Emancipation89 said:

I'm kidding ^_^ What's the point of fighting anyway? Michael's long gone and...ha...I just don't get mad at comments like this anymore =_=What and how you think of Michael is nothing but your own opinion XP I don't think any of Michael fans are going to listen to you...So there's really no point of spreading hatred at this thread...

I love Michael so much. You don't have to like him I guess...But you could've put your opinion more nicely...

MOL always posts like that. I don't think that he/she can even help it. =/

Timmy84 said:

[img:$uid]http://www.collectorsweekly.com/assets/stories/c2xRTOdi4UG-XNuULzONSg.jpg[/img:$uid]

It was very hard snapping a photo of Michael when he can’t stop dancing, and I was 17 years old, a lot of the pictures did not come out due to that and shadow movement with less quality high lighting than used today… I love and miss you Michael J. J., the world has not been the same.

Source: http://www.collectorsweek...the-wall-p

He's to cutest man to walk this earth.

Militant said:

Apparently there's at least another 7 fake Cascio songs that they are shopping as MJ. Including that Soldier Boy clipped that was just posted. I kinda wanna cry knowing that this bullshit will just keep going.

I can't believe they're still doing this.

What does he say at 1:37? "Always....?"

dag said:

What does he say at 1:37? "Always....?"

"Always know your worth"

Got this via Twitter - trying to track down the whole show.

This is a jam! Young Mike just had that voice that was in a class of its own. Nobody has come close since.

This just made me tear up alittle...this man was truly loved!

Swa said:

Got this via Twitter - trying to track down the whole show.

I saw this documentary. It was on Jackson's enduring influence on Black culture up to his death. Great documentary if you catch it.

silverchild said:

This just made me tear up alittle...this man was truly loved!

never seen this rendition, its beautifull.

i find that song hard to listen to for 2 reasons, 1 mike and 2 an old class mate that i hung around with commited suicide and it was played very loudly at his uhm funeral. i felt weird for 2 weeks , it was impressive seeing that many people at a funeral. dont you always hate it that some songs will always remind you of such tragic events ? ( btw he was not a fan , no one knows why he did it ) but it struck me

For those still playing at home - Hollywood Tonight is available as an EP on itunes.

1. Throwback Mix - basically the video edit (no rap)

2. DJ Chuckie Radio Edit - of the moment club edit

3. DJ Chuckie Remix - as above just longer

4. Radio Edit - no intro with rap

I just wish they gave us the Throwback mix (it has no treated vocals) but with the album beats.

Here is the BBC Culture documentary - great to see a focus on the music.

EXCLUSIVE DOCUMENTS:Katherine Jackson Slams Executors Of Michael's Estate --Read Her Declaration

---

Posted on Apr 12, 2011 @ 06:40AM

Katherine Jackson -- MJ's...E From Him

4/12/2011 7:14 AM PDT by TMZ Staff

Michael Jackson's mother says one of the guys in charge of the MJ Estate is a crook who stole from the singer ... and to top it off, she claims Michael never even liked the guy ... this according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.



Katherine Jackson just filed a declaration in a case involving MJ's old charity -- the Heal the World Foundation.

According to the docs, Katherine is FURIOUS the estate is going after HTW for using MJ's image and likeness without permission ... and insists, "Michael would be very upset, if he knew that our charity was being torn down by people who say they are doing what he wanted."

Katherine then goes after MJ executor John Branca -- saying, "Mr. Branca was a man that my son was very worried about."

She adds, "Michael told me on more than one occasion that he did not like this man and did not trust him, he told me that John had stolen from him."

Katherine continues, "This lawsuit is exactly the type of awful thing that Michael said he was capable of doing."

No comment so far from the estate's executors.

MJ Estate -- Katherine's ...'Pathetic'

4/12/2011 8:25 AM PDT by TMZ Staff

The Michael Jackson estate is firing back at Katherine Jackson -- claiming her attack on MJ executorJohn Branca is "a pathetic attempt to hurt the man who single-handedly ... resurrected Michael's image and fortune."



TMZ spoke with MJ estate lawyer Howard Weitzman -- who told us Katherine's declaration in the Heal the World lawsuit "contains many lies" He adds, "I would like to think that someone else prepared this for her and she just signed what she was asked to."

As we previously reported, Katherine bashed Branca in the declaration -- alleging Branca stole from MJ when he was alive. Katherine also said she wants the MJ estate to drop their suit against HTW ... even though the foundation allegedly used MJ's image without permission. Katherine also wants the estate to kick out some cash to the Foundation.

But Weitzman claims -- "The Jackson family has NO rights to determine what charities receive money from Michael's Estate but Mrs. Jackson will certainly have input."

