“I know my race, I just look in the mirror..I know I’m black!”
– Michael 2002, Artists Against Racism

Once you’ve past the skin colour change, something which was beyond his control and his nosejob, did Michael Jackson really want to be white? Was he really unhappy as a black man?

In a word… no.

The most success he achieved in his life was during Thriller, before his skin colour had begun to change. Why would he feel it necessary to then become white? Contrary to what the media may want you to believe Michael has never distanced himself from being a black man or the black community.

Michael was proud of his race and heritage and supported black and ethnic people an incredible amount in his lifetime.

• All the women in his music videos have been ethnic — Ola Ray, Tatiana Thumbtzen, Naomi Campbell, Iman, Janet Jackson, Latoya Jackson, the girls in Blood on The Dancefloor and You Rock My World.

• Even went so far as to portray the King and Queen of Egypt as being black.

• Heck, even most of the men in his videos have been black — Michael Jordan, Eddie Murphy, Chris Tucker, Wesley Snipes, his back-up dancers.

• Featured an African chant at the end of “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin”

• Morphed into a black panther at the end of Black or White (I mean, seriously, seriously).

• Wrote a song called “They Don’t Care About Us,” which Spike Lee-directed, featuring prisoners raising the Black power fist

• USA For Africa? We Are The World? Lionel Richie? Hello?

• “Liberian Girl, you came and you changed my world.”

• “White man gotta make a change/I ain’t scared of no sheets/black man, blackmail, throw your brother in jail”

• Spoke about how he believes dance and rhythm is something intrinsic in African culture and life in his autobiography.

• Reffered to himself as a black man on secret phone conversations during 1991/2 when he was already depigmented. Said the women in Germany liked black men (meaning himself), reffered to “other black music groups,” and “nappy hair” and says things are a “black thing” and even calls himself a “ni*ger” at one point.

• The love of his life was Diana Ross, a black woman. He even wants his kids to be raised by her, should anything happen to his own mother.

• The only magazine he ever consistently gave interviews to was Jet/Ebony.

• Gave a speech talking about how he knows he’s black in 2002, how he believes he was targeted by the media because he is a black man and spoke of how Elvis got as far as he did because of black people.

• The only blonde love interests in his life were Debbie Rowe and Madonna (there goes that myth)

• Rumoured love interests and women he reportedly said were hot — Shana Magatal, Jody Whatley, Janelle Commissiong, Tatiana Thumbtzen, Stephanie Mills, Theresa Gonzales, Siedah Garret, Irene Cara, Regina Belle, Phyllis Hyman, Beyonce, Sade, Kelly Rowland, “S”, all ethnic.

• Lisa Marie Presley, Brooke Shields, Tatum O Niel, brunettes.

• Grace, his children’s nanny is black.

• I’d like someone to convince me that Blanket is white.
  

• He accused Tommy Motola of racism and said that he wasn’t treating his black artists fairly.

• Was a huge huge fan of James Brown and always insisted how much he was inspired by him as a musician and performer.

• Employed hundreds of black people and has never distanced himself from the community, contrary to what the media might have you believe.

• His collaborations included work with Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Biggie, Michael Jordan, Eddie Murphy, Boys II Men, R Kelly, Akon, Siedah Garrett, Heavy D, Slash, Kanye West, Rockwell, Lionel Richie, 3T, Harry Belafonte, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Beyoncé Knowles, Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey and Usher.

• In a court deposition in 1996 he says he wants to set things straight and said he was proud that he was black and he doesn’t bleach his skin.
• 
  
• Cried when finding out Obama had been elected.
  

Some of the charities Michael contributed to:

• Minority Aids Project

• Motown Museum

• NAACP

• Transafrica

• United Negro College Fund (UNCF)

• United Negro College Fund Ladder’s of Hope

• YMCA – 28th Street/Crenshaw

• Congressional Black Caucus (CBC)

• Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles

• Brotherhood Crusade

• AIDS Project L.A

• Dakar Foundation

• National Rainbow Coalition

• The Sickle Cell Research Foundation

• The Carter Center’s Atlanta Project

• Million Man March

Specific examples:

• On September 13 87, he displays his support towards a campaign against racism, as well as towards “NAACP”s mission to help arrest prejudiced conduct against black artists.

• March 3, 4, 5 1988 gigs at Madison Square Gardens in aid of United Negro College Fund

• On March 1, 1988, at a press conference organized by his sponsor, Pepsi, he offers UNCF’s President Christopher Edley a check for 600,000 dollars, making him one of “UNCF”s most significant donators.

• On March 10, 1988, he issues the following message regarding the “United Negro College Fund” he would support: “I would like to say this about the United Negro College Fund. An education opens a person’s mind to the entire world, and there is nothing more important than to make sure everyone has the opportunity for an education. To want to learn, to have the capacity to learn and not to be able to is a tragedy. I am honored to be associated with an evening that says this will never happen.”

• On October 23, 1988, he announces a substantial donation for the Motown Museum in Detroit, Michigan: “It’s great to be here. I’m happy and proud to give back to the soil from which I came. Berry Gordy made it all possible for me, and I want to say I love you, Berry, and thank you.”

• On November 13, 1989, Jackson performs song “You Were There” (that he wrote for singer Sammy Davis Jr.) for the first and only time, at a musical gala honouring Davis Jr., the event’s funds advantaging the “United Negro College Fund”

• Between February 11 and February 18, 1992 – and on occasion of Black History Month – the artist tours 30,000 miles of the African continent in 11 days (covering 6 countries), where he visits medical centers, schools, churches, children’s housings and educational NGO’s for disabled children.

• On May 6, 1992, he pays expenses for Ramon Sanchez’ funeral costs, Sanchez being killed during the Rodney King violent riots in California.

• On December 26, 1992, the singer acknowledges the merits of the “United Negro College Fund”, by virtue of which the “Michael Jackson Scholarship Program” had enabled over 200 young men and women to receive qualified education up until that time.

• On January 7, 1994, the pop star organizes, on occasion of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, a gala for 100 needy children at his Neverland residence.

• During “UNCF”/Parade Of Stars, a broadcast request for donations to the “United Negro College Fund”, aired December 26, 1992, Michael Jackson speaks on the importance of equal rights to education and on the “Michael Jackson Scholarship Program” benefits: “Black Colleges and Universities produce some of the leading personalities of our time. They are leaders in business and law, science and technology, politics and religion. I’m proud to have helped over 200 young men and women receive a quality education that has placed them closer to their dreams through the Michael Jackson scholars program. Tonight, I encourage you to pitch in for higher education. Please support the “United Negro College Fund”.” The four year college and university/scholarship for deserving students at a UNCF member college or university, focuses on Communications, Performing Arts, Literature/English/Writing and is a distinction available to African-Americans.

• On accepting Entertainer Of The Year award at the 25th “National Association for the Advancement of Colored People” event (NAACP Image Awards) in Pasadena, California on January 16, 1993, he delivers the following speech: “There are two things which the NAACP stands for which are the most important things in my life: freedom and equality. In every person, there is a secret song in their heart. It says: ‘I am free!’, it sings: ‘I am One!’. This is the natural feeling of every child. To be free as the wind, to be one with every other child. All the troubles in the world are caused by forgetting this feeling. Thank you for having the faith to see that I share your work — for I deeply feel I do. I accept this award on behalf of the world’s healing. When all our brothers and sisters will be as free and equal as we are today.

• In 1994, at the 26th NAACP Image Awards, prior to presenting dancer/choreographer Debbie Allen with an award, he delivers a speech underlining the meaning behind the „NAACP” organization supporting equality of treatment for all races and human dignity, and exhibiting his sympathy to the “NAACP” members: “For decades, the NAACP has stood at the forefront of the struggle for equal justice under the law for all people in our land. They have fought in the lunch rooms of the South, in the hallowed halls of the Supreme Court and the board rooms of America, for justice, equality and the very dignity of all mankind. Members of the NAACP have been jailed and even killed in noble pursuit of those ideals, upon which our country was founded”

• On March 23, 1999, Michael Jackson meets Nelson Mandela at the President’s residence, Genadendal, in Cape Town, South Africa, The singer names Mr. Mandela “my inspiration to want to do something before the end of the century, to undertake what I call “An adventure of humanity”, before the birth of the millenium. I love this man very much and I love Africa.” He adds: “It is right to announce this project here in the very cradle of mankind: the birthplace of us all.” (more from the speech here)

• On July 9, 2002, on occasion of an event titled “Equality For Blacks In Music World”, Michael Jackson, alongside a host of musicians, producers and music executives, addresses issues pertaining the rights of artists, the corruption and conspiracy in the record industry system, particularly demanding better treatment for blacks from the major record companies. He concludes towards the audience: “It’s time for a change. And let’s not leave this building and forget what has been said. Put it into your heart, put it into your conscious mind, and let’s do something about it. We have to! It’s been a long, long timecoming and a change has got to come. So let’s hold our torches high and get the respect that we deserve. I love you. I love you. Please don’t put this in your heart today and forget it tomorrow. We will have not accomplished our purpose if that happens. This has got to stop! It’s got to stop, that’s why I’m here with the best to make sure that it stops. I love you, folks. And remember: we’re all brothers and sisters, no matter what color we are.”

