Michael Jackson- Promoter Statement. Official Ticketmaster Site

Here's some info on future ticket refund for the "This Is It" Michael Jackson concerts that were scheduled for London, England's O2 Arena next month, for those of you who jumped on tickets to what would have surely been phenomenal shows.

Michael Jackson- Promoter Statement. Official Ticketmaster Site

Been continuing to rock out to MJ at various points all throughout this weekend. Here are some more 90's joints from Mike's catalogue, starting with the 1995 R. Kelly-penned ballad "You Are Not Alone" from the album HIStory (featuring ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley!):



"They Don't Care About Us" is another single from the HIStory record that generated some controversy over allegedly antisemitic lyrics contained in the virulent social commentary song, prompting rancor from critics and Jewish community leaders, including film director and friend Steven Spielberg. The lyrics were later edited after a public apology by Jackson.

The song is accompanied by two videos by director Spike Lee: one based in the favela of Salvador Bahia, near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the other set in a prison. Spike Lee and Jackson faced opposition from the Brazilian government in preparation to shoot the video, charging that the singer was exploiting their poor and projecting an image of Brazil's seeming social failings would be bad for tourism. They eventually shot the video and were warmly and enthusiastically welcomed by the community that lived there. I think that the video is an earthy and defiant slice of life and an uncommonly down-to-earth appearance by MJ...in jeans, no less:





I really like both these videos. I think they are strong collaborations between Lee and Jackson. They really focus Jackson's righteous indignation in the song into very authentic and artful visuals reminiscent of the insurgence of Lee's earlier films, especially 1989's "Do The Right Thing."


The 1997 Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix album is an interesting musical re-discovery in the midst of the hoopla surrounding Jackson's death. A collection of remixes of the then-new Disc Two songs from the 1995 double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, it's a fascinatingly dark and funky carnival ride through Jackson's paranoia about media scrutiny and the perils of being a crazy-talented dancing machine:




"Ghosts" is a weird little morsel from the same album. WARNING: This is almost for Michael Jackson mega-fans and 90's completists only. It is, in its entirety, an almost forty-minute long music video that tells the story (co-written by Jackson with Stephen King) of a character called "The Maestro" who is chased out of town by angry residents, illustrating how Jackson felt in the wake of child sexual abuse charges he incurred in 1993. It is the longest music video ever produced to date, and was directed by Hollywood special effects/makeup wizard Stan Winston, who himself passed away June of last year.

This is something I didn't really get to the first time around in the 90's, so this is pretty interesting now...here's a shorter version:



The choreography at the beginning of this is actually pretty badass, despite all the creepy tomfoolery with the harlequins later on.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson, King of Pop, 1958 - 2009

MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON, 1958-2009

Man, I have totally been avoiding this post like a muthafunka since I heard the news yesterday afternoon. I'm so mad at the world that I can't get in to see his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and discarded disrespectful signs calling people who visit the other MJ star "morons" because it's the wrong star, as if this guy doesn't understand why they're leaving memorials there (same name, guys). This thing is crazy.

Michael Jackson's story is so prolific and filled with incredible innovation and artistry, as well as stomach-wrenching lows, that it's almost too much to cover in a blog post, and anyway, we all know the story at this point:

Gary, Indiana. Poppa Joe Jackson and his brood. The Jackson 5. Michael goes solo. Michael goes solo in a BIG way with the 1982 Thriller album. Awesome John Landis-directed video. Motown 25 and the moonwalk. Hair-raising Pepsi commercial. Paul McCartney and the Beatles catalogue. "We Are The World." Bubbles. Neverland Ranch. Bad. Awesome Martin Scorsese-directed video. "Black or White" with Macauley, and Michael smashing up a perfectly good car. Superbowl XXVII. Lisa Marie Presley. Child molestation allegations. HIStory. Deborah Rowe. Prince Michael I. Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. Prince Michael II (Blanket). More child sexual abuse allegations. The trial. Mounting debt. Neverland Ranch auction. 50 sold-out "comeback" concerts in London, England. Jackson suffers cardiac arrest and dies at age 50 in Los Angeles, California on June 25, 2009.

