In Honor of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" Jacket Selling for Almost Two Million: The Most Insane Music Memorabilia Someone Out There Would Buy

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Peter Brooker
The Jacket
Somehow a person with a shitload of money decided to plunk down $1.8 million (think Dr. Evil voice) for Michael Jackson's iconic "Thriller" jacket this past weekend, which marked the two year anniversary of his death. We won't speak on the fact that the proud new owner, Milton Verret, plans to send the jacket on tour as as fundraising tool for children's charities.

But we did start thinking about what we would consider bidding on if we had the dinero to randomly splurge on eccentric, eclectic and useless pieces of memorabilia. Too much money + too much crazy = read on:

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You wouldn't want a bat's head bit off by THIS guy?
The bat head that Ozzy Osbourne bit off in a Columbia Records boardroom: Yep, you know that head is somewhere, yet is hidden like the lost ark. To think, that you could own a piece of the most famous bat outside of Bruce Wayne, and a major piece in Ozzy folklore that helped transform him from pioneering heavy metal singer to the iconic "Prince of Darkness."

Scale of Bidder Insanity: 10 (Jesus! Who in the hell would want a bat's head? Excepted: the guys from Little Nicky.)

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These eyes make you wanna go home with me, NOW
Frank Sinatra's blue eyes: Ol' Blue Eyes', well, ol' blue eyes, managed to make several generations of women swoon to his croon. If you could find a doctor who could put those puppies in and replace your ol' average eyes, then you can slay bitches like it's your job.

Scale of Bidder Insanity: 6 (Though taking a dead man's eyes is creepy, it is Frank Sinatra after all. If it could land you a supermodel, then it's worth it.)

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Tick, tick, tick goes the pacemaker
Slash's pacemaker: As the legendary guitarist (and recent target of South Park) has documented in his crazy good autobiography, he talks about his trusty pacemaker, which was installed after his heart stopped for the 527th time (kidding, but it stopped more than the average person under the age of 79's did). For any GNR or Velvet Revolver buff, this could serve a clock or perhaps centerpiece for your homemade time bomb.

Scale of Bidder Insanity: 8 (Unless you are the Unabomber, looking for a used pacemaker or just a weirdo.)

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My mouth is worth more than your house
Master P's grillz: When the Dirty South sound exploded in the late '90s, his P-ness (not to be confused with his penis) was at the forefront of the movement. Known for his epic clothing line, horrible moves, fledgling basketball career, unmistakable grunts and incomprehensible lyrics, P somehow managed in a few years time to: A) build a music empire by hoodwinking major labels in giving him hundreds of millions of dollars to sign crappy artists for the most part B) single handedly almost kill the author at Mardi Gras 2000 when "Make Em Say Ugh" came on and almost caused a riot and C) Helped fast forward the grillz movement, wherein every rapper and hoodrat who came from south of the Mason-Dixon line felt obligated to go to his custom jeweler to request grillz (which for those of you not in the know, are gold teeth encrusted with diamonds and all that jazz).

Scale of Bidder Insanity: 5 (Who the fuck would want someone's used encrusted teeth?! That is, unless you were willing to pawn them. Godspeed.)

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The kid barely broke a sweat
For da kidz, Lil Romeo's game worn USC basketball jersey: Although the benchwarmer has seen little action in his several years at the not-so-much basketball powerhouse (but it is the author's alma mater so don't mess or mention the sanctions), Romeo, a throw-in to help persuade one-and-done sensation DeMar DeRozan to become a Trojan, has barely broken a sweat on this glorified tank top. Needless to say, this jersey could probably fit your teenaged child so it could be a good find, especially since it is probably in pristine condition from its lack of use.

Scale of Bidder Insanity: 1 (B-O-R-I-N-G)

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Just because I look like a bum now, doesn't mean this wouldn't be worth more than your kid's schooling later
Bruce Springsteen's used wifebeater from the late '70s: Though The Boss has changed up his look a bit over the years, he was synonymous in his early years for wearing nearly disintegrated tanktops on stage which made him look like a cross between hobo and dirty Jersey trash. Though it may seem disgusting now, this could probably be a great rag to use to clean your car, albeit an outrageously priced one.

Scale of Bidder Insanity: 3 (Probably because the shirt would disintegrate in your hand before you had a chance to enjoy it.)

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AP
If you think this is bad, wait till you see what he used later
A Gene Simmons used condom: You have to be off your rocker want to a piece of The Demon's member, unless you are one of those kooky KISS fans who believe whatever their heroes do is worth foolishly throwing down hundreds of dollars. Considering there's allegedly thousands upon thousands of these floating around (unless for some unspeakable reason, decided to use the same condom over and over), the value just isn't there.

Scale of Bidder Insanity: 9 (Used condoms for display, yuck).

And last but not least!


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4 comments
Angie
Angie

Just saw this after posting other comment:

"C'mon you didn't think we'd let the King of Pop get out of jail free on this, right?"

Yep! I was right all along!!!

Sweet dreams, Michael X

Angie
Angie

Hmm!!! Sour grapes!?! Wonder if the same words, ("...useless pieces of memorabilia.*") would have been spoken had it been another artist...or better still, didn't see anyone complaining or making such flippant remarks about other high-priced "memorabilia" which was sold after once belonging to other artists.

Honig
Honig

Written by @danielkohn:twitter

Brandt Hardin
Brandt Hardin

Michael Jackson’s legacy as an icon of music history is soclouded by our media-biased views of his life that we’ll never know the manbehind all his rich music.  He is theultimate example of what happens when celebrity worship goes too far… havingthe press and court of opinion try him the last half of his life.  I created a before and after portrait of TheKing of Pop on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot... 

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