• On November 8, 2007, the pop star participates at Reverend Jesse Jackson’s birthday celebration, the event also being a fundraiser.

Presenting Her Excellency Miss Diana Ross, as interviewed by Barbara Walters, at home in Beverly Hills, November 19, 1978.

Ayer, mi hombre y yo, madrugamos. Nos levantamos a las 6.00 horas para ducharnos, vestirnos, buscar un bar que suministrase cafeína sin hacer preguntas, coger el coche y estar a las 7.00 horas en la entrada del hospital.

A la hermana de mi hombre la operarían presumiblemente a esa hora y mi hombre quería estar allí desde el principio.

Madrugar mucho es como trasnochar mucho. Pasadas las 6 de la mañana, todavía de noche, la luz eléctrica -en los luminosos, en los coches, en el alumbrado de las calles- tiene algo de impertinencia, de experiencia febril, de gesto grosero hacía el día que empieza. Una vez en la calle, la rutina, el deber y la necesidad  nos conducen de la mano hacía lugares donde el hombre no tendría que haber ido nunca.

El hospital, con los aparcamientos llenos y un trajín de pasillos y personas, tenía algo de afterhours. Yo tenía muchísimo sueño y mi hombre estaba nervioso. Ya estaba allí su familia: sus padres, su hermana y su marido. Luego llegarían amigos, vecinos y familiares.

La primera noticia fue desalentadora: entraría la cuarta a quirófano, a partir de las 11 de la mañana. Decidimos ir a tomar algo sólido. Y aquí empezó lo prodigioso.

En el ascensor nos encontramos con una muchacha que asiste con su familia al grupo terapéutico. Al sentarnos en la cafetería, vi que en la mesa de enfrente estaba desayunando un señor al que conocí en el mismo grupo. Y como colofón, en otra mesa, a nuestra derecha, desayunaba también la madre del muchacho a la que enervé el pasado jueves. Todos allí. Desperdigados por las mesas.

Primero comprobé que mi hombre también los veía y después, agradecí a la fuerza todopoderosa que reparte los trastornos psicológicos entre la muchedumbre que no me hubiese elegido para sufrir alucinaciones paranoides.

La operación fue bien y la hermana de mi hombre ingresó en su habitación a las 14.30 horas.

Nosotros fuimos a casa, dormimos la siesta, y a las 19.30 horas condujimos hasta la clínica. Sospechosamente,  ni uno solo de nuestros vecinos durante el desayuno asistió al grupo.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Ayer fue el día internacional contra la violencia machista -lo pongo en minúsculas para evitar buscar el nombre exacto-, y, viendo la televisión, al final del día, caí en la cuenta de que ser homosexual me iba a librar -solo de momento- de la fatal posibilidad de que una ministra cualquiera me susurrase a la oreja que ya no son tiempos para cantar “mi hombre”. A lo que yo, cual diva camp, entonaría:

it cost me a lot  /  but there’s one thing that I’ve got / It’s my man / It’s my man

*Spotify: My man/Billie Holiday

All images © FOX

[Ed. Note-- Hello monsters! You all know Erika, Glee recapper extraordinaire. Presented is her recap of last week's show. Season 1, Episode 10: "Ballad" SPOILER ALERT, duh.]

Last week: Everyone was handicapped and Sue Sylvester was human.

Will has a pop quiz for our favorite little singers: What is a ballad? Brittany says it’s a male duck. That would be a mallard, sweetie. Kurt contends that it’s a love song, which is close, but not quite. Apparently, new sectional rules require a ballad (Thanks indirectly to Rachel). On that note, just how many songs will New Directions be performing at sectionals?

Anyway, Will is dividing the Gleeks into pairs to sing ballads. Matt (the not-Asian football player) is at the hospital because of a… spider in his ear? Or would that be a nifty tool that many stumped writers refer to as a plot device? So Will is taking Matt’s place for the time being.

If that isn’t enough, Will wants the pairs to be decided by fate. The match-ups are as follows: Puck with Mercedes, Artie with Quinn, Finn with Kurt, Tina with “Other Asian” (Does anyone know his name?!), and Santana with Brittany. Kurt looks like his wildest dreams are about to come true.

Will, who is saddled with Rachel, does not look as enthusiastic. Artie asks for clarification on what a “ballad” is and clever Rachel suggests a demonstration. Will and Rachel sing the Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross duet “Endless Love”. The voiceovers speak for themselves.

While Kurt, Puck, and Finn are thinking about Diana Ross, underwear (er…lack of it), and butts, Rachel is falling head over heels in love with Will. Will, on the other hand, realizes he made a bad call. No, really?

Meanwhile…Quinn is getting married. No, wait, she’s just getting into a white lacy dress in preparation for the Chastity Ball. Huh. While her mom gushes, Quinn is missing her Cheerios uniform. The fallen cheerleader captain is putting on the baby pounds, which makes her dress just a tad too small. Her mother is delightfully unsuspecting… right? Quinn’s dad, excited about the dress, the ball, and Glenn Beck, announces that he’s invited Finn over for Sunday dinner. The daughter looks… terrified.

Rachel is traveling down a dark road. She schedules a present and gives Will a satin, star-covered tie. What?

In other news, Emma is back! And blurting things about Will’s major sex appeal. We love Emma. Sit tight, kiddies, because Will has the harrowing tale of Susie Pepper to share with our dear guidance counselor.

Susie is strange, socially awkward, and mildly attractive. Oh, and completely obsessed with Will. Or was. Until Will got sick of the presents and the stalker phone calls at 3am and told her to stop. She then attempted suicide with… the hottest pepper in the world? Only in Glee. Luckily, she lived, after an esophagus transplant, three days of a medically induced coma, and intense psychotherapy.

Emma, in her wisdom, suggests that Will should sing his feelings to Rachel.

Kurt and Finn are working at their ballads. Finn snaps at Kurt. Kurt blames it on girls. Is he trying to turn Finn? We’re rooting for you, Kurt.

Finn, completely clueless, spills on his anxiety about Quinn giving away the baby. His baby. Er…what he thinks is his baby. Kurt has a song ready for Finn to sing. And we learn that Kurt plays piano. Why are all these children so talented?!

Finn gives a rendition of “I’ll Stand By You” from The Pretenders.

He sings it… to the sonogram. Maybe he should think about investing in a better football helmet, once he’s done paying baby bills.

However, he should have done this with his computer facing away from his door because Momma Hudson walks in and sees him singing to the sonogram. Busted! She confronts him and he breaks down in tears. She holds him and tells him that everything is going to be okay—the perfect, understanding parent.

Quinn, however, is not happy. She is pissed that Finn broke down and received comfort from his mother because no one can patch up her chew toy. Right? Honestly Finn, baby that is not yours aside, what do you see in her? The other Gleeks look on, pitying the constant baby drama.

Kurt is acting as an inside agent. And still trying to convince Finn to be gay. “It’s because she’s a girl,” he says. Our Kurt admits to being madly in love with Finn, his “knight in shining armor.” He says it only got stronger after bonding over Glee, football, and skin care. (O…kay?)

Kurt finds Finn’s stupidity “charming.” His ultimate plan? Get close to Finn so that he’ll be the shoulder for Finn’s tears when Quinn disappoints him. Which she will. Hopefully.

At practice, Will has a ballad for Rachel. Emma is also present, saying that she wanted to learn the “power of the ballad” for SAT prep.

Actually, she was there for moral support. Also, Will needed a witness, in case the plan went foul.

Will sings a mash up of “Young Girl” by Union Gap and “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” by The Police. Wow. Will has quite the dreamy voice.

Emma and Rachel are loving it, especially when he belts it out on the piano.

I’m sorry to say this Will, but this was NOT a good idea. Rachel totally misses the intent. Emma’s moral support evaporated into breathless fan girl applause.

Oh, and now Susie Pepper is stalking Rachel.

So Kurt is helping Finn dress for dinner at the Fabray’s. They discuss their respective dead parents (because Finn is raiding his dad’s old clothes) and get onto the subject of the baby. He compares himself to his father and gushes about how pathetic he is because he can’t tell Quinn’s parents what is going on. Kurt suggests having the right weapon.

Kurt suggests that Finn use that “power of the ballad,” which is like the Gleek equivalent of the Force. Use the Ballad, Finn, use the Ballad!

Meanwhile, Will comes home to… Rachel? Oh snap.

As it turns out, Terri let her in. That crazy woman, amused by the crush, is exploiting Rachel’s feelings and applying it to housework. Like cleaning.

