Michael Jackson RIP

This is for all non-EC or peripheral-EC topics. We all know how much we love talking about 'The Man' but sometimes we have other interests.
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Otis Westinghouse
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Michael Jackson RIP

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

First to say it!
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spooky girlfriend
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by spooky girlfriend »

I thought about posting it when I first heard it, but I was too busy being the total news whore that I tend to be when something like this happens. He just hadn't looked healthy for so long. I have to say, I'm not really shocked.

I sure have a lot of good memories of his music from long ago though.
sheeptotheslaughter
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by sheeptotheslaughter »

Can't say I'm his biggest fan although there are some of his songs I like, and love the early Motown stuff, But the child molestation allegations I'm afraid tainted him in my eyes.

Having said that I did get a lump in my throat when it started to break on BBC radio here about 22.50 local time that the TMZ website was reporting he was dead.

Watching the BBC news and CNN I noticed CNN didnt report his death for a good 30 minutes after the BBC quoted the TMZ site.
scielle
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by scielle »

London dancers do Thriller on the tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NoHS3vO89M
Worth watching purely for the reaction of the onlookers (or lack thereof...)
RIP MJ
Butts
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by Butts »

Anyone know if our man and MJ's paths ever crossed?
faithfull
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our man???

Post by faithfull »

And who is 'our man'???
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BlueChair
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by BlueChair »

Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson all in the space of just a couple of days. They say these things come in threes.

Michael's story was a tragic one - I think all of the allegations against him, the general freakiness and the fact that he hadn't really contributed anything to pop music in 15 years or more made me forget about how much of a mark he had on my own childhood.

I remember hearing his stuff on the radio, constantly, as a kid, as I'm sure most of us do (even though many of you probably grew up with Jackson 5 and "Thriller" on the radio whereas I grew up with "Bad" and "Black Or White."

I remember sitting with my entire family and watching the 1991 Simpsons episode in which he lent his voice (though legal ramifications required him to not contribute the singing parts or be credited at all).

I remember going to Disney World and going to see that weird 3D film that he starred in. I also remember the Moonwalker movie and the video game based on it. I remember begging my parents to take me to the mall so that I could buy Dangerous on cassette.

I suspect this is much like how it felt when Elvis Presley died. He hadn't really contributed anything special in his final years and had kind of become a parody of himself. I guess death puts it all into perspective. Maybe now I can finally appreciate Michael for his contributions to pop music instead of the circus his life had become in his later life.
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by johnfoyle »

Elvis writes in the GCW sleevenote-

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... ruel_World

While recording ( 1981) Imperial Bedroom, Paul McCartney was down the corridor making Tug Of War. When we returned to AIR to begin Punch The Clock, Paul was back making Pipes Of Peace (with Michael Jackson popping in for his guest vocals), with the Jam in the middle studio cutting “Precious”, and Alice Cooper mixing an album in another suite.



I can't find, right now, the quote but Elvis has spoken of Michael Jackson declining a introduction because Jackson associated Elvis with the 'Columbus Ohio ' comments.
scielle
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by scielle »

I remember getting my first cassettes in a package sent over from our family in the US - Thriller and Bad. I was probably about 5 at the time, living in small-town, pre-Solidarity Poland - getting those was quite a coup.

He's currently holding down the top 15 on Amazon. Nothing sells quite as well as tragedy...
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by mood swung »

I was at the AT&T cell store yesterday when this then rumor made its way thru the line. 5 people in there with the frigging iPhones and not one of them thought to google this until I said 'hey, you people with iPhones!'. The news about Farrah was sad, though not unexpected. This is circus weird, like that other Elvis's.
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by RedShoes »

