Say what?

While reading the Washington Post today I saw a column in the A Section by columnist Jonathan Capehart.  The column was about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s neice Alveda King who participated in last Saturday’s Restoring America rally in D.C.  Jonathan started the column by talking about how some famous families have family members who embarrass the family name.

Every famous family has a member or three who do things that leave you in “oh no (s)he didn’t” disbelief. Usually it’s the Jackson family (Michael, not Jesse). Hello? Rebbie? LaToya? Jermaine? But they’re not in the cross hairs today. That honor goes to the King family (Rev. Dr. Martin, not Rodney). King’s niece, Alveda King, showed up at Glenn Beck’s “Restoring America” rally to frequently invoke the “I have a dream” speech that her “Uncle Martin” immortalized on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial 47 years earlier to the day.

I know I should have been paying attention to the entire article but the part where he states Hello? Rebbie? I’m like say what?  Why in the hell is Jonathan Capehart mentioning Rebbie Jackson in an article as someone who has embarrassed her late brother Michael Jackson and the Jackson family.

LaToya, yes.  Jermaine, yes.  But Rebbie? In all the years I have been a Michael Jackson/Jackson 5/The Jacksons fan (and that goes wayyyyyyyy back in the day) I don’t ever remember hearing anything bad about Rebbie or saying she did what?  We all know LaToya has had her fair share of crazy situations and Jermaine has had his moments too.  But Rebbie?  What is Jonathan Capehart smoking?

Rebbie Jackson married at 18, moved to Kentucky with her husband and raised 3 children.  Yes she had a singing career and Michael even produced 2 of her albums including her most successful album Centipede.  But pulling any type of embarrassing stunt or being a famewhore?  I don’t think so Jonathan.

Happy 52nd birthday Michael Jackson

Today would have been Michael Jackson’s 52nd birthday.

He was born on this day in 1958.  It’s been a year and two months since he passed away but his musical legacy continues.

Check out I Can’t Help It from my favorite MJ solo cd Off The Wall.

If you looking for a really nice Michael Jackson compliation cd check out Michael Jackson King of Pop: The Deluxe UK Edition.

The cd set contains hits from all of Michael’s solo cds starting with Off The Wall. It also contains some unreleased songs and extended dance mix 12 inch versions of some of his hits.

New Michael Jackson music

The late Michael Jackson wrote a lot of songs back in the day. But many of those songs were never released. Well according to CNN.com a new cd containing some of those unreleased songs is scheduled to be released in November.

Michael Jackson’s forgotten music out in November
By Alan Duke, CNN

Los Angeles, California (CNN) — Songs that didn’t make the cut on Michael Jackson albums while he was alive and some forgotten recordings left behind on computer hard drives will be on an album released this fall, sources familiar with the project say.

Jackie Jackson, one of the singer’s older brothers, has been working in a studio to help prepare the album, which will include 10 previously unheard songs, according to Jackson estate spokesman Jim Bates.

Jackson’s estate and Sony Music announced in March that his next album of unreleased music will go on sale in November.

Music producer Rodney Jerkins, who co-produced Jackson’s 2001 album “Invincible,” has been working with Sony to put together the new album, a source familiar with the project said. The source asked not to be identified because he was not authorized by the record label to disclose details.

I hope this cd receives better promotion from Sony than Invincible did.

Invincible is a great cd, yet it didn’t sell as well as Michael’s previous cds/albums due to lack of promotion from Sony.

Anyway I’m looking forward to buying it.  I would love for his executors to release the full/extended version of The Lady In My Life.   Seems like every song from Thriller was released as a single except for The Lady In My Life which was my favorite song from Thriller.

TGIF!!!

TGIF!!!  Yes indeed it’s Friday and it feels so good.

I haven’t been here in a while   Guess I haven’t had that blogging feeling in the past few months.  Anyway I’ve been suffering from the severe summer heat and humidity that we’ve been having around here.  It’s been horrible the past few days.  We’re talking 100 degrees.  This is not my kind of weather   Where is fall when you need it?

Today isn’t as bad compared to the past few days though.   But it’s still too hot for me.  Anything over 80 degrees is too hot for me, lol.  Around here summer started back in late May/early June before the official start date of summer.  That figures.  Add the usual Washington, D.C. area humidity and you might as well fry an egg on the sidewalk.

