DesireeNevermind said:

When I was growing up, I idolized Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton for their roles in the civil rights movement, but both have them have been getting on my f'n nerves for the last few years. Like it seems to have with so many other people, it kind of really just got to be to much when James Brown passed. Now, even before they open their mouths I am already annoyed. Maybe its not fair on my part, but fuck they just get on my nerves.

july said:

That my friend was what Michael Jackson was all about to me: SOUL!

kalelvisj said:

Al & Jesse are becoming sad self-parodies of themselves.

Copycat said:

Many good articles on this thread, but this one hits the spot for me. The part I've bolded captures how I felt watching MJ post "Bad" era and onto death. And it especially captures how I felt hearing he'd be trying for this big sweeping "come back". I just had an overall sense of dread like, no, please stay wherever you are and live in peace. The press conference confirmed my worst fears. Over the years he became just too painful to watch. Coming of age when he was at the peak of his powers, and then watching him descend the way he did was just.....there are no words. I'd wince seeing him in the news, ("every time I see you falling, I get down on my knees and pray...") as I always had a soft spot for him even though we became "estranged". I just could not reconcile that the person who he became was the same guy I used to adore. I still can't believe it, looking back. And now I can't believe that Michael, in all his transformations, won't be around anymore even though I could never see him getting old. It's weird.

I know I am late but that rehearsal footage did little to convince me of his readiness to do 10 shows, let alone 50. And I am nervous about this memorial on Tuesday. Lord, help it to go smoothly! I read that Jennifer Hudson has been scheduled to sing. I hope that's true!!

Timmy84 said:

Seems that ultimately, real and extended fame does that to everyone.

Timmy84 said:

Yes, that's quite sad, considering their ages. I guess they are good examples of mothers who know how to properly raise many children (who all end up being successful)? I don't know. I just feel so bad for them, especially little Blanket.

Timmy84 said:

another muthafucca that won't shut up

kalelvisj said:

Good point.

Timmy84 said:

Someone really needs to tell these two MF's to STFU!
I hate how they're supposedly the voice of the black community!

WaterInYourBath said:

It's weird, ain't it? Michael sure has a lot of complexities. Did we even as fans understand Michael? Because he gives you mixed signals. I just hope that things will be settled one day.

Timmy84 said:

I hope people don't forget Janet has had her share of personal issues as well
depression etc ... I have the feeling in the future the judge( depending who it is) will give the kids back to the mother just for spite and blanket will stay with Katherine... which would be wrong keep the children together.

I am shocked no one mentioned a few pages back or noticed the oldest son holding a Inked magazine ( for tats ) ...that one will be the rebel

midiscover said:

As if we don't have our own voices.

utopia7 said:

I heard the kids may be allowed to have a say on who they feel should raise them, least of all Michael Jr. he seems to be more understanding of the situation than the other two, least it looks that way.

midiscover said:

i stopped diggin jesse when he said he wanted to cut off Obama's nuts and I never dug Al,

Quincy Jones remembers "the biggest entertainer on the planet": Michael Jackson

Music producer Quincy Jones, a Northwest native and Garfield High School graduate, worked with Michael Jackson on record-breaking recordings, including "Thriller" and "Off the Wall." He wrote this remembrance of Jackson for The Los Angeles Times.

By Quincy Jones

Special to the Los Angeles Times

DOUG PIZAC / AP

Michael Jackson, left, and Quincy Jones at the 1984 Grammy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

KCTS | Quincy Jones: Working with Jackson

Note: Music producer Quincy Jones, who once lived in Seattle and graduated from Garfield High School, first worked with Michael Jackson in 1978 on the set of "The Wiz." He went on to collaborate with him on groundbreaking recordings, including "Thriller" and "Off the Wall." He wrote a remembrance of Jackson for the Los Angeles Times, excerpted here.