The reporting of these things has just gotten weird. When Blue came home from work, he told me that he'd heard Michael Jackson had had a heart attack. We didn't think a whole lot more of it, until when sitting in our backyard I checked my twitter feed on my iPhone - someone had updated he died. I didn't believe it at all at first - I mean, really - twitter? So I opened up a few news sites. NY Times, Globe & Mail had nothing... CNN said he had been hospitalized for a heart attack. So I did a google news search.... a few stories said he had indeed died - but every single one was listing TMZ has their source. Since when is TMZ a legitimate news source?? It all seemed like a big rumor mill. All of the other news sources seemed to be scrambling to figure out what was going on, and one by one they each updated with headlines along the lines of "Reports: Michael Jackson Dies" - all carefully worded to make clear that *they* weren't confirming it - they were just saying what others had said. The immediacy of news seems to be such that everyone wants to report things first (or at least within 10 minutes of the other guy), but they're also all terrified of getting it wrong (a la "Gore Wins Presidency!"). I'm still not sure when CNN finally "confirmed" it, as we assumed it was true once the A.P. confirmed it from an "anonymous inside source" and stopped paying attention. So bizarre.

Anyway - I'm definitely sad, though my feelings are similar to a lot of yours. He was a pop icon - his talent was undeniable. But he was just such an odd figure, and I'd said for awhile he was someone who probably would die young, but I had this weird feeling he would fade away entirely and then one day we'd learn he'd been dead for a year. So as others have said - it's a shock on one hand, but not a huge surprise on the other.
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And Liz Taylor?

Post by faithfull »

How will Jacko's best friend come over this?
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Butts
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Re: our man???

Post by Butts »

faithfull wrote:And who is 'our man'???

errrmm........Elvis Costello
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by martinfoyle »

Here's a Wacko megamix that was a staple on Dublins Radio Nova in '83/'84. I spliced it with the 12'' mix of Billie Jean.

http://www.mediafire.com/?xkguwt22mu5
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by johnfoyle »

Anyone know if our man and MJ's paths ever crossed?

Found it.

http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/ ... 0902b.html

"Elvis Costello Explains Himself"

Rolling Stone
September 2, 1982

Talking about the 'Columbus Ohio' incident -


(extract)

I'm not saying I wasn't responsible for my actions; that sounds like I'm trying to excuse myself. But I was not very responsible. There's a distinct difference. I was completely irresponsible, in fact. And far from carefree - careless with everything. With everything that I really care about. And I think that inasmuch as it was said that we fed ourselves to the lions, you could say that whatever the incident was, it was symptomatic of the condition I was in, and that I deserved what happened regardless of the intentions of the remarks.

But it was only quite recently that I realized that it's not only the man on the street, as it were, who's never heard of me otherwise, who's only read People - that it's not only people like that who know only this about me. When we were recording Imperial Bedroom, Bruce Thomas was in the next studio while I was doing a vocal. Paul McCartney was there, and Michael Jackson came in to do a vocal - everything was nice until somebody introduced Bruce as my bass player. And suddenly - there was a freeze-out. Michael Jackson was - "Oh, God, I don't dig that guy... I don't dig that guy."

He had heard about it third hand, from Quincy Jones. Two guys I have a tremendous amount of admiration for. It depressed me that I wouldn't be able to go up to him - I wouldn't be able to go up and shake his hand, because he wouldn't want to shake my hand. Or James Brown, for that matter. But what could I say? What could I say? How could you explain such a thing? But there is nothing I'd like more.
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by verbal gymnastics »

Am I allowed to say he touched me in a way no other man has? :lol:

I have to say that I felt incredibly sorry for Michael Jackson; he was someone who never really found happiness in my view. Whilst he is somebody whose music I admire, I am not really a fan. My favourite memory of Michael Jackson is the Jarvis Cocker incident and the way Bob Geldof winced as he was forced to introduce MJ as the King of Pop. Apparently MJ demanded he be introduced in this way.

As said above, the child abuse allegations forever haunted him.

I did not believe for a second that the UK shows would happen. I rather cynically thought this was a marketing ploy to sell tickets, bank the money, cancel the tour and help pay off his debts. I saw Teletext last night early in the evening and it was reported that MJ had a heart attack and would have to cancel the UK shows. I have to admit that I laughed. Later on when things became more serious then of course I felt bad.

Sorry this is hardly a tribute.
Who’s this kid with his mumbo jumbo?
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by johnfoyle »

http://townblogb.blogspot.com/2009/06/w ... ld-be.html


6.26.2009
What Is And What Never Should Be

July 14, 2009. London, UK. Some alternate universe.


