JackieBlue said:

Nancy Grace is a woman who made up shit about the murder of her fiance for a book, so really... who the fuck is she to be questioning anyone's reaction in a time of tragedy?

I want to stomp that woman's face into the pavement. And it has absolutely NOTHING to do with her MJ antics over the years.

I heard that Madonna has signed on to appear at the Michael Jackson Tribute Concert which takes place in September.A bunch of artists will each sing a different MJ song.Madonna's manager has revealed that she was actually planning to do a surprise performance at one of MJ's 02 concerts.Could you imagine the two of them finally duetting onstage together?

Chic35 said:

she's digging pretty deep if that's what she's up in arms about.

WaterInYourBath said:

That's what I always believed what Michael was doing at the time, promiscuous sex was sinning according to MJ.
[Edited 6/30/09 0:58am]

bboy87 said:

I don't believe that. Michael believed that sex should be abstained until after marriage (and that sexual intercourse should only be done with your spouse while U're married and not while being single). Based on that, he lost his virginity with Lisa Marie.

A lot of people are posting in different forums about how badly Michael is being treated in the press. Being old enough to have been a fan of Michael and of Elvis, I just want to send out a heart felt warning to the really die hard MJ fans. It is going to get so much worse. It doesn't seem like it now but the tabloids had been treating Elvis terribly for about 5 years when he died, some of it based on truth and some of it complete bullocks. It only got worse after he died. The people who came out of the wood work to exploit his memory was staggering, and each tried to out shock the people who came before them.

The grief I feel over the loss of Michael Jackson has shocked me to my core, but I know it is nothing compared to many of the people who are posting in this thread, and as an Elvis fan, my heart goes out to you and the rough road you face. But keep the heart light glowing. Talent and achievement will overshadow everything else just as Elvis' legacy has proven and just as Michael's will as well.

Love and Peace.

peacenlovealways said:

If true, WOW! What else can you say? Our angel Mike....

SHENANIGANS!!!

CalhounSq said:

´
It's the doctor! Thank God he's black, otherwise it would have been the white man that wanted to kill MJ.

http://plus7.arte.tv/de/d...76314.html

TV - Docu - German online streaming...

graecophilos said:

You say some real stupid shit

CalhounSq said:

No, what I mean is, that if it woulda been a white doctor, there would have been claims MJ was destroyed by the white men. All this race thinking.

It's true!

This particular night, all the lights were out and we noticed some blue flashes intermittently lighting up the room during playback. After a few moments we could see that one of the speakers (custom quad augspuergers) was shooting blue flames. Mj liked this and proceeded to push all the faders up . . . .

SoulAlive said:

No, and I can't imaien which song Madonna will perform. No matter if it's singing and dancing - she can't compete with MJ.

cdcgold said:

but look at the outcome.

graecophilos said:

I've always thought that "4 Minutes" sounds like an MJ song.For the tribute show,Madonna should do a medley of her own "Miles Away" (dedicated to MJ) followed by "Off The Wall".

SoulAlive said:

really? imo, 4 Minutes sounds nothing like MJ. It sounds like JT, who tries to be MJ.

You chose MA because of the love-distance topic? But in the song Madonna critizes the addressed person.
Also I'm against performing own songs in a tribute show, unless it was spesifically writte for the dead artist.

cdcgold said:

Of all of The Jackson siblings, Marion had THE most of Joseph's whippings. And most of the time, it was because (according to Joseph) Marion couldn't always dance in perfect timing like Michael.

And yet, Marion ended up being THE most "normal" of all of his adult siblings. [b]He never had shown any of the weaknesses that Michael has.[/b]

Some amazing comments & memories from recording engineer Rob Hoffman, made yesterday on a recording forum. Hopefully this ends once & forall, the ridiculous debates there have been whether MJ was an amazing "musician"!

_____
Some random memories:
One morning MJ came in with a new song he had written overnight. We called in a guitar player, and Michael sang every note of every chord to him. "here's the first chord first note, second note, third note. Here's the second chord first note, second note, third note", etc., etc. We then witnessed him giving the most heartfelt and profound vocal performance, live in the control room through an SM57.

