RIP Michael Jackson - The King of Pop is dead

[RGMike]

Wow! "Black & White"!  His last truly great single, IMHO (thanks in part to Slash). It's a like a '70s Stones 45 with MJ in place of Mick. Fabulous.

followed by "Lovely One" -- damn, I don't wanna go home, I'll miss something good.

[RGMike]

Got me workin' workin' day and nite!

[RGMike]

I wasn't crazy about "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" at the time, but today it sounds pretty great compared to most of the crappy ballad hits of the last decade.

[mshray]

...But if Macca gets back the rights to the Beatle catalog in MJ's will, all is forgiven.

LOL!  I hadn't thought about that. That must now be considered part of his estate, eh?

[ggould]

I wonder if KFOG has been playing any MJ.  I thought they were criminally slow to play some of his biggest hits.

[RGMike]

I wonder if KFOG has been playing any MJ.  I thought they were criminally slow to play some of his biggest hits.

But why would they play them at all? they were a Classic Rock/Triple-A station (mostly); he's not in their wheelhouse. At the height of Thriller-mania, some rock stations played "Beat It' because of the Van Halen connection, but generally he was a Top 40/MTV phenomeneon in the '80s.

Even Dave, on 10@10, has only ever played a couple of tracks from Thriller ("Billie Jean" mostly, and the title track on Halloween) and never bothered with Bad.

They played "Don't Stop Till You Get Enuf" during the Morning Show today, but their coverage was restrained. Which was kind of a relief after the wall-to-wall-MJ on TV Thurs nite.

[RGMike]

Very interesting: we were just recently joking (before his death) about the fact that MJ's kids look in no way bi-racial.  A woman lawyer who is very well-acquainted with the whole affair was just on MSNBC; she says (and I did not know this) that the kids were fathered by a sperm donor -- not MJ, but hand-picked by him. (so... MJ specifically wanted very white kids? Hrm.) Anyway, that guy could now come forward and demand custody (DNA would prove his story) and the mother of the 2 oldest kids has signed away her interest in them TWICE.

[ggould]

I wonder if KFOG has been playing any MJ.  I thought they were criminally slow to play some of his biggest hits.

But why would they play them at all? they were a Classic Rock/Triple-A station (mostly); he's not in their wheelhouse. At the height of Thriller-mania, some rock stations played "Beat It' because of the Van Halen connection, but generally he was a Top 40/MTV phenomeneon in the '80s.

Even Dave, on 10@10, has only ever played a couple of tracks from Thriller ("Billie Jean" mostly, and the title track on Halloween) and never bothered with Bad.

They played "Don't Stop Till You Get Enuf" during the Morning Show today, but their coverage was restrained. Which was kind of a relief after the wall-to-wall-MJ on TV Thurs nite.

I guess I felt like his hits at the time were universal, and that Fogheads would've dug hearing them.  I also think they didn't play Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It?" for a long time.  Just my two bits.

[ggould]

nice free player at his official site:

http://myplay.com/audio_player/michael_jackson/195/288993/288994?allowBrowsing=1

[Gazoo]

...But if Macca gets back the rights to the Beatle catalog in MJ's will, all is forgiven.

LOL!  I hadn't thought about that. That must now be considered part of his estate, eh?

The rumor is that he willed the rights back to Mac.  Of course, it may turn out that creditors have to get paid first.

Guys, I was immersed in 12 hours of Jacko today.  Several hours of stories and photogalleries at TIME.com, followed by copyediting hastily written stories and captions.  We have to get this thing to production by 5pm for them to start printing at 6 and get it on newsstands Monday.  The upshot is that I've impressed a lot of TIME's top editors with my music knowledge and attention to detail.  Tomorrow afternoon when we finish this thing, I might even get to write a caption or two.

[Tinka Cat]

...But if Macca gets back the rights to the Beatle catalog in MJ's will, all is forgiven.

LOL!  I hadn't thought about that. That must now be considered part of his estate, eh?

The rumor is that he willed the rights back to Mac.  Of course, it may turn out that creditors have to get paid first.

Guys, I was immersed in 12 hours of Jacko today.  Several hours of stories and photogalleries at TIME.com, followed by copyediting hastily written stories and captions.  We have to get this thing to production by 5pm for them to start printing at 6 and get it on newsstands Monday.  The upshot is that I've impressed a lot of TIME's top editors with my music knowledge and attention to detail.  Tomorrow afternoon when we finish this thing, I might even get to write a caption or two.

that's cool!  if they're smart, they will use your talents as often as possible.  would love to see your byline in TIME.

