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June 25, 2009

Why not Bil Keane?

Update:

If it's ever not made sense to you what the big deal was, this is what the big deal was. This performance, in May 1983, was, in its time, probably almost as significant as the Beatles on Ed Sullivan.

A lot of this stuff — all this regrettable, awful stuff with him over the last 20 years or so, and the continuing fascination with it, has roots in this moment.


Posted by Daniel Radosh

Comments

I read a long article in Esquire magazine a few years ago which makes a convincing case for Jackson's innocence, and paints his accusers as greedy, corrupt, liars. I read that article online but I can't locate it anymore. I forgot the writer's name and the title of the piece.

why not latoya?

"... and in other news, entertainer Michael Jackson died in Los Angeles today after suffering cardiac arrest. He was 50 years old. Jackson fronted the popular 1960s Motown group the Jackson Five as a child. Later, as a solo artist, he became one of history's biggest-selling pop music acts. In later years, the troubled singer and dancer had faced financial difficulties and accusations of improprieties involving boys who were guests at his lavish houses. Jackson is survived by two sons, a daughter and Bil Keane."

(Okay, so it's over 80 words. But that's counting "and in other news.")

(The Wikipedia article on Michael Jackson is 11,200 words long and has 223 footnotes. The one on Oliver Cromwell is 9,435 words long and has 110 footnotes.)

is he lip synching in that video? It's still a great performance, but just wondering.

And then Bad came out and everything was permitted.

I hope he got enough before he stopped. RIP, PYT.

But yeah, he is lip-syncing. Damn he could dance. Off the Wall is his best album, IMO.

Anybody know if there is a literal meaning intended with the phrase "in the round" in the lyric to "Billie Jean?"

"She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene
I said dont mind, but what do you mean I am the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round
She said I am the one who will dance on the floor in the round."

I only know "in the round" as a term describing a theater where the audience surrounds the stage. For me the phrase always evoked a cinematic image, as if the listener has a moving camera view circling the singer and Billie Jean as they dance. I've read that "Billie Jean" was the generic name the Jackson brothers used to refer to aggressive groupies, particularly those pursuing Does the phrase suggest that Billie Jean is threatening the singer by saying her accusation will make him dance in the spotlight surrounded by a media circus?

Sorry if I'm a little slow, but there's never been anybody to ask.

Correction: "... particularly those pursuing Jermaine."

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