Since Damn The Man is focused on 90's pop culture, I'd like to zoom in on Michael Jackson's 90's output, which, while not as momentous and earthshaking as his 70's and 80's work, is of just as high quality. I love not only his work, but work by other 90's artists inspired by Michael Jackson's awesome ebullience and generosity in his music and stage performance. I miss the guy like crazy, and it probably goes without saying you miss him too.


First video up is his single "Remember The Time" from his 1991 album Dangerous:



MJ performs with Slash (former guitarist of rock juggernauts Guns 'N'Roses) on his hit single "Black or White," also off of the Dangerous album:



Here is the full official (though not original uncut) music video for "Black and White," including the controversial second half. This video debuted in its entirety on FOX and MTV on November 14, 1991, and the latter "panther" half of the video was so divisive that it was subsequently deleted so that it was able to air on MTV regularly. This version here also lacks the "violent" smashing of car windows by Jackson that caused much of the controversy.




"In The Closet" is a song from the 1991 Dangerous album co-written by the R&B singer/musician/producer Teddy Riley (Guy, Blackstreet), and it's underrated and great, in my opinion. It was originally conceived as a duet between Jackson and Madonna, but their collaboration on the song came to an end due to creative differences. The beautiful video features 90's supermodel Naomi Campbell and was directed by incredible fashion photographer Herb Ritts, who made both Campbell and Jackson look like glowing gods of the Mexican ghost town, if I do say so myself:




Michael Jackson's 1995 single "Scream" from the double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I is a collaboration with his sister Janet Jackson, and is notable for its very 90's, very expensive video directed by visionary and Satellite Films director Mark Romanek, at that point sought-after in the music video world for his dark, intense videos such as Nine Inch Nails' "Closer" and Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way."

"Scream" was and still remains one of the most expensive videos in music video history, with a budget of approximately $7 million. Here is an interview that Entertainment Weekly conducted with Mark Romanek about his memories of making this amazing video and working with Michael.

Please enjoy the video:




Here are a couple of special 90's treats associated with MJ that I just love. First up is the 1993 number-one hit single "Right Here/Human Nature" by R&B group SWV. It stayed at the top position on the Billboard R&B chart for ten weeks, making it the longest run at number one of any R&B single in 1993. It samples Michael Jackson's 1983 single "Human Nature" from his blockbuster album, Thriller, which was co-written by Steve Porcaro of popular 80's band, Toto (I love the song "Africa" with a passion).

SWV is one of my favorite R&B groups from the 90's and I absolutely adore this song, both versions. The video for the SWV track is lovely as well, featuring the band looking quite pretty with their own hair (no lace fronts) and riding pants with white shirts. This song in all forms is a breath of fresh air, which is why I'm including a clip of MJ busting it on his 1987 Bad tour after the SWV clip:






The second thing I wanted to throw at you is one of my very favorite movie scenes ever, which came to my mind when thinking about the joy that MJ's music brought to so many different people. The wonderful 2006 film "Clerks 2," directed by Kevin Smith as a kind of sequel to his cult hit 1994 film "Clerks," contains a lovely scene in which his main character Dante finally realizes that he has fallen in love with his boss/friend Becky to the tune of The Jackson Five's 1970 number-one hit single, "ABC." It is as simple and heartwarming as that sounds:



I could go on and on, but the only thing left to say is Michael, we miss you.

Show Tonight! Swing Out Sister at B.B. King's, NY, NY

SWING OUT SISTER - B.B. KING BLUES CLUB & GRILL - JUNE 8, 2009

80's & 90's Euro-pop sensations Swing Out Sister (singer Corinne Drewery and keyboardist Andy Connell) perform tonight in support of their 2008 album "Beautiful Mess" at B.B. King's in NYC. If you are on the East Coast and in a dancing kind of mood, do me a favor and check this out. I am incredibly jealous of you.

