This is a continuation of these threads:

PART ONE: http://prince.org/msg/8/312176?&pg=1

PART TWO: http://prince.org/msg/8/312273

PART THREE: http://prince.org/msg/8/312547?&pg=1

PART FOUR: http://prince.org/msg/8/312814

Please use this thread to discuss your thoughts, feelings, and any reports, blogs, images, YouTube videos, etc., you'd like to share in memory of Michael Jackson.

PLEASE KEEP YOUR POSTS TASTEFUL AND RESPECTFUL.

Distasteful content will be deleted without prior warning, at the discretion of the site moderators. Those who continue to create offensive/disrespectful posts on this thread will have their accounts deactivated.

Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts, memories and feelings in the previous installment of this thread. Please continue to share those comments here.

what's this about his ghost on CNN?

This was posted before, but I think a lot of people missed it. It's Dwele's tribute to Mike. He builds "Human Nature" one track at a time.

AlexdeParis said:

Love that ...very cool

Here's UK's Sway....

A very Great Tribute the Lyrics are great ... posted again for those who missed it the first time...

TMZ regarding what's going on in Court


http://www.tmz.com/2009/0...edcontents

CNN Article about Prince and MJ

Since the death of Michael Jackson, I’ve been thinking a lot about Prince.






That these two would weigh on my mind is unusual. As a teenager in the 1980s, you’d be more likely to find Jimi Hendrix, Pat Metheny, the Cure or the Violent Femmes on my turntable.

The seminal MTV moment for me wasn’t “Thriller” but the first time the psychedelic Bo Diddley riff of the Smiths’ “How Soon Is Now?” poured out of my TV. For a small-town kid stuck in the sonic prison of Top 40 pop and country radio the music was like tuning into signals from a distant planet.

And yet this week it’s Prince I can’t get out of my head. The career arc — if not trajectory — of Michael Jackson and Prince were closely matched. Both came out with brilliant career-making albums in the early 1980s. Both were credited with crossing color lines and musical genres. Both saw sales ebb in the next decade.

Musical taste and popularity aside –Jackson outsold Prince 10-times over — their careers are a contrast in two executive traits: the perfectionist versus the workaholic.

In the 27 years since “Thriller,” Jackson released only four albums of new material. Since his breakout album “1999” the same year, Prince has released 21 new albums.

While preparing his “Thriller” follow-up, “Bad,” Jackson reportedly had this note taped on his bathroom mirror – “100 million” – his sales goal. (The album sold well but never approached “Thriller” status.) When Prince’s album sales were at low ebb in the 1990s, he ignored industry advice and released a triple-CD of new material. When that did poorly, he followed it with a five-CD collection of unreleased songs. That also tanked.

In recent years, the music industry model has switched from album sales to live events as a major source of revenue. On this landscape, Prince staged a remarkable comeback: a nearly $90 million tour in 2004, the 2007 Super Bowl halftime show and 21-concert residency at London’s O2 Arena. Prince often follows his two-hour concerts with small-club after-shows of improvised jazz that stretches as long as three hours.

Jackson’s 50-date stand at the O2 Arena starting this summer would have been his first tour in 12 years. The start was pushed back to allow more time for Jackson, the perfectionist, to rehearse.

Post “Thriller,” Jackson’s life was tailor-made for the tabloids: chimpanzees, Neverland, dangling a newborn out of a five-story window. His arrest, trial and acquittal on child molestation charges got more airplay than his music before he died.

Prince was no stranger to tabloids and eccentric behavior (such as changing his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol). Yet he seems to protect his private life. When Prince’s son died in 1996 from a rare disorder shortly after his birth, the singer eschewed press and sued the nannies that sold the painful details of the death to the tabloids.

Looking at the two lives, it seems to me Michael Jackson could have learned some lessons from Prince. High goals are important for career success, but pinning “100 million” to a mirror strikes me as the wrong ambition, especially in a creative profession.

Jackson and Prince both burst onto the scene when their talent and public taste happened to coincide – that rarely can be planned. While Jackson’s career got lost in “Neverland,” Prince focused on his work despite a fickle public. Fans went and then came back again – Prince’s work ethic never changed.

As a commercial act, Michael Jackson was the undisputed “King of Pop.” But as a career model, perhaps it’s better to be a Prince.

