Michael in Memory

The King of Pop, the gloved one, Michael Jackson is now in a place where he will be remembered the most. In each of our hearts and minds and the legacy of his life and music will live on. Jackson will be as infamous as the special lives of Elvis, John Lennon, Joe Strummer, Tupac, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Biggie Smalls, Ray Charles and coutless other icons that we lived among. He joins the ranks of these legends because just like those gone before him, Michael will never be replaced and the world will never see a talent like these again.

The countless outpouring of emotion across the entertainment community today has been touching. Here are what some of Michael's famous fans had to say...

Via their Twitter account, Coldplay wrote: "MJ was the best of the best. His music and performances made the world a brighter place. His light will shine on forever. Coldplay."

?uestlove of the Roots via Twitter: "I know we make light of me never getting sleep and overworking. But I'll say that he didn't go in vain. I will do my best to slow down as to not overwork myself to the point in which I can't even enjoy life anymore. I am devastated over this but we all have memories. I just hope that he will get due justice in all the press memorials and whatnot. I know he was mired in controversy the last decade of his life but I think it's time we let him rest in peace and learn to separate the ART and the ARTIST. That is the MJ I will forever remember. Elvis got revisionist media treatment. I expect the friggin same for my hero."

Saul Williams via Twitter: "I received a MJ scholarship from the 25 million he gave UNCF for performing arts students. Thank u MJ 4 inspiring & funding my dreams & education."

Clipse's Malice via Twitter: "1983 Malice Christmas List... A White Suit and a Tiger"

Paul McCartney via Press Statement: “I feel privileged to have hung out and worked with Michael. He was a massively talented boy man with a gentle soul. His music will be remembered forever and my memories of our time together will be happy ones.”

Justin Timberlake via Press Statement: “We have lost a genius and a true ambassador of not only Pop music but of all music. He has been an inspiration to multiple generations and I will always cherish the moments I shared with him on stage and all of the things I learned about music from him and the time we spent together. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones.”

Steven Spielberg via Entertainment Weekly: “Just as there will never be another Fred Astaire or Chuck Berry or Elvis Presley, there will never be anyone comparable to Michael Jackson. His talent, his wonderment and his mystery make him legend.”

MIA Via Twitter: "MICHAEL JACKSON the first 2 english words i eva spoke . the future sucx!"

P Diddy Via Twitter: "Michael Jackson showed me that you can actually see the beat. He made the music come to life!! He made me believe in magic. I will miss him!"

Chris Cornell Via NME.com: "Superstar at 12. What promise. He had magic! It was by chance that I recorded and rearranged his song 'Billie Jean' and have been amazed at the response it gets when I perform it every night. He was amazingly talented and largely misunderstood. "I hope that the media will be kind and celebrate the genius instead of cashing in on the tabloid angles that made him a prisoner. I think he deserves that."

Cornell famously and brilliantly covered and reworked "Billie Jean," for his 2007 record Carry On, take a listen to the song below.

RIP KING OF POP

With deep sadness I am reporting that Michael Jackson, The King of Pop has died of Cardiac Arrest. According to reports, Jackson was not breathing when emergency rescue was called to his Los Angeles home. Jackson was then rushed to UCLA Medical Center and attempts to resuscitate the singer failed, Michael Jackson was 50 years old. Jackson is survived by his three children and a plethora of music and legacy that rivals the legends that have gone on before him.

Jackson was in LA rehearsing for his 50 date run at London's O2 Arena set to begin with 10 shows this July. The concert's entitled "This Is It!" were originally postponed due to "massive and technically complex” according to concert promoter AEG Live. The 50 dates sold out in record time and were going to be Michael's final European dates with the possibility of a New York City, Vegas and LA run.

I hope Jackson finds the peace and solace that he was searching for while he was with us. With his later years in life being plagued by financial troubles, tabloid hell and controversy. Whatever had gone on in Jackson's personal life was his own business and we exploited it to see a train wreck happen in front of us for entertainment and curiosity. What Michael gave us was undeniable talent and brilliant music. I will never forget that the first CD I ever owned (not album) was his 1991 release, Dangerous. Dangerous featured the singles "Black or White," and "Remember the Time," with its mysterious cover and controversial videos, Dangerous was an instant classic. Michael gave us the moonwalk, the most iconic music videos and of course Thriller, both the amazing video and record. A Universal star, a true artist, Jackson will be missed.

700th POST!!!

This is a very big and monumental posting! I am pleased to announce that this is my 700th POST!! We have reached a milestone and are continuing to grow. Just in the past 4 months this site has received over 5,000 hits and counting! So many great things happening and so much more to come.