Terri is afraid that Will is going to leave her. Angry with his “slightly” unbalanced wife, he storms out of the house to take Rachel home.

Rachel tries to practice the ballad with Will. Her song choice? “Crush” by Jennifer Paige. Yikes.

Just as she gets started, Will cuts her off and asks her about Puck. Go Will. Massive save.

Later, Susie is threatening Rachel about Will… or is she?

As Rachel storms off to stalk Will or something, Mercedes is chatting on the phone with Tina about pregnant hamsters. And the baby drama.

She and Puck are just getting ready to start their rehearsal when Mercedes tells him about the group’s plan to sing a ballad to Quinn and Finn. Puck feigns indifference. And then blurts out that he’s the father.

Whoa, Puck! Mercedes, however, stays relatively cool. She tells Puck that Quinn chose Finn and to stop messing with her life.

Poor Puck. He really lacks sympathy.

It’s dinnertime with the Fabrays! Daddy Fabray is toasting to his wonderful family when Finn freaks out. He retreats to the restroom and calls his new best bud, Kurt. Kurt tells him to relax and remember what they practiced. Uh oh. That did not sound good. About to give him more advice, Kurt is cut off with, “I have to go. They’ll think I’m pooping.” Finn spends a couple of seconds in the mirror getting pumped.

Go get ‘em, tiger.

Wait… what?

Quinn’s warning alarms start to go off when Finn walks back in with a kitchen radio. Finn, ignoring Quinn’s protests, starts to sing “Having My Baby” by Paul Anka.

BAD FINN. VERY BAD FINN.

At first, the Fabray family thinks this is a cute joke. Finally, Daddy Fabray gets the message and stops the music. He is pissed.

Cue family conference time. Daddy Fabray is mad, Mommy Fabray is quiet, and Quinn accuses her mother of knowing all along and not helping her when she needed it. She says that in their family, “If you don’t talk about it, it doesn’t exist.”

Quinn is kicked out.

She begs her father for forgiveness, and help.

He leaves and tells her to get out.

Finn and his mother take in the pregnant teenager.

Then, to distract us from all the serious drama (PHEW!), Susie and Rachel have a bathroom heart-to-heart. She tells Rachel that they’re alike, looking for “boys we can never have.” Susie, the cautionary tale, leaves Rachel with a lot to think about.

Rachel and Will are now in practice. Will stops her before she says anything else and lays his cards on the table. He seems to be bracing himself for the worst when Rachel says she understands. She even brought pink flowers as an apology. Oh, and a note that says:

Will consoles her and tells her that someday there’s going to be a boy that will like everything about her. Then they ditch practice.

But Kurt and Finn are still at it. Kurt actually looks like he feels bad for what his master plan did to Quinn. Yeah, your plan kind of sucked, Kurt.

Trying to lighten the mood, Finn turns the subject to Kurt’s ballad. Kurt blurts, “I honesty love you.” Finn, our star quarterback who always wears his helmet, thinks that this is the title to a “positive and nice and stuff” song.

Mercedes comes in and saves Kurt a potentially awkward explanation. They lead Finn into the choir room. The rest of the Glee club starts the beautiful rendition of “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers. Artie and Mercedes sing the leads. Chills.

Finn is smiling and Quinn is on the verge of tears. The club drags Finn and Quinn out of their chairs for a Glee dance circle and lots of hugs. Mercedes has a killer high note that rounds off the episode with a hopeful, wonderful feeling.

Next Week [Ed. Note: Tonight, we know]: Sue returns to being a kitten-eating monster, we meet the competition, and people turn into hippies.

Luati de ascultati, sa va duca si pe voi cu gandul departe asa cum ma duce pe mine. Sa va ganditi si voi la ce ma gandesc si eu. LOVE LOVE LOVE…

Enjoy

Même s’il a l’air super intéressant, pas besoin de voir le documentaire de Chris Rock pour s’apercevoir que désormais, les perruques fleurissent sur les têtes des filles comme des mauvaises herbes entre les dalles d’une terrasse à la campagne.

Qu’elles soient connues (ou non), belles (ou non), adeptes de la frange (ou… bref), les femmes modernes aiment se rajouter sur le crâne des cheveux en poils de cheval ou des mèches d’hindoue domestiquée, pour un résultat plus ou moins réussi (Emilie de Secret Story, si tu nous lis).

Alors au risque de briser vos illusions, mais dans un souci de vous éviter une mauvaise surprise la prochaine fois que vous passerez la main dans la crinière de votre future conquête, voici une sélection de perruques (baptisées “wig” aux Etats-Unis) et de vrais cheveux, mais qu’on aurait aimé voir recouverts d’extensions capillaires synthétiques pour le coup. A vous de reconnaître ce qui est vrai… ou non.

Alors, oui ou wig?

Beyoncé:

Serena Williams:

Somaya Reece (la nouvelle meuf de Joe Budden, qui se fait pas chier l’enfoiré):

Gabby:

Halle Berry et Tyra Banks:

Foxy Brown:

Diana Ross:

Snoop Dogg:

Andre Agassi:

Le cousin gay de T-Pain et Sébastien Folin:

La fille de Kelly Rowland:

The Supremes are one of the many influential Motown acts to come out of the Motor City

City Sounds goes to the Motor City this week to listen to some of it’s native sounds.

Detroit is known mainly for it’s automobile industry, but a close second would be Motown.  As the birthplace of Motown Records, Detroit provided the world with one of the most important musical genres of all time. An influence to almost every other musical genre following it’s dominance, Motown and it’s notoriety still stand as the ideal for popular music.

Artists like Smokey Robinson, The Supremes, and Stevie Wonder topped the charts with hit after hit after hit, and it set a new standard for pop.  Motown reigned supreme (some pun intended) through the ’60s and into part of the ’80s. Even though the hits have dwindled in quantity, the quality of music is still heard around the world.

Motown put Detroit on the map, but it wasn’t the only source of great music.  Detroit also had it’s moments during the garage rock revival in the early 2000s with bands like The White Stripes, The Von Bondies and Electric Six.  It also presented the world with arguably one of the most influential rappers of all time, Eminem.

There’s plenty of great music from Detroit that will all be covered on Monday, November 23, from 11pm-1am on WERW. Tune in and listen up!

– Kyle Kuchta

Happy 50th Motown

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091121/ap_on_en_mu/us_motown_at50

I LOVE THE NOISETTES!!! I love everything about them, so I thought it’s only fitting that I do a blog post on how utterly phenomenal they are!!

If you haven’t heard of them, they’re an absolutely awesome indie rock band from London. Their hottest single is probably  “Dont Upset the Rhythm (Go Baby Go)”, but my favourite Noisettes song has got to be “Never Forget You”, which reminds me of Diana Ross meets Amy Winehouse.

The lead singer (and bassist) Shingai Shoniwa can only be described as one of those “cool” girls. You know what I’m talking about. Mariah Carey = not cool. Kim Kardashian = not cool. Even if you like something about them, they’re those boring, generic, don’t admit you like them type girls. Shingai, on the other hand, very cool, like Zooey Deschanel and Chloe Sevigny. She’s got a quirky sense of fashion and an amazing voice. Forget Amy Winehouse’s beehive – this girl, Shingai, has got her beat. She’s so inspiring and I can’t get enough of her! I’m listening to the Noisettes as I type this actually. Take a listen, and let me know what you think. Love it? Hate it? I hope not!

• via kikachannel •

A fascinating 1981 documentary on soul legend and messenger
Marvin Gaye, focusing on his time living in Ostend,
Belgium. Directed by Richard Olivier.
Rest In Power, King Marvin!

∆

Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese (born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. He is the founder of the World Cinema Foundation, a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the cinema and has won awards from the Oscars, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Directors Guild of America. Scorsese is president of the Film Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to film preservation and the prevention of the decaying of motion picture film stock.

Scorsese’s body of work addresses such themes as Italian American identity, Roman Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption, machismo, and violence. Scorsese is widely considered to be one of the most significant and influential American filmmakers of his era, directing landmark films such as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas; all of which he collaborated on with actor Robert De Niro. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for The Departed and earned an MFA in film directing from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.

Trivia:

Listed as one of 50 people barred from entering Tibet. Disney clashed with Chinese officials over the film Kundun (1997), which Scorsese directed. [19 December 1996]

Awarded third annual John Huston Award for Artists Rights by the Artists Rights Foundation. [1995]

Presented with a special tribute at the 1976 Telluride Film Festival. It was presented by Michael Powell. [1976]

He is a longtime friend and was once a housemate of The Band’s Robbie Robertson. He directed The Last Waltz (1978), the documentary of their supposedly last gig which Robertson produced. Robertson later produced the soundtrack for Scorsese’s The Color of Money (1986).

Good friends with editor Thelma Schoonmaker & cinematographer Michael Ballhaus. Scorsese introduced Thelma to her husband Michael Powell and he often quotes Powell as an influence.