Interesting stuff going on while I’ve been on my blogging break.  Congrats to Serena and Rafa on winning their Wimbledon tennis titles last weekend.  Back in June it was the one year anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death.  Still can’t believe he’s gone.  I noticed the media is trying to turn one of the ten Russian spies into a media celebrity.  Why am I not surprised?  Even though she along with the others are being sent back to Russia don’t be surprised if Anna Chapman shows up on the cover of some American fashion magazine

Of course the usual crime stories continue in the D.C. metro area.  One of the saddest was the murder of Maryland State Trooper Wesley Brown.  Back in June Trooper Brown, who was off duty and working part-time as a security guard, was gunned down in front of Applebee’s Restaurant after he escorted an unruly and nonpaying customer. The unruly patron left the restaurant and returned about 30 minutes later and gunned down Trooper Brown in the Applebee’s parking lot.  The thug, Cyril Cornelius Williams, along with a friend of his who gave him the gun were later arrested and charged with first degree murder. The murdering thug Williams has a long history of drug convictions and was on parole at the time of the murder.  I hope they go for the death penalty in this case but knowing the state of Maryland they will probably get life without parole.  If this had happened in neighboring Virginia those two fools would be kissing their lives goodbye.

You can read more about the late Trooper Wesley Brown and those who knew him here at the Washington Post.

Michael Jackson’s This Is It

I saw Michael Jackson’s This Is It a couple of Saturdays ago (October 31st).  I loved it.

For a 50 year old man Michael still had the moves. Seemed like the young dancers were trying to keep up with him.  I saw the film during a morning matinee.  It wasn’t sold out but the theater sure was jam packed with folks.  I spent a lot of time tapping my feet and bobbing my head to the music.  The entire movie was excellent but several performances that stood out for me include Earth Song, They Don’t Really Care About Us and Billie Jean.  After the last scene I didn’t leave my seat until the movie screen faded to black.  I sat there as the credits rolled so I woudn’t miss anything, lol.

I pre-ordered the dvd before I saw the movie and I’m glad I did.  I can’t wait for the dvd to be released.  This Is It grossed over $100 million worldwide during the weekend I saw it including over $65 million overseas where Michael still had a strong fanbase compared to here in the U.S.  This Is It was originally scheduled for a two week run but has been extended through the Thanksgiving holiday.  If you’re a MJ fan I highly recommend this film.

Michael Jackson: Before He Was King

A couple of months ago I mentioned a new photography book coming out by Todd Gray titled Michael Jackson: Before He Was King.

I pre-ordered the book through Amazon.com. Well early this morning my book arrived via a special courier (according to Amazon.com).  Since today is the Columbus Day holiday I was home when the courier arrived.

I just finished looking through the book for a second time and I love it. The majority of the book contains pictures of Michael but their are also pictures of his brothers and their fans.

Mr. Gray posted a comment in my blog when I mentioned the book in August. You can check out his comment in my post titled Michael Jackson News Part 2. Mr. Gray, if you’re reading this just wanted to let you know you did a great job on this book. The picture of you waking Michael up is priceless. And I saw the picture of you getting payback from Michael days later

Butterflies

Now you know I have to post a Michael Jackson video up in here   I was listening to his Invincible cd today at work.

Butterflies is one of my favorite songs on the cd.

Michael Jackson is finally laid to rest

Michael Jackson was laid to rest last Thursday evening at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in Glendale, CA. The private funeral was attended by 200 family members and close friends.

Michael Jackson is laid to rest

On a hot evening at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, friends and family say farewell to the pop singer.

By Carla Hall and Chris Lee

In a tree-lined clearing of Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in Glendale, about 200 of Michael Jackson’s family and friends gathered for the final leg of the pop singer’s odyssey from death to interment on a hot Thursday evening exactly 10 weeks after he was found dead.

The service, scheduled for sunset, became a nighttime gathering as guests awaited the late arrival of Jackson’s family. They were ferried through the park’s towering gates in a fleet of luxury cars and took their places in the front row of white folding chairs.

The Jackson brothers, in black suits and red ties, filed past a portrait of Michael, a confident smile on his face. His children made their way to their seats. A bespectacled Paris Jackson, his young daughter, wearing a dark dress and her long hair pulled back in a ponytail, watched soberly.

Jackson’s children placed a crown on their father’s coffin — a nod to his moniker, the King of Pop. Gladys Knight sang the gospel hymn “His Eye is on the Sparrow” and songwriter Clifton Davis sang a tune he penned for the Jackson 5 that became one of their signature songs — “Never Can Say Goodbye.”

Check out the entire article here.

They claimed that the funeral was gonna be private yet CNN had coverage of folks arriving at the funeral. The feed was eventually cut off before the funeral started.

Speaking of CNN, I found a transcript for LKL (Larry King Live) from Thursday’s show. Larry interviewed one of Michael’s long time friends Steve Manning.  Steve is featured in Ebony Magazine’s September 2009 issue with Michael on the cover.  According to Ebony Magazine Steve started out in 1970 as president of the Jackson 5 fan club and later became the group’s publicist at Epic Records.  The Jackson family consider him a member of the family and Michael called him “brother.”

Larry asked Steve if he will be writing a book about Michael and Steve said yes:

KING: Are you going to write a book about him?

