You knew it had to be him.
UPDATE:
The parallels with Elvis continue. Says the Washington Post:
The county coroner began an autopsy on the singer’s body, which an official there said would take several hours. A cause of death is not likely today, said Lt. Brian Elias of the LA County Coroner’s Office Investigations division, and might not be made public for a week or more, pending the results of toxicology and other tests.
Police interviewed a doctor who had been at Jackson’s posh rented Holmby Hills home when the singer went into cardiac arrest and towed the man’s car. “His car was impounded because it may contain medications or other evidence that may assist the coroner in determining the cause of death,” police spokeswoman Karen Rayner said. Detectives interviewed the physician briefly and were seeking to question him again, but police did not identify him.
A Los Angeles Fire Department source told the Los Angeles Times that Jackson was in full cardiac arrest Thursday when rescue units arrived on the scene after receiving a 911 call. The unidentified doctor was in the house performing CPR on him, said the Times’ source, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
In the meantime, lawyer Brian Oxman, who has worked with the Jackson family, told CBS’s “The Early Show” that he had been concerned about the prescription drugs that Jackson took due to injuries suffered while performing. “I do not want to point fingers at anyone because I want to hear what the toxicology report says and the coroner says but the plain fact of the matter is that Michael Jackson had prescription drugs at his disposal at all times,” Oxman said.
286 comments Add your comment
HavingMySay
June 26th, 2009
3:16 pm
I would have been disappointed if you hadn’t selected a song by MJ. Thanks Jay…..
To all the MJ Haters – let it go. The man is gone.
DB, Gwinnettian
June 26th, 2009
3:16 pm
Good choice.
Although I was always more of a “Stop, the love you save may be your own” kinda guy.
Normal
June 26th, 2009
3:18 pm
I’m not gettin’ the site…Is he playing “Beat it”?
Wyld Byll Hyltnyr
June 26th, 2009
3:20 pm
I met Michael Jackson at a party that Liz and Larry hosted in Palm Springs. He was a small odd man, sort of a paler Phil Spector.
One is left to wonder what effect growing up without a father figure will have on Blanket and the others.
DB, Gwinnettian
June 26th, 2009
3:20 pm
I’m not gettin’ the site…Is he playing “Beat it”?
nope, it’s “Never can say goodbye.” Thematically appropriate, for sure.
I Report (-: You Whine )-:
June 26th, 2009
3:24 pm
Oh no, not a Michael Jackson thread.
eewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
josef nix
June 26th, 2009
3:27 pm
I Report (-: You Whine )-:
“Oh no, not a Michael Jackson thread.”
Just for you! Now wasn’t that thoughtful. Bless your heart.
DB, Gwinnettian
June 26th, 2009
3:28 pm
Came across this author on a radio show, he passed along something producer Quincy Jones had to say about MJ’s work ethic. snicker at the term if you will, I don’t much care. Point’s valid.
At one point I asked Q[uincy] what separated the great stars from the near greats he’d worked with. “Ass power” was his reply. To illustrate his point, Q compared Michael Jackson to another well-known vocalist he’d produced. The other singer, an artist with an immense voice and an insatiable appetite for cocaine, would come to the studio, maybe lay down a scratch vocal, and then wander off for hours. Jackson, in contrast, would come to the studio, record a strong lead vocal, work the stacked harmonies that distinguished his work, and practice where to place those ad-libs that were his trademark.
“His ass power,” Q said, “would keep him in the studio until he felt he’d accomplished something that day. That ability to focus, to stay in that chair in the studio, listening to playback and then going back in to record some more — that’s what separates the good from the great.”
Paul
June 26th, 2009
3:32 pm
DB, Gwinnettian
Heard the same example used for Tiger Woods. He’d made a particularly difficult shot. Someone made a comment to the effect that “I wish I should shoot like that.” Commentator said Mr. Woods had surveyed the course, seen that type of shot as a distinct possibility, then practiced for hours and hours, over and over again, on that one shot.
There’s a reason some of the greats are great -
Dave R.
June 26th, 2009
3:34 pm
Wouldn’t that very same “ass power” apply to Rush Limbaugh?
And I prefer ABC, even though “Never Can Say Goodbye” is certainly more touching and appropriate.
