# Why in the hell is Michael Jackson still so damn popular ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 7, 2001, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-the-hell-is-michael-jackson-still-so-damn-popular/80202 "2001-09-07T05:18:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![King\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7bcc69/32.png) [@King\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2001, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-the-hell-is-michael-jackson-still-so-damn-popular/80202/41 "2001-09-11T03:34:25Z")
Can you guys stand one more review? It’s from the NY Post. [http://www.nypost.com/seven/09082001/news/regionalnews/1867.htm](http://www.nypost.com/seven/09082001/news/regionalnews/1867.htm) What I found interesting was that Michael didn’t take the stage until over three hours into the show, and Marlon Brando’s bizarre speech (which apparently was booed). ---
**Author:** ![John487](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@John487](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John487)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2001, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-the-hell-is-michael-jackson-still-so-damn-popular/80202/42 "2001-09-11T05:30:44Z")
he still has a fanbase, but he’s not at all popular like he used to be. madonna still has a fanbase but she’s not popular like she used to be. Etc … one important thing to note about people with extreme talent in music, is that very few can sustain producing brilliant work. practically all burn out at some point. in rare cases, there are people that outpour masterpieces for a lifetime, but they are simply that, rare. only a handful emerge out of the ether every century. ---
**Author:** ![warmgun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecccb3/32.png) [@warmgun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/warmgun)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2001, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-the-hell-is-michael-jackson-still-so-damn-popular/80202/43 "2001-09-11T07:07:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John487 \* > \*\*one important thing to note about people with extreme talent in music, is that very few can sustain producing brilliant work. > > practically all burn out at some point. > > in rare cases, there are people that outpour masterpieces for a lifetime, but they are simply that, rare. only a handful emerge out of the ether every century. \*\* I disagree with that statement. Maybe if you substituted the word “do” for the word “can” I’d go along with you. I think ego, apathy, arrogence, drugs and alcohol play a bigger part. Look at all the great stuff the Beatles turned out as a group, but individually they were (are) not so great. They can do what _they_ want to, and do - to hell with the fan base. They no longer are trying to sell records (CDs), they are now ‘artiste’. Nothing wrong with that, but it doesn’t mean they _couldn’t_ keep turning out the hits if they wanted to. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2001, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-the-hell-is-michael-jackson-still-so-damn-popular/80202/44 "2001-09-11T12:03:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John487 \* > in rare cases, there are people that outpour masterpieces for a lifetime, but they are simply that, rare. only a handful emerge out of the ether every century. _cough__Prince_ _cough_ _cough_ ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2001, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-the-hell-is-michael-jackson-still-so-damn-popular/80202/45 "2001-09-11T13:08:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Funny I was just talking about him the other day… > > WHY is it that Pee Wee Herman gets caught masturbating in an adult movie theater. his career is ruined, and MJ can molest and PAY OFF children, and …nothing! Personally I’m more suspicious of the parents of the accusers than Michael Jackson. I would NEVER allow my children to spend the night with ANY man outside my family, let alone a man who slept in oxygen chambers and called his place “NeverNever Land.” Would you? (Hell, I think the cops should have fined the parents for using such poor judgment.) Secondly, if I suspected a man of molesting my child, he could offer me a hundred million bucks and I wouldn’t be content til his ass was sitting in a jail cell somewhere. It still amazes me how people can jump to conclusions about people based solely on an accusation, with absolutely no evidence supporting the claim. To call Michael Jackson, or anyone, for that matter, a pedophile while having no personal knowledge of the case, no empirical evidence, no indictment, no depositions – well it’s very disturbing to me. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-the-hell-is-michael-jackson-still-so-damn-popular/80202/46 "2001-09-12T02:16:34Z")
kellibelli - Whie _Pee Wee Herman’s_ career came to a screaming halt, _Paul Reubens_ kept going for at least a few years afterward. (A reminder that “Pee Wee Herman” was a stage name.) Remember his Murphy Brown role? Since Pee Wee’s Playhouse was a kid’s show, it’s not too surprising that he coudln’t continue it after that embarrassing incident. PunditLisa - While the weird stuff didn’t make his career (yes, I know he has legitimate talent), it almost certainly helped sustain it through much of the past decade. In entertainment, publicity for the wrong reasons is better than no publicity at all. Shoot, would anyone give a damn about 2 Live Crew if As Nasty As They Wanna Be didn’t become national news? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-in-the-hell-is-michael-jackson-still-so-damn-popular/80202.md?page=2)