MANNING: Yes, I am, Larry. Yes.

KING: What angle?

MANNING: Well, the people don’t know him. I mean they’ve never — the real Michael Jackson — the Michael Jackson nobody knows. He was very misunderstood. He felt that people didn’t understand him. I’ve known him for 40 years.

KING: What was his biggest weakness?

MANNING: Being kind, being trusting to you…

KING: Too kind?

MANNING: Yes. Absolutely, yes. And I’ll tell you something, he also often wondered, he just had a great faith. That song there was influenced by Mahalia Jackson (ph), the late Robert Johnson and Bob Johnson — I mean, the Johnson publication people…

If there is anyone who knows the real Michael Jackson it’s probably Steve Manning. That should be one interesting book if he does write one.

RIP Michael.

Happy 51st birthday Michael Jackson

On June 25, 2009 Michael Jackson passed away. I can’t believe that two months have passed already. Today would have been his 51st birthday.

Michael isn’t with us anymore but his music will always be here for all his fans to remember. Being a long time fan of Michael’s as well as the Jackson 5/The Jacksons, his death was like losing a family member. I collected alot of Jackson 5/The Jacksons and Michael Jackson music since the 70′s. I still own the albums and recently bought some cd’s of those same albums.

As the years went by my music taste expanded and I found myself not listening to Michael’s music as much as I use to, especially in the past 10 years. And there comes a time when you get tired of seeing someone you grew up with, had a huge crush on as a pre-teen and teenager and loved musically getting bashed by the media on a regular basis.

But it was Michael’s death that brought me back to his music. His music along with The Jackson5/The Jacksons has been the only music I’ve been listening to since June 25. It’s been great getting the chance to listen all over again to my all time favorite Michael Jackson cd Off The Wall. I own the album and cd.  My favorite adult Michael solo cds in order are:

• Off The Wall
• Dangerous
• Invincible
• Thriller
• History: Past, Present and Future Book I
• Bad
• Blood on the Dance Floor

When it comes to the Jackson 5/The Jacksons my favorite albums/cds are:

• Triumph
• Dancing Machine
• The Jacksons
• Destiny

When it comes to Michael Jackson songs from his various solo cds it’s difficult to pick just one favorite.  I have many favorites. They include include:

• One Day In Your Life
• We’re Almost There
• Billie Jean
• Stranger In Moscow
• Man in the Mirror
• The Lady in My Life
• Rock With You
• In The Closet
• Why You Wanna Trip On Me
• Remember The Time
• Is It Scary
• Break Of Dawn
• Butterflies
• Whatever Happens
• Earth Song
• Will You Be There
• Get On The Floor

Speaking of songs the first song that Michael wrote and got published was Blues Away from The Jacksons cd.

The Jacksons was the first cd for the Jackson brothers under the CBS/Philadelphia International label after they left Motown. It was released in 1976. Yes, I bought that album when it was released back then and I just recently bought the cd.  Some of the highlights from the album/cd include  Enjoy Yourself, Show You The Way To Go, Dreamer, Good Times and of course Blues Away, which has always been a favorite of mine.

Happy birthday MJ and RIP.

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Michael Jackson’s death: County coroner’s official announcement

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office has made the official announcement that Michael Jackson’s death has been ruled a homicide and said he died of “acute propofol intoxication.”

Michael Jackson’s death was a homicide, coroner rules

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — The Los Angeles County coroner has ruled that Michael Jackson’s death was a homicide involving a combination of drugs.

“The drugs propofol and lorazepam were found to be the primary drugs responsible for Mr. Jackson’s death,” said a news release issued Friday by the coroner. “Other drugs detected were: midazolam, diazepam, lidocaine and ephedrine.”

The release said Jackson died from “acute propofol intoxication,” but said “other conditions contributing to death: benzodiazepine effect.”

Lorazepam, midazolam and diazepam are benzodiazepines.

A lawyer for Jackson’s personal physician criticized the coroner for releasing only a brief summary of his findings, saying it contained “nothing new” and had “all the earmarks of police gamesmanship.”

Michael Jackson’s family issued a statement in reaction: “The Jackson family again wishes to commend the actions of the Coroner, the LAPD and other law enforcement agencies, and looks forward to the day that justice can be served.”

Federal and state agencies also have launched independent investigations into “matters uncovered” by Los Angeles police while looking into Jackson’s death, authorities said.

Damn that’s alot of drugs. One on top of another. Dr. Murray can kiss his medical career goodbye.

While Dr. Murray has Michael’s death on his hands I still wish Michael had sought help in other ways besides drugs to solve his insomnia.  With all the money he had, there had to be some place he could have gone to seek help. You wonder if there was a close friend or confidante (who wasn’t in the medical field) that he could have talked to about his insomina and pain killer addiction.