I Report (-: You Whine )-:
June 26th, 2009
3:37 pm
mm
June 26th, 2009
2:02 pm
For you undereducated neocons – Cap and trade has been in effect for years. Obama is just tightening the cap. If you don’t use all of your emission credits, you can sell them. If you run out, you can buy them from someone else. Bottom line, the amount of polution being allowed is being lowered 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050. Stop listening to the morons.
I like it when the mmoron calls other people “uneducated.”
Reps. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), who are members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), say they are not yet sold on the bill.
A vote-counter for the CBC, Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) explains that his colleagues are “reluctant to give a firm commitment until they can be satisfied that it will not disproportionately affect minority families.”
“It’s hard … in these economic times for us to say, ‘Bite the bullet’ and have higher utility bills in the winter and the summer,” Clay told The Hill.
I’m listening to your side, mmoron.
Maybe you should too.
GayGrayGeek
June 26th, 2009
3:38 pm
Jay, great choice. The artist was never in question, obviously. But wow – what an appropriate song.
DB – Thanks to you, too. As you said, the point is valid about MJ’s approach to his art, even if many of us (myself included) were completely squicked about his life or lack thereof.
Normal
June 26th, 2009
3:39 pm
Beat it, Beat it! Where’s my other glove? Beat it…
DB, Gwinnettian
June 26th, 2009
3:41 pm
Wouldn’t that very same “ass power” apply to Rush Limbaugh?
Sure. I’ve never questioned the man’s work ethic, nor his business ingenuity. For what it’s worth.
Normal
June 26th, 2009
3:42 pm
Brutus: your 3:37…Was this a MJ song?
Vienna Sausage Boys Choir...
June 26th, 2009
3:43 pm
You and I must make a pact
We must bring salvation back
Where there is love
I’ll be there
I’ll reach out my hand to you
I’ll have faith in all you do
Just call my name
And I’ll be there
I’ll be there to comfort you
Build my world of dreams around you
I’m so glad I found you yeah
I’ll be there with a love so strong
I’ll be your strength
You know I’ll keep holding on
Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter
Togetherness, well it’s all I’m after
Just call my name and
I’ll be there
I’ll be there to protect you
With an unselfish love that respects you
Just call my name
And I’ll be there
Chorus:
I’ll be there to comfort you
Build my world of dreams around you
You know I’m so glad that I found you
I’ll be there with a love so strong
I’ll be your strength
You know I’ll keep holding on
See, if you should ever find someone new
I know she better be good to you
‘Cause if she doesn’t then
I’ll be there
Don’t you know baby yeah yeah
I’ll be there
I’ll be there
Just call my name and
I’ll be there
I’ll be there, baby
You know I’ll be there
Just call my name and
I’ll be there
Just look over your shoulder
Just call my name and
I’ll be there
getalife
June 26th, 2009
3:43 pm
For our sci fi fans:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNl2Pm9-7Vk
GayGrayGeek
June 26th, 2009
3:44 pm
Normal @ 3:42 – I believe Veruca Salt is showing us “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”.
TnGelding
June 26th, 2009
3:48 pm
HavingMySay
June 26th, 2009
3:16 pm
And to the media, let him go. As someone posted below, he’s been dead for years.
Peadawg
June 26th, 2009
3:49 pm
Geeze, how much more of Chester the Child Molester are we going to have to see?
GayGrayGeek
June 26th, 2009
3:52 pm
Peadawg – It’ll be over soon, and we can return to Winky U. Betcha.
GreenJeans
June 26th, 2009
3:54 pm
Picture it: Me and a friend studying for finals, Spring ‘83, 1:00 in the morning.
I’ve got an F in Political Science (having discovered sex and weed earlier in the semester), heading into a 1/3-multiple choice, 2/3 essay exam in seven hours.
We take a break, turn on the radio, and “Beat It” is blaring.
I let fly with a “Whooo!” and a jump, throwing my right hand straight up into the air, and straight into the little metal ceiling fan in the kitchen.
Blood. Trip to campus Quack Shack. Stitches. No writing for me anytime soon, and a freaking PolySci repeat.
The next day my up-until-now unsympathetic professor asks if I might at least handle the multiple choice portion? Well, I’ll try.
Score an A; pass the class with a D.
Thanks, Michael. For all the demons you wrestled with during your life, to me you will always be the man who got me through Political Science.