Weitzman believes Katherine should be more grateful to the estate and its administrators -- saying, "The Executors have also seen to it that Mrs. Jackson, as Michael wished, continues to live in the style Michael provided for her by paying off the mortgage on Hayvenhurst; renting a palatial home for Mrs. Jackson and the children to live in while Hayvenhurst is being renovated; and paying for all of her and the children's needs."

...Is the MJ estate really talking shit about MJ's mom when....she gave birth to him? Like, seriously?

They need to have some respect and remember their place. If it wasn't for her, the guy who became their eventual meal-ticket, would've never existed.

armpit said:

...Is the MJ estate really talking shit about MJ's mom when....she gave birth to him? Like, seriously?

They need to have some respect and remember their place. If it wasn't for her, the guy who became their eventual meal-ticket, would've never existed.

That's the thing, they have showed her repsect, but for whatever reason, she keeps bitching about them and doing shady things with this Mann guy. It's just all so weird and sad to see all this.

mookie said:

armpit said:

...Is the MJ estate really talking shit about MJ's mom when....she gave birth to him? Like, seriously?

They need to have some respect and remember their place. If it wasn't for her, the guy who became their eventual meal-ticket, would've never existed.

That's the thing, they have showed her repsect, but for whatever reason, she keeps bitching about them and doing shady things with this Mann guy. It's just all so weird and sad to see all this.

Yeah it's weird. I really don't know what to make of all of it...

armpit said:

...Is the MJ estate really talking shit about MJ's mom when....she gave birth to him? Like, seriously?

They need to have some respect and remember their place. If it wasn't for her, the guy who became their eventual meal-ticket, would've never existed.

Hey please vote for Michael Jackson at http://omusicawards.com/v...fan-forum/

Make sure he beats the Bieber, Kanye and Britney, it would be a complete travesty if someone like that wins over him.

You can vote multiple times, make sure to get your maximum votes each way through facebook, twitter, site and mobile.

[Edited 4/12/11 11:24am]

armpit said:

...Is the MJ estate really talking shit about MJ's mom when....she gave birth to him? Like, seriously?

They need to have some respect and remember their place. If it wasn't for her, the guy who became their eventual meal-ticket, would've never existed.

are the executors supposed to just sit there and allow her to call them crooks and thieves and not say anything, not respond to her allegations about them? if she wants respect, she should have some. if she has a gripe about the way they're handling the estate, she can seek legal recourse and have them removed.

armpit said:

...Is the MJ estate really talking shit about MJ's mom when....she gave birth to him? Like, seriously?

They need to have some respect and remember their place. If it wasn't for her, the guy who became their eventual meal-ticket, would've never existed.

Hold up.

Isn't Katherine Jackson working with a man who is now working with the same woman who had that fake Heal The World Foundation that Michael Jackson, himself, had to sue her in order to try and shut down the operation, because she was taking the money that people were, actually, donating to thinking it was the actual foundation?

If what I said is true, then you have the estate trying to shut these people down in order for them not to taint MJ's legacy and here you have his mother working with shady crooks trying to pimp a dollar off of MJ's name then, because they aren't working with the estate? They are working for themselves.

This is the impression that I was under. Am I incorrect on this? I

[Edited 4/12/11 13:21pm]

Unholyalliance said:

armpit said:

...Is the MJ estate really talking shit about MJ's mom when....she gave birth to him? Like, seriously?

They need to have some respect and remember their place. If it wasn't for her, the guy who became their eventual meal-ticket, would've never existed.

Hold up.

Isn't Katherine Jackson working with a man who is now working with the same woman who had that fake Heal The World Foundation that Michael Jackson, himself, had to sue her in order to try and shut down the operation, because she was taking the money that people were, actually, donating to thinking it was the actual foundation?

If what I said is true, then you have the estate trying to shut these people down in order for them not to taint MJ's legacy and here you have his mother working with shady crooks trying to pimp a dollar off of MJ's name then, because they aren't working with the estate? They are working for themselves.

This is the impression that I was under. Am I incorrect on this? I

[Edited 4/12/11 13:21pm]

you're exactly right. i'm interested in this case because i'm studying copyrights and copyright infringement this semester for my paralegal certificate. it's a great case and i'm anxious to see how the judge rules and his reasons. i'm sure he's going to rule for the estate for a number of reasons.

also, kat & co. are mad b/c the estate hasn't named this 'foundation' as one of the charities that can receive money from the mj trust. as weitzman points out, no decisions have been made on any charities, and moreover they all have to be approved by the court when they do decide.

what court is going to approve this fraudulent b.s.?

