# I'm sick of the local "oldies" station playing Michael Jackson **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2013, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703 "2013-06-11T06:20:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/1 "2013-06-11T06:20:19Z")
“Oldies”, “Hits from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s”, whatever the format… I’m sick of them playing Michael Jackson. Just heard “PYT” on the radio and, well, decided to rant. If this is the wrong forum, please move it. The guy had sex with children. He fled the country to avoid prosecution for this. He settled at least 2 cases with large payouts to make the claims go away and lately, one of the people who testified on MJ’s behalf in 2005 flipped and admitted he [was sexually abused by Michael](http://www.eonline.com/news/419620/wade-robson-michael-jackson-was-a-pedophile-who-sexually-abused-me) (admittedly, he’s now suing the Jackson estate, so there is a financial gain to be had.) Hell, we’ve [even debated this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=523547) a few years ago and many of his defenders admit that even if he wasn’t an all-out child fucker, they still would _never_ allow their children to be alone with MJ because of his habit of sleeping with children in his bed. I, for one, am pretty much a “where there’s $20million+ of settlements and multiple lawsuits/charges made, there’s fire” kinda guy. So I’m sick of hearing his music played. It’s the equivalent of watching ESPN and, every so often, seeing a clip of Jerry Sandusky’s greatest defenses, and I wish they would have the moral fortitude to keep his pedophile voice off the rotation. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/2 "2013-06-11T07:17:40Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > The guy had sex with children. …shall we start with this assertion, shall we? You seem to have a lot of faith in a whole lot of flaky evidence that this is true. The conclusion that I reached after going through the other thread is the evidence for you assertion is extremely weak. So I not only will I not take your assertion as truth: I’m playing my Michael Jackson songs extra loud right now to remind myself of what a talent that man was. I for one don’t believe that cliches like “where there is smoke there is fire” is a correct way to view the world. If you think that Jackson had sex with kids, make your case. There are no comparisons between Sandusky and Jackson. [Micheal Rocks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpQIBSyXYEM). He was one of the greatest musicians of any generation. He is rightly still being played on the radio. You have the right to believe what you want about the man. But the evidence isn’t there for you to make claim “he had sex with children”, it simply isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/3 "2013-06-11T10:28:17Z")
I’m sort of with the OP on this one. I can get annoyed with PYT as well. A great song that is ruined in the end when you have that high-pitched, chipmunk-y voice coming in on the outro. Who the hell thought that was a good idea? So you’ve got a point there. Everything else is just stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/4 "2013-06-11T11:22:19Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > [Micheal Rocks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpQIBSyXYEM). Eh. Can’t sing. Can’t act. Can dance a little. Look, the only factor here is whether or not you like his music. If you think that he’s one of the greatest musicians of any generation, then you’ll believe that he was an innocent, albeit troubles man. If, OTOH, you think that he’s just this guy who had some dance hits in the 80’s - like Duran Duran with stupider clothing - then, sure, he was a pedophile. ---
**Author:** ![Cara\_mel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@Cara\_mel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cara_mel)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/5 "2013-06-11T11:24:26Z")
I disagree with the OP on all counts. There is no evidence of child molestation. Just saying smoke/fire doesn’t make it so. Here’s a link to the FBI files: > **[Michael Jackson Investigative Files](https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2009/december/jackson_122209)** And an article about the role of the media in this sorry affair: [Charles Thomson article](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-thomson/one-of-the-most-shameful_b_610258.html) A lot of what you say, OP, is just not true - just the usual poorly thought out rehash of half-remembered headlines from ten or so years ago. I’ll join you **Banquet Bear** - Dangerous, I think 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/6 "2013-06-11T11:51:17Z")
Honest question to the OP: No problem with Chuck Berry or Jerry Lee Lewis being played on classic rock stations? Any issue with theaters showing Roman Polanski films? Just Michael Jackson? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/7 "2013-06-11T11:58:45Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Eh. Can’t sing. Can’t act. Can dance a little. This. I like Michael Jackson’s songs until he starts to sing. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/8 "2013-06-11T12:16:30Z")
Also, I hope you’re not a [Led Zeppelin fan](http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-10-wildest-led-zeppelin-legends-fact-checked-20121121/jimmy-page-dated-a-14-year-old-girl-while-he-was-in-led-zeppelin-19691231), **JohnT**. Mr Page had quite a thing for a 14 year old girl when he was almost 30. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@Tequila\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Party)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/9 "2013-06-11T12:20:44Z")
Don’t forget both Steven Tyler and Ted Nugent. Then Gary Glitter was in a class all his own. There’s quite a few reprehensible people in rock music. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/10 "2013-06-11T12:30:32Z")
