Tag Archive for Michael Jackson

The Good

New MGMT album inspired by Lady Gaga, Kanye

MGMT

After the wild success of their debut album, Oracular Spectacular, MGMT has turned to new sources of inspiration for their upcoming follow-up, Congratulations. In an interview with Spin.com, Andrew VanWyngarden cites Lady Gaga, Kanye West and surfing as influences for the duo’s new material. The fame that followed Oracular Spectacular turned Van Wyngarden and Ben Goldwasser into “the people we were making fun of.” With Gaga and Kanye serving as a double-headed muse, will MGMT now turn into the people the rest of us make fun of ?

Sade releases first album in 10 years

Sade: Soldier of Love

This week Sade released Soldier of Love, her first studio album since 2000’s Lover’s Rock. Already the LP has hit the Number 1 spot in the iTunes digital store. Has the singer’s soothing coo richened with age? Click here to find out.

The Bad

Michael Jackson’s doctor formally charged

Dr. Murray

Dr. Conrad Murray was charged on Monday with involuntary manslaughter in the June 25th death of Michael Jackson. Murray entered a plea of not guilty in a courtroom that included Joe, Katherine, Jermaine, LaToya, Tito, Randy and Jackie Jackson. Bail was set at $75,000 — three times the normal limit for such a charge but probably petty cash for the King of Pop’s doctor.

White Stripes seeing red over Super Bowl ad

The White Stripes

After the US Air Force aired a commercial during the Super Bowl with a soundtrack that sounded suspiciously like “Fell in Love with a Girl,” the White Stripes took to their Web site to cry foul. “The White Stripes take strong insult and objection to the Air Force Reserve’s presenting this advertisement with the implication that we licensed one of our songs to encourage recruitment during a war that we do not support.” The Air Force has since put the brakes on the ad, saying they commissioned an original score from an outside agency and that any similarities were unintentional. In other words, “they don’t consider it cheating.”

The Ugly

John Mayer kisses and tells, again

Mayer and Simpson

The phrases “John Mayer interview” and “TMI” are eternally linked. In this case the victim of his loose lips isn’t Jennifer Aniston, but Jessica Simpson, African American women in general and David Duke. In his interview with Playboy, Mayer dishes on sex with Simpson, and his member’s distaste for women of color. It’s pretty awful, which means it’s a great read. Here’s a link to the highlights.

Miscellany

• Ke$ha Hollywood sign a hoax (OMG LOL)
• Lady Antebellum hits Number 1 on Billboard
• Lil Wayne prison sentence postponed for dental emergency
• Gaga and Lauper team up for HIV awareness
• Diddy’s “Ciroc Star” video takes product placement to the extreme

The polls are closed and the ballots have been counted— Wax is back! Nielsen SoundScan released their 2009 numbers and although new vinyl only accounted for less than 1% of total music purchases in 2009, another spike occurred. Sales of new wax jumped from 1.8 million units sold in 2008 to 2.5 million units in 2009 — a drastic increase for a medium that was still in deep hibernation only a few years ago. To the multi-millionaire music mogul, the spike is promising but barely noticeable when placed against digital download sales (over 76 million for albums and 1.1 billion for songs). To vinyl junkies though, the increase in LP sales points to both record albums spinning on more turntables than ever in almost two decades and fresh faces joining the front to continue carrying the torch in favor of 12 inch discs made of polyvinyl chloride.

Continue Reading 2009: A Vinyl Resurrection

The Good
Hope for Haiti Now makes Billboard history

Hope for Haiti Now

The soundtrack for the star-studded Hope For Haiti Now benefit concert—which aired on more than a dozen US networks last Friday—resulted not only in millions of dollars of donations, but a historic milestone for the Billboard charts. According to Nielson SoundScan, the soundtrack marks the first exclusively digital album to ever make the Number 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart in its 54-year history. Hope for Haiti Now was released by MTV Networks and in two days sold more than 171,000 units. Justin Timberlake’s rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” with Matt Morris is the top download from the album. Watch performances here, or buy the album here.

The Bad

Dancing Filipino inmates are back

Footloose, Fancy, but not Free

We put this in the “Bad” section because, like the Michael Jackson video of the same name, it has to do with criminals and choreography. Just when you thought law and order had been restored to the Filipino prison system, the dancing inmates are back, more synchronized than ever. This time they’re popping and locking to the sounds of Jackson’s “They Don’t Care About Us,” off the posthumous HIStory. MJ’s choreographer even stepped in to help them with the steps. The result is fantastic and can be seen here. Somebody please book these guys on an episode of Scared Straight.

