware of what songs Jackson did. I mean, I’m familiar with a lot of his music, but I’m barely aware he made it. (Or totally unaware, sometimes.)

So yes, i can still enjoy his music, even though he’s creepy.

I’m more likely to associate an actor with his work, because i actually see the actor. So when i learned that Kevin Spacey didn’t just play evil characters, but was kinda playing himself, i stopped enjoying his performances.

Independently, i sometimes boycott the works of living artists i dislike. But I’m not worried that sales of a dead artist’s work will enable him, so that’s not an issue with Jackson.

[hogarth]

I can’t speak for Michael Jackson, but I can still enjoy “Rock and Roll (Parts 1 and 2)” despite what Gary Glitter was convicted of.

[DrDeth]

@Stoid

This is for the people, like myself, who 100% believe the accusations made against him, especially by Wade Robson and James Safechuck in the documentary Leaving Neverland. (I think it’s kind of fascinating that Jackson appears to be among the “truest” pedophiles I’ve ever heard about, in that he wasn’t simply using kids, he genuinely fixates on children as love and sex objects. The biggest proof of that for me were the hours long telephone calls with a little boy in Australia. You don’t talk with a little kid for hours if you just want to get in his pants, you do it because you have inappropriately replaced normal healthy adult love objects with children. Which is tremendously sad, but not as sad as the resulting behavior.)

I agree but disagree. i dont think there was anything sexual, but that doesnt mean it wasnt inappropriate. Thriller is still one of the very best Music Videos of all time.

The poor guy never got to have a normal childhood.

[Stratocaster]

@EinsteinsHund

“Ebony And Ivory” was by Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney. You may have confused it with “The Girl Is Mine”, which was MJ with Paul.

Both songs suck, so they have that in common

[EinsteinsHund]

I fully agree.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

As do I.

I’ve always been able to distinguish between artists with very serious personal flaws and the inherent value, and enjoyability, of their work. They are separate issues. I still like Richard Wagner’s music despite his raging anti-Semitism, Michael Jackson’s singing despite his very likely pedophilia, Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture despite him having been an arrogant, Grade-A asshole who abandoned his wife and kids, Kevin Spacey’s acting despite his sexual predations, Scott Adams’s cartoons despite his racism and Trumpiness, etc.

But that’s just me. Obviously YMMV.

[puzzlegal]

Hmmm.

• I enjoy Wagner. Also, he’s dead.
• I’ve never been a huge Michael Jackson fan, but i enjoy his music as much as i ever did.
• I have just learned from this thread that Frank Lloyd Wright was an asshole, and it doesn’t change my opinion of his architecture.
• Kevin Spacey tended to play evil manipulative characters, and it bothers me to know he’s playing himself, so i find it harder to watch his stuff, and enjoy it a lot less.
• Scott Adams’ humor hinted at his political issues decades ago, and has gotten blatantly ugly in recent years. Some of his older works are still funny, but i dropped him before he came out as a Trumpist.