the importance of body language

[brandywine28]

Lou Pearlman is dead and I don't really know what to say about it. Lance gave Twitter a polite, mildly-worded piece of his mind, which is giving me mixed feelings because 1. he had absolutely no obligation to take the high road, or even bring it up at all and 2. coming from Lance -- i.e. one of the ones whose mom was always hanging around and who therefore most likely went unfondled -- it's like "whoa, there. Easy for you to say, fella." Y'know?

But I will say: this timeless classic, in which Lou is cast as a vengeful sea witch, is probably the fittingest tribute I can think of.

(What's wrong with me?? Why can I only communicate through fic linkage? Am I just that stunted??

...yes. Yes, is the clear answer. And I should either learn to own it, or get out of the way, I guess.)

ALSO. Apparently Lou grew up in Queens, which I'm pretty sure I already knew, but...but...ew. No. Why.

Comments

[solariana.livejournal.com]

I'm really not broken-hearted that he died in prison.

Of course, without Lou, we probably wouldn't have BSB and *NSync to love and cherish.

[brandywine28.livejournal.com]

I mean, it's not like I sat around just, like, tenting my fingers and wishing him harm on a regular basis. I just...eh. I think it's all the bland, vanilla statements. They were getting on my nerves. It might've been refreshing to hear one of the guys telling Lou's ghost where to stick it. Or something. :)

[nopseud]

Justin, Chris, AJ, Howie and Aaron have also chimed in on Twitter, along the same 'mixed emotions' theme. ('not the best business guy really at all' - Aaron Carter, unexpected Master Of Understatement.) Be interesting to see who else says something publicly.

One of the standout things for me about the BSB documentary was how conflicted they were about Lou, even after so long. Brian still seemed heartbroken about the way he'd betrayed them, and almost bewildered that after everything he felt sorry for Lou. I guess it must be incredibly weird to know that you owe so much of your life to someone like that.

ETA: I wonder what this means for the confidentiality clauses around the various lawsuit settlements?

[brandywine28.livejournal.com]

I just saw! Justin's was kind of a surprise; not the statement itself, which was probably the blandest of the lot, but just the fact that he even bothered. (I'll be honest, Justin's the only one whose Twitter I almost never check. It's just so obviously P.A.-run, and pretty generic to boot -- plus, I figure if he ever DID tweet anything interesting, it'd end up all over the mainstream news, too, meaning I'd find out sooner or later anyway.)

As for Aaron -- haha! Coming from someone who thinks Donald Freaking Trump IS a good "business guy", that's actually a pretty sick burn. Whether he meant it that way or not. :)

Ugh, the Lou scenes in the BSB doc were so uncomfortable. Going in, I thought for sure Nick would be the "one to watch", but it ended up being Brian and AJ, with their little, emotive faces, who just gutted me.

Ack -- the clauses! Good question. GOOD QUESTION. I guess there's nothing to do but wait and see, although I suspect that if anyone does decide to spill, it'll be someone from one of Lou's "lesser" projects.

[nopseud]

Ugh, the Lou scenes in the BSB doc were so uncomfortable. Going in, I thought for sure Nick would be the "one to watch", but it ended up being Brian and AJ, with their little, emotive faces, who just gutted me.

And then there was Howie, wandering around snapping pictures like he was on a 'Foreclosed Homes of Celebrity Ponzi Scammers' coach tour. Bless.

Ack -- the clauses! Good question. GOOD QUESTION. I guess there's nothing to do but wait and see, although I suspect that if anyone does decide to spill, it'll be someone from one of Lou's "lesser" projects.

It'll be interesting to see what people are willing to say, now he can't be libelled.. Although I don't think being in jail for one of the largest ponzi scams in history is a great position from which to sue anyone for defaming you. And he didn't do anything about the Vanity Fair article.

[brandywine28.livejournal.com]

Oh God, and wasn't it also Howie who got all smiley and fond, reminiscing about the lady-on-lady porn Lou used to show them? That was just -- no. No, Howie, no. Shut your sweet, beautiful face hole, my child.

Pretty much everything about that scene makes me want a drink./HASHTAG FROWNY FACE

[zebraljb.livejournal.com]

Well, I guess that answers the email I just sent to you, asking, "Did you hear about Lou?"

Yeah, I read some of what Lance said. I think that of all people, these guys have the right to be all, "He was a grade A jackwagon who gave us our big break but also gave us the need for therapy."

And thank you for recommending our story? :)

[brandywine28.livejournal.com]

I guess I jumped the gun a little, 'cos almost all of them have mentioned it by now, I think. Everyone but Joey, Kevin and, of course, my JC -- which, THAT'S MAH BOY. Remaining quietly fabulous in the face of ugly memories.

(Joey's not really the "quietly fabulous" type, but I guess he's got important hot dog business taking up all his spare time at the moment, so. Yeah. :)

OK, I admit it, it wasn't much of a rec. I didn't use the word "awesome", for one. Or "magnificent", or even "blindingly sparkly". I definitely owe you a better one.

[zebraljb.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha...Joey's hot dogs...

Well, we already know that we are an awesome magnificent blindingly sparkly team!

[brandywine28.livejournal.com]

It kills me how you keep giving me equal credit when basically all I did was say, "Hey, what if JC was a hot merman?!" And then, a few months later: "MORE BONING." You are too, too adorable. The adorablest.

[pensnest]

I think the boys who're tweeting about this are getting it approximately right. 'Mixed emotions' seems to be about the sum of it - and it would be unseemly to perform a dance upon a grave not yet dug. Lou did cheat them and exploit them; he also gave them the chance to become the megastars they got to be. And I see Nopseud has mentioned the Backstreet documentary where it's clear that the Boys felt personally betrayed by Lou and (some at least) were obviously upset by it. He managed to persuade the parents, and not just the Evil Showbiz Mom but others as well, so he must have had a fair bit of personal charm. It seems unlikely from our perspective, but before the lawsuits etc, I bet it was so.

So it must be weird.

[brandywine28.livejournal.com]

No, no, you're right, of course, and I bet they all have Lou memories that are, if not COMPLETELY good, still...pretty good. Nothing's black and white, especially not in showbiz.

And the personal charm thing is Too Real; based on what I've read, charm is basically ALL he had. Knew how to use it, too. Clearly. Ick.