His name is pronounced “Scor-sez-see”.

He directed Michael Jackson’s Bad (1987) (V) music video. The full length video runs 16 minutes and is in both black & white and color. It is usually shortened down to just the color segment for television.

He appears as attached to his pet white Bichon Frise Zoe as he was to his beloved parents – except Zoe is right beside Marty every day in the office.

Daughter Francesca Scorsese born. [16 November 1999]

John Woo dedicated his action film Dip huet seung hung (1989) (“The Killer”) to Scorsese on a commentary he did for the movie’s DVD.

Daughter Domenica Cameron-Scorsese with Julia Cameron.

Taught both Oliver Stone and Spike Lee at NYU.

Was at one point going to make a movie about the life of comedian Richard Pryor.

He was an altar boy at Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which was used in his early films I Call First (1967) and Mean Streets (1973). Old St. Patrick’s is also where the baptism scene in The Godfather (1972) took place.

Was at one point slated to direct Clockers (1995), but for reasons that are not entirely clear, handed the directing chores to his onetime NYU student Spike Lee, while staying on as producer. He was also at one point going to direct Little Shop of Horrors (1986) for David Geffen, with Steven Spielberg as the executive producer. He was ultimately uninvolved, but claims that he wanted to shoot the movie in 3-D. It no doubt would have been a loving homage to Roger Corman, for whom he directed Boxcar Bertha (1972).

He took a cameo in his film Taxi Driver (1976) (as a man about to kill his wife) only because the actor who was supposed to play the role was sick on the day the scene was to be shot. Says he is generally uncomfortable in front of the camera.

Has a dog named Silas.

Is the subject of the song “Martin Scorsese” by alternative band King Missile.

Father of actress Cathy Scorsese from his first marriage.

Is of Italian-Sicilian descent.

Has asthma.

Of the three films he’s been trying to make since the mid-1970s, he has done two: The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Gangs of New York (2002). The third film, a biopic of Dean Martin called “Dino”, has been on hiatus at Warner Brothers since the late 1990s. Scorsese has a very specific all A-list cast in mind, probably why it has yet to be produced. He wants Tom Hanks to star as Martin, Jim Carrey to play Jerry Lewis, John Travolta to play Frank Sinatra, Hugh Grant to play Peter Lawford, and Adam Sandler to play Joey Bishop.

Was voted the 4th greatest director of all time by Entertainment Weekly, making him the only living person in the top 5 and the only working film director in the top 10 (Ingmar Bergman being retired as a filmmaker).

Appeared on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (2000) as a shrill version of himself who comes to regret his decision to cast Larry David as a violent gangster in a movie after David repeatedly ruins the suit he needs to wear as the character.

Several characters in his films refer to the legendary (noir) actor John Garfield, star of the original The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), which is also mentioned.

He was one of three major directors to have been offered the opportunity to direct Schindler’s List (1993) by producer Steven Spielberg, the other two being Roman Polanski and Billy Wilder. Scorsese thought a Jewish filmmaker should direct it; Polanski wasn’t yet ready to deal with the painful subject (having lost his mother in the Holocaust); and Wilder (who was retired and who lost his mother and grandmother in the Holocaust) finally told Spielberg that he should do it himself.

Because so many of his actors win or are nominated for awards, actors are dying to work with him. The film With Friends Like These… (1998) pokes fun at this very real desire.

Both The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Gangs of New York (2002) were personal passions of his that he had wanted to make since the 1970s. When he first starting considering them, Robert De Niro was in his mind to play the lead characters in both (Jesus Christ in “Temptation” and Bill Cutting in “Gangs”). De Niro ultimately turned down the part in “Temptation” and it was decided he was too old to play Cutting by the time that “Gangs” finally went into production.

He has famously collaborated with Robert De Niro in 8 films. Scorsese has said that his creative collaboration with De Niro is very deep and that they can often understand each other without even talking. Their collaboration has had many dry spells (including recently), but Scorsese says he shows almost every script he writes or considers directing to De Niro to see what the actor’s thoughts on them are even when De Niro ultimately has no involvement the film.

Appeared in an “American Express” ad where he goes to pick up photos of his nephew’s birthday party at a drug store, and then proceeds to nervously pick through what’s wrong with each picture while trying to get the clueless photo-lab clerk’s opinion on them. He proceeds to buy more film with an American Express card and calls the people on the pictures saying they need to reshoot. Scorsese says this funny ad is probably the closest he’s come to accurately “playing” himself.

Apart from his legendary work as a filmmaker, he has been a vocal supporter of film preservation for almost three decades. His efforts to create a strong public awareness for the work of film archives include The Film Foundation, a non-profit organisation which he started together with other filmmakers. The Film Foundation regularly partners with the American film archives on the restoration of “lost” or endangered films. With this background he has agreed to serve as Honorary President of the Austrian Film Museum in Vienna.

Personally spurns the notion of the “director’s cut” feeling that once a film has been completed, it should not be further altered in any way.

He lost three best director – and best picture – Oscars to leading-man actors turned directors: Robert Redford, Kevin Costner, and Clint Eastwood (Raging Bull (1980) lost to Redford’s Ordinary People (1980); Goodfellas (1990) to Costner’s Dances with Wolves (1990); The Aviator (2004) to Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby (2004)). On the only two occasions when he was Oscar-nominated as Best Director in years ending in zero, he was beaten by actors making their directorial debuts (Redford and Costner).

In 1975, he accepted the Oscar for “Best Actress in a Leading Role” on behalf of Ellen Burstyn, who wasn’t present at the awards ceremony. She won for her performance in Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974)

President of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998.

Has mentioned that he thought Robert De Niro’s best performance under his direction was as Rupert Pupkin in The King of Comedy (1982).

Ranked #3 in Empire (UK) magazine’s “The Greatest directors ever!” [2005]

His favorite films include: Citizen Kane (1941), The Red Shoes (1948) and Il gattopardo (1963) (“The Leopard”).

Was friend, protégé, and employee of actor-director John Cassavetes.

When asked where audiences would find the next Martin Scorsese, he said to look to Wes Anderson, the young director of Rushmore (1998).

Has directed, as of 2008, 6 biopics: Raging Bull (1980), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), Kundun (1997) and The Aviator (2004).

He received a Degree ad honorem in “Cinema, TV and Multimedia Production” from the University of Bologna on 26 November 2005.

Served as mentor to Georgia Lee and invited her to apprentice for Gangs of New York (2002) in Europe.

The 1912 American Mutoscope & Biograph Company short The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) heavily influenced Scorsese in the making of his own gangster films Goodfellas (1990), and Gangs of New York (2002). The film was picked by Scorcese for his 2005 tribute at Beaubourg, centre d’art et de culture Georges Pompidou (1977) in Paris, France. Biograph is the oldest movie company in America and in existence today, headed by producer/director Thomas R. Bond II.

Scorsese and Taxi Driver (1976) are, among others, named as inspiration for the Massive Attack debut “Blue Lines”.

He signed a four-year, first-look deal to develop projects with studio executives of Paramount. [November 2006]

The Departed (2006) is the highest-grossing movie of his 40-year career ($132,373,442 (USA)).

The Aviator (2004) was his first movie to gross over $100 million in the U.S.

He has worked with big names of music business: Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, ‘Michael Jackson (I)’ and David Bowie.

Directed 17 different actors in Oscar nominated performances: Jodie Foster, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis , Cate Blanchett, Winona Ryder, Ellen Burstyn, Sharon Stone, Diane Ladd,Cathy Moriarty, Juliette Lewis, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Newman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Alan Alda and Mark Wahlberg. (Burstyn, De Niro, Newman, Pesci and Blanchett won Oscars for their roles in one of Scorsese’s movies).

When he won his Best Director Oscar for The Departed (2006), he received the award from legendary directors, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, and Steven Spielberg. The four were part of the “New Hollywood” movement of the 1970s and combined have 9 Academy Awards and 38 Nominations.

As a teenager in the Bronx, Scorsese frequently rented Michael Powell’s The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) from a store that only had one copy of the reels. When it wasn’t available the owner told him, “that Romero kid has it,” referring to George A. Romero who was also a big fan of the film. Today, both directors cite the film as a major influence.

Says he was happy with the fact that it took so long for him to win Best Director, because if he had won it earlier, it would have affected his directing and films.

Recipient of the 2007 Kennedy Center Honors. Other recipients that year were Leon Fleisher, Steve Martin, Diana Ross, and Brian Wilson.

Says the only thing he regrets in his career is that he was only able to make The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) on a small budget although he imagined it to be a grand version.

Was originally going to direct The Honeymoon Killers (1969), but was replaced after a week of shooting.

