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Michael Jackson is Alive (DJ BIS UHALL Set Opener) by djbis
On Friday evening, we all went to church. I say all because U Street Music Hall was jam packed with what looked like people of every size, shape, color, and walk of life. I say church because the sound system at U Street Music Hall lifts the most fantastic of sounds to the level of the phenomenal, and yes, it takes the typical to the level of the seemingly religious. If music is your religion, then Michael Jackson is a patron saint, a deity par excellence, the most beloved of men.
This exceeded all expectations. Michael's music elevates the spirit. Proof of this being during the set of Baltimore's James Nasty, when the sound inexplicably cut out on "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough," and the entire room kept singing. Not only did they keep singing, but they sang loud and long and proud, perfectly content to let their voices serve, even if briefly, as an appropriate memory of the King of Pop.
The event was a success in the media as well. The Washington Post and a plethora of other print, web and television media were in attendance, not even so much for the event, but for the celebratory nature, the wild time, the Thriller dance-off, the ballet like and delicate partner dancing (yes, partner dancing) to MJ, Harry Hotter's set which was largely comprised of reggae and dancehall covers of Michael Jackson hits, and oh so much more. The event was indeed so successful that plans are already in the early stages for MICHAEL JACKSON FOREVER to coincide with his date of birth of August 29th. More info is forthcoming on that event.
HipsterOverkill.com's D Painter, one of the five turntablists that spun at the event, hit upon one of the highlights of the event with his BRAND NEW mashup of Major Lazer's "Pon De Floor" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," "Mama Se, Mama Sa," which proves that Michael Jackson is one of the few artists that when added to something amazing, makes it incredible. Take a listen to this, and please enjoy!
3 Michael Jackson vs. Major Lazer - Mama Say Mama Sa (D Painter Mash-Up) (130bpm) by D. Painter
A special thanks to DJ Bis, James Nasty, D Painter, Harry Hotter, Chris Nitti, U Street Music Hall, and everyone in attendance. Michael Jackson is absolutely still alive, and furthermore, will live in our hearts forever!
Posted by Marcus Dowling
http://www.tgrionline.com/2010/06/michael-jackson-is-still-alive-epilogue.html
IN MEMORIAM: MICHAEL JACKSON - TGRIOnline.com's 2009 Artist of the Year
Reprinted from TGRIOnline.com, October 28, 2009.
2009 ARTIST OF THE YEAR: MICHAEL JACKSON
Other Nominees: Lady Gaga, Drake, David Guetta
When you really sit down and think about it, anyone who records music after Michael Jackson died is going to encounter having to be a cheap facsimile of the King of Pop. In dying, Michael Jackson gave music so much life. By opening eyes again to the wonder of his creative and performing genius, I tend to believe the whole world improved. The sad fact of 2009 is that it was the saddest year in the history of music. It wasn't all about the day the music died, it was about the days that music KEPT dying. Whether it be DJ AM, Mr. Magic, the Death Set's Beau Velasco, Les Paul, DJ Roc Raida, and so, so, so, so, so many more, these have been trying times. However, when Michael Jackson passed on June 25th, it was easily one of the darkest moments in the history of the universe.
It was a big year for a lot of people. Lady Gaga has captured the universe's imagination in a manner not seen since Madonna, as her obtuse fashion sense, lurid public displays and home run hitter of a debut album have turned the world on its ear. Canadian Drake went from being a popular supporting actor on "Degrassi High," to being the lead act as a lovestruck, passionate rhyming lothario whose "Best I Ever Had" may have been the best we heard all year. David Guetta? Well, he provided a great synthesis of popular dance music as the soundtrack of 2009, be it the Black Eyed Peas coronation as middle America's favorite faux hipsters "I Gotta Feeling," or pretty much anything from his One Love mainstream electro masterpiece.
But let's be honest. In the week after Michael Jackson died, his entire musical catalog occupied the top list of iTunes top downloads. His albums sales spiked in a generation where people are more concerned with buying produce than recorded productions on CD. His music videos played on MTV for an entire week, in a time where MTV eschews any knowledge of the "music television" moniker, and instead is a slickly produced lifestyle brand. Most recently, his "This is It" concert biopic has become easily what will be the top grossing film of the decade, even in an economic recession.
Michael Jackson was the soundtrack of a universe for literally seven days. And nobody bitched, moaned, whined or caterwauled. We stopped, dutifully noted the genius of a man, and genuflected. In a time where the universe happens in nanoseconds, everyone slowed down and paid respect or hours and days, feeling no issue with remaining unmoved. Michael Jackson literally stopped the world. When BILLIONS of people all attest to not just being your fan, but regarding what you did through your artistry making you a familiar and beloved voice, a friend, even, you're the best to ever do it.
"They Don't Really Care About Us" has the hottest drums I've heard anywhere all year. "Butterflies" is the best ballad I heard in this calendar year. "Beat It" is the best rock song. "Dancing Machine" is still one of the hottest breaks ever, and I want to meet someone that can doubt the hip hop authenticity of MJ doing the robot. Michael Jackson singing "Ben," "Got to Be There," "Rockin' Robin," or any Jackson 5 number makes him the most irrepressible teen pop icon of all time, as I don't care how hard Miley Cyrus "Parties in the USA," she's still a pubescent hot mess when compared to the king.
