It's no surprise that Michael Jackson's album and song download sales have had incredible spikes in the days since his death. But despite the legacy of hits that Jackson has had, the top-selling track on iTunes has been "Man in the Mirror." While "Man in the Mirror" is not a bad song by any stretch of the imagination (and was a chart-topping single in 1988), why would people gravitate towards it and not "Thriller" or "Beat It" or "Rock With You"?
There are a number of valid theories, but pop musicology professor Stephen Pennington thinks the root is in the unresolved questions about Jackson's life. "The thing about 'Man in the Mirror' is that it isn't completely uplifting. It's got an uplifting sound to it, and it talks about making the world a better place, but we never get that better place," he explains. "It's incomplete and unresolved, just like his life."
Pennington is excited about the current conversation about Jackson's legacy. "If you look at the controlling forces about what is important in pop music, it's a lot of stuff from the '60s — the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Beach Boys. There are very few people of color, almost no women and not many contemporary artists. So people want to place him as important, but he's such a complicated person that you can't go with 'Thriller' or 'Heal the World,' because those are too far in either direction. So right now, 'Man in the Mirror' is the most logical song to sum up his legacy."
By Haley Murphy
This afternoon, I joined the hundreds of people on the trip to Harlem to visit the legendary Apollo Theater, where Michael Jackson fans gathered to pay tribute to his life as a musician, a friend and an icon.
When I arrived, I walked into what seemed like a small church, only to find Reverend Al Sharpton pacing the room while on the phone. He was set to speak at the theater later in the afternoon, and I had the opportunity to sit in on his interview with MTV News. I looked around and saw so many pictures of influential moments in history, and it made me realize just how huge Michael Jackson's influence was. I felt honored to be at the center of what will be musical history.
Outside of the theater, fans stood chanting Michael's name, moonwalking and sharing their favorite memories. One woman shared told me just how important Michael was in her family's lives. She told me that her entire family would wait up until midnight when Michael's new music videos would debut, and would sit for hours trying to replicate each dance move Michael. When asked why she came to the Apollo, she said she came to pay her respects to an artist that brought her family together.
While walking along the street, I ran across a Michael Jackson doll that was being sold for $1,000, which some spectators were actually considering buying!
In the midst of all the commotion, there was an overwhelming sense of gratitude and respect for a man who will forever be remembered as a musical genius. After all was said and done, I walked away with an amazing experience, a greater respect for Michael and a nice T-shirt to forever remember the day.
Even though their latest album No Line on the Horizon came out back in February, U2 are only just hitting the road for their "360" tour, which begins tonight in Barcelona, Spain. The show is a massive affair: The band spent millions of dollars constructing one of the largest concert stages ever built, complete with a giant metal structure known as "The Claw."
The set list focuses mostly on the band's last three albums (as well as a few shout-outs to Michael Jackson), but that doesn't mean the band isn't expanding their horizons. When Bono and Adam Clayton sat down with Sway back in March, they talked about how much they've learned from Kanye West and Jay-Z. Bono was especially enamored of Jigga's consonants.
Take a good look at that well-dressed dude below. No, that's not a new rapper or an extra in "Hotel For Dogs 2." It's Mariah Carey, on the set of her new video for "Obsessed." Carey also appears in the video as a hoodie-wearing dude who looks suspiciously like a certain rapper from Detroit.
Check out more photos from Mariah Carey's "Obsessed" video shoot!
What do you think? Is Carey taking another shot at Eminem? And will Slim Shady fight back?
One of the most exciting things about the idea of a three-day Phish festival this fall is the fact that one of the dates of that weekend is Halloween. All Hallow's Eve is a special date for Phish and their fans, as the band traditionally covers a full classic album — which they call a "musical costume" — in concert on that night. In 1994, Phish began the tradition of playing three-set shows on Halloween night, with the second set devoted entirely to a classic album. The first attempt was the Beatles' "White Album," which won a fan voting poll. Subsequent years saw the band tackle the Who's Quadrophenia, Talking Heads' Remain in Light and the Velvet Underground's Loaded.
Phish are not the sort of band to buck tradition, so it should be assumed that they'll be playing through a classic this Halloween. But what record should they tackle? Here are a few suggestions.
Led Zeppelin, IV
Phish have dabbled in Zeppelin before ("Moby Dick" cropped up a bunch during the turn of the millennium), but the epic quality of IV suits the band well. After all, doesn't every Phish fan desire to hear a 25-minute version of "Stairway to Heaven"?
Michael Jackson, Thriller
Considering the recent passing of the legend, it seems like Phish might be interested in doing a tribute. What better tribute than the singer's crowning achievement? "Beat It" and "P.Y.T." are the perfect blend of rock and funk that draw Phish like bees to honey.
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It seems strange that the phrase "literary device" would show up anywhere on Twitter, but that was songwriter, guitarist, cruise captain and social-networking aficionado John Mayer's explanation for a series of notes he left last night. In a fantastically meta experiment, Mayer invented three Tweets that are ostensibly reviews of Thriller, written as "a fantasy as if the internet was around in '83." (Note to Mayer: Thriller actually came out in '82.)
Mayer manages to totally nail the tone of today's finicky online music critics. "So far, after my first listen, 'Thriller' is my least favorite song on the album," goes one Tweet. "It just seems, I don't know, overproduced."