The Ugly

Justin Combs gets sweet ride for Sweet 16

Diddy & Son

The world’s most grounded father, P-Diddy, got his 16-year-old son, Justin Dior Combs (real name), a birthday present that only a teenager with no driver’s license could appreciate—a $360,000 silver Maybach complete with a uniformed driver. As if that weren’t enough, Puff-Son was treated to a huge party at M2 Ultralounge with the likes of Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Lil’ Kim in attendance. The whole sordid affair was caught on tape and will appear on MTV’s My Super Sweet 16. Reportedly Combs told party-goers “Seeing Justin grow up is a big deal for me … I know a lot of y’all out there can relate to it.”

Getting a Maybach and a chauffeur on our sixteenth birthday? Totally. We totally relate to that.

Miscellany

• Justin Timberlake gets Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Award
• Broken Bells video for “The High Road”
• Passion Pit remix Lady Gaga
• Phoenix cover Dylan
• Susan Sarandon spanks pig at Of Montreal show

One of the most overlooked aspects of releasing an album involves cover art and other images used for the promotion of the album. Ask the average consumer, if they see a pretty cool cover album on iTunes or at a record store (gasp!), they will probably take a listen. But, there are a few concerns that have I have had with artwork of artists here on OurStage and on their albums in general.

Unless you’re Michael Jackson, certain things aren’t acceptable.  I’ve heard time and time again from fans, artists and even staff, “why are there bars around this album art?”   Of course, we don’t want to constrict you — we believe in free will for all — but generally album art is square. Depending on how an album is printed (paper sleeve, plastic case, etc.) different sizes may be required but it’s good to make your album art at least 600px by 600px.  I mean come-on, those black bars look silly right?  Most web sites automatically add bars to make up for the lack of square dimensions.   So simply put — square is in.

You may also want to avoid the pictures containing any incriminating evidence of acts you may or may not have committed.  This even includes animal brutality and presidential bashing — presidents are only around for so long and once they’re retired, bashing them isn’t as cool.  Okay so that was a complete lie but you get the idea.

A good rule of thumb: if your mother wouldn’t approve, it probably shouldn’t be on the cover of your album.  Of course, certain artists go out of their way to get attention, such as shaving off all their hair and still providing us with scantily clad images on album art.  Does this create a buzz that could work? Yes. However, until you’re at popularity levels of Miss Spears, this probably will just look trashy.

Simply put, use your noggin.  If someone tells you to use a silly image as your album art, remember, it’s your hard work this image is representing!  Remember, in theory, the album cover is the first thing a listener will see when checking out your album.  The artwork must not only represent you as an artist, but must be succinct with the overall soundscape of the album.

When I was a young girl, Michael Jackson was my world. I was a fan of the Jackson 5 Motown classics, followed his solo departure with Off The Wall and gave him my preteen heart with the release of Thriller. Every day I’d come home from school, put on the record and craft dance routines along with my sister in front of the poster image of my hero that adorned our bedroom wall. I would day dream about owning my own red leather “Beat It” jacket, seeing him in concert and becoming friends with the music and dance icon. In 1984, one of my dreams came true when my grandfather returned home with 4 tickets to the Jackson 5 “Victory Tour”. My grandparents took my sister and I to our first concert, THE CONCERT—the one that I had pined to see all summer. The four of us sang and danced and felt so lucky to witness the magic. When I returned home from the concert, I wrote a 20 page review—careful to note every detail of the show—and mailed copies  to all my friends and relatives. I wanted to share the wonder of Michael Jackson’s talents with the world.

Yesterday my childhood hero—an artist who broke records, broke down racial barriers and influenced generations of musicians and dancers—passed away at the age of 50. The circumstances of Michael Jackson’s death are still unknown although attending physicians say he suffered a cardiac arrest. In the days that follow I suspect we may learn details that are reminiscent of the tragic deaths of Heath Ledger and Anna Nicole Smith, fellow entertainers who medicated private pains. However, Jackson’s pains were never private. He wore his demons on his bizarrely reconstructed face which aided in the polarization of billions of fans spanning the globe. As the news of Jackson’s parting spreads, I can’t help wondering what the truth was behind the many years of tabloid headlines and thinking the King of Pop really died of a broken heart.

He was a hero in his youth, a villain in his 30’s and 40’s. Many fans were outraged by Jackson’s plastic surgery, eccentric lifestyle and behavior as well as the accusations involving children. Other fans loved and supported the icon through every infamous headline. I am left in a state of limbo, confused by how to resolve the talent with the controversy. However, I overlook my own sadness over the passing of Michael Jackson which leads me to believe that, ultimately, my childhood perception of who he was will prevail.

OurStage would like to send condolences to the friends and family of the entertainer. We also want to invite the music lovers and musicians of our community to share your own stories and thoughts about Michael Jackson. As we all process his untimely departure let the memories of his music and the moments that defined his talent replay in our minds and hearts.