Chuck Berry: pimp Sid Vicious: murderer Merle Haggard: thief Tupac Shakur: rapist Phil Spector: murderer Rick James: kidnapper and rapist Ike Turner: wife abuser James Brown: pimp Lil Kim: perjurer Peter Farrow: child abuser R. Kelly: child abuser And there are quite a few others that I didn’t list who got drunk or stoned and assaulted people. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/11 "2013-06-11T12:30:39Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Eh. Can’t sing. Can’t act. Can dance a little. …can’t act? Will give you that. Can’t sing or dance? Are you kidding? > [@](#): > > Look, the only factor here is whether or not you like his music. If you think that he’s one of the greatest musicians of any generation, then you’ll believe that he was an innocent, albeit troubles man. If, OTOH, you think that he’s just this guy who had some dance hits in the 80’s - like Duran Duran with stupider clothing - then, sure, he was a pedophile. Again: rubbish. The evidence that he was a pedophile just isn’t there. The last thread cited by the OP showed that. You’ll notice the closest the OP can get to evidence is insinuating that there is “smoke.” Liking or not liking his music and believing and not believing he is a pedophile are two distinct things and the belief in one does not mean you can’t believe the other. Most of us dopers are smart enough to think for ourselves: please don’t insult us by pretending you know otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/12 "2013-06-11T12:40:03Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > Most of us dopers are smart enough to think for ourselves Cite? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/13 "2013-06-11T17:54:28Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …can’t act? Will give you that. Can’t sing or dance? Are you kidding? First of all, I was referencing Fred Astaire. Shame on you for not getting it. Second, yes. His singing voice was nothing special. Sure, it was technically proficient, and I guess he could “Wooooo!” with the best of them, but his voice had no character, distinction, or any sort of real emotion. He was the precursor of every empty, soulless singer in the three decades that followed him, from Mariah Carey to every American Idol winner ever. ---
**Author:** ![babygoat666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@babygoat666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/babygoat666)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/14 "2013-06-11T18:06:41Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Chuck Berry: pimp > Sid Vicious: murderer > Merle Haggard: thief > Tupac Shakur: rapist > Phil Spector: murderer > Rick James: kidnapper and rapist > Ike Turner: wife abuser > James Brown: pimp > Lil Kim: perjurer > Peter Farrow: child abuser > R. Kelly: child abuser > > And there are quite a few others that I didn’t list who got drunk or stoned and assaulted people. I feel like Townshend belongs on that list. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/15 "2013-06-11T18:07:19Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Chuck Berry: pimp > Sid Vicious: murderer > Merle Haggard: thief > Tupac Shakur: rapist > Phil Spector: murderer > Rick James: kidnapper and rapist > Ike Turner: wife abuser > James Brown: pimp > Lil Kim: perjurer > Peter Farrow: child abuser > R. Kelly: child abuser > > And there are quite a few others that I didn’t list who got drunk or stoned and assaulted people. This exactly. If you conflate an artist’s personal moral successes/failures with his or her art, you end up unable to appreciate massive amounts of cultural contributions. And, half of the ones you think are safe are only that way because you haven’t done the research on the artist’s failings. That said, PYT is one of Jackson’s worst hits, and I would be fine if it stopped getting airplay. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/16 "2013-06-11T18:11:05Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I, for one, am pretty much a “where there’s $20million+ of settlements and multiple lawsuits/charges made, there’s fire” kinda guy. Could be that it’s a “where there’s an emotionally fucked up bazillionaire, there are people trying to part him from his money” kind of situation too. And yeah, there are plenty of absolute skeezeballs in rock. And rap. And don’t get me started on the NFL… ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/17 "2013-06-11T19:18:44Z")
> [@babygoat666](#): > > I feel like Townshend belongs on that list. It was just for research! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/18 "2013-06-11T22:51:33Z")
[QUOTE=banner] Fighting ignorance since 1973 [/QUOTE] Sometimes, 40 years just isn’t long enough. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/19 "2013-06-12T01:08:48Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > First of all, I was referencing Fred Astaire. Shame on you for not getting it. > > Second, yes. His singing voice was nothing special. Sure, it was technically proficient, and I guess he could “Wooooo!” with the best of them, but his voice had no character, distinction, or any sort of real emotion. He was the precursor of every empty, soulless singer in the three decades that followed him, from Mariah Carey to every American Idol winner ever. Okay, we’re done. You have no idea what you’re talking about. He had real damage. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sick-of-the-local-oldies-station-playing-michael-jackson/660703/20 "2013-06-12T02:28:10Z")
Meh, I personally don’t care whether a dead man did the things that he did, at least not in relation to the person’s artwork. What do we have to gain by behaving as if we’re uncle Joe Stalin and trying to remove their existence from popular culture? That said, I don’t have much use for the Jackson’s music after they became adults. That sort of stuff is kind of cute coming out of kids (and the Jackson 5 always had good bass sounds), the same sugar pop is pretty grating coming out out of adults. Luckily, I can change the station very easily these days.