[Edited 4/12/11 14:29pm]

armpit said:

...Is the MJ estate really talking shit about MJ's mom when....she gave birth to him? Like, seriously?

They need to have some respect and remember their place. If it wasn't for her, the guy who became their eventual meal-ticket, would've never existed.

All she did was fuck and push him out of her vag, it's not like it was much work.

smoothcriminal12 said:

armpit said:

...Is the MJ estate really talking shit about MJ's mom when....she gave birth to him? Like, seriously?

They need to have some respect and remember their place. If it wasn't for her, the guy who became their eventual meal-ticket, would've never existed.

All she did was fuck and push him out of her vag, it's not like it was much work.

[img:$uid]http://api.ning.com/files/BSccbgBkeN6DTTw-2nodg*ZuYjJA5WrFQ3h-UamzxsaK2qoY5aTdLwx5fUpXqj3EVCslafgyHuyQh9BUp2whZwcCrnTkl2mn/markey_mark_wtf.gif[/img:$uid]

Yeah, the Jacksons are being shady and all that but really? You're saying childbirth isn't hard?

smoothcriminal12 said:

armpit said:

...Is the MJ estate really talking shit about MJ's mom when....she gave birth to him? Like, seriously?

They need to have some respect and remember their place. If it wasn't for her, the guy who became their eventual meal-ticket, would've never existed.

All she did was fuck and push him out of her vag, it's not like it was much work.

HOLD HOLD HOLD HOLD!!!!

Having TEN CHILDREN was a fucking chore. I mean, just imagine how it must feel putting out ONE CHILD, less TEN! Woman went over probably ten hours in labor giving birth to those kids. Cut her SOME slack on THAT regard.

armpit said:

...Is the MJ estate really talking shit about MJ's mom when....she gave birth to him? Like, seriously?

They need to have some respect and remember their place. If it wasn't for her, the guy who became their eventual meal-ticket, would've never existed.

You talking about the guys at the estate or the family.

For better or worse you have to think and respect the decision that MJ placed these men in charge of the estate, and not his mother, father, or siblings for a reason.

And onto the music....

Invincible

With a 5 year gap between HiStory and Invincible there was an air of intrigue surrounding the new album. How would it sound? Would there be surprises? Press at the time talked about how much was being spent on the albums production, and interviews suggested a lot more exploration of sounds and rhythm than eventuated on the release. We were told this was MJ going back to his Off The Wall days both in terms of melody and intent. So with Invincible’s release the expectation was high – was Michael going to be able to hold his own in a world of new pop stars, or would his releases start to be relegated to that of an “oldies” act.

Kicking the album off with Unbreakable, the groove stutters and struts along with sounds and structures that matched the current crop of hit makers. Michael’s voice is in fine form, especially in the falsetto lead in to the chorus. Here also for the first time was an exploration of digital cutting of effects on the vocals in smatterings here and there. Though at 6 minutes, the song seems to go along the same trajectory and doesn’t really offer anything new for the listener. Lyrically it feels as though Michael was trying overly hard to prove his worth – something he no longer needed to do.

Heartbreaker at least offered a bit of excitement. The manipulation of the beat has a sense of energy to it that is infectious. If you just listen to the beat, there are little surprises laid all through it, one moment MJ is beat boxing, the next snare drums are being sliced and diced, the next filters are being used to twist and turn it. Maybe a bit of a nod to the grooves Jam and Lewis would lay out for Janet, Heartbreaker really comes into it’s own with the choruses and sublime bridge where Michael’s backing vocals float and weave with ease. Hard hitting, jiggered and abrupt, this was one of the highpoints for the album in terms of the dance-oriented tracks.

Sadly Invincible comes off sounding like more of the same, and almost a brother track to Unbreakable, though with more melodic hooks. Maybe it’s the overly electronic instrumentation on the track, or the sparseness in the arrangement but it ends up being a dance song by the numbers and perhaps suffers from playing too much to the current pop playbook than pushing new territory.

Whilst the album would be criticised for having too many slo-jams on it (especially in the way it was sequenced) it’s often these songs that provide the high points on Invincible. Break of Dawn is a prime example of this. With Michael in more of a laid back mood the song floats out of the speakers and easily seduces the listener. A perfect balance of lead and backing vocals, there’s a depth here to Michael’s vocals that were lacking in the lead up tracks. The musical arrangement also feels more organic and natural. It just goes to show that when Michael wants to get his groove on and drift more into a soul territory few can come close.

