Well, as dated as those lines (all of the pop culture verses) are, there's also the possible viewpoint of Jackson being a crooked mirror for Bono at that stage in his life. He acted out his version of a tired old popstar, but Jackson was past that point and alive. Maybe as much as Jackson was history with regard to his relevance, it's also a reflection on their own position as the band who have arrived at the zenith, and the dizzying heights and lightheaded euphoria of being the biggest and best band for a while were starting to fall away, leaving Bono mid air, and there's no way up to solid ground any more when you've reached and accomplished all your goals, there are no illusions left either.
Stateless paralels this line a little, and I think uses a very apt metaphor, using the confession of an astronaut orbiting our planet, for describing where U2 were stranded in their "so what's next, what do we do now ?" era that started after Zooropa, and ended with Beautiful Day.