He would sing us an entire string arrangement, every part. Steve Porcaro once told me he witnessed MJ doing that with the string section in the room. Had it all in his head, harmony and everything. Not just little eight bar loop ideas. he would actually sing the entire arrangement into a micro-cassette recorder complete with stops and fills.

At one point Michael was angry at one of the producers on the project because he was treating everyone terribly. Rather than create a scene or fire the guy, Michael called him to his office/lounge and one of the security guys threw a pie in his face. No further action was needed . . . . .

During the recording of "Smile" on HIStory, Bruce thought it would be great if Michael would sing live with the orchestra. But of course, we didn't tell the players that. We set him up in a vocal booth off to the side. They rehearsed a bit without vocals in, then during the first take Michael sang, just about knocked them out of their chairs.

His beatboxing was without parallel, and his time was ridiculous.

His sense of harmony was incredible. Never a bad note, no tuning, even his breathing was perfectly in time.

Once, while we were taking a break, I think we were actually watching the OJ chase on TV, there was a news program talking about him being in Europe with some little boy. I was sitting next to the guy while the news is making this crap up. He just looked at me and said this is what I have to deal with.

I spent close to 3 years working with him, and not once did I question his morals, or ever believe any of the allegations. I wasn't even a fan then. I saw him interact with his brothers kids, other people's children, and at one point my own girlfriend's kids. I got to spend a day at Neverland with them. A completely incredible human being, always looking for a way to make all children's lives better. Every weekend at Neverland was donated to a different children's group - children with AIDS, children cancer, etc., and most of the time he wasn't there.

He was simply living the childhood he never had. In many ways he never grew up.

I was assisting Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis while they recorded the background vocals for "Scream" with MJ and Janet. The two of them singing together was amazing. Super tight, no bad notes. One part after another. When they took a break they sang the showtunes they used to sing as kids. Again, perfect harmony. Mj refused to sing the "stop f*ckin' with me part" because he would NOT curse.

I was the tape op for the recording of the background vocals on "Stranger in Moscow". Scared the hell out me. Michael was dropping in and out on syllables, rearranging the notes and timing as he put it down. No Pro Tools at the time, just 2" tape, and my punches.

I erased a live keyboard overdub that he played one night. He came in the next morning, replaced it, and never uttered another word about it.

I was there when Lisa Marie was around. They acted like two kids in love. Held hands all the time, and she hung out at the studio for quite a while. I never questioned their love for each other.

We recorded a Christmas song during the summer of '94 that needed a children's choir. Michael insisted that the entire studio be decorated with xmas lights, tree, fake snow and a sled for their recording. And he bought presents for everyone.

The last weekend of recording on HIStory he came to me and Eddie Delena, and said "I'm sorry, but I don't think any of us are going to sleep this weekend. There's a lot to get done, and we have to go to Bernie on Monday morning". He stayed at the studio the entire time, singing, and mixing. I got to spend a couple quiet moments with him during that time. We talked about John Lennon one night as he was gearing up to sing the last vocal of the record - the huge ad libs at the end of "earth song". I told him the story of John singing "twist and shout" while being sick, and though most people think he was screaming for effect, it was actually his voice giving out. He loved it, and then went in to sing his heart out. . . .

Later that night, while mixing, everyone left the room so MJ could turn it up. This was a common occurrence during the mixes, and I was left in the room with ear plugs, and hands over my ears, in case he needed something. This particular night, all the lights were out and we noticed some blue flashes intermittently lighting up the room during playback. After a few moments we could see that one of the speakers (custom quad augspuergers) was shooting blue flames. Mj liked this and proceeded to push all the faders up . . . .

MJ liked hot water while he was singing. I mean really hot !!!!! It got to the point that I would melt plastic spoons to test it.

Bruce and I were talking about walking to the studio everyday in NYC, and what routes we took. Michael looked at us and said we were so lucky to be able to do that. He couldn't walk down the street without being harassed. It was a sad moment for all of us.