Like the world, last week I was devastated by the news that Michael Jackson had suddenly left the room. This blessed artist commanded the stage with the grace of an antelope, shattered recording-industry records and broke down cultural boundaries around the world; yet he remained the gentlest of souls.

Michael Jackson was a different kind of entertainer. A man-child in many ways, he was beyond professional and dedicated. Evoking Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis Jr. and James Brown all at once, he'd work for hours, perfecting every kick, gesture and movement so that they came together precisely the way they were intended to. Together we shared the '80s, achieving heights that I can humbly say may never be reached again and that reshaped the music business forever.

For our first album together, "Off the Wall," I pulled my "A-team" crew together, anchored by Rod Temperton, one of the best songwriters who has ever lived. I simply loved working with Michael. He was so shy that he'd sit down and sing behind the couch with his back to me while I sat there with my hands over my eyes with the lights off.

We tried all kinds of tricks that I'd learned over the years to help him with his artistic growth, like dropping keys just a minor third to give him flexibility and a more mature range in the upper and lower registers, and more than a few tempo changes.

I also tried to steer him to songs with more depth, some of them about real relationships — we weren't going to make it with ballads to rodents (i.e., "Ben"). And Seth Riggs, a leading vocal coach, gave him vigorous exercises to expand his top and bottom range by at least a fourth, which I desperately needed to get the vocal drama going. We approached that record like we were going into battle. "Off the Wall" would sell 10 million copies.

We had no idea the record was going to be as successful as it was, but we were thrilled. Michael had moved from the realm of bubble-gum pop and planted his flag square in the heart of the musical pulse of the '80s, but what came next, I don't think any of us were ready for.

A hard push for "Thriller"

We were behind schedule on "Thriller," but Michael, Rod, the great engineer Bruce Swedien and I had all spent so much time together by now that we had a shorthand, so moving quickly wasn't a problem. I told Michael that we needed a black rock 'n' roll tune — a black "My Sharona" — and a begging tune for the album. He came back with "Beat It," and Rod came back with "The Lady in My Life."

Rod also brought in "Thriller," and Michael sang his heart out on it. At one point during the session, the right speaker burst into flames. How's that for a sign?

We finished the album the morning we needed to deliver the reference copy. We all gathered in Studio A to listen to the test pressing with this enormous anticipation. This was it, the eagerly anticipated follow-up to "Off the Wall."

And it sounded — terrible.

After all of that great work we were doing, it wasn't there. There was total silence in the studio. We'd put too much material on the record. Michael was in tears.

We took two days off, and in the next eight days, we set about reshaping the album, mixing just one song a day.

A lasting legacy

We delivered the album and watched "Billie Jean" — thanks to Michael's debut performance of the moonwalk — "Beat It" and "Thriller" just explode, fueled in part by heavy video rotation on MTV. Prior to "Billie Jean," MTV wasn't playing videos with black artists. After those three videos, virtually every video on MTV was trying to emulate their style.

Michael, the music and MTV all went to the mountaintop. In the music business, every decade you have a phenomenon. In the '40s you had Sinatra, in the '50s Elvis, in the '60s the Beatles, in the '70s the innovation of Dolby, despite the best efforts of Stevie Wonder and Elton John. In the '80s you had Michael Jackson. He was the biggest entertainer on the planet. Followed up with "Bad" and the collective on "We Are the World," we all made history together. We owned the '80s, and our souls would be connected forever.

There will be a lot written about what came next in Michael's life, but for me all of that is just noise. I promise you that in 50, 75, 100 years, what will be remembered is the music. Almost three decades later, no matter where I go in the world, in every club and karaoke bar, like clockwork, you hear "Billie Jean," "Beat It," "Wanna Be Starting Something," "Rock With You" and "Thriller."

In every language on the planet, from prison yards in the Philippines to the tribute site Thrilltheworld.com, that will be the beautiful, grand legacy of Michael Jackson.

Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company

----
Hmm, was Quincy just mad when he said all that other stuff, he seems more "sympathetic" here.

Timmy84 said:

I think there are "self appointed" spokes people for every possible group, but they rarely speak to the real people. If we believed our "spokespeople" or the media, then we all have to be right wing fascists or left wing hippy socialist...God forbid there were any people standing in the fucking middle shaking there heads in disbelief. Fuck 'em. Sorry for the off topic rant...
[Edited 7/5/09 1:05am]

Timmy84 said:

well this is good too the kids should have a voice ultimately it's their lives and happiness hopefully they'll be able to handle whats ahead in their future.

DesireeNevermind said:

I never got the big deal with either of them to be honest. Matter of fact I knew they weren't shit compared to the other big "M's" (Malcolm & Martin). Before the two MJ's, lol. :lol
[Edited 7/5/09 1:05am]

utopia7 said:

Janet doesn't seem like the motherly type
never came off as a person that would want to share their life with another being other then a man (she's hardly even with most of the time)
She doesn't even have kids of her own so I wouldn't imagine her wanting the kids anyway

kalelvisj said:

No you're forgiven. They suck. But yeah moving on.

Quincy Jones remembers "the biggest entertainer on the planet": Michael Jackson
Music producer Quincy Jones, a Northwest native and Garfield High School graduate, worked with Michael Jackson on record-breaking recordings, including "Thriller" and "Off the Wall." He wrote this remembrance of Jackson for The Los Angeles Times.

By Quincy Jones
Special to the Los Angeles Times


Like the world, last week I was devastated by the news that Michael Jackson had suddenly left the room. This blessed artist commanded the stage with the grace of an antelope, shattered recording-industry records and broke down cultural boundaries around the world; yet he remained the gentlest of souls.

Michael Jackson was a different kind of entertainer. A man-child in many ways, he was beyond professional and dedicated. Evoking Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis Jr. and James Brown all at once, he'd work for hours, perfecting every kick, gesture and movement so that they came together precisely the way they were intended to. Together we shared the '80s, achieving heights that I can humbly say may never be reached again and that reshaped the music business forever.

For our first album together, "Off the Wall," I pulled my "A-team" crew together, anchored by Rod Temperton, one of the best songwriters who has ever lived. I simply loved working with Michael. He was so shy that he'd sit down and sing behind the couch with his back to me while I sat there with my hands over my eyes with the lights off.

We tried all kinds of tricks that I'd learned over the years to help him with his artistic growth, like dropping keys just a minor third to give him flexibility and a more mature range in the upper and lower registers, and more than a few tempo changes.

I also tried to steer him to songs with more depth, some of them about real relationships — we weren't going to make it with ballads to rodents (i.e., "Ben"). And Seth Riggs, a leading vocal coach, gave him vigorous exercises to expand his top and bottom range by at least a fourth, which I desperately needed to get the vocal drama going. We approached that record like we were going into battle. "Off the Wall" would sell 10 million copies.

We had no idea the record was going to be as successful as it was, but we were thrilled. Michael had moved from the realm of bubble-gum pop and planted his flag square in the heart of the musical pulse of the '80s, but what came next, I don't think any of us were ready for.

A hard push for "Thriller"

We were behind schedule on "Thriller," but Michael, Rod, the great engineer Bruce Swedien and I had all spent so much time together by now that we had a shorthand, so moving quickly wasn't a problem. I told Michael that we needed a black rock 'n' roll tune — a black "My Sharona" — and a begging tune for the album. He came back with "Beat It," and Rod came back with "The Lady in My Life."

Rod also brought in "Thriller," and Michael sang his heart out on it. At one point during the session, the right speaker burst into flames. How's that for a sign?

We finished the album the morning we needed to deliver the reference copy. We all gathered in Studio A to listen to the test pressing with this enormous anticipation. This was it, the eagerly anticipated follow-up to "Off the Wall."

And it sounded — terrible.