Heaven Can Wait is classic r’n’b and Michael delivers like only MJ can. Lush production doesn’t swamp the song but allows Michael’s vocals to come to the fore and be carried by the track. Immediately catchy, the chorus now holds a bittersweet lyric that in today’s world features greater tragedy. One of the stand out tracks it’s no wonder Teddy Riley has plans of re-recording the track for Backstreet.

With it’s one moment comical the next annoying intro with Chris Tucker, You Rock My World see’s Michael hit with a modern MJ classic. Annoyed that Michael fell into the “darkchild” callout at the start of the song, this soon passes as the song’s groove and melody kick in. Sadly what could have been even more blissful arrangement with the use of real strings (and a nice nod back to Don’t Stop) the song relies a little too heavily on synths as its base. But there is no denying that out of all the dance tracks on here, this is the one that has you wanting to the get up the most. Although it doesn’t really offer anything new to his catalogue of hits, it does have a sense of joy in the vocals that are hard to resist.

Taking on Neo-Soul with Butterflies, Michael makes this song soar. With a groove that strolls, the musical arrangement feels more authentic, with horns and percussion punctuating the chorus. Michael’s vocals are amongst some of his best work, especially in the second verse when he goes into the falsetto that has been missing from a lot of his work. Rich and luscious backing vocals keep the choruses warm and just surround the listener. When you compare Michael’s final version with the Floetry demo you see how Michael matches note for note the little runs and adlibs to perfection yet still puts his own little stamp on it.

Sadly post Butterflies is where the album loses its focus and direction.

Speechless, with its pure a capella intro is captivating to begin with then falls into an overblown Disney-esque arrangement that seems to rob the song of the very heart it longs to convey. If it had kept just to a short a Capella song it would have been more captivating – take the first 30 seconds and last 30 seconds, and you have something truly special.

2,000 Watts ends up sounding like a generic cast off from Dangerous era recordings and too gimmicky to be taken seriously with lines such as “you may now apply your 3D glasses”. The mis-step here though is that this song replaced Shout – which was at least more inventive.

You Are My Life is ironically lifeless. With the classic hallmarks of a Babyface song it feels like it is 5 years late in it’s delivery and ends up sounding dated and redundant.

Continuing the media victim theme, Jackson presents Privacy and although edgier than songs such as Tabloid Junkie again it feels like Michael is treading old ground here.

Don’t Walk Away was one of the slow growers of the album. Reminiscent of a Janet ballad (Someday is Tonight springs to mind) Michael shows that he can still sing the heart of out a ballad and give it depth.

One of the increasing problems with Michael’s albums was there was a sense that he was trying to repeat previous success, and Cry is this album’s attempt to reimagine Man In The Mirror. Sadly it doesn’t come close and whilst not a bad song at all, it does make you think too much of MITM and therefore suffers in the comparison.

With his heart on his sleeve, and maybe still trying to sway public opinion, The Lost Children feels even more out of place here than some of the other mis-steps. Again it feels like Michael we have already heard in Heal The World and suffers from the same sappy production.

Thankfully when you are feeling less and less enthused with the album, Whatever Happens comes on. With a duet between vocals and Santana guitar, it is one of the freshest tracks on the album. Sure it's in the blueprint of “get a great guitarist on the track”, but instead of trying to repeat Beat It, Michael explores new territory with this Latin fused track and comes out the winner.

Sadly, the freshness of Whatever Happens doesn’t carry across into Threatened – Michael’s latest take on a Thriller style song. Although not the wisest choice lyrically as Michael paints himself as a threatening beast who preys on sleeping victims, the groove of Threatened is what makes it captivating, and since getting a live airing in This Is It, the song has become more appealing, but part of me wishes the groove had different lyrics, but as it is it feels like Michael is treating old ground.

As his last studio album, Invincible ends up suffering from the weight of it’s own ambition. Overly long, this mixed bag of tricks really fails to continue with the momentum that the first half of the album was building. If it was trimmed down to 9 or 10 songs, then I think the feeling the album leaves you with would be different, and maybe would have been the “come back” album many critics claimed it wasn’t. Sadly this is the last studio album Michael left us, and you can’t help but think if he knew that, this wouldn’t be the note he would have wanted to leave on.

Timmy84 said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

All she did was fuck and push him out of her vag, it's not like it was much work.

HOLD HOLD HOLD HOLD!!!!

Having TEN CHILDREN was a fucking chore. I mean, just imagine how it must feel putting out ONE CHILD, less TEN! Woman went over probably ten hours in labor giving birth to those kids. Cut her SOME slack on THAT regard.

Exactly

We can talk about the shady shit all the Jacksons have done for the past 40 years and we'd have a list, but at the same time, but that right there didn't make any sense.

smoothcriminal12, I get what you're saying, but come on man