The studio crew got free tickets to the Janet show so we all went right from work one night. About halfway through the show we see this dude with a long beard, dressed in robes dancing in the aisle behind. I mean really dancing . . . it was Mj in disguise. Kind of like the costume Chevy Chase wears in Fletch while roller skating.

He got one of the first playstations from sony in his lounge . . . we snuck in late at night to play the games that hadn't been released yet.

A couple people on the session hadn't seen Jurassic Park while it was out, so MJ arranged a private screening for us at Sony.

He was a huge fan of Nine Inch Nails Downward Spiral . . . .

I was lucky enough over the course of 3 years to have access to the multitrack masters for tour prep, videos, and archive purposes. To be able to pull these tracks apart was a huge lesson in production, and songwriting. A chance to look into the minds of geniuses.

Of all the records I've worked on, MJJ was the only company to give platinum award records.

One day we just all sat in the studio listening to his catalog with him for inspiration. He loved the process, he loved the work."

http://www.gearslutz.com/...ut-mj.html

Mick Hucknall shares my sentiments.....


-----

SIMPLY Red star Mick Hucknall said he found it difficult paying tribute to Jacko because of the child abuse allegations.

Mick, 49, said: "I have to say that Michael Jackson was an extraordinary artist, a phenomenal dancer, a truly great singer."


He added: "I can only say that the one side that I have a little difficulty with is firstly as a father, and secondly as someone who was a friend of a father of a boy called Jordy Chandler.

His father was actually my dentist and a friend of mine, and that makes it rather difficult for me to expand on anything else.


"This time I'll show enough respect to respect his memory as an artist and say no more about him."


Jordy Chandler was 13 when he accused Jackson in 1993 of molesting him.


The star settled out of court with the Chandler family the following year for £13million.

midnightmover said:

Both of them , Him and his friend can go striaght to hell, Millions paid a tribute , he is not important at all...plus his friend is a complete liar.

ViintageJunkiie said:

i'm going to spend two hours with my therapist dealing with early childhood tramua. not going to be fun, but i can't get better with out it. Michael played the biggest whole in this by not taking care of himself. not joe, not the media, MICHAEL. i feel sorry for his family and for him, however it all could have been avoided with some good weekly therapy.

In this handout photo provided by AEG, pop star Michael Jackson rehearses at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Kevin Mazur, AEG/Getty Images)Associated Press LOS ANGELES - So, who gets Michael Jackson's riches?

His mother took the first step Monday when she petitioned the Superior Court of California to be named the administrator of the late singer's estate. Katherine Jackson said in the filing she was acting to ensure Michael Jackson's three children are the beneficiaries.

It's the opening salvo in a complicated battle for a fortune that includes a lucrative music catalog of the King of Pop's own hits, the rights to songs by the Beatles, and the Neverland ranch that could one day be a tourist attraction.

There's even an elaborate video production, dubbed the "Dome Project," that was overseen by Jackson and finished two weeks before he died.

The high stakes and array of people involved will likely make the fight far more convoluted than recent high-profile squabbles over the estates of singer James Brown and ex-Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith.

"There's no doubt that there's going to be a big battle," said Alexis Martin Neely, a Los Angeles-based estate attorney. "It's going to be very messy and I don't see anything comparing to this."

Complicating matters is that few, if any, people know all the details of the reclusive entertainer's financial affairs. His mother's filing, for example, declares that Jackson died "intestate," or without a will. But that is in dispute. Another person with knowledge of Jackson's business matters told The Associated Press last Friday that there is a will, which would take precedent in court. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the material.

Becoming an estate administrator "puts a vast amount of power in one person's hands," said Roy Kozupsky, a lawyer with Smith, Gambrell & Russell. The person would have the power to sell assets, make deals and determine how to pay off creditors, he said.

At stake is Jackson's 50 percent ownership in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a company itself estimated to be worth $2 billion; Jackson's own recordings and songwriting rights, which could be worth more than $150 million; and his joint ownership of the Neverland ranch.

Katherine Jackson said in her filing she intends to use the estate's assets for "the exclusive use of the decedent's (Jackson's) three children." But the filing could also be the first move in contesting the validity of a will, if there is one, Kozupsky said.

