Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Celebrity News

I spent the afternoon watching the Michael Jackson memorial service. Immediately after it was over I thought: "Well there's two hours of my life I'll never get back."

What a horror. While intentions may have been good, it seemed to highlight some of the things I couldn't stand about MJ. It was garish and overdone. Whatever emotion was expressed seemed artificial and staged, right down to Usher's ridiculously and conveniently timed "breakdown" at the very end of his "performance". As Michael Jackson got older and sank further into a world of delusion and madness, no doubt exacerbated by an addiction to drugs, his connection to what was real and his ability to convey it on stage disappeared as well, and that, above all else, was what prevented him from ever completing a "comeback". So in a way I guess this creepy, overly staged piece of fiction was a fitting tribute to a tragic but brilliant artist.

And what the hell happened to Mariah Carey's voice? People were commenting about her lack of control and that crazy constant hand waving she did but I thought it looked like she was literally trying to pluck the correct notes out of thin air, and she wasn't having too much success. It was awful, and the back-up (duet) singer they wisely partnered her up with was the only thing that saved the number.

In other news ...

Chaz Bono has announced that he has already completed his quest to accomplish gender reassignment. Cher's son fast-tracked his journey by finding a homeless man and EATING HIM. Holy shit!


Also, seeing Lionel Richie this afternoon reminded me that I saw him perform live a couple of weeks ago. It was at an obnoxiously rich man's 45th anniversary party, and the setting was so intimate that Lionel was literally about 10 feet from where I was standing. And you know what? Age agrees with Richie! Even up close he looks really good and his voice is still in fantastic shape. Take that, Mimi!

No comments: