Comments on: Presidents Just Don’t Understand

By: RomeGirl

RomeGirl — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 10:34:07 +0000

Did Katie Connolly from Newsweek really say that, about them both being black? DID SHE REALLY SAY THAT??? What kind of a person even makes that kind of comparison?

And, has anyone considered MJ black recently, especially the black community? It’s not like he was some kind of outspoken advocate of racial equality.

Hey, Clinton likes fucking women, how come no one got his comment on Farrah Fawcett’s passing? Regis Philbin was the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, did anyone ask him about Ed McMahon?

And if Obama had said something about his passing, they would have been all over him for praising a child molester.

By: SanFranLefty

SanFranLefty — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:23:41 +0000

Since we’re talking about MJ and music, I present Steve Martin’s version of the “Billie Jean” video from the ill-fated “The New Show” – who remembers that weird one season show? Oddly enough, I do.

By: Dodgerblue

Dodgerblue — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:32:07 +0000

@FlyingChainSaw: I loved early Weather Report with Joltin' Joe Zawinul, Mr. Vienna Soul. Saw Joe with Cannonball Adderly at UCLA for next to nothing (all I could afford at the time) when I was a student. I still remember -- when they rolled into "Mercy Mercy" the place went nuts.

By: FlyingChainSaw

FlyingChainSaw — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:22:03 +0000

@Dodgerblue: All of their stuff was masterfully performed but, till Graydon's arrival, the best of their work was essentially a tribute to Lambert, Hendricks and Ross or a kind of progressive cabaret. (Hendricks sang on their Vocalese album in recognition of their predecessors' influence.) It was intriguing, in a way like early Weather Report as a vocal ensemble. I have Extensions and Mecca on vinyl and on CD for the car.

By: nojo

nojo — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 23:35:08 +0000

@Dodgerblue: For the longest time, I thought Mark Murphy was black. Must have been that early Gil Scott-Heron vibe.

By: Dodgerblue

Dodgerblue — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:12:04 +0000

@nojo: Speaking of vocalese, I saw Mark Murphy perform at a local jazz club a year or so ago. I didn't recognize him -- I thought he was just another L.A. bum until he got up on stage. Still has some chops.

By: nojo

nojo — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:06:09 +0000

@FlyingChainSaw: Jay Graydon moved MT beyond progressive cabaret into a really tasty if fuzaky conceit but the members of MT clearly owned the music in that Extensions and Mecca for Moderns were obvious destinations that were waiting for them on the trip they’d begun together musically and personally many years before. Name your motel. Those were interesting days when Manhattan Transfer morphed from a lush oldies sound into something intriguing. Even if I did stop paying attention after those two albums. No fault of theirs; it was me who drifted.

By: Jamie Sommers

Jamie Sommers — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 21:47:45 +0000

@Nabisco: Yeah, I've been watching some of the videos and noticed the same thing in regards to his dance moves. It's a lot of the same five moves in different sequences. The crooked leg kick, the in and out footwork followed by a twirl, the hand down the chest to the thrusting crotch with the other arm outstretched and pointing, the windblown crucifixion pose with the untucked, open shirt and the three point cross over the chest then quarter turn. The most original choreography after Thriller was his video with his sister on "Scream", a song I actually grew to like yesterday. I give her credit for that.

By: FlyingChainSaw

FlyingChainSaw — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 21:47:10 +0000

@Nabisco: The Jones-era stuff was all layer upon layer of cotton candy sound. Jackson 5 stuff was simply produced and he could sing, had good pitch, a little oversteer here and there but mostly a commanding vocal sensibility that you could actually hear. Jones’ production was lush but obscuring. Still will anyone be listening to any of this stuff in 50 years? We’ll see but I have my doubts. I do have things in my collection like Sinatra’s ‘Come Swing With Me’ in part because of Sinatra’s work but more because of the sidemen and the creative authority they brought to the studio. Jones’ production imagination was so strong it really didn’t matter who was playing – they were the best in LA, flawless and any one of 10 guys could have played a given part and there would have been no noticeable change in the final production. Producers are there to craft the artist’s statements but my sense is that Jackson was so relatively aesthetically hollow Jones felt free to invent his sound for him and use as heavy a hand as he thought he needed to produce the shimmering star-quality production that fit the MJ gestalt – which was probably a lot more about just being a star of universal appeal than it was about pursuing an artistic vision. You look at a real musical ensemble of that era, ok, say, Manhattan Transfer, and doubtless the producer makes his mark. Jay Graydon moved MT beyond progressive cabaret into a really tasty if fuzaky conceit but the members of MT clearly owned the music in that Extensions and Mecca for Moderns were obvious destinations that were waiting for them on the trip they’d begun together musically and personally many years before. Graydon could not have ever conceived of those albums without MT’s preceding works. Jones-era MJ? I get the sense Jones could have pulled that stuff together with a competent male singer who could work in MJ’s range.

By: nojo

nojo — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 21:40:18 +0000

@Benedick Ahnuhld: The "Black or White" video premiered November 14, 1991. My judgment can certainly be disputed, but I think that's the last time anybody actually gave a shit.