Posted by Brian

Last night’s hotly anticipated comeback concert, the first of 50 such concerts scheduled, left the sold-out audience in London's 02 stadium shocked, amazed, and stunned. Jackson, who had largely remained out of the public eye since his acquittal on child sexual abuse charges in 2005, revealed a blistering new stage show that included many of hits, several notable covers of his contemporaries and influences alike, and an angry obscenity-laced finale that will surely be remembered as one of the most electrically-charged and gripping performances of the singer’s career.

Amber stage lights illuminated a spare stage in the stadium's center, revealing a trio of guitar, bass, and a small drum kit, with Jackson emerging into the light to perform a rendition of Elvis Presley’s “That’s Alright, Mama.” Jackson wore a red leather suit clearly meant to remind viewers of a certain age of the black leather version worn by Presley in his 1968 comeback television special. Throughout this first song, Jackson stirred an already near-hysteric crowd with some slight Presleyan dance moves – a shaking leg, a jutting hip –built with the song’s momentum to include the full retinue of Jackson’s trademark moves. Joined by this time by a much fuller (and fully-electric) band, backup singers and dancers, “That’s Alright, Mama” slid slickly into Jackson’s own “Smooth Criminal,” complete with moon-walking, his tiptoed full-stops, and so on.

A bit of a greatest hits review followed –the Thriller album was well-represented, as were hits from the ‘70s like “Rock With You” and “I’ll Be There.” Jackson seemed to nod to President Obama by performing a kind of mash-up of James Brown’s “Funky President,” Parliament-Funkadelic’s “Chocolate City,” and elements of the Special AKA’s “Free Nelson Mandela” and the late Brenda Fassie’s “Black President,” a song composed Mandela by the South African pop singer. This song led into a stirring “Man in the Mirror,” followed by an up-tempo investigation of Elvis Costello’s 1977 song, “(The Angels Want To Wear My) Red Shoes.”

The funk icon (and similarly reclusive) Sly Stone joined Jackson on keyboards and backing vocals for three Sly & The Family Stone hits – “Sing A Simple Song” and “Stand,” versions of which Jackson had recorded along with the Jackson 5, followed by a triumphant and clearly heartfelt “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)." Stone, looking frail but funky in a paisley suit, waved to the crowd midway through this last number, leaving Jackson to complete the song alone.

In the second of three encores, Jackson dedicated a medley of songs to his father, Joe Jackson, who died just this past June 25th of cardiac arrest. Unexpectedly, the songs were in no way sentimental about the troubled relationship between father and son. Beginning with the relatively staid Gladys Knight song, “Daddy Could Swear,” Jackson later segued into material that displayed a great deal of unresolved anger and hurt with “Bloody Mother F*cking Assh*le,” as written by Martha Wainwright, then Superchunk’s punk anthem “Slack Motherf*cker.” The audience, in turn stunned and riled up with Jackson’s raw and vivid energy, hardly seemed to know what to do, except to ask for more.

In his last appearance on the stage, Jackson returned from the wings alone, holding an acoustic guitar, which he went on to play with serviceable aplomb. His final two songs, probably the closest to a confessional act as we’ll ever get from the King of Pop, was a fraught adaptation of Nick Lowe’s song “The Beast In Me,” perhaps better known from Johnny Cash’s American Recordings, followed by a strangely sad and mournful acoustic reworking of “Ben.” Jackson’s 1972 song about friendship with a fictional and telepathic killer rat seemed, in this context, to be an act of attrition towards his own thirteen-year old self, some 37 years gone.

With forty-nine concerts left to perform in this stadium over the next year, and possible retirement beyond, one hopes that Mr. Jackson can continue to put on shows of this magnitude and spectacle – with a vitality not seen since the late 1980’s -- for a good long while to come.

