Remember the time

When Michael Jackson threw down at the Super Bowl 1993?

Filed under: Music, Sports, The Jacksons, 1993 Super Bowl, Michael Jackson

The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty

The night every Jackson fan has been waiting for is finally just a few hours away. The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty premiere’s tonight on A&E. To quote from GenevieveJaxn on twitter: “… NO OTHER SHOW AS ENTERTAINING ON TELEVISION!” I am super excited and have set up my DVR to record so that I can savor it on my own time without possibility of interruption.

Jackie, Tito, Marlon and Jermaine look great.

http://www.aetv.com/the-jacksons-a-family-dynasty/photos/

And every time I see that tiny house they grew up in – it blows my mind.

UPDATE

I just watched the first two episodes and I give the show five stars. I’m not just saying this coz I’m a Jackson fan of 35 odd years . This is a good show because it’s not your typical reality tv where we follow the participants around waiting for them to do dumbazz quirky or shocking things. The stars of this show are all 50 something and the presentation is very dignified. It has plot, characterization, tension, and even some surprises (no spoilers ever here!) . Plus the photography is lovely. This is a show you could watch even if you weren’t a fan of the Jacksons because it is a very good story in and of itself that happens to be a true story. As we all know – the best stories pretty much write themselves.

Filed under: The Jacksons, Jackson 5, jackson brothers, Jacksons reality show, Michael Jackson, Review

A critic finally gets Michael Jackson

This is what Stephen Gyllenhaal (Huffington Post) used to think about Michael Jackson.

I was never a Michael Jackson fan. Not at all. When he was a child I found his music manipulative and muddy — he seemed like an over-coiffed puppet. As he grew up he became equal parts scary and sad to me, not to mention wildly and crassly commercial. And then there were all the issues of the monster that seemed to emerge — the baby out the window stunt, all those rumored boys in his over-sized bed, his strange home, his face — a pop freak to the max, a ghoul.

SMFH – not at the critique, because everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but at the grounds for critique.

But then, he saw “This is It” this weekend and minutes into the movie he’d completely changed his mind and found himself “… literally weeping for his [Michael Jackson's] voice that had the depth and maturity of the finest and most complex wine, a Shakespearean wine that rose above the tragedy of what his life had become.” And so that is how a critic finally got Michael Jackson.

But, there are a couple of things I don’t get. Like why people care so much about the Blanket in the window incident. It’s as if Blanket was their child. Or as if their own fathers never did some crazy thing when they were little because let’s face it, men aren’t always the most careful gender with babies and young children. It’s like me hating some random guy I don’t know because I saw him tossing his baby up in the air. Am I missing something here? Am I supposed to be hating guys who do that?? WTF. I mean did you ask Blanket how he feels about it? Sheesh.

Filed under: The Jacksons, blanket jackson, critics, Michael Jackson, neverland, This is It

Todd Gray’s Michael Jackson Photos, vanityfair.com

For some of the best photographs I’ve seen yet of Michael Jackson click here: http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/10/michael-jackson-excerpt-slideshow-200910

Click even if you don’t even care that much about Michael Jackson because these aren’t just fan pics (not that there’s anything wrong with being a fan, says this fan), this is American history.

Todd Gray, if they published a book of your Michael Jackson photos, I’d buy it and I don’t say that about just any ole Michael Jackson book since many of them are way more cheesy than arty.

UPDATE: There is a book. Todd Gray, “Michael Jackson: Before He Was King“, ISBN: 978-0811875066  available at your friendly chain bookseller or amazon punto com. And for the record he was royalty to us but we won’t quibble about titling since the pics are nice and show adult Michael in context which is always a nice thing to see.

Filed under: The Jacksons, American History, Michael Jackson, Music, photography, vanity fair

Because I think they’re nice pics

And he says we tha fans can share …

Jermaine in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya, for Save the Children.

Jermaine with Tracy Morgan.

