Jackson PR coup

Oh, this is going to be good: Apparently, Michael Jackson has written a song for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. It's called From the Bottom of My Heart and he's hoping to record it with a bunch of other stars and release it as a charity single, à la We Are the World circa 1985.

What a canny move by Jackson's PR people! He's done this once before, to huge acclaim, leading the American answer to Bob Geldof's Feed the World at the height of the Ethiopian famine crisis of the mid-1980s. It sold millions, and Jacko's image as a pop saviour was fixed permanently in the minds of his many loyal fans.

Of course, his image now is more than a bit tarnished compared to those heady days. All the same, I wish him luck, and am looking forward with great excitement to the accompanying music video. Can't you just picture it: the good people of New Orleans saved from a watery grave by a haloed Michael Jackson swooping in, dressed head-to-toe in white, and parting the seas "with love". Hey, why expect anything less from a man who once arranged for a 60-foot statue of himself to be floated down the Thames?