Normal
June 26th, 2009
3:55 pm
G3 : “Fraid so…Just sayin’
Brad Steel
June 26th, 2009
3:57 pm
“The Vienna Sausage Boys Choir” that’s funny stuff.
Mrs. Godzilla
June 26th, 2009
4:00 pm
I remember the ‘Zillettes and I waiting to watch the premier of this video when they were 9 and 10….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI9OYMRwN1Q
Mrs. Godzilla
June 26th, 2009
4:16 pm
remember the time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDxsM5jLNxM
Requiem In Principle
June 26th, 2009
4:19 pm
I suspect he’s no longer under pressure. Then again, who’s to know for sure, eh!
herbK
June 26th, 2009
4:33 pm
Vienna Sausage Boys Choir, excellent, a very meaty selection. Bet that Evan, your lead singer doesn’t look a day over 12.
Don’t stop ’till you get enough.
Pogo
June 26th, 2009
4:34 pm
Same media that hounded him and that reveled in his bad and bizarre behaviour for the sake of “a story” is now deifying him. As the song said, “Is the head dead yet? We need dirty laundry”. This story, when it comes, is not going to be a pretty one. Michael Jackson gave all of you in the press all the dirty laundry you ever wanted. Only thing was, you forgot that there was a human being, with human feelings and who had family members which cared about who were also involved. Much the same thing as Jay has been doing all week to the Governor of South Carolina (only his reason is political, not sensational). Jay, all of you in the press and media should be proud of yourselves. Basically you are a bunch of buzzards who are even sadder than the people whose trajedy you capitalize on.
Scooter
June 26th, 2009
4:50 pm
I can only remember of one song MJ sang. It was Beat It.I think it was the one when his hair caught on fire in the Pepsi commercial.I am an old Stones fan myself!
Paul
June 26th, 2009
4:57 pm
OMG, just when you think someone couldn’t have any more screwed up sense of perspective…
Was looking over a friend’s Facebook page and he’d made a notation that this guy is one of the most screwed up on the planet. From OGOchoCINCO (Chad Johnson): “Okay, first Mrs. Fawcett and now Mr. Jackson, please, tell me that this is a mistaken rumor, if not this is just as sad as 9/11″
Gotta say, that tops anything posted here -
Paul
June 26th, 2009
5:01 pm
Oh my, my previous post…
The guy’s a receiver in the NFL – Cincinnati Bengals….
O-kayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Jane Fonda
June 26th, 2009
5:05 pm
I heard Ben did it.
jasper
June 26th, 2009
5:15 pm
1st album I ever got was at my 9th birthday party, “Maybe Tomorrow”. I listened to it for days and stared at the cover wishing I was MJ. How that wish has faded, but the music is still just as majical as it ever was. He’ll always be that amazingly talented boy to me.
TnGelding
June 26th, 2009
5:15 pm
Pogo
June 26th, 2009
4:34 pm
You’re off your stick, comparing apples to orange juice. With celebrity comes scrutiny and perverted, in many instances, interest. Michael is another entertainer that died too young due to a bizarre lifestyle. The governor is another hypocritical GOP member that broke his most sacred vow. Jay isn’t trying to harm him and was very forgiving in his posting.
In short, they brought it on themselves, and should have known better.
Bosch
June 26th, 2009
5:20 pm
I had my MJ say on the previous thread – off topic of course.
GayGrayGeek
June 26th, 2009
5:23 pm
TnGelding: And, in Sanford’s case, don’t forget the rank hypocrisy of his behavior as compared to his “Family Values” platform for re-election in 2006. Having been one of Marky Mark’s “whippin’ boys” at the time – my hubby and I lived in Columbia while Sanford pushed SC’s hateful Marriage Discrimination Amendment – I have to admit that the Schadenfreude feels Really Really Good right now.
I Report (-: You Whine )-:
June 26th, 2009
5:26 pm
Speaking of freaks, have you libs pardoned Pee Wee Herman yet?
getalife
June 26th, 2009
5:26 pm
Interestingly, Jackson wrote a song called “Morphine” in 1997. One of the lyrics — “Demerol. Demerol. Oh God he’s taking Demerol.”
Paul
June 26th, 2009
5:29 pm
Bosch
How’s your dad doing?
Bosch
June 26th, 2009
5:30 pm
I can remember cruising around town with my older cousin jamming to “Off the Wall” on 8 track.
