godspeed, michael jackson

Last night, I was out with some friends watching a DJ set up for his late night set. WonQ posed this question, "When will the Michael Jackson tribute be?" I had not even thought about this obvious scenario as I had skimmed a few articles regarding his death during the afternoon and quickly put it out of mind. And then the DJ began his MJ homage with "Beat It", and the news finally struck me.

I have no personal relationship with the man, but the loss of greatness impacts everyone. And he was truly great.

People seem to act most "humanly" at a time of death. With his passing, the world can now begin to resurrect his genius and properly place him in the pantheon of musical brilliance. He easily stands up there with Lennon/McCartney, Mozart...the list is pretty short. It's a shame we didn't do this while he lived. Some of that was obviously self-imposed from improper/unusual behavior, but the reverberating shock stretching across the world today is tied to the fact that we slammed the door on him and abandoned him for over a decade. Amazingly, we all were able to distinguish between the man and his music. We never stopped lauding the music. Meanwhile, we denigrated the man named Michael Jackson to nothing more than a punchline, a freakish circus sideshow. I think that ceases now.

And to quickly touch upon all the improper behavior - is it innate or learned? Is it possible that it was an unavoidable discharge to counter all of the creativity? Or is it simply an outcome of being pushed too hard early in life because the genius is spotted quickly? It might be a combination of both. Either way, the world victimized him and in turn, he did the same. There are no excuses, just a modicum of understanding that those that are truly unique have difficulty fitting in with the masses. We celebrate them, we ridicule them. We expect them to be different from us and the same as us all at once. That's just how it is.

I would never intend to underestimate the magnitude of losing a father, a son, a friend. But as fans, for those of us Jackson has entertained, we can now remember him fondly. I am looking forward to that.

Enough words. Here's my favorite MJ music video. "Thriller" may be more historically significant, but "Smooth Criminal" is easily his best video creation:



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wonq and the dark knight

Recently, WonQ invited me to share some thoughts and words about The Dark Knight (2008) as part of his relentless march to watch 40 movies in 40 nights. Why 40 in 40? Because he is Catholic, and Jesus spent 40 days in the desert thwarting off Satan's temptations. So, I interpret this to mean that these films serve as a surrogate to his normal life of sexual deviance and hard core drugs.

I was flattered by the invitation until I realized it was a lazy attempt to write about this lengthy film without having to actually dedicate a night to watch it. I call, "Fraud!"

Irregardless, I had a great time bouncing thoughts off of each other. I believe WonQ envisioned an amiable, open exchange about the movie and the comic book film genre in general; I decided it would be more fun as an argument. I don't believe I will be invited for more.

You can find our epic battle here.

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picasa vs. flickr

I've been tinkering with Flickr lately and am convinced that an active account is necessary for any aspiring photographer. From the initial comparisons I've conducted, it appears as though some resolution is forfeited when embedding Picasa images as compared to Flickr images. Ultimately, there is utility for both, but I think I'll be posting images from Flickr going forward. Let's chalk one up for Yahoo!

Because you care.

Picasa:

Flickr:

Picasa:


Flickr:

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the beatles rock band

I don't remember all too much from my childhood, but I have a clear memory of my first introduction to The Beatles. I was in seventh grade, and I inserted a Beatles tape that Colonel Mustard had brought home from school. Years later, I would realize the track I listened to was "A Day in the Life" off of the Sgt. Pepper album. John Lennon's haunting vocal and the cacophony of the orchestra felt like some kind of assault on my ears and my mind. I freaked out and stopped the tape about fifteen seconds after I pressed play. Today, I think it's one of the most brilliant pieces of music ever composed/produced (but what do I know, I get excited by Lady Gaga these days).

A year later, The Beatles Anthology (0:55 to 3:18 or so is a must for any fan, but you should have your own DVD copy, right?) aired on ABC, and I was intrigued.

High school came, and I found the band to be a way for me to distinguish myself as an independent thinker (this is the honest truth). Somewhere along the line, I fell in love with the music. I spent all of my discretionary income purchasing CDs and memorizing lyrics. I educated C-Monster on which member sang vocals on a particular track.I chatted with other fans in Beatles' CHAT ROOMS (on a Netscape browser). I spent hours listening to classic rock stations listening for any Beatles' tunes I had never heard, which ultimately was an introduction into the entire genre - The Who, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, the list goes on. And at the ripe age of 15, I was convinced that the good Lord had inadvertently displaced this sixties' soul in the wrong decade.

College came and my musical tastes diverged. But I kept my first love close to the chest (or ears). And then iPods broke onto the musical scene and completely revolutionized all of our musical catalogs. Any solid iTunes requires an eclectic mix of classic rock, eighties pop, indy rock, hip-hop, soulful R&B...all meant to add up to a musical persona with depth, heart, intelligence, and frivolity. It sounds silly, but we've all spent years fine-tuning our playlists. But I digress. The Beatles got lost in the fold. 

And then a few months ago, my appetite for the Fab Four was rejuvenated when I learned that a Beatles version of Rock Band would be hitting store shelves in September. I am subscribed to email updates, and until today, I've been teased with really meaningless information.

Today, the game's collaborators released a trailer, and it looks fantastic! The hair styles, the beards, the duds all perfectly match the time periods, venues, and records. The confirmed track list is fairly short at the moment, but the entire Abbey Road LP will be available for download not too long after the initial release. That leads me to believe that their entire catalog will be available at some point. I have a feeling I'll be buying the same Beatles music over and over again, in various formats, for the rest of my life.

I am way too excited for this.

There is a higher definition version of the video on the official Beatles Rock Band website.

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