Jackson, who died Thursday at age 50, left behind three children: son Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11; and son Prince Michael II, 7. The youngest was born to a surrogate mother, while the first two were born to ex-wife Deborah Rowe.

The list of potential parties seeking a piece of Jackson's estate is long, ranging from financial firms to the companies involved in his planned comeback. Among them is AEG Live, the concert promoter that booked Jackson for 50 sold-out performances at London's O2 arena starting next month.

AEG Live reportedly gave Jackson a $20 million advance, which it may seek to recover from the estate. AEG Live declined to comment.

How much AEG can recover will likely depend on the wording of insurance policies it took out and whether they included protection against "medical conditions or another event," said Mary Craig Calkins, a partner at Howrey LLP who handles insurance recovery cases for TV and film productions.

The promoter took out about $18 million in insurance through Lloyd's of London, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment.

A big part of determining what the estate is worth — and how much it owes in taxes — will depend on how much Jackson owed to creditors. Estimates put the tally around $400 million.

The federal government will be able to collect around 45 percent in tax on the value of the estate's assets, minus its debts and administration costs including attorney fees.

It appears that the most valuable assets will likely remain in the estate's control.

The Sony/ATV stake and 100 percent of Mijac, the company that controls Michael Jackson's own music, were held in a trust whose beneficiaries are Jackson's children. That trust is safe from creditors, said Al Malnik, its former trustee and Jackson's business adviser from 2002 to 2005.

"The assets were protected through the trust against creditors," Malnik said Monday.

Jackson used those assets as collateral to secure $200 million in loans from Bank of America in 2001. He then refinanced several times. Malnik said the loan total reached $275 million by the time he quit as trustee in 2005. Fortress Investment Group LLC, which took control in 2005, sold the loans off entirely "over a year ago," said company spokeswoman Lilly Donohue.

It is unclear who holds the loans now, but one candidate is Colony Capital LLC, a Los Angeles real estate firm owned by billionaire Thomas Barrack, which also set up a joint venture with Jackson to own Neverland, the 2,500-acre property in Santa Barbara County that once included amusement park rides and zoo animals.

Barrack had lunch with Jackson brothers Jackie, Jermaine and Tito on Saturday at Neverland.

Jackson's estate is still growing through record sales and songwriting rights.

So far this year, some 297,000 of his albums have sold in the U.S., and that's not including last week, when sales spiked in the wake of the singer's death. Jackson's existing works will continue to sell well, said Keith Caulfield, senior charts manager for Billboard magazine.

"He's good for at least a half a million albums a year," Caulfield said.

Songwriting rights also keep earning revenue. Jackson wrote many of the songs he recorded including "Beat It," "Bad," and "Black or White."

For the past three years, Jackson has ranked among the top-earning 100 U.S. songwriters for royalty payments collected by Broadcast Music Inc.

"Michael Jackson is the number one international songwriter in the world for BMI. He is it," BMI chief executive Del Bryant said, adding that use of the singer's songs outside of the U.S. earn more than $1 million dollars annually just for Jackson's share of the royalties.

Warner-Chappell Music, a division of Warner Music Group Corp., is Jackson's music publisher, meaning it promotes use of his songs and lyrics in commercials and TV shows. Jackson's own works, plus scores of song rights he purchased, gross several million dollars per year.

Jackson also owns the master recordings of his own albums such as "Thriller" and "Bad" and had a distribution deal with Sony, according to a person familiar with his finances, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the material.

The surge in interest in his music could inflate the value of assets held by his estate, and the tax bill owed to the U.S. government.

"Unfortunately due to his demise, the value of these entities has increased substantially," Malnik said.

TonyVanDam said:

That doesn't shock me. According to one of Michael's former photographers, one day, Joe was so upset with Michael he threatened to kill him with an uzi. I'm beginning to think Joe was on some stuff because that's just uncommon pulling out an uzi on someone that people consider "your son". I heard Joe used to rat on him talking about "you so black, you ain't my son."
[Edited 6/30/09 0:16am]