I’m unsure how I feel about separating the art from the artist regarding problematic creators. On the one hand, I believe life informs art, so there is something intrinsically linked—and thus, icky—about the creations of monsters. On the other hand, I still listen to R. Kelly’s Remix to Ignition weekly. Listen, we’re complicated people, and this is a nuanced topic, so I’m not committing to a definitive answer.
One thing I’m fairly certain of, though, is that you don’t hear Michael Jackson music with the same regularity you once did. I used to be unable to encounter a playlist or cover band that didn’t feature Billie Jean or Black and White, and Thriller used to be ubiquitous with Halloween. Lately, though? While it’s certainly not part of any zeitgeisty discourse, and I’ve never heard any friends or cover band lead singers explicitly disavow MJ, it does feel like, collectively, we’ve just allowed him to quietly moonwalk into the night.
Another thing I feel fairly certain of—and feel comfortable committing to definitively—is the flash mobs are lame and decidedly not cool anymore. Remember when they might’ve been cool? When they seemed like they could pop up anywhere? How awful the type of person who loved a flash mob was (and…still is)? I think it is the grand pantheon of bad mid-aughts ideas, flash mobs are at the top.
So, imagine my shock when, about a month ago, I sit down to relieve myself at Battle Cat and see the following poster on the back of their bathroom door:
It’s a Michael Jackson flash mob in the year of our lord 2023. I honestly can’t think of a worse idea (well, obviously, I can think of about 1001 worse ideas, but being hyperbolic gets clicks). West Asheville, you’ve outdone yourself again.
AshevilleExplorer 