Served as a guest critic on “Siskel & Ebert & the Movies” (1986) following the death of ‘Gene Siskel’. The episode was “The Best Films of the 90s” in which Roger Ebert cited Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990) as one of the best films of the 90s (#3). Scorsese’s full list of his favorite films of the 1990s: 10.) Tie: Malcolm X (1992) and Heat (1995), 9.) Fargo (1996), 8.) Crash (1996), 7.) Bottle Rocket (1994), 6.) Breaking the Waves (1996), 5.) Bad Lieutenant (1992), 4.) Eyes Wide Shut (1999), 3.) Duo sang (1994) (“A Borrowed Life”), 2.) The Thin Red Line (1998), 1.) Dao ma zei (1986) (“Horse Thief”).

He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film culture.

Resides in New York City. His production offices are located on W. 57th Street in Manhattan.

Attended Cardinal Hayes high school in the Bronx as a young man. Fellow alumni included George Carlin, George Dzundza, Regis Philbin and Jamal Mashburn.

Is a fan of the British Hammer Films series.

A huge fan of Fawlty Towers (1975). He describes the episode “The Germans” as “so tasteless, its hilarious.”.

In the 5th edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (edited by Steven Jay Schneider), 7 of Scorsese’s films are listed: Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1982), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995) and The Departed (2006).

Haig Manoogian was Scorsese’s mentor at NYU. He eventually produced Scorsese’s first film (I Call First (1967)) and when he died in 1980, Scorsese dedicated Raging Bull (1980) to Manoogian.

Roger Ebert is a great admirer of Scorsese’s work. 14 of Scorsese’s films were given four stars by Ebert (Mean Streets (1973), Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), After Hours (1985), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Goodfellas (1990), The Age of Innocence (1993), Casino (1995), Kundun (1997), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), The Aviator (2004), The Departed (2006), Shine a Light (2008)), seven of his films are in Ebert’s Great Movies list (“Mean Streets”, “Taxi Driver”, “Raging Bull”, “After Hours”, “The Last Temptation Of Christ”, “Goodfellas”, and “The Age of Innocence”), and Ebert has written an entire book of his reviews, interviews and essays on Scorsese’s work simply titled “Scorsese By Ebert”.

As of November 10th 2009, five of his films are on the IMDb’s Top 250 Films list: Goodfellas (1990), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), The Departed (2006), and Casino (1995).

Amazon Specials!

Video Source: Viddler

Here’s a sneak peek from “Ballads” which is episode 10 of “Glee”. Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) and Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) perform “Endless Love”. The original duet was sung by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie.

Also check out a scene from “Ballads” where Mr. Schuester talks with Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays) about Rachel’s growing crush and Suzy Pepper (Guest star Sarah Drew), the worst school girl crush he’s ever had to deal with. Click on the link below to watch the sneak peek scene from “Ballads”.

Video Source: Viddler

For more “Glee” news and clips, visit the Glee category on my blog or just click here.

Leider finde ich die längere 12″ Version von diesem Diana Ross Klassiker nicht bei youtube.

(Above: Richard “Popcorn” Wylie’s version of “Money (That’s What I Want)” is one of music writer Bill Dahl’s favorite early Motown songs.)

By Joel Francis

Chances are good that Chicago-based music writer Bill Dahl has penned the liner notes to at least one of your favorite reissues or compilations. Since 1985, Dahl has been commissioned to write the notes for hundreds of blues, R&B, rockabilly and rock collections on both major and boutique labels.

In 1998, Dhal was recognized with a Grammy nomination for his essay on Ray Charles’ sax section included in the “Ray Charles – Genius and Soul: The 50^th Anniversary Collection” box set. In 2000, he received the Keepin’ the Blues Alive award from the Blues Foundation in Memphis. His book, “Motown: The Golden Years” was published in 2001. Dahl’s latest project was co-authoring the amazingly comprehensive liner notes for each of the 12 volumes in the Hip-O Select “Complete Motown Singles” series.

Dahl also writes regularly on his Web site. He recently spoke to The Daily Record via e-mail.

The Daily Record: What was your first exposure to Motown and how did you become interested in writing about it?

Bill Dahl: I started buying quite a bit of Motown vinyl—the Miracles, the Temptations, Jr. Walker, Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops—during the early ‘70s as an outgrowth of my record collecting interests, which were expanding rapidly from my original love of ‘50s rock and roll. I was getting into soul, blues, rockabilly, etc., and loving it all (much to the chagrin of my mainstream rock-loving high school classmates, who ragged me unmercifully; I guess I never was much of a conformist).

TDR: What are some of the more interesting stories or facts you learned in researching these liner notes?

BD: One thing that always impresses me is the loyalty the great majority of Motown’s ‘60s artists have to the company and Mr. Gordy to this day. I was fortunate to attend a charity tribute to him a few years ago in LA, and a virtual galaxy of Motown stars performed and paid homage to their beaming boss. Later, all of them trooped up to the stage at the end to sing the old Hitsville fight song!

I’ve found it interesting that several of the better-known songwriting teams had a similar setup to that of Lennon-McCartney—if one wrote it, both names went on automatically. It’s been a pleasure tracking down a lot of the lesser-known acts, including a lot of the Rare Earth label rockers, to get their intriguing stories. They’re too often overlooked and made their own contributions to Hitsville history.

TDR: What are some of the biggest misconceptions about Motown?

BD: The goofy and totally unfounded rumors that the mob was involved with the label, solely because a few very competent Caucasians wielded power in the front office. The only color Mr. Gordy cared about was green, so he hired the best person for the job. There were more than a few R&B labels where “da boys” were in up to their eyeballs (no names here), but Motown wasn’t one of them.

TDR: Motown’s big stars get a lot of attention. Who are some of the unheralded Motown artists worth checking out? Were there any long-forgotten gems you discovered as a result of working on the Complete Motown Singles notes?

BD: I remember being amazed by Richard “Popcorn” Wylie’s version of “Money (That’s What I Want),” which is on the first Complete Singles box. It sounds like B. Bumble and the Stingers meet Hitsville!

Gino Parks’ “Same Thing” (which I knew about already) and several others of his songs are fantastic, as are Singin’ Sammy Ward’s early blues numbers, like “Who’s The Fool.” I love Jr. Walker’s early instrumentals – “Mutiny,” with James Jamerson’s jazz bass solo, is astounding – Shorty Long, Brenda Holloway, Kim Weston, the Velvelettes, and some of Little Stevie Wonder’s overlooked early outings. Los Angeles guitarist Arthur Adams’ “It’s Private Tonight,” which came out on Motown-distributed Chisa (it’s on the 1970 box), is the perfect marriage of blues and soul.

TDR: How detrimental do you think Berry Gordy’s favoritism toward Diana Ross was to the label? How much better would Martha Reeves, Gladys Knight, Kim Weston and Mary Wells have fared otherwise?

BD: It wasn’t detrimental in the slightest; the Supremes made some of the biggest hits of the ‘60s at a time when the British Invasion was otherwise dominating our charts, and Diana Ross had a coquettish mainstream appeal that none of the rest had. Mary Wells ruined her own career by walking away from Motown when she turned 21. Gladys Knight and the Pips were already stars when they arrived at Motown and far bigger ones when they left, though they got even hotter at Buddah. Kim Weston’s Motown career was inextricably intertwined with that of her husband, Motown A&R chief Mickey Stevenson, for both better and worse.  And Martha Reeves and her Vandellas had a series of incredible hits, much like the Marvelettes, that made both groups long-term mainstays.

TDR: There has been some disagreement over Tammi Terrell’s involvement on the duet albums with Marvin Gaye that bear her name. Did she return to the studio after her collapse and is that her voice on those songs? What was (Motown songwriter) Valerie Simpson’s role in these recordings?

BD: It’s impossible to say for sure, since Valerie has never admitted any possible lead vocal involvement (Marvin Gaye’s biography stated such unequivocally, but I’d be less inclined to buy in).  I doubt we’ll ever know one way or the other for sure, though Valerie’s role as co-producer and co-writer on many of them was so crucial that Tammi was no doubt channeling her vocal approach when she sang them (if indeed she was on the last couple hits).

TDR: The Complete Motown Singles Collection series ends in 1972. Why stop there? What is your favorite post-1972 Motown single or moment?

BD:  That was the end of the Detroit era—the Golden Years—so it seems like a reasonable place to end it, though you’d have to ask my boss Harry Weinger (Vice President of A&R for Universal Music – ed.) there. I’m not sure I have too many post-1972 favorites—I’m very partial to the 1959-72 Motown era we’ve covered on the Complete Motown Singles series—but  Gloria Jones, Yvonne Fair, Chicago blues guitarist Luther Allison, and Jr. Walker’s “Peace, Love and Understanding” come to mind.

TDR: In your mind, what was the greatest single factor in the label’s decline? Was it the departure of Holland-Dozier-Holland, the move to Los Angeles, Gordy’s interest in movies or something else?