After all of that great work we were doing, it wasn't there. There was total silence in the studio. We'd put too much material on the record. Michael was in tears.

We took two days off, and in the next eight days, we set about reshaping the album, mixing just one song a day.

A lasting legacy

We delivered the album and watched "Billie Jean" — thanks to Michael's debut performance of the moonwalk — "Beat It" and "Thriller" just explode, fueled in part by heavy video rotation on MTV. Prior to "Billie Jean," MTV wasn't playing videos with black artists. After those three videos, virtually every video on MTV was trying to emulate their style.

Michael, the music and MTV all went to the mountaintop. In the music business, every decade you have a phenomenon. In the '40s you had Sinatra, in the '50s Elvis, in the '60s the Beatles, in the '70s the innovation of Dolby, despite the best efforts of Stevie Wonder and Elton John. In the '80s you had Michael Jackson. He was the biggest entertainer on the planet. Followed up with "Bad" and the collective on "We Are the World," we all made history together. We owned the '80s, and our souls would be connected forever.

There will be a lot written about what came next in Michael's life, but for me all of that is just noise. I promise you that in 50, 75, 100 years, what will be remembered is the music. Almost three decades later, no matter where I go in the world, in every club and karaoke bar, like clockwork, you hear "Billie Jean," "Beat It," "Wanna Be Starting Something," "Rock With You" and "Thriller."

In every language on the planet, from prison yards in the Philippines to the tribute site Thrilltheworld.com, that will be the beautiful, grand legacy of Michael Jackson.

source: http://seattletimes.nwsou...ncy05.html

Swa said:

Psst, Swa, scroll up...

Madonna pays tribute to Michael Jackson in concert
By NARDINE SAAD – 8 hours ago
LONDON (AP) — Madonna paid tribute to Michael Jackson on Saturday night in the same arena where he was to stage his comeback, dancing along with an impersonator doing Jackson's distinctive moves.
Jackson, who died last week, was to begin a series of 50 concerts at the 23,000-seat O2 starting July 13.
A picture of a young Michael Jackson appeared on stage while Madonna was performing "Holiday," then the impersonator came on, wearing a sequined jacket, white T-shirt, white glove and white socks in the Jackson manner.
The music then switched to Jackson's song, "Wanna Be Starting Something," and the impersonator worked through Jackson's moves, including the famous moonwalk. The impersonator didn't sing.
After the number, Madonna told the crowd, "Let's give it up for one of the greatest artists the world has ever known," and the crowd roared its approval.
The impersonator's appearance would not have surprised anyone paying close attention to Madonna's Web site, which had a picture of him dancing in rehearsal.
An estimated crowd of 17,000, including the fashion designer Valentino, turned out for Madonna's concert, the first of two this weekend in London on her "Sticky & Sweet" tour.
In the last dance, Madonna and her dancers all donned jeweled gloves on their right hands in a simple tribute. Behind the stage some words from Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" were flashed up briefly: "If you want to make the world a better place look inside yourself and make a change."
Yu Yin, a 29-year-old student from Beijing, rated the Jackson tribute as the high point of the concert "because she chose a picture of a young Michael which shows me she has an understanding of his lack of childhood life."
"I expected a bit more, but it was tastefully done," said Jane Gadhia, 47, who said she thought Madonna would choose to sing a Jackson song.
In an interview with The Sun newspaper, Madonna had said she was "terribly sad" about Jackson's death.
"To be able to do what he did at such an early age was unearthly, everybody grew up in awe of him," The Sun quoted her as saying.
"To work with him and become friends, and hang out with him, was exciting for me. I used to love picking his brains about musical stuff."