Source: CNN

[color=#44444:e937f994f2][color=violet]NY congressman blasts Michael Jackson as 'pervert'
56 minutes ago
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York congressman says in a YouTube video that Michael Jackson was a "pervert."
Rep. Peter King said society is "glorifying" a "low-life" while ignoring the efforts of teachers, police officers, firefighters, veterans and volunteers.
Jackson was acquitted of molesting a boy.
In the video, the congressman says the "day in and day out" coverage of Jackson's death is "too politically correct."
He conceded that Jackson "may have been a good singer" and "did some dancing."
King is among the possible Republican contenders for the seat held by Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (JILL'-uh-brand.)
Jackson family spokesman Ken Sunshine says the family is preparing for Jackson's funeral and will not dignify King's statement with a comment.[/color]

eye miss mike....he seemed like a good man....
and a fun guy 2 hang around with,

AlexdeParis said:

neat

Michael Jackson did not invent the moonwalk. The dance move goes back to the 40's and Marcel Marceau. Fred Astaire used it, as did the lead singer of Shalamar, Jeffrey Daniel, who performed the move on Top Of the Pops in 1982.

Find out more surprising facts about the self-styled King Of Pop in the new issue of NME, a special Michael Jackson tribute edition.

laurarichardson said:

The fact that you have posted this twice shows that you are not a fan of Michael Jackson but also shows a large dose of disrespect to Prince

As you must know - This CNN Article is BullSh*t and they only did this because MJ is dead ...

Think about it ....

They are slagging of Prince at the expense of MJ .... Rubbish and sick, low life media reporting

Copycat said:

Can't the NME get the facts right for once.....

FOR THE RECORD MICHEAL JACKSON "did" invent the Moonwalk ...They are so stupid ..have they not spoken to Jeffrey ... The Term "Moonwalk" was given to the move which was called the backslide , Mike Changed the way the "backslide" was done and call it the "Moonwalk"

There is only one MJ ....can't the media get it right for once

And I'm not even the biggest MJ fan but all the video's and interviews i've seen explain this ....

NME just can't take it, RS can't take it, MJ is bigger than Elvis ...end of story...

R.I.P. M.J.

This is sad. They've found 20 drugs in MJ's rented mansion including the heroin substitute methadone, oxycontin (known as hillbilly heroin), fentanyl and demerol.

markpeg said:

Wow that is shocking!
Methadone is what killed
Anna Nicole Smith...
That is sad to hear
The secret lives that
people live.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/h...136372.stm

Why is Man In The Mirror suddenly a hit?

It failed to make the Top 20 on its first release more than 20 years ago, but now Man In The Mirror is the Michael Jackson track everyone wants to hear. Why?

Thirteen Michael Jackson songs are in the Top 40, among them his signature hits like Billie Jean and Thriller.

But the biggest seller in the UK since his death has been Man In The Mirror, which failed to make the Top 20 when first released in 1988. This week it has climbed to number two.

So why is it suddenly a hit?

It's always been a favourite among Michael Jackson fans, says Matt Blank, a spokesman for the UK-based website Michael Jackson World Network.


THE ANSWER
Its lyrics about making the world a better place fit the mood
It wasn't a hit first time round so it feels fresh
He is not surprised by its belated success, given its elevated status in the Jackson catalogue - there was a memorable rendition by the singer at the 1988 Grammy Awards, with a gospel choir supplying the rousing crescendo, and it was the finale on Jackson's Dangerous world tour four years later.

"It's quite inspirational and when people are grieving they don't necessarily want a dance one, and they don't necessarily want a slow song either, because it might be too much," says Mr Blank.

"So Man in the Mirror is on middle ground. It appeals to lots of people, not just Michael Jackson fans but the general public who might not consider themselves to be Michael Jackson fans in particular."

It's not a song that can be pigeon-holed, he says, because it's not pop or soul, but it's an anthem that a lot of people can relate to, especially with the world going through hard times.

Its most famous lines are:

If You Wanna Make The

World A Better Place

Take A Look At Yourself, And

Then Make A Change

Its message, says Mr Blank, is that the ills of the world, like homelessness and suffering, can be cured if every individual makes his or her own contribution.

"It deserves to be at the top of the charts and as it's always been popular among fans, it's as if they are saying: 'Let's get it the recognition it deserves.'"