Michael Jackson is 2009's Artist of the Year. In all reality, that's a slap in the face to the man, and he's the greatest to ever record music. In final, something to ponder. Kanye West, in the face of mounting public questioning and angst over his behavior, has completely imploded. At every turn, Michael Jackson, when faced with increased public scrutiny and ire, succeeded, and succeeded mightily. It's a nod to the talent, strength, dignity and unerring vision of a better universe through music that Michael Jackson adhered, that makes him truly THE. BEST. EVER.
We will always miss you.
Posted by Marcus Dowling
http://www.tgrionline.com/2010/06/in-memoriam-michael-jackson_25.html
IN MEMORIAM: MICHAEL JACKSON
Reprinted from TGRIOnline.com, June 26, 2009
I've always had the feeling that Michael Jackson had no other option in life but to be Michael Jackson. That's a lot of why he was the best to ever do this. I'd say he was Jackie Wilson meets James Brown and a whole slew of other artists, but that'd be so trite and unfair. Fuck. Michael Jackson is dead. And with that, a part of our collective musical consciousness is a memory. There's a vitality inherent in the presumption of immortality. In death, we lose that, and we find the human. My greatest wish is that in remembering the human, we don't lose the nature of just how amazing the man was. His dream in youth to be the greatest singer and dancer that ever lived, and to positively touch the lives of every single person that ever heard his music, is just like any other child's dream, to be President, or, as our parents all teach us, to dream big, dream impossible, and make those dreams come true. But Mike had these dreams at three and four, and by by five he was already doing it, already attempting to make dreams realities. There's something full of naivete there, something so human there, something so accessible there, something for us ALL to love there as well, and we did.
Michael gave his life to music, and in devoting the entirety of his being to being the ULTIMATE, lies a tragic flaw. We all get a bit older, get a bit slower, get a bit worn, but that was not supposed to be Michael. Michael, through his aspiration, became timeless, became an epic representation of something meant to create emotion: music. Michael Jackson died while once again, at the age of 50, preparing to make time stand still, doing it harder and better than anyone, a 50 show concert tour, which at any age is daunting, but at 50, given his particular expectation, would have been simply incredible. His motivation, be it financial salvation or a youthful pondering of whether he still had "it" be damned, we ALL hoped that these concerts would go off okay. Even if not for the advancement of his greatness, but just to make sure that the best we ever had was still in good health and good spirits after an amazingly tumultuous number of years.
We have never and will never see another Michael Jackson because, when the man is at the height of his ability, and can be produced and recorded by those at the heights of their abilities, the results are timeless. I can list the songs, but I'd miss one and the universe would be angry. I'm sure we've all heard every song Michael ever performed over the last 12 hours. Five number one albums and thirteen number one singles. And the B sides and hidden album cuts we all know and love and hold dear. The man lived a life where he worked with Gamble and Huff, Quincy Jones, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Teddy Riley. He's sang on stage with Pavarotti and had Jay-Z lay down 16 bars on "You Rock My World." And, amazingly, after discussing ALL of that, I've touched a tenth of his career. In working and learning from and emulating ALL of the greats, Michael Jackson existed as a sheer musical marvel. Michael Jackson is a standard and brand of excellence that in aiming for, artists of the present and future can achieve greatness just in the attempt to mirror him.
Through the music, Michael Jackson made a difference. In his youthful demeanor, and sheer hope upon all hopes in the world, Michael created change. He was a life changer. A WORLD changer. He single handedly changed the face of pop radio and MTV by being black and having widespread appeal and undeniable talent. By merely being better than everyone else, he knocked a hole in the terrifying edifice of racism that so so so many have walked through in so many walks of life. He had the power, through his career to do daily what people hope to do once in a lifetime. He's shaken hands and had conversations with so many people of power, so many people of influence who were likely prouder to meet him than he was to meet them. When your goal is to be the best, you go into life fully expecting this to be the nature of what you do. And he did this all dutifully, as if with each legendary tune, at a certain point, knowing that he was solidifying his ability to literally be a world beater.
And there's his final tragic flaws. Life and love. Michael Jackson lived on the same planet with us, but due to the intense stress of literally being the greatest and most influential man to ever create sound, he mortgaged his life, and mortgaged the ability to learn how to love himself and love others. You can't love yourself when you become the forefront of public opinion at eight years old. Eight! We all know how damaging it is as a child to be told you're ugly and are no good. Now imagine likely hearing this from not your child peers, but from adults! Many humans are cynical, jealous and hateful people. The pain and stigma from that certainly seems tremendous. Now extrapolate that over forty-two years of striving and winning despite that, and as the woes increase, still attempting to just do what you know, and in the process grow, mature, and learn, having never been adequately provided the tools to do. His legendary odd behavior (we all know all the stories and cases, no need to rehash them in this space), well, if not a reaction in attempting to fight his own life and gain the ability to love, to create something "normal," to have an other from his very public, full time persona, well that makes sense. It may sound crazy, but in holding Michael Jackson to the same rules, laws and regulations as say, Marcus Dowling, well, that's just a recipe for danger. Nobody has ever lived this life and existed in this manner before. There are no rules for this. Crazy, but upon further review, true.
Michael Jackson is no longer amongst us in the living. But remember his exalted life. Remember his sheer mastery of music. Remember his hopes and dreams. No matter how you feel, the man had an impact and made an ultimate sacrifice and difference. Long live the King.
Posted by Marcus Dowling
http://www.tgrionline.com/2010/06/in-memoriam-michael-jackson.html