There is also a nod to the constant hunger for downloadable bootlegs and leaks in Mayer's experiment. "I don't know, maybe I'm just used to the demo of 'Billie Jean' that leaked, but the final version seems 'off' to me," goes one of the messages. In the third and final one, Mayer expresses the sort of sentiment that first-adopters tend to feel when they love something small that suddenly gets big: "MJ is going to reach a lot more people with this record. It sucks that he won't be 'ours' anymore, but good for him." (Of course, that suggests that Jackson's pre-Thriller audience was only as large as that of Arcade Fire, which wasn't the case.)
Those were the only three notes that Mayer wrote, but he does bring up an interesting point about the current nature of criticism and the lack of consensus about just who is a star.
What do you think? Would Michael Jackson have been as big a star had he been forced to put up with the current day Internet music scrutiny?
Is there any band in history better than Kiss? The answer is, "Yeah, probably." But has any group ever been less subtle in their symbolism and message? The answer there is, "Unless you count Ween, it seems unlikely." For a group so unflappably goofy, it's amazing how polarizing they have been for their over 30-year career. Sure, you can probably blame them for softening up hard rock and ushering in the '80s hair metal era, but then "Detroit Rock City" comes on the radio and you forget all about those Warrant videos you had to sit through.
Anyway, today marks the anniversary of the first Kiss comic book, distributed by Marvel beginning in 1977. The comic is pretty silly, although it was considered a big deal because the ink used contained bits of each band member's blood. It wasn't the last time Ace, Peter, Gene and Paul would be immortalized in superhero form, as another Marvel comic came in 1979 and Dark Horse published a series based around their Psycho Circus album in 1997.
To celebrate Kiss' comic book legends status, here's "Heaven's on Fire," from 1984's Animalize. It was probably a mistake for the band to take off their makeup, but the lack of horror imagery forced them to focus on nothing but cheeky sex songs — until they put the makeup back on in the '90s.
Here's one question that has always confounded the viewing audience of this clip: When Gene Simmons points towards his crotch during the chorus, is he suggesting that he has some sort of social disease? Because that seems like a mixed message for a guy trying to bed as many groupies as there are people in Ecuador.
While in the midst of talking to Paramore about their upcoming new album Brand New Eyes, MTV's James Montgomery paused to discuss a mutual source of admiration for both he and the band: Sunny Day Real Estate. The Seattle quartet recently announced their reunion, and the members of Paramore (who cover Sunny Day Real Estate's "Faces in Disguise" regularly) couldn't be happier.
"It's like a religious kind of experience," said Hayley Williams. "We were all too young to go to one of their shows, but now, I will fly out to see one of those shows."
Guitarist Taylor York has a particular affection for the group's six-string work. "Sometimes their guitar lines sound Middle Eastern," he says. "It's weird, but I like it."
By Jayson Rodriguez
Obviously, no one could have predict Michael Jackson's untimely death would coincide with the 2009 BET Awards, but the tragic news of the King of Pop's passing turned each event during the weekend on its side, making them all quasi tribute parties instead.
On Friday in Beverly Hills, Hennessey honored photographer Cheryl Fox for her exhibit, "Rock N Roll of Hip Hop." The gathering featured a juxtaposition of classic black and white images of the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, etc.) along with contemporary photos and never-before-scene flicks of today's rap stars like Jay-Z and Diddy. Kim Porter, Diddy's former flame, hosted the festivities, while Lil Mama and Fonzworth Bentley made appearances.
Among the more appealing images in the gallery, just to the right side of the DJ booth, was a Motown-era Michael Jackson picture, where the future icon was in full 'fro with the teenage acne adorning both his cheeks. The vintage image was part of the celebrity vault.
The image served as the perfect backdrop for the evening. MJ tunes blasted throughout the art space as Diddy, and his sons Quincy and Christian felt the groove. Diddy shared his fondest memory of Jackson with MTV News the very next day.
"The first time I saw the 'Thriller' video, I was waiting for it. It was the premiere — they showed you the making of and all of that," he said. "And it was something that everyone had their VHS tapes — I think it was Betamax tapes back then. You had to wait for it and you taped it." Diddy called MJ's talent "mind blowing."
If reports are to be believed, Michael Jackson may have as many as 100 unreleased songs that he left behind. Though it may be quite some time before any songs ever get out, it's certain that fans will be clamoring for songs they've never heard.
But if pop history has taught us anything, it's that posthumous music releases can be a bit of a nightmare both for the people in control of the estate and the fans craving new music. In fact, sometimes that music actually hurts the legacy of the artist.
When Jimi Hendrix died in 1970, he left behind at least one incomplete album and many more unfinished tracks, demos and outtakes. But for decades, the previously unreleased songs were released haphazardly and were underproduced. It wasn't until Hendrix's sister managed to gain control of his catalog that the recordings were considered reasonable enough for commercial release. Hendrix albums have slowed and there are still legal battles over Hendrix's legacy, but the reconstructed First Rays of the New Rising Sun and the restored Live at Monterey are both keepers. But be warned: A lot of the post-1970 Hendrix releases are horrible.
The same could be said of Tupac, but in reverse. Read more...