Man In The Mirror was the fourth single from Bad, Jackson's 1987 album, and was written by Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard. It reached number 21 in the singles charts - a respectable position for most artists, but by Jackson's standards a low performer, when other singles from Bad were selling in large numbers.


Siedah Garrett co-wrote the song and later joined the Brand New Heavies
But, at times, the song has reached out to a wider audience. During Celebrity Big Brother 2007, Michael's brother, Jermaine, who was a contestant on the show, confronted housemates about the bullying of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. The following morning, Man In The Mirror was used as an alarm call to wake the house.

A year later, it reappeared in the lower reaches of the charts after X Factor contestant Diana Vickers sang it. And since his death, tributes on television have used clips of Jackson singing it. Madonna's stage tribute to Jackson at her O2 concert also featured its lyrics.

Sorrowful mood

The song's failure in 1988 was a shock at the time, says Yahoo! Music blogger and chart expert James Masterton, but it was something of a throwaway release.

They picked up lyrics from Man In The Mirror as the message Michael Jackson would have wanted to project to the world

Music blogger James Masterton
Not only was it not one of Jackson's own songs, but he was too busy to appear in the video, which instead featured footage of the shootings of the Kennedys, Live Aid and people such as Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa.

So its new-found success is curious, says Masterton, but maybe its relative unfamiliarity has helped to propel it to the upper reaches of the charts.

In the US, where Man In The Mirror was number one first time around, it is Billie Jean that has gripped the imagination since Jackson's death.

But Man In The Mirror is a choice of song that reflects well on the creative thinking of the British public, he says, with masterful production by Quincy Jones that provides the perfect platform for Jackson to show off his voice.


Rolling Stone magazine rated Bad as better than Thriller
And the words of the song have caught the sorrowful mood after his death.

"People wanted to quote his lyrics and sum up how they felt, and they picked up lyrics from Man In The Mirror as the message Michael Jackson would have wanted to project to the world.

"It fits the image that he himself liked to project. You always got the feeling when he was singing as a Lothario figure or as a hard-as-nails gang member fighting for good, that they weren't roles that he could play very well.

"But the peace and love message, that fits the Michael Jackson image better than the other songs he has in his repertoire."

WHO, WHAT, WHY?
A regular part of the BBC News Magazine, Who, What, Why? Aims to answer some of the questions behind the headlines
But while Jackson's other songs of that genre, such as Heal The World and Earth Song, can be rather overblown and saccharine, presenting him as a benevolent, all-knowing being, there is a welcome simplicity about Man In The Mirror.

"This has a more straightforward way of thinking - to change things one step at a time. If you were going to pick a Michael Jackson record with a more realistic way of looking at things, this would be it."

Given Jackson's preoccupation with his appearance, there is an irony in the words:

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror

I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways

But while it's interesting to interpret the words in that way, says Masterton, they would have more resonance if he had written them himself.

Michael only showed up to two rehearsals out of 45 of them.

Countthedays said:

According to whom?

Wow 1 million hits on YouTube already....Damn

I met Michael and he was sweet to me, signed my CD and book and answered a couple of my questions. I also met Janet and Lisa, they were together.

Michael will be sorely missed he was simply a sweet person, almost above human.

LondonStyle said:

Michael Jackson fans across the internet are asking for people to be thoughtful about what they write given that this is a time of grief. I agree, but as I posted earlier there is no need to disrespect any other artist to do that. When you do, it only invites criticism. Trust Michael's legacy to stand on it's own AND show the fans of other artists the respect you are asking for.

Peace and love!

Copycat said:

According to this article...



Singer is missing rehearsals, unable to rise to the challenge




The moment concert organizers AEG Live announced this week that the first dates of Michael Jackson’s This Is It series of live performances had been pushed back some by as much as eight months speculation began that the singer’s health might have had something to do with it. Whereas no one from Jackson’s camp would officially admit this possibility, sources are telling the Daily Mail that Michael has been missing rehearsals because he can’t pull himself together to rise to the challenge.