BD: I don’t think we can accurately say Motown declined, since it’s still a going entity today and enjoyed a ton of hits after 1972. Times change and so do musical tastes, so keeping the same sound in 1972 that sold so well in the mid-‘60s would have been a recipe for disaster. Certainly HDH’s departure was a blow, but that gave other writers and producers more room to create their own soulful magic, like Norman Whitfield. The move to Los Angeles hurt the artists and musicians that chose to remain in the Motor City, and didn’t help the local economy either.

Mr. Gordy’s early ‘70s interest in the film industry made him a lot harder to reach on the phone at the time, much to the frustration of some staffers, but artistically it had a negligible effect since he wasn’t all that active musically by then anyway other than with the Jackson 5.

TDR: Ultimately, what do you feel is Motown’s greatest and most lasting impact on music today? Why?

BD: As the top indie label of the ‘60s, Motown turned the industry on its ear. There had been successful African-American owned record labels prior to Motown—Duke/Peacock, Fire/Fury, and Vee-Jay come to mind—but none were so monumentally successful. Gordy’s mantra of making R&B attuned to pop sensibilities had never been pulled off so convincingly. He also did a masterful job of delegating authority in the A&R department. It sounds like a cliché to say these classic recordings will never die, but they won’t.

TDR: Now that this project is over, what is your next venture? Are there any more Motown projects on the horizon?

BD: There are no Motown projects immediately scheduled, but I wrote the notes on Reel Music’s CD reissue of Jimmy Ruffin’s fine “Ruff ‘n Ready” Motown LP, complete with a fresh in-depth interview with the gracious Mr. Ruffin, which is just coming out.

I’m hoping and praying that Rhino Handmade finally releases the wonderful Wilson Pickett boxed set that it’s been sitting on for more than two years. A recent proclamation on the label’s website says it’s been scheduled. I wrote a huge track-by-track essay for it, much like the ones in the Motown boxes. It’s got everything he did for Atlantic on it and plenty more. Interestingly, the Funk Brothers played on Pickett’s first solo platters for Double L, a fact scantily documented before I started doing research for this box.

Keep reading:

Music essays and reviews by Bill Dahl

More features and interviews on The Daily Record:

Former NBA player at home in KC music scene

Jamie Foxx brings it to Sprint Center on Saturday

George Kalinsky: Painting with Light

Modest Mouse: Johnny Strikes Up the Band

Hail Death Cab

Ever Fallen For The Buzzcocks?

Out of the Tar Pit Back Onto the Stage

Local Doctor Claims He’s Treating Elvis

Down on “Cypress Avenue”

Declan Kidney, Peter de Villiers and Andy Robinson have named a total of nine Leinster players in their international selections for the weekends’ international fixtures.

Leinster captain Leo Cullen has to be content with a place on the bench against Australia, but teammate Brian O’Driscoll will captain the Irish team for the 54th time in what is his 100th test (94 for Ireland, 6 for the Lions). Cullen is joined on the bench by provincial teammates Eoin Reddan and Jonny Sexton. Jamie Heaslip will line out at 8, and is joined in the starting line-up by Luke Fitzgerald and Rob Kearney. Gordon D’Arcy, John Fogarty and Mike Ross (recently said by George Hook to be worse at propping than Diana Ross) are perhaps unfortunate to miss out on a place in the squad.

Elsewhere, Scottish coach Andy Robinson has named Nathan Hines in the secondrow for his side’s clash with Fiji on Saturday afternoon, while CJ Van der Linde will provide frontrow cover for South Africa in Toulouse on Friday night against France.

Ireland ‘A’ also play this weekend, taking on Tonga at Ravenhill on Friday evening, and featuring seven Leinster players, including captain Shane Horgan.

Old boys will feature prominently this coming weekend, with Rocky Elsom captaining Australia against Ireland in Croke Park and Paul Doran-Jones warming the bench for England against Argentina on Saturday. He would surely have come up against Toulon’s former Leinster out-half/centre Felipe Contepomi, but for an injury suffered in the Heineken Cup semi-final last May. Ian Keatley will also feature in the Ireland ‘A’ game from the bench.

International selections:

Ireland: R Kearney, T Bowe, B O’Driscoll (capt), P Wallace, L Fitzgerald, R O’Gara, T O’Leary; C Healy, J Flannery, J Hayes, D O’Callaghan, P O’Connell, S Ferris, D Wallace, J Heaslip. Replacements: S Cronin, T Court, L Cullen, D Leamy, E Reddan, J Sexton, K Earls.

Scotland: R Lamont, S Lamont, A Grove, G Morrison, S Danielli, P Godman, C Cusiter (capt); A Jacobsen, R Ford, M Low, N Hines, A Kellock, A Strokosch, J Beattie, J Barclay. Replacements: D Hall, K Traynor, J White, R Vernon, M Blair, C Paterson, N De Luca

South Africa: Z Kirchner, JP Pietersen, J Fourie, A Jacobs, B Habana, M Steyn, F du Preez; R Kankowski, S Burger, H Brüssow, V Matfield, B Botha, J Smit (capt), B du Plessis, T Mtawarira. Replacements: A Strauss, W du Preez, CJ van der Linde, A Bekker, D Rossouw, R Pienaar, W Olivier.

Ireland ‘A’: G Duffy, S Horgan (capt), D Cave, F McFadden, A Trimble, I Humphreys, P Stringer; B Wilkinson, J Fogarty, M Ross, D Toner, D Ryan, S O’Brien, N Best, C Henry. Replacements: D Fogarty, B Young, D Tuohy, K McLaughlin, I Boss, I Keatley, J Murphy.

The latest girl to shed her clothes for the Playboy magazine cover is none other than Marge Simpson. The November issue comes in celebration of the cartoon’s 20th anniversary. This coupled with the news that Chris Martin & Co are also set to appear in Springfield soon was all the inspiration I needed… Doh!

Warning: The content of this video is Homer-erotik!

]]> http://musicjuices.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/suck-it/ Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:31:14 +0000 Seth Michael http://musicjuices.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/suck-it/

I’ve been told by many people that our generation has no originality and stealing ideas from the past to create style and art, that we lack innovation. I think this is total shit, I have to agree that our generation is the most resourceful, inspirations coming from previous decades and fades. But have we not gone and pushed the boundaries? Isn’t art about expression and interpretation? Isn’t all art inspired?

We can look at this years greatest innovative success; Lady Gaga. Now I haven’t been a fan of her recently mainly for her domination of the airwaves, and every other media outlet. And for some reason I just got really fedup with her, when in fact I had purchased the album when I first heard “just dance” back in May of 08′. But I give her props for pushing the boundaries and creating something that has never been done. She is consistently giving us music we’ve never heard, and video’s we’ve never seen, even fashions we’ve never dreamed of. People are singing her praises because she is doing things that have never been done before… or have they? There is no doubt that Gaga has been inspired, among the likes of Madonna, Queen, Michael Jackson, David Bowie and if you look you can see that directly reflected in her work. Regardless, this isn’t about Miss Gaga, every great music to top the charts has been inspired and influenced. Be it MJ influenced by Little Richard, Diana Ross, Bee Gees, or Elvis knowing every single Hank Snow song, or even Madonna praising the works of Karen Carpenter, and The Supremes to helping create her musical styling. One of my favourite musicians of all time; Leadbelly has provided material (which had been adapted for previous sources) for the likes of Abba, Van Morrison, The White Stripes, The Rolling Stones, Led Zepplin and countless other artists.For fuck sakes, every single musician and artist has been inspired or influenced.

Just like anything else in our society, and music specifically has been developed. Music was not created the way it sounds today. It started with the basics, from literally carving instruments out of bones, to the slow development of tune and the cultivation of songs. These expansions developed slowly, and after thousands of years we have music today.

What I’m getting at is every generation has their claim to fame. We may not be creating a piece of art that you are not able to redirect to a previous time. Alas that is only because you have not been alive forever, ergo you aren’t aware of every creation, every song, every lyrics, every sound, every image that may have influenced these works that we are ’stealing’ from. We take what we know, and we transform. I believe we will be known as the generation that reinvents. We are taking music, art, fashion, and recreating it. Interpreting and transforming it, while praising those who made the arts what they are today.

I love going to flea markets in search of treasures. You just never know what you might find. Today I ventured out on an unusually warm day for Fall in DC in search of a copy of the book “Push,” which is now the major motion picture, “Precious” and coming soon to a theatre near you if not already. I plan to see the movie next weekend and wanted to read the book first. Within five minutes of my arrival to the “DC Farmer’s Market” flea market, I had a copy in my hand for a very good price. Mission accomplished so I should have headed back home to enjoy the rest of the afternoon swinging on my porch under a sunny sky and enjoying my book find but I decided to take a little stroll around the market first. Furniture, art, CDs, hats, jewelry,  and shoes mixed in with everything from trash to treasures depending on the eye of the beholder. I even ran into the Silver Lady pictured above. I asked her if she was going anywhere special to which she replied, “Heaven.” Alrighty then. Who am I to doubt it?

