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Hello everyone. Check out the article "Star Time Dress Code". A nice and funny read.
In other news, there are some reports about Michael Jackson's underwear beeing for sale (you know the ones. From 03) Lets see how long it will take until the media crab a hold on this story. In the meantime, I'm still thrilled about yesterdays news about the fact that his album, "King of Pop", is doing so well in the charts. Imagine if it was all new songs? Think about that for a sec. Number one all over. Yay!!
Mentionings
Star Time Dress Code
They were flat and off key. I expected that. Musically, things aren't what they used to be.
But for a platinum act to take the stage looking as if they'd just traipsed in from McDonald's is just wrong. Call me old fashioned, but sagging jeans and designer sneakers, however coordinated, don't cut it.
If there is something I regret nearly as much as the sad fate of modern black music, it is the state of the black performer's onstage fashion. Even in this age of Keeping It Real, there ought to be a modicum of classic Showtime. Pop star style has gone to the dogs--spelled d-a-w-g-s.
“A real star should always dress like somebody that someone would pay to see," said James Brown--a man who, in his meager professional beginnings, was not above driving his Cadillac, unequipped with air conditioning, with all the windows up in the dead of summer. That Mr. Dynamite couldn't afford factory air was nobody's business.
The King of Soul's antics were a tad extreme perhaps, but the difference between you and I and a real pop star should be some sequin, damn it--something unavailable to the average off-the-rack Joe that is either stunningly elegant, breathtakingly funky or somewhere in between. It's called "show business."
Obviously, with all the branding going on among today's business-savvy performers, there is plenty "business" underway. However, never have so many folk hawking clothing lines been so tackily dressed. In the early '70s concerts of my youth, the music was only half the show. The threads made up the other half.
With bated breath, we waited to see in what outfits the Jackson 5 would take the stage. Shimmering under the lights in white, the Temptations looked ten feet tall.
At R&B concerts, the audience itself would be dressed to the nines: deep purple leisure suits, royal blue floor length coats and hot pink hot pants against skin dark as the night. An entire paycheck might be spent having clothes custom-made. An ensemble would be rescued, finally, from that goods purgatory called layaway, in order to participate in the impromptu fashion show that enviably went down when house lights came up at intermission.
This prideful exhibition wasn't relegated merely to pop music concerts; this was who we used to be. Folks dressed up to travel--by Greyhound; on a Santa Fe train; sitting, clean as the Board of Health, on an airplane for four and a half hours. In Coach. You'd stroll down the ramp into the arms of waiting relatives, weary, but sharp as a tack.
We used to honor the act of Sunday worship by dressing for the occasion. Today, dressing up, like garden-variety manners and respect, is more loosely defined.
Not every performer has forfeited his right and obligation to threaded charisma and panache. Take, for example, a man who, for most of his three decades in the public eye, has known no Casual Fridays: Prince.
Some years ago in Minneapolis, while waiting for the superstar to arrive for an interview at his Paisley Park headquarters, I wandered about the complex until coming upon a room where two seamstresses toiled diligently among a work space of boldly colored fabrics, dramatic sketches and a patient mannequin.
"So THIS is where Prince's costumes are made," I mused aloud. To which one of the women, requisite measuring tape hanging from her neck and peering over reading glasses resting on the bulb of her nose, replied with nonchalance, "We don't use the C word here. Prince dresses like this everyday."
Yep. And Prince is just the way I want my stars to look: rocking the hell out of something most of us wouldn't be caught dead in. He's not supposed to look like us. He is a star.
Then again, in the end, style, no matter who you are, is ultimately a matter of personal taste.
Case in point: One evening in the mid '80s, I was backstage at a San Fernando Valley nightclub where James Brown had just performed, when a bodyguard-flanked Michael Jackson, at the zenith of his superstardom, blew in to pay respects to his idol.
The two icons hugged, after which Mr. Brown, stepping back to admire his most famous student, observed MJ's trademark black high water tuxedo pants and temporarily lost his wide smile. "You need to talk your tailor, Mike," Mr. Brown said, concerned. "He's got you floodin, brother."
Jackson and everyone else in the room immediately burst into raucous laughter. But I think the Godfather was serious.
http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur46900.cfm
People of all colors should vote for Barack Obama
In November, which is only a month and some days ahead from now, is Election Day. On this day, every black man and woman 18 and older should cast their vote. Those who are not registered should go and do so.
Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, even Michael Jackson made history of some kind. But never in all of history, both here and abroad, has there been any black man to impact the people, all people, as Barack Obama has and will have on election night of 2008.
I say this because all television sets will be turned on as millions or billions watch this “new” type of black man make his mark as the first black man ever to become president of the United States of America; a new America that will unite all people, not just the American people, but those of many countries, especially those at war.
I believe that this new change will bring about more jobs, more and new opportunities for all people, better health care benefits, better schools and teachers, better relationships with other countries.
I am not just asking that only the “black” people vote, but that everyone who wishes to be counted and treated as an American citizen vote for Barack Obama.
Election Day will be a day when every man and every woman, no matter how old or what race they are, will witness history being made, for never in my father's time nor my mother's time would they have ever dreamed of such a time to come.
So remember to go out and register those who are not, and everyone go out and vote in November 2008.
http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2008/09/08/opinion/letters/letters02.txt
Dancing About Architecture
It’s a violence on stage special featuring Noel Gallagher, Jay Reatard and Kurt Cobain. Thoughts on the new TV On The Radio album. Sufjan Stevens, Bruce Springsteen, The Flaming Lips and more.
It's with all that in mind that I write that Dear Science might just be the best album I've heard all year. A sprawling affair that sees a band who have always been fearless about dipping their collective toes into a myriad of styles really push themselves into areas that they've not explored before. The preview track "Golden Age" that they put up on their website in mid August hinted a little at Off The Wall era Michael Jackson and the rest of the album shows that that wasn't just a little diversion that allowed the band to have a little experimental fun and throw their fanbase for a loop before they returned to their familiar free jazz and doo wop influenced brand of indie. They've fully embraced the funk on Dear Science and in doing so have come up with an odd mix of danceable riffs and beats set on top of droning, washed out synths.
http://www.411mania.com/music/columns/84827
Jay Sean to Release Brand New Single
Jay Sean is set to release a brand new single and this one's not even on the album. Jay's next single is a straight up club banger that was produced by NYC's J Remy (the man behind "Murder") and Bobby Bass, as well as the UK's Alan Sampson ("Ride It," "Stay" and "Maybe"). J Remy tells us the track was done in the middle of summer as Jay came to him wanting to record something DJs can spin at the clubs.
"It shows a definite progression for Jay. It takes a step towards a more global sound," said Remy. The track features elements of Michael Jackson, and there's actually a funny story behind that. It seems all throughout the making of "My Own Way," Jay wanted to create tracks with a Michael Jackson influence, but J Remy kept warning him not to. And then came this track, to which Remy said, "Okay, here's your Michael Jackson."
Hmm... a brand new single? Does that mean a re-release of "My Own Way" is in the works? We'll find out soon and the track is set to release in a few weeks and we'll have the first listen for you very soon as well!
http://www.desihits.com/blog/article/jay-sean-to-release-brand-new-single-20080908/
AC/DC on the Aria chart
After their first single in approximately 58 years, Rock'n'Roll Train was "leaked" - via excitable fans who offered their finest a cappella versions of the riff, or creating po-mo performance art akin to Borat playing Andy Capp in a teenager's bedroom - anticipation for AC/DC's new record (which has spent a similarly long time coming) Black Ice was, it's safe to say, rating around the "ridiculously" mark on the 'Just How Anticipated Is This Highly Anticipated Release?'-O-Meter. So high, in fact, that its imminent release - plus a bunch of reissues - has sent AC/DC into the record books as being the first band to have six albums in the ARIA Top 50 albums chart at any one time. Take that, ABBA!
Suck on it, Elvis! It's good to see that AC/DC fans remain a discerning lot, too, with the Bon era (i.e. the "real" AC/DC) represented strongly. The band also fill the top two spots in the DVD chart, so now they just need to do a Michael Jackson and rerelease the singles and domination across all media will be assured, and then the machines will inherit the earth. Or something.
http://www.defamer.com.au/2008/09/t...smiles_on_the_aria_chart_well_some_of_it.html
[/center][/center]Today in[/center]
In other news, there are some reports about Michael Jackson's underwear beeing for sale (you know the ones. From 03) Lets see how long it will take until the media crab a hold on this story. In the meantime, I'm still thrilled about yesterdays news about the fact that his album, "King of Pop", is doing so well in the charts. Imagine if it was all new songs? Think about that for a sec. Number one all over. Yay!!