KPOO's "Ghetto Gumbo" shwo last night was playing lots of MJ, J5 and Jacksons.  some vinyl, things that are outside the usual bunch of songs.  Would have listened more, but I was getting tired.  Turned of my clock radio after he played "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"  back to back.  yes, I was dancing in bed.

[mshray]

...But if Macca gets back the rights to the Beatle catalog in MJ's will, all is forgiven.

LOL!  I hadn't thought about that. That must now be considered part of his estate, eh?

The rumor is that he willed the rights back to Mac.  Of course, it may turn out that creditors have to get paid first.

Guys, I was immersed in 12 hours of Jacko today.  Several hours of stories and photogalleries at TIME.com, followed by copyediting hastily written stories and captions.  We have to get this thing to production by 5pm for them to start printing at 6 and get it on newsstands Monday.  The upshot is that I've impressed a lot of TIME's top editors with my music knowledge and attention to detail.  Tomorrow afternoon when we finish this thing, I might even get to write a caption or two.

Dude, that is so cool.  Dan Rathers got his big break because he was johnny on the spot when JFK died, that seems to be how a lot of these things happen. Try not to let your natural humility & politeness prevent you from building on this momentum.  Strike while the iron is hot.  Okay I'm running into cliches here, but you know what I mean.  Might I suggest polishing up your George Weber blogpost and asking some of these newly impressed editors to take a look?

[RGMike]

Our reliably contrarian friend Mick LaSalle weighs in:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/mlasalle/detail?blogid=38&entry_id=42639

Oddly, I find myself agreeing with him, up to a point (especially about MJ's "King of Pop" monicker, which I always found ridiculous). More later when I get my thoughts together.

[Wayback]

MJ may be buried at Neverland.  Elvis deja vu.
(how 'bout Gary, Indiana, to help revive economy of that town?):
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/michael-jackson-may-be-buried-at-neverland-1003988547.story

[Tinka Cat]

Our reliably contrarian friend Mick LaSalle weighs in:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/mlasalle/detail?blogid=38&entry_id=42639

Oddly, I find myself agreeing with him, up to a point (especially about MJ's "King of Pop" monicker, which I always found ridiculous). More later when I get my thoughts together.

I also agree about the KoP nickname, though didn't know MJ invented it himself.  Wouldn't surprise me: he floated some weird stories about himself just to sty in the headlines, like the rumor he purchased  the Elephant Man bones. 

I do disagree about skipping "Human Nature" when it comes into rotation (actually, I don't listen to entire albums these days in the prescribed order).  I never skip that one.  In fact, I seek it out.  love it.


eta: this person's comment is fantastic



bittermelon
6/28/2009 4:14:32 AM

People going back and forth about Michael Jackson's musical relevancy are missing the point. It's really his social relevancy that we should be celebrating. If the Beatles and the Stones are Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio, then Michael Jackson is Jackie Robinson. I could remember the 70's when albums in record stores were strictly segregated along color lines. White music was Pop and Rock, and Black music was R&B and Soul. In the Northern California, regular broadcast of Black artists reached only as far as the radio waves of KDIA, KSFX and KSOL. Outside of urban areas, disco, which was largely driven by Black artists, was neutered to become just Barry Manilow, Leo Sayer, and Olivia Newton John. Michael Jackson broke through those barriers. Starting with the white-friendly Jackson 5 hits and culminating with the MTV barrier-busting Billie Jean video, Michael Jackson defined a new genre of pop/dance entertainment. In fact, Jackson dragged MTV out of rock concert video obscurity and transformed it into the pop-defining juggernaut it is today. After "Thriller", the record stores couldn't just stick him in the R&B section anymore. They had to create a new pop section where he was soon joined by crossover artists Madonna, Prince, Janet Jackson and eventually Justin Timberlake today. Whether you love Michael Jackson or hate him and his music, you can't deny his influence on our culture. Anybody who remembers seeing him the Motown Special cannot deny that for a short time he was as big as the Beatles and the Stones - and saying that he's irrelevant today is like saying Jackie Robinson is irrelevant because he hasn't played since 1956.