Anyways, I was making my way around looking here and there but I was careful not to get too close to the vendors’ mini-stores and doubly careful not to make eye contact. These days, everyone is so hungry for a sale that I didn’t want to get anybody’s hope up unless I was seriously thinking about making a purchase. After I had covered most of the ground, I was heading toward the exit gate when I heard this fellow yelling from my right, “Ebonies-One Dollah, Jets-Three for Two Dollahs!” Hmm…That sounded intriguing enough to move in his direction to take a closer look. Once I did, I saw Ebony and Jet magazines dating back to the 70’s scattered about in piles on his table. My eyes lit up. I love seeing the old magazine covers especially Ebony and Jet. They were in no condition to put on EBay but they seemed really valuable to me right away. I would later get this description of the two magazines in the blog “All Bronx News All The Time” to describe just what these magazines have meant to African-Americans.

Two of the most notable permanent fixtures in every black household over the years were Ebony and Jet magazines. If you wanted to learn about your history, the plight of black America, current issues facing us, how the political process of America affects us, how politics works, who the fastest rising actors are, successful black television shows, who was recently married, which cities had black mayors, police chiefs, school superintendents, how to register to vote, which cars offer the best value, how to apply for college scholarships, etc, More likely than not, either Ebony or Jet provided answers to those questions.

Unfortunately, the purpose of the blog entry was to share what an awful crisis the magazines published by the Johnson Publishing Company were facing earlier this year. The bleak headline was “Ebony & Jet Magazines are On the Verge of Financial Collapse.” As far as I can tell, their situation hasn’t changed much. Hopefully I am wrong. These magazines are certainly not the only print publications that have suffered tremendous losses. Both the economic downturn and the rapid shift to the 24/7 news cycle are to blame among other factors. We want our news a little deeper and a little faster these days. The Internet with a multitude of sources satisfies our hunger to have the very latest news and to have it free at the click of a mouse. I do, however, have subscriptions to Essence and Uptown, whose primary audience is African-American as well. I consider these magazines more focused on life-style and more directed toward me. I look forward to receiving them and set aside a special time to read them from cover to cover after they arrive.

I thought about how it is quite possible that Ebony and Jet might be discontinued in the future as I leafed through the old issues. They are now artifacts depicting what or whoever was hot or important at the time in African-American history and culture. I saw Sugar Ray Leonard, Jayne Kennedy, and Emmanuel Lewis gracing the covers. Wonder what they’re up to now? I grabbed the ones with “The Jeffersons”, “Good Times”, and “Different Strokes” because those were some of my favorite shows growing up. Ironically one Jet that had George and Weezy from ‘The Jeffersons” on the cover  read “The Jeffersons Are In…But Most Black Shows Are Out On TV.” Hmmm…not much has changed since 1978. When I got them home, instead of reading “Push”, I found myself skimming the old articles and looking at the advertisements, mostly for black beauty products, cigarettes, and liquor (“Nobody does it like the bull.”). There were a lot of blasts from the past. The Top Five Singles for August 27, 1981 were:

1. She’s A Bad Mama Jama by Carl Carlton                  
2. Love on a Two Way Street by Stacey Latisaw
3. I’m in Love by Evelyn King
4. Endless Love by Lionel and Diana Ross
5. Give It To Me Baby by Rick James

No hits lately from Carl and Stacey, Lionel and Diana are megastars still, and Rick has passed away. The same magazine on one page had articles about Michael Jackson and Phyllis Hyman. Both-gone too soon.

I was just about done reminiscing for the day and ready to open up my new book when I saw that the address label was still affixed to all the magazines. Apparently, a lady from Henderson, North Carolina once had the subscription to these. How and why did she keep them for thirty years? What route did they follow to end up in a DC flea market and now in my hands?  I even googled the lady and actually found her number. I am starting to think that maybe I am not so much an anthropologist as I am just plain ole nosey. I almost called her but stopped myself. What would I say? Thanks for helping me spend twelve more dollars than I intended to spend today? Actually I would probably just say thanks for being a pack rat so I can still enjoy all the history and beautiful photos in those magazines from back in the day. It’s always good to remember even as we move forward.

But should we all go out and get subscriptions to Ebony and Jet to ensure their future? Well for four more dollars than I spent on all the old magazines, I could have gotten a year subscription to some new ones. The bottom line is businesses must adapt to changing times and be forward-thinking to be successful in this sink or swim climate.  If Ebony and Jet remain relevant to a large enough audience, they will survive.  I definitely need Jet to stick around at least until I make the Jet Beauty of the Week. Now that issue would fly off the stands and absolutely ensure  its legacy and secure its future. For ths reason alone, you might want to get a subscription because you do not want to miss this when it happens! http://www.ebonyjet.com

Now finally I can read “Push.”

And that’s a wrap!

Cover to Girl Groups, Girl Culture (Routledge, 2007); image courtesy of routledgemusic.com

For financial reasons, I was only able to swing one day of Fun Fun Fun Fest so I’m blogging while many in this fair city are catching some good music in Waterloo Park. Although, admittedly, if you’re gonna do one day of the festival, I think yesterday was the way to go. I got to check several bands I’ve never seen before off my list: No Age (who I’ve missed by a marrow margin at least three times), Jesus Lizard, Pharcyde, Les Savy Fav, and Death.

But if you have the scratch, please make sure everyone sees one of Mika Miko’s last shows ever on the black stage at 2:55. I might try to get down there later just to hear it from the other side of the fence.

Mika Miko’s exceptional presence on this year’s bill seems as good a place as any to remember that, as Melissa at GRCA astutely pointed out in her recent post, this year boasts a very dudecentric line-up. So I’ll review Jacqueline Warwick’s book Girl Groups, Girl Culture: Popular Music and Identity in the 1960s book in the hopes that at least one historically significant girl group or all-female band will reunite for next year’s FFFF like Death did this year. And like the Shangri-Las did at CBGB’s in 1977.

As much as I hate comparing women’s work so as to pit them in opposition, Warwick’s book is a tremendous example of how effective it can be to narrow the scope of the cultural moment being covered, something I wish Charlotte Greig would have considered when penning her book on girl groups. While Greig truncates the history of the girl group era in order to broaden the definition of what a girl group is, Warwick focuses primarily on this brief but important moment in history (roughly between 1958 and 1965), considering its ongoing influence as an epilogue.

By taking this approach, Warwick considers the girl group era and its participants from several different, often surprising, areas of inquiry. As a result, she proves the cultural signficance of a popular form dismissed by many as superficial, polished, and phony who instead tend to favor rock music’s supposed transcendent raw authenticity, and argues strongly that this binary construction is inherently gendered. Duh, and amen.

Warwick posits that one of the most important things about the girl group era was its insistence on putting girls and young women in the spotlight, introducing a complex, celebratoryn and at times contradictory performance of what the author calls “girlness”. Often, these ladies were working class, and of African American or mixed racial and ethnic heritage. They had few options for financial mobility and minimal career prospects being marriage, motherhood, clerical jobs, and day labor. Forming vocal groups together and cutting records gave them access to other opportuntities toward professional advancement and personal growth, expanding the idea of girlhood as an identity across race and class lines. 

Sometimes these groupings resulted in the cultivation of considerable, devoted fan bases that, in The Supremes and The Ronnettes’ cases, were comparable to Beatlemania. Some of those fans were even other male-only rock bands, like The Beach Boys, The Beatles, and later, The Ramones. Take that, pop-rock, girl-boy binaries!

In other words, I’m telling you to read this book.

One thing I appreciate about Warwick’s book from the outset is the celebration of the female voice. As I’ve long believed and argued extensively in this blog, we cannot give short-shrift to singers. While they can assuredly be tokenized and objectified, but they can also be empowered, embodied, and forge their own agency. Heartenly, she finds much going on with the voice, a distinct instrument no matter how it may have been manipulated or homogenized by label owners like Motown’s Barry Gordy and producers like Phil Spector and his overwhelming wall of sound. She hears the genteel precision of Diana Ross’s soprano, the urgent purr of Ronnie Spector’s husky alto, the untrained wavering of Shirelle Shirley Owens’s pitch, the gutteral inflections on Supreme Florence Ballard’s tone, the put-on nasal affectations of Broadway-trained groups like The Angels, the racial dimensions of Dusty Springfield’s blue-eyed soul, and the teenaged monotone of Shangri-La Mary Weiss.

She also hears these girls singing to one another, often in their own forms of feminine dialect and for the purposes of providing support and advice. On record, acts like The Dixie Cups, The Crystals, Betty Everett, and The Velvelettes would pepper their songs with seemingly nonsensical words and phrases like “iko iko,” “da doo ron ron,” “shoop,” and “doo lang doo lang,” often provided by backing vocalists as a means of support for the lead vocalist, who might be intimating her feelings about burgeoning romance or her conflicted feelings in the aftermath of a break-up.