Of the opening act, a tuxedoed man in a grey fedora who solemly read the lyrics to "Billie Jean" over a karoke track, the less said the better.
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by Jack of All Parades »

Thank you, John, for posting the comments by Elvis in "Rolling Stone" regarding his insensitive Columbus remarks. I did not realize that he so clearly tried to be sincerely contrite after the genie was out of the bottle- Elvis's own Lord Jim moment-it has to be hard to live with an incident like that-I have a little more respect for him now as a man.
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by Butts »

Thanks John for digging that out.

You could question Jackson's presumption of guilt ("I don't dig that guy...") but as Elvis's contrition implies he seemed prepared to have to take it on the chin. I don't doubt that any attempt to contextualise the outburst would have been understandably ignored in the face of the bald charge of racism.
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Elvis on the King of Pop

Post by A rope leash »

I recall reading a blurb back in the days when MJ was shilling for Pepsi...Elvis was no doubt still drinking and ingesting red meat...someone asked him what he thought of MJ, and he put it this way, or thereabouts:

"...here's a guy that has the ear of every young person on the planet, and what's he doing? Selling bloody sugar water!"

I sure miss that old Elvis. He's so homogenized now.

Graham Parker, you know, did a cover of I Want You Back. Not bad, either. No doubt one of my favorite Jacksons' tunes...but only because the radio played it over and over and over and over...

MJ was a great performer, a wonderful dancer. The media lionization of him is a bit putrid. All in all, his early death is a good career move for him. Rest in peace, Jocko...and good on you for leaving tons of debts...that'll show 'em!
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by alexv »

My Michael Jackson moment came on the night that he performed Billie Jean at the Motown Awards. I had just moved into a new apartment and knew nobody in my building. I had come from work and turned on the tv. He started on Billie Jean, and I was transfixed. The crowd, an inside show biz crowd, went nuts in a completely uncontrived way. As the performance went on I suddenly became aware of screams coming from outside my door. I opened and the noise was coming from not one but two different apartments, both of which had the show on. They were cheering!! I came back inside with a smile in my face, thinking this is a star. I think it was a lip synced performance (not sure about that) but the impact was in the sheer grace and rhythm of his movements. That night he was Fred Astaire. It was THE live peformance of the 80s.

He was clearly a sicko, and in time became a caricature. His death will probably put him right up there with EC in the pantheon of pathetic endings to glorious starts. But for a while there, back in the late 70s and early 80s he made great pop music that had a wider impact than any other pop act. Check out the demos to Off the Wall. At the time, much was made of Quincy's influence, but MJ's music was basically his, and at his best it was one of a kind.
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

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ice nine
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by ice nine »

You don't have to be a fan of MJ's to know he was a musical genius. I will even be so bold as to say he was on the same par, in some respects, as John Lennon.
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by Emotional Toothpaste »

ice nine wrote:You don't have to be a fan of MJ's to know he was a musical genius. I will even be so bold as to say he was on the same par, in some respects, as John Lennon.
Oh come on now. Musical genius?? Comparison to John Lennon??? No. I'd allow dancing genius, or choreographer genius, performance genius, but never musical genius. With Michael Jackson, it was always more about watching him perform, and less about listening or musical talent. Style over substance, and good ole' MTV was right there to dish it out. He helped usher in a whole era of bad 80's music propped up with hokey videos and mass marketing. King of Pop? Grim Reaper of Pop is a more apt description.
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Re: Michael Jackson RIP

Post by Jackson Monk »

Emotional Toothpaste wrote:
ice nine wrote:You don't have to be a fan of MJ's to know he was a musical genius. I will even be so bold as to say he was on the same par, in some respects, as John Lennon.
Oh come on now. Musical genius?? Comparison to John Lennon??? No. I'd allow dancing genius, or choreographer genius, performance genius, but never musical genius. With Michael Jackson, it was always more about watching him perform, and less about listening or musical talent. Style over substance, and good ole' MTV was right there to dish it out. He helped usher in a whole era of bad 80's music propped up with hokey videos and mass marketing. King of Pop? Grim Reaper of Pop is a more apt description.
I'm with Mr Toothpaste on this. I can't recall wanting to listen to any MJ song from the 80s onwards. However, I watched the moonwalk clip on youtube and found it quite fascinating even now.
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