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

footage from BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/h...134823.stm
[Edited 7/5/09 1:11am]

all these mofos lining their pockets off of michael's death. disgusting.

midiscover said:

that's possible but not every performer can handle both a strenuous schedule and kids besides the press has claimed Janet pregnant various times already in the past lots of stress to deal with

Photographer on Jackson rehearsals

Renowned rock photographer Kevin Mazur was at Michael Jackson's final tour rehearsal in Los Angeles last week.
Several images from the practice runs have now been released, showing the star dancing and smiling against large neon letters reading "This Is It".
Mazur, who first took pictures of Jackson during the 1984 Victory tour, told the BBC about the "magical" show that was being prepared before the entertainer's untimely death on Thursday.

The pictures were taken on 23 June, just two days before Jackson died
How much of the rehearsal did you see?
I was there for a couple of days. I was there on the first day when they built the stage, and I took photographs of the dancers and the back-up singers for the tour book. Then, the next day I was taking casual shots of the band and the dancers rehearsing when Michael arrived.
I was like an expectant father waiting for him to take to the stage, I was so excited. And when he came out, I was even more excited because Michael was back.
He was happy, he was energetic, he was full of life. I had such an adrenaline rush. It was like the first time I had photographed him, when he moonwalked.

People were saying he wasn't ready, and the first shows had been pushed back because of his health. Did you see any evidence of that?
A photo tells a story. Michael was physically fit and performing the same way that I photographed him through the years. You can look at the photos. I documented it, I was there.
So how did you feel when, four days later, you were told he had died?
I was so shocked, because from what I saw on Tuesday night, he was full of energy and full of life. I couldn't wait to see this show at the O2 arena with all the fans there.

How much of the production did you see? Were there any big surprises?
There were still certain elements that they had to put into place, but I saw them rehearse about a dozen songs. And Michael never stopped. He worked right through. He did 12 songs and he only paused a couple of times to tweak some stuff with the music and a little bit of the choreography.
They had a screen that ran the full length of the main stage and was maybe about 50 feet high. And, supposedly, I heard they were doing some 3D things. I've been shooting shows for 25 years and I'd never seen anything like that before. I was very curious to see how it would all come together.

So you could say the concert was really in the final stages of preparation - with all the individual songs coming together into a coherent show?
Yes, well... everything was pretty much staged and built. There were certain things they were still waiting to get - they had chandeliers they were going to put into the set. But musically and dancing-wise, I got to see it all. But I didn't get to see things like aerial lifts and a few other elements in the show.
And when Michael was done rehearsing, he and Kenny Ortega [choreographer and show producer] went off the stage and they were looking at a bunch of props they had for Thriller and they had a puppeteer using zombie-type creatures that were going to go through the audience. It looked really, really cool.
This was going to be like no show anyone had ever seen.

The picture that has gone around the world today is of Michael in a grey suit, pointing into the centre of the auditorium. What do you remember much about that shot?
That might have been Black Or White - but I don't remember. It's so hard for me to keep track of the songs while I'm shooting, because it's such an adrenalin rush for me. I'm just too excited, and I'm juggling round numerous cameras. But I do know this, it was magical.

There are rumours today that the rehearsals had been filmed and that segments of the concert will be released as a tribute. Were you aware of that?
Not specifically - but everything was documented. That's why I was there. I was there to keep a record photographically, and they also had videographers. He's Michael Jackson and, as you know, he documents everything.

Kevin Mazur was speaking to BBC Entertainment News reporter Mark Savage.

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/h...127448.stm

Timmy84 said:

Lol. Great minds!

Swa

Timmy84 said:

For me his other comments read like someone who was just angry at the senseless loss of friend. He seemed a little frustrated that MJ went down the road he went down and died the way he apparently died. That's the way I took it. I never thought he didn't love Michael or had any doubt his legacy would reign when it's all said and done. That was just my reading of his comments...

DesireeNevermind said:

people have been leeching off michael for years...this is not new to me.

CalhounSq said:

True. Charlie Chaplin's corpse was stolen from his grave and they demanded money from the family. You KNOW, there will be something doing the same, if given the chance.