Often, these girls were providing one another moral support and providing advice as well. While Warwick notes that advice songs tended to be the domain of girl groups with African American members like The Velvelettes, The Shirelles, The Chiffons, and The Marvelettes, they often imparted wisdom to their audiences that they learned from their mothers or their sisters, as well as sharing what they’ve learned from their own experiences. In doing so, these songs provided a counterargument to the assertion that girl groups only sang about boys and also expanded female discourse in popular music by including the words and experiences of generations of women into then present-day pop songs by girls.  

It cannot be ignored that while many girl group songs were written by men, not all of them were. As mentioned elsewhere, Brill Building stalwarts like Cynthia Weil, Ellie Greenwich, and Carole King were of paramount importance to the era. Many of these women, like Greenwich, wrote about seemingly teenage issues like young love and treated it as legitimate, at times giving it life-and-death importance, as she did on The Shangri-Las’ “Leader of the Pack.” 

King is a particularly interesting case as well. Before striking out on her own as a solo artist, she wrote many important songs for girl groups. Some songs, like The Crystals’ “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)” address the troubling and dangerous aspects of patriarchy and oppression, and have been covered to harrowing effect by bands like Hole and Grizzly Bear.

Other songs King penned gesture toward the era’s prescience regarding shifting cultural attitudes toward feminism, female agency, and sexual autonomy, as on The Shirelles’ anthemic “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” 

Girl groups were also clearly singing with one another, as girl groups often were comprised of siblings and relatives who wore matching outfits and performed intricate choreography to suggest that these girls were a unit, despite at times having clearly defined lead singers and stars who (especially in Diana Ross’s case) were thin and had a more conventional look and sound.

It was this image coordination that made The Ronnettes able to ingratiate night clubs when they were underaged, gave them the confidence to perform at those night clubs, and provided them with a sense of belonging that made them tough enough to brave any New York City street. It also makes this sense of actual or engineered sisterhood and camderadie seem especially fragile when success encroaches on it, as the tragic dimensions of Estelle Bennett and Florence Ballard’s post-girl group lives remind. 

Warwick shies from making any explicitly queer connections to girl groups beyond passing references to Springfield and Lesley Gore’s orientations and their relationships with the closet. I would have liked a bit more discussion of the queer dynamics of the groups’ homosocial bonding both on- and off-record. A brief appraisal of queer fandom (seemingly most pronounced among certain circles of gay men, though not exclusively) would also have been appreciated.

That said, I do appreciate Warwick reminding her readers of girl groups’ continual impact. As this is the section of the book that gets less focus, it would be worthwhile to read Warwick’s and Greig’s books together to get a larger sense of how punk, hip hop, and contemporary pop music were influenced by girl groups.

I would hasten to add country music to the list of genres that were shaped by this era. Given last night’s Saturday Night Live, which featured crossover star Taylor Swift as both host and musical guest (a rare opportunity for most pop stars, unless they are Justin or Britney). Watching her play a brace-faced teenager in a skit about parents who are worse drivers than their kids and her performance of “You Belong To Me” complete with careful, song-appropriate gestures, it was clear to me that the girl group era continues. As Mika Miko performs one of their last shows later today, I’ll wonder where it’ll permeate next.

If you have read this blog before you will therefore know that love musicals a lot. So as you can imagine I went to the cinema to see this in the previews back when it came out, and have therefore seen it lots of times. I have to admit that I was not its biggest fan when I first saw it, I liked it quite a bit but didnt totally fall for it on the first viewing. However, each time I watch it I like it more and more. Especially watching Jennifer Hudson who totally deserved her Oscar for Best supporting Actress in her first movie role.

The story is about three girls who you see growing up while becoming famous singers. It looks at the cross over to the pop charts and the birth of a record company. How they deal with love, loss and relationships. Deena Jones (Beyonce), Effie White (Jennifer Hudson) and Anika Noni Rose (Lorrell Robinson) are three girls trying to get a break and this comes along when they become backing singers for James “Thunder” Early (Eddie Murphy). They represented by Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx) and songs written by C. C. White (Keith Robinson) who is Effie’s brother. They try to change the type of music and style of songs which are so popular in order to sell more records. Thus setting up their own record company Rainbow records, which they have to involve paying radio’s to play the records. Effie was always the lead singer, she has the most powerful and unique voice out of all the girls and is dating Curtis, as you can imagine when they decide to change things round and have Deena as lead singer, Effie does not like this at all. Which really starts her downfall of leaving the group and Curtis who is having an affair with Deena.

If you are not into musicals I can imagine that this film would be difficult viewing as it has a lot of talk-singing as well as full-out musical turns, which are half performances on a stage and others when the lights are off. Be aware of this if you have not seen the film, and are not into musicals as it might be a bit too much to take. But the main reason people should see this film in my opinion is Jennifer Hudson.

Jennifer Hudson as Effie White has what I like to call the “show stopping” number in “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” it’s not just a song, it’s the acting and emotion she puts into this part of the film. She is begging Curtis not to leave her and kick her out of the group. She does not want to leave and does not want to lose him. If you want to see the exact moment that Jennifer won her Oscar then watch this song. Her voice is incredible and it is so moving knowing how upset she is, and if you have ever had to leave someone or something when you really do not want to you can totally relate to this moment. That she cannot live without him, and “your gonna love me” it really is just totally heartbreaking, especially seeing Curtis reaction and physically trying to stop him from leaving.

I really do think this was the moment which really won her the Oscar, but she was pretty fantastic throughout the film as well. Playing up and arguing because she knows her voice is stronger than Deena’s voice. I do not think you will find a better first film performance than this.

The other performances in this movie are also very strong, or it just would not have worked out that well. I thought the whole cast worked together well and supported each other so much, bouncing off each other to create a very strong film. Beyonce, as Deena Jones had to do more singing than speak actual lines but as we all know Beyonce does have a great voice, which I think she toned it down a bit in this film. Jamie Foxx was brilliant as Curtis Taylor Jr. who shows how money can corrupt people and it can become all they think about and start to put it before their friends and family. I think Eddie Murphy really deserved his Oscar nomination for Actor in a Supporting Role for this film as he showed a different side to his acting and type of performance that he can do.

So many similarities can be made to artists in the Motown era in this film and I am sure it has been widely noted that the Dreams are very similar to the Supremes with Deena being Diana Ross. But not totally the same but based on maybe?

Overall, I really do think this is a musical which was well put together with some fantastic songs and performances. But as I said at the start of this review I was not the biggest fan to begin with and it has taken quite a lot of viewings for me to really like this film. I cannot really explain why that is, but it has really grown on me.

Sister Sledge – Reach Your Peak

Nile Rodgers och Bernard Edwards produktioner, oavsett om de producerade för sig själva dvs. Chic eller om de producerade åt någon annan blev på något vis ändå inte något mer än avancerade Chic-produktioner fast med lite andra artister inblandade. Ett kanonexempel på detta är det samarbete herrarna hade med Sister Sledge, det hörs ju rakt igenom att det är Chiclåtar, det är samma musiker, samma bakgrundssångare osv. Till och med David Bowies samarbete med Nile Rodgers låter så väldigt mycket likt de soloprylar Nile Rodgers höll på med vid samma tid.

Men jag ser inget ont i detta fenomen utan det visar på att låtarna är större än artisterna och det är något jag själv upplevt de gånger jag varit och sett Chic live och de då spelat sitt medley med några av de låtar som Nile & Bernard producerade åt Diana Ross på hennes album Diana samt avslutar med Sister Sledge-klassikern He’s The Greatest Dancer. De gångerna har man insett att de farhågor man hade inför att höra dem utan Diana Ross vid mikrofonen är som bortblåsta. Det är ju nämligen Chiclåtar det handlar om i grund och botten och då krävs det en sångerska som vet hur man sjunger CHIC helt enkelt. Sylver Logan Sharp som frontade som vokalist under många år var helt suverän på detta och hon visade att även om hon inte var först att fronta som vokalist så har hon fattat detta med hur man sjunger CHIC. Så Chic är större än de ingående delarna och handlar om ett sound som är otroligt tidlöst och därtill så uttans bra att man garanterat får ståpäls av det när man hör det live.

Chic – Live in Rome

Har själv sett detta live tre gånger och jag får än idag ståpäls när jag ser det på video. Bästa videon jag har på detta är från The Best Disco In Town som gick på Wembley 2003. Har hela konserten därifrån på DVD och den kan rekommenderas för alla som saknar livematerial med Chic. På den DVD får ni dessutom en massa annat godis som Tavares, Shalamar, Rose Royce m.fl.

Men om vi återgår till den första låten i inlägget är den ett exempel på det underbart chic’t exklusiva sound Chic faktiskt står för oavsett vem det sen är som står vid mikrofonen och sjunger. Det lixom alltid lyser lyx, flärd och glamour om deras musik och man känner sig som man tillhör en utvald skara när man hör den.

Tjillevippen

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