Mentionings
Star Time Dress Code
They were flat and off key. I expected that. Musically, things aren't what they used to be.
But for a platinum act to take the stage looking as if they'd just traipsed in from McDonald's is just wrong. Call me old fashioned, but sagging jeans and designer sneakers, however coordinated, don't cut it.
If there is something I regret nearly as much as the sad fate of modern black music, it is the state of the black performer's onstage fashion. Even in this age of Keeping It Real, there ought to be a modicum of classic Showtime. Pop star style has gone to the dogs--spelled d-a-w-g-s.
“A real star should always dress like somebody that someone would pay to see," said James Brown--a man who, in his meager professional beginnings, was not above driving his Cadillac, unequipped with air conditioning, with all the windows up in the dead of summer. That Mr. Dynamite couldn't afford factory air was nobody's business.
The King of Soul's antics were a tad extreme perhaps, but the difference between you and I and a real pop star should be some sequin, damn it--something unavailable to the average off-the-rack Joe that is either stunningly elegant, breathtakingly funky or somewhere in between. It's called "show business."
Obviously, with all the branding going on among today's business-savvy performers, there is plenty "business" underway. However, never have so many folk hawking clothing lines been so tackily dressed. In the early '70s concerts of my youth, the music was only half the show. The threads made up the other half.
With bated breath, we waited to see in what outfits the Jackson 5 would take the stage. Shimmering under the lights in white, the Temptations looked ten feet tall.
At R&B concerts, the audience itself would be dressed to the nines: deep purple leisure suits, royal blue floor length coats and hot pink hot pants against skin dark as the night. An entire paycheck might be spent having clothes custom-made. An ensemble would be rescued, finally, from that goods purgatory called layaway, in order to participate in the impromptu fashion show that enviably went down when house lights came up at intermission.
This prideful exhibition wasn't relegated merely to pop music concerts; this was who we used to be. Folks dressed up to travel--by Greyhound; on a Santa Fe train; sitting, clean as the Board of Health, on an airplane for four and a half hours. In Coach. You'd stroll down the ramp into the arms of waiting relatives, weary, but sharp as a tack.
We used to honor the act of Sunday worship by dressing for the occasion. Today, dressing up, like garden-variety manners and respect, is more loosely defined.
Not every performer has forfeited his right and obligation to threaded charisma and panache. Take, for example, a man who, for most of his three decades in the public eye, has known no Casual Fridays: Prince.
Some years ago in Minneapolis, while waiting for the superstar to arrive for an interview at his Paisley Park headquarters, I wandered about the complex until coming upon a room where two seamstresses toiled diligently among a work space of boldly colored fabrics, dramatic sketches and a patient mannequin.
"So THIS is where Prince's costumes are made," I mused aloud. To which one of the women, requisite measuring tape hanging from her neck and peering over reading glasses resting on the bulb of her nose, replied with nonchalance, "We don't use the C word here. Prince dresses like this everyday."
Yep. And Prince is just the way I want my stars to look: rocking the hell out of something most of us wouldn't be caught dead in. He's not supposed to look like us. He is a star.
Then again, in the end, style, no matter who you are, is ultimately a matter of personal taste.
Case in point: One evening in the mid '80s, I was backstage at a San Fernando Valley nightclub where James Brown had just performed, when a bodyguard-flanked Michael Jackson, at the zenith of his superstardom, blew in to pay respects to his idol.
The two icons hugged, after which Mr. Brown, stepping back to admire his most famous student, observed MJ's trademark black high water tuxedo pants and temporarily lost his wide smile. "You need to talk your tailor, Mike," Mr. Brown said, concerned. "He's got you floodin, brother."
Jackson and everyone else in the room immediately burst into raucous laughter. But I think the Godfather was serious.
http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur46900.cfm
People of all colors should vote for Barack Obama
In November, which is only a month and some days ahead from now, is Election Day. On this day, every black man and woman 18 and older should cast their vote. Those who are not registered should go and do so.
Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, even Michael Jackson made history of some kind. But never in all of history, both here and abroad, has there been any black man to impact the people, all people, as Barack Obama has and will have on election night of 2008.
I say this because all television sets will be turned on as millions or billions watch this “new” type of black man make his mark as the first black man ever to become president of the United States of America; a new America that will unite all people, not just the American people, but those of many countries, especially those at war.
I believe that this new change will bring about more jobs, more and new opportunities for all people, better health care benefits, better schools and teachers, better relationships with other countries.
I am not just asking that only the “black” people vote, but that everyone who wishes to be counted and treated as an American citizen vote for Barack Obama.
Election Day will be a day when every man and every woman, no matter how old or what race they are, will witness history being made, for never in my father's time nor my mother's time would they have ever dreamed of such a time to come.
So remember to go out and register those who are not, and everyone go out and vote in November 2008.
http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2008/09/08/opinion/letters/letters02.txt
Dancing About Architecture
It’s a violence on stage special featuring Noel Gallagher, Jay Reatard and Kurt Cobain. Thoughts on the new TV On The Radio album. Sufjan Stevens, Bruce Springsteen, The Flaming Lips and more.
It's with all that in mind that I write that Dear Science might just be the best album I've heard all year. A sprawling affair that sees a band who have always been fearless about dipping their collective toes into a myriad of styles really push themselves into areas that they've not explored before. The preview track "Golden Age" that they put up on their website in mid August hinted a little at Off The Wall era Michael Jackson and the rest of the album shows that that wasn't just a little diversion that allowed the band to have a little experimental fun and throw their fanbase for a loop before they returned to their familiar free jazz and doo wop influenced brand of indie. They've fully embraced the funk on Dear Science and in doing so have come up with an odd mix of danceable riffs and beats set on top of droning, washed out synths.
http://www.411mania.com/music/columns/84827
Jay Sean to Release Brand New Single
Jay Sean is set to release a brand new single and this one's not even on the album. Jay's next single is a straight up club banger that was produced by NYC's J Remy (the man behind "Murder") and Bobby Bass, as well as the UK's Alan Sampson ("Ride It," "Stay" and "Maybe"). J Remy tells us the track was done in the middle of summer as Jay came to him wanting to record something DJs can spin at the clubs.
"It shows a definite progression for Jay. It takes a step towards a more global sound," said Remy. The track features elements of Michael Jackson, and there's actually a funny story behind that. It seems all throughout the making of "My Own Way," Jay wanted to create tracks with a Michael Jackson influence, but J Remy kept warning him not to. And then came this track, to which Remy said, "Okay, here's your Michael Jackson."
Hmm... a brand new single? Does that mean a re-release of "My Own Way" is in the works? We'll find out soon and the track is set to release in a few weeks and we'll have the first listen for you very soon as well!
http://www.desihits.com/blog/article/jay-sean-to-release-brand-new-single-20080908/
AC/DC on the Aria chart
After their first single in approximately 58 years, Rock'n'Roll Train was "leaked" - via excitable fans who offered their finest a cappella versions of the riff, or creating po-mo performance art akin to Borat playing Andy Capp in a teenager's bedroom - anticipation for AC/DC's new record (which has spent a similarly long time coming) Black Ice was, it's safe to say, rating around the "ridiculously" mark on the 'Just How Anticipated Is This Highly Anticipated Release?'-O-Meter. So high, in fact, that its imminent release - plus a bunch of reissues - has sent AC/DC into the record books as being the first band to have six albums in the ARIA Top 50 albums chart at any one time. Take that, ABBA!
Suck on it, Elvis! It's good to see that AC/DC fans remain a discerning lot, too, with the Bon era (i.e. the "real" AC/DC) represented strongly. The band also fill the top two spots in the DVD chart, so now they just need to do a Michael Jackson and rerelease the singles and domination across all media will be assured, and then the machines will inherit the earth. Or something.
http://www.defamer.com.au/2008/09/t...smiles_on_the_aria_chart_well_some_of_it.html
[/center][/center]Today in[/center]
Michael Jackson History
1992 - A live performance by Michael Jackson was broadcast via satellite to the ninth annual MTV Video Music Awards. Jackson performed the song "Black and White."
1995 - Michael Jackson's single "You Are Not Alone" hit #1 in the U.
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