Being naturally drawn to loud, gritty, hate-and-frustration-driven music, it is somewhat incongruous that I would love a sophisticated, jazzy band like Swing Out Sister, but deep in my heart, I am a dancing queen, and there is nothing like a clean, bouncy pop track to purge the need to shake that thing. Swing Out Sister's exuberant songs, especially their 1986 breakthrough single "Breakout" and 1992's cover of the 1969 Barbara Acklin soul classic "Am I The Same Girl?," are a great pick-me-up when life gets you down. These songs live on my top-down convertible mixes in my car!

And now for some interesting videos:



Swing Out Sister - "Breakout" (Live 1989 The Prince's Trust Rock in Concert - National Exhibition Centre Birmingham, UK - July 18th and 19th)



Swing Out Sister - "Am I The Same Girl?" (Live 1993 at The Jazz Cafe)

Upcoming Show: The Posies perform Frosting On The Beater at The Gramercy Theater, New York, NY - June 13, 2009

THE POSIES - THE GRAMERCY THEATER, NY, NY - JUNE 13, 2009

If you happen to be in NYC in June and are at all a fan of Damn The Man, then you will probably be at this most momentous of 90's shows.

Bellingham, WA band The Posies make me want to cry because they represent the 90's in a lot of ways for me. For some reason, dreamy guitar fuzz pop is not popular with the kids and their iPods these days. Their 1993 album, "Frosting on the Beater" is a triumph of said fuzzy guitar pop, and will be performed in its entirety by the full band, including, of course, co-founders and main songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow.

Here's where you can purchase tickets if that is your wont to do so.

"Flavor of the Month" was their big hit single off "Frosting," but "Dream All Day" is one of the finest songs of the 90's, bar none. Check out some Posies videos that will illustrate what I mean:

The Posies - Dream All Day
Uploaded by UniversalMusicGroup - Explore other music videos.

The Posies - "Dream All Day"



The Posies - "Flavor of the Month"

Baby I Love Your Way: The Flaming Lips - Borderline

THE FLAMING LIPS - BORDERLINE

One of the things I love most in life is bands covering other band's songs. It's the thrill of the "what if?" So, clearly, the next plateau of this is when 90's bands cover 80's songs.

Please enjoy Damn The Man favorite Flaming Lips cover of pop queen Madonna's 1984 classic single "Borderline," from her debut self-titled album, with their friends from the bands Stardeath and White Dwarves...it hurts me more than it hurts you that I have to send you here to see it. Embed code no worky for me.

Soundtrack of Your Life: Nick Heyward - "Kite"

NICK HEYWARD - "KITE" from his 1993 album "From Monday to Sunday"

My Mom is the best. Like I mentioned in my last post, she has just sent me a box full of 90's love, in the form of old cassette tapes that I thankfully saved from The Great Cassette Purge awhile back, and among them are several 90's vintage mixes made straight from the radio (the late WDRE was my lifeline back in the day when their format was still called "modern rock"). My day brightened, especially when Nick Heyward's "Kite" made an appearance.

I miss this kind of radio pop in a bad way. I grew up in the 80's listening to my Mom play "45's of bands and singer-songwriters like Crowded House, Suzanne Vega, The Pretenders and Joan Armatrading, and in the 90's, NYC radio station WDRE played crystalline modern rock in the vein of Squeeze, The Smithereens, Michael Penn and this cat, Nick Heyward. The observant among you will notice the 80's-90's crossover: this is my favorite phenomenon ever when it comes to the 90's. 80's pop stars often scrambled to find their way in a newly revamped musical climate back then, to differing degrees of success. Nick Heyward, who initially found fame in the 80's with Haircut 100, was the model of how to update your style with style, IMHO.

I just love the stunning structure and literate nature of the lyrics of this song. It kind of merrily bounces along like a little bumblebee, from flower to flower. Nick Heyward's lovely, lush vocals are also a big part of the fun with "Kite." It's just refreshing to hear a song from a singer-songwriter that isn't a self-absorbed, navel-gazing mess, but a crisp, bright, skipping-barefoot-in-the-grass pleasure.

Enjoy:



Here is a video of Haircut 100's hit single "Love Plus One" from their 1982 album, "Pelican West":