True, for a while he was the King of Pop, and he's the last we're ever likely to have. Before Michael Jackson came Sinatra, Presley and the Beatles; after him has come no one, however brilliant or popular, who couldn't be ignored by vast segments of an ever more fragmented audience. When news of his death broke, the traffic on Twitter caused the site to crash, even though he hadn't had a hit song for years.
But starting long before and continuing long after he lorded over the world of entertainment in the 1980s, Jackson was the Prince of Artifice, with his high-pitched voice, his Neverland Ranch, his lost-boy "friends" and what he seemed to believe was an ageless, androgynous physical appearance, thanks to plastic surgery. Ultimately, which was the more imaginative creation: his music or his persona?
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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