It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since MJ passed. I think what bothers me most is that he almost got his shot at redemption. Judging from the footage that was shot of the “This is It” rehearsals, he was legitimately poised for a comeback. Look, I’m not gonna be like the other MJ stans out there and say he was a saint or even a good person. I didn’t know the guy, and you can’t make that kind […]
Michael Jackson
More MJ Week: The Popdose Guide to Michael Jackson, Part 3
The Jacksons’ best material was still to come in 1975, but a lot of folks out there probably thought they left their magic behind when they left Motown. Fortunately, Michael and his brothers found their footing, and their Epic albums, specifically 1978’s “Destiny” and 1980’s “Triumph”, are excellent albums. I continue my trip through Michael’s discovery on Popdose with Part 3 of the Popdose Guide to Michael Jackson. This covers the entirety of The Jacksons’ post-Motown work and we snazzed it […]
MJ Week Continues with the Popdose Guide to Michael Jackson, Part Two
Hopefully, you guys have been enjoying my series on Popdose dedicated to the music of Michael Jackson. Today, we take a look at the solo albums Michael recorded for Motown . Truthfully, there ain’t a whole lotta gold in those thar particular hills, but there’s some wheat among the chaff. Most of the best songs from that era wound up being released as singles, so you’re probably good with any of the many compilations Motown has released of Michael’s solo work. When I was a kid, one […]
MJ Appreciation Week Begins with The Popdose Guide to Michael Jackson, Part One!
Hey Peeps, You guys should definitely be checking out popdose.com. This week, they will be running my guide to the music made by The King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson. I will be talking about the entire J5/Jacksons/MJ discography. The first part takes a look at the material the Jackson 5 recorded for Motown from 1969-1975. As it turns out, the J5 albums were (generally speaking) a lot better than initially given credit for. Motown’s staff writers and producers (a […]
Blerd Radio Episode 6: Drake, Dads and Douches
Well, we got at least two of the three topics covered. On the latest episode of Blerd Radio, I am joined by GG and Carletta, who also happened to be my very first guests on Blerd Radio! Among the topics discussed in this action-packed episode: The NBA Finals, Ron Artest’s rap career and why people hate Kobe Bryant The ongoing struggles of the Jackson family, and is Joe Jackson the most hated entertainment figure of all time? What happened to Christina […]
Joe, Katherine and Redman…This Week in Michael Jackson
With just over a week until the first anniversary of the death of the King of Pop (I promise I’ll have something special going on here to commemorate it) it feels like the right time to go over some quick news items that have popped up over the past week. First off, video game creator Ubisoft has announced plans for a Michael Jackson video game that will arrive on store shelves towards the end of the year. The game (which […]
Put Some Laughter in Your Day with Literal Videos
A buddy of mine hipped me to these literal videos a couple of months ago. They’re pretty much uniformly awesome, and have become a viral sensation (I sound like such a tool using the words “viral sensation”. I guess it’s not the same person that does all of them-I’ve seen them come from a couple of different YouTube users. Essentially, someone had the idea to replace the vocal track on some iconic music videos with a very literal translation of […]
Stephanie Mills Returns with "Yesterday" Cover, New Album
You always remember your first crush… Mine was Stephanie Mills. I was 3 when “What’cha Gonna Do with My Lovin’” came out back in ’79. “Sweet Sensation” came out the year after, and I was smitten. There was something about the voice and the attitude that caught my interest. Granted, you can’t have much of a crush when you’re a toddler, but I wanted the little lady with the big voice to be my pretend girlfriend. We could sit around […]
R.I.P. Lena Horne
There are very few living ties to the older era of black entertainment-a time when our people struggled for respect and equal pay instead of getting locked up every three days and degrading ourselves with lyrical filth. We just lost one of those ties with the passing of Miss Lena Horne at the age of 92. She was an actress, a singer and an activist, boldly jeopardizing the advancement of her career in order to bring attention to the political […]
The Disco 100: #30-#21-To Be Reeeee-al!!
Wouldn’t ya know it? We’re closing in on the home stretch with this here countdown. Any songs you particularly surprised to not see on the list yet? If you haven’t been following, catch up with the last 10 entries on the list , and feel free to backtrack from there. Now, onward and upward… 30) “Got to Be Real” by Cheryl Lynn One of the most spirited performances on any song, never mind any disco song. “Got to Be Real” has to be one of the […]
The Disco 100 #40-#31: No Stoppin'!
In case ya missed ’em, here’s the previous ten songs in the countdown . So, we’re hitting the sweet spot-we’re in the Top 40. One thing I notice as I’m looking back on these songs is that it kinda sucks that I was a little kid when these records came out. I never got to experience Studio 54 or The Paradise Garage. Not that I would have been a huge clubgoer-that scene just never really did a lot for me. But I think things were different […]