Filed under: The Jacksons, Jermaine Jackson

Message from Jermaine

Dear fans, ladies and gentlemen,

The past few months have been a very difficult time for the Jackson family. The sudden, unexpected death of my brother Michael was not only a terrible shock for his closest relatives, but for his millions of fans around the world. I, and everyone in Michael’s family, will be forever grateful for the support and love that we have received from so many people during these past two-and-a-half months.

Filed under: Music, The Jacksons, Jermaine Jackson, Michael Jackson tribute

Tribute cancelled

JacksonSourceJermaine’s Tribute in Vienna cancelled…..? www.jackson-source.com

It’s been reshedoouled for London sometime next year.  Anyway in my opinion this is too bad. The thing in the castle sounded nice. I was picturing  a classy event under tivoli lights and Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” wafting through the gardens …. Stop. Wait. We are talking a MJ tribute concert – it would hardly have been that sedate. It must be nice to be one of the scheduled acts like Sister Sledge and be told that you weren’t good enough eh. One of the biggest effects of the death of Michael Jackson has been to expose and magnify the abject cruelty of the entertainment business. If this keeps up soon listening to pop music is going to feel like knowing that you’re wearing sweat shop clothes. Is there a difference? I’ll stop here.

Filed under: Michael Jackson, The Jacksons, Michael Jackson tribute

Morning tweets

guardiantechPoll: Will you be buying an ebook and ditching your dead tree editions? http://bit.ly/QCGSS

I’m a grad student and have nothing against electronic books (heck I’ve worked in e-publishing) however not every book is available electronically or available in a way that is useful to the reader. e.g. In the case where there are multiple versions of the same book, sometimes the e-book is not the best version. For my last paper the print version of the english translation of the novel was better than the english translation of the e-book version so I went with the print version. Sometimes the choice between media is that simple.

So my answer to the poll is don’t believe the e-book hype. There’s nothing more useless to a student than an electronic book offered without full rights as many publishers are doing so you can’t copy and paste quotes and sometimes you can’t even highlight or mark passages when needed which defeats the convenience and purpose of having an e-book. I use e-books sometimes if they’re available, and sometimes I use them simultaneously with print books. But it’s not time to chuck the print yet – and I’m not sure that time will ever be.

JacksonSourceWill Jacksons reunion one of Vienna surprises? http://bit.ly/HGOUQ

That would be nice.

Filed under: Current Events, The Jacksons

Janet Speaks

“I’d, I’d just like to say that to you, Michael is an icon. To us, Michael is family,” the pop star told Harpers Bazaar. “And he will forever live in all of our hearts.”

In her first interview since his death, she opens up about her relationship with Michael and their last day together, and how she’s coped by immersing herself in a new album and book.

Click HERE to read/watch the rest of Janet Jackson’s interview with Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America .

In the Bazaar interview Janet talks most importantly about her family and about strength.

She’s [Janet] learned a lot in these past weeks. “I always wanted to have my mother’s [Katherine Jackson] strength, but I didn’t know if it was really there. But a few years back, something happened and I learned that I did.” She fixes you with a keen gaze. “I’m not going to mention it, but we all know what it is. And now, coming off all this, it’s even beyond that. I was just focused on my job at that moment within my family.” She pauses. “Now at least I know that I can step up to the plate and not crumble when I’m needed. When it comes to something like this that is so, so serious, so painful, so traumatic, I can handle it.”

Click HERE to read the rest.

Filed under: Music, The Jacksons, Diane Sawyer, Harpers Bazaar, Janet Jackson interview

Do What You Do

Haven’t heard this song in eeeeeeons until I found it posted on a discussion board. The common thread in Jackson brother videos is a love for gangsta flicks and that’s okay with me as long as they’re set to beautiful music. Jermaine looks great here and so does Iman. I think I need to get some Jermaine for my ipod.

In other news I wrapped up critical theory and am moving on along into poetry. Yeeehoooo!

Filed under: The Jacksons, Jermaine Jackson