There are a few people I need to thank who helped me reach this point, from bands to labels to publicists. Thank you so much for taking your time to support this site, either with an interview, tickets, music, everything counts. In the last 100 posts, a very special thanks to Cliff Sarcona of As Tall As Lions, Mark Palgy from VHS or Beta, Steven Chen of Airborne Toxic Event, Pete Galli, Adam Lucaus from Vonrenzo, Alison Prouty, Dan Haggis of The Wombats, Simon Bobbett, David Dargah of The Postelles, Daren Baber and EMI. Most importantly I would like to THANK YOU THE READERS FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN AND SPREADING THE WORD!!

This site has taken on a life of its own, spawning readers in Indonesia, all over the UK, Germany, Canada, Philippines, Japan, China, Ireland, Thailand, India, France and Chile to name a few. Thank you to all my friends, my readers and the people making music today for inspiring me to write more and more and go to concerts and spending money I do not have ;) ! Keep spreading the love and the site!

Quick News

The Editors front man Tom Smith has spilled some details about the band's forthcoming third record, In This Light and On This Evening. The record is heavily influenced by (one of my favorite cities) London. The British band was so taken aback by the city, that the new album centers around what the British Capitol has to offer. Smith says in a statement "I actually think it’s in every song," he said. "In the right time and place, in the right light and on the right evening, something you have seen 1,000 times before can still take your breath away." I couldn't agree more, very excited about this album when it is released in September.

In other Brit band news, The Arctic Monkeys have revealed the cover to their new album, Humbug. The record due in August was produced by Queens of the Stone Age front man Josh Homme. Take a look at the cover below:

On the same day that the new Arctic Monkeys drops, so does Beastie Boy's much anticipated new album Hot Sauce Committee. The Beasties just revealed the track listing to the record which is out August 24, take a look!

1. Tadlock's Glasses

2. B-Boys In The Cut

3. Make Some Noise

4. Nonstop Disco Powerpack

5. OK

6. Too Many Rappers (featuring NAS)

7. Say It

8. The Bill Harper Collection

9. Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win (featuring Santigold)

10. Long Burn The Fire

11. Bundt Cake

12. Funky Donkey

13. Lee Majors Come Again

14. Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament

15. Pop Your Balloon

16. Crazy Ass Shit

17. Here's A Little Something For Ya

The Sounds on Letterman

Sweedish rockers The Sounds lit up The Late Show Friday night performing "No One Sleeps When I'm Awake," take a look at the clip above!

Playlist

Here is a list of some songs I just can't get out of my head...

- Bob Dylan - "My Wife's Hometown"
- Incubus - "Black Heart Inertia"
- Dave Matthews Band - "Time Bomb"
- Yeah Yeah Yeah's - "Zero"
- White Lies - "Death"
- Jarvis Cocker - "Slush"
- Green Day - "21 Guns"
- Richard Hell and the Voidoids - "The Kid with the Detachable Head"
- Iggy Pop - "Success"
- Clipse feat. Kanye West - "Kind of Like a Big Deal"
- Our Lady Peace - "All You Did Was Save My Life"
- Lenny Kravitz - "Let Love Rule 2009" (JUSTICE Remix)
- Wolfmother - "Back Round"
- Hockey - "Learn to Lose"
- The Postelles - "123 Stop"

Phoenix on Letterman

It has been a nasty week for David Letterman with the whole Sarah Palin daughter joke thing. However, Dave sure knows how to move on and have a good time and one way to do it is with a great band. Here is France's Phoenix who's latest fantastic record Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix has gotten tremendous acclaim the world over. Take a look at the clip above and check out the band's album!

New ATAL Cover!

One of the most anticipated releases of the year, the latest from As Tall As Lions entitled You Can't Take It With You will be out August 18. Take a look at the cover below and take a listen to the new single "Circles," on the bands myspace page www.myspace.com/astallaslions


For more info on the making of the album, check out my EXCLUSIVE interview with Drummer Cliff Sarcona from April. Take a look at the interview HERE

Dead Weather on Conan

Jack White's new band made their television debut this week on The Tonight Show. Check out the clip above, The Dead Weather's debut Horehound is out next month!

BLUR ARE BACK!!!

After this weekend and all the hype, the British band took the stage for a much welcomed comeback in the UK! It is official that Damon Albarn and Co are working gracefully together for a few warm up shows in England before they take the main stage at Glastonbury and headlining slots in London's Hyde Park and in Manchester and a possible headlining US tour (fingers crossed). There has also been talk from the band that their maybe some new material to come from these sessions. Check out Blur performing "Popscene and Song 2" from London.