According to the Mail and a perfectly placed Jackson family source, chances are pretty high that the King will not make it to any of the scheduled performances, since he doesn’t seem able to mentally and physically resist such a challenge. According to the spy, on one hand, there is a singer who is out of shape for the prolonged lack of exercise and the injuries sustained throughout years of performing (a more serious one being the back injury that has often forced him to use a wheelchair). On the other hand, there’s the organizers and a choreographer (Kenny Ortega) who have promised the world to the fans the best live performance ever known to mankind in the hope they will see the day they’ll cash a mouth-watering check.

The reality is somewhere in the middle, the spy says, as quoted by the Mail: Michael Jackson will probably not be able to perform AT ALL this summer, and the fact that he has already postponed the first dates should serve as indication for it. Michael himself seems to know that he’s not ready for an event of such magnitude, says the insider, having attended only 2 rehearsals out of the 45 that took place until now while his dancers work almost around the clock to make everything perfect.

Michael is not able to pick himself up out of the stupor he is in. The suggestion that they need more time to set up the show in London is a joke. I think the fans who have already bought tickets should hold their breath and cross their fingers, because there is no guarantee any of this is actually going to happen. There is a possibility that this will still happen, but it is up to him to get his act together. the insider tells the British tab under the shield of anonymity.

“Michael has only been to two days of rehearsals for the show. His dancers have been working on it every single day for 45 days at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, but Michael has been nowhere to be found. If Michael had been rehearsing on time maybe they would not have had that problem, but Michael has not been to rehearsals. So what is the probability of the next shows being cancelled? High, I would say. Unless Michael starts showing up to rehearsal, this concert tour will never get off the ground. Whether he’ll show up or not is anybody’s guess. the source continues to explain, adding that Jackson’s unpredictability is perhaps the biggest obstacle that must be overcome for This Is It to happen.

As fans must know, the first shows at London’s O2 Arena have been rescheduled as follows: the opening show on July 8 has been moved 5 days later, on July 13; the second (July 10) will take place on March 1, 2010; the third (July 12) has been pushed back to March 3; while the show initially scheduled for July 14 will take place on March 6. For more details on This Is It, keep an eye on this space.

LondonStyle said:

The article fails to mention how hugely popular it was here in the States.

LondonStyle said:

It doesn't matter what you call the move, the fact of the matter is that it was a dance performed by many stage acts from my father's generation long before Michael was even born. It's a bit of a silly argument really, a bit like people from my era who want to argue over who created the Trans Europe Express which a generation before me was known as the Electric Slide. Anyhoo, enjoy a bit of history. Michael is very much a product of the artists that existed long before him and I've always appreciated the purity of his homage to his cultural legacy. He was one of the last public figures in the US preserving classic American dance in mainstream forums, keeping it alive in every dance step he made, pop music nonwithstanding:


[Edited 7/6/09 10:32am]

kalelvisj said:

No disrespect to Elvis, I'm having a go at the media / music press as MJ was married to LMP and she of course loved him, The media need to re-write the book on pop music ...they are very slow to update the history books to show what is true...

NME and RS are just a number who have tried to poo - poo the "The King of Pop" title that is now MJ's forever.

Peace

Ottensen said:

Yes it does, sorry ..The media have tried to conn people into think MJ did not create a new form of dance, but he did ...The moonwalk did not become the Moonwalk until MJ did it ...that's fact ...

I'm not saying MJ created dance, but he did create the "Moonwalk"

Have you the quote from Gene Kelly ...?

R.I.P MJ

Fans collect their tickets to Michael Jackson memorial

LondonStyle said:

Sorry for my misreading of your post.

On an entirely different topic, how messed up is that people are trying to auction tickets to a memorial? If it is MJ fan's doing this, then shame on them. They are bound to know another MJ fan who would love to attend the memorial. If they aren't MJ fans then shame on them in general.

Michael Jackson doll...

kalelvisj said:

-----\
Jeffery invented it and Mike named it. The step seems to have started with James Brown only he was going forward instead of backward and he called it the CamelWalk.

It does not take anything away from Mike as he made it popular and was a great dancer.

Countthedays said:

I knew in advance that Michael would only come in at the last moment for rehearsals. He's been in that habit for years. It's all the same old routines and he's miming anyway so he didn't need to be there for all the earlier rehearsals. This was a job he was doing to clear his debts and he agreed to it only when he had no other options. His goal was to make it as pain-free as possible. Pretty much every prediction I made about the show has proven right, except that Mike died before he could even do one. I expected him to do a few and then cancel.