Bosch
June 26th, 2009
5:32 pm
Paul,
Good. Thanks. He had back surgery this morning, but was up walking up and down the hall 30 minutes after he woke up standing up straight instead of all hunched over. His doctor looked like he was 25, but hey, them young ones must know a thing or two about new back surgery procedures because he did wonders on my dad. It was pretty amazing to see him up walking to his full 6′4 potential. I forgot how tall the man was.
Bosch
June 26th, 2009
5:33 pm
Paul,
Make that I forgot how tall the man IS, not was. Geez.
pat
June 26th, 2009
5:38 pm
Who cares? A child molester is dead, big deal.
Paul
June 26th, 2009
5:38 pm
Bosch
Glad to hear it.
“Was” is fine. He wasn’t then, before surgery. You were referring to that time. “Is” is now.
Did I ever tell you I liked Clinton’s explanation of “is”?
@@
June 26th, 2009
5:40 pm
GGG:
Paul – Careful there. When @@ comes back, you’re gonna get the lecture about Staying On Jay’s Topic.
You are so full of crap.
You, specifically, have come in to chastise me for changing YOUR chosen topic which wasn’t JAY’S chosen topic. I really don’t care what you guys wanna talk about as long as it’s NOT one particular contributor. When I come in with something that interests me, don’t accuse me of changing the subject. It’s a one-hit “wonder”…..not interested? Don’t read it.
~~~~~~~~~OO~~~~~~~~
It’s always been my practice not to speak ill of the deceased. MJ’s life was a sad experience from beginning to end. The saddest part being that he passed his suffering (abused childhood) onto other unsuspecting children. That aside…
he was an excellent dancer and no one can tell me he didn’t know what he was doing.
When he performed, he was in complete control of his audience. A regular chameleon, he was.
I Report (-: You Whine )-:
June 26th, 2009
5:45 pm
The biggest problem for Democratic leaders at this point comes from veteran Democrats like Rahall, New Jersey Rep. Rush Holt and Colorado Rep. John Salazar, who don’t face a clear election threat in 2010 but oppose the legislation. Leaders want safe veterans on board so that more vulnerable members can be freed to vote no on the bill.
They know that people do not want this farce and will vote against people who are in favor of it, so the environmental terrorist democrats scheme ways to shove this down our throats.
suicide bombers, plain and simple.
Paul
June 26th, 2009
5:48 pm
Hi @@
I do like your Stratfor posts. Please, keep’em coming.
BTW – do you have any idea it is to get a liberal to answer the simple question “should those who held Palin and her supporters accountable or ridiculed them for her abstinence talk when her daughter got pregnant, also hold Rep Conyers accountable and ridicule him for his political morality talk, since his politician wife was engaged in criminal activity and violating a public trust and has been convicted?”
Such a simple question…
dang, I’ve gone off topic, again!
Paul
June 26th, 2009
5:49 pm
@@
should be “do you have any idea how difficult it is to get a liberal to…”
Bosch
June 26th, 2009
5:49 pm
Since it’s appropriate here, I’ll repost what I wrote earlier:
Seriously, no joking aside, the news coverage I’ve seen just reaffirmed what I’ve always thought about him: that he was a sad and lonely individual who probably never had a true friend, was most likely horribly abused by his parents, and lived in an altered state of reality. He suffered from severe arrested development and was a five year old living in a 50 year old body, who identified with the Elephant Man more than himself or as a human being for that matter. It’s really sad.
It’s easy to call Michael Jackson a pedophile, because in all likelihood, he was. At least by the letter of the law. But I seriously do not think that he knew that sleeping with 13 year olds was wrong because I do not feel he was sexually mature enough or emotionally mature enough to know the difference. His whole life, he was surrounded by people who wanted money from him and those who would extort him and his emotional disabilities because they knew they could. And let’s face it, any parent who would put their child in that situation is just as retarded. I feel he did not ever really realize what is right or wrong – yes, some would argue that’s just natural to figure out the difference, but I don’t think he lived in a natural world — ever.
I used to work with adult mental retarded people and they were very similar. Their bodies became mature and they naturally developed physically sexually, but their minds were still that of a five year old. They didn’t know how to deal with their physical bodies. I think it is very obvious looking at Jackson over the years that is exactly what happened to him.