Tag Archives: Michael Jackson

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Robbie Fulks Completes Michael Jackson Tribute

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Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing country artist Robbie Fulks in concert over the last ten years is going to be thrilled to hear that he is in the process of finishing up his long-rumored collection of Michael Jackson interpretations. If you’ve never seen him, you might think this sounds like a stupid, jokey idea. It’s not. It’s awesome. And sincere:

So the period of my life (2000-2009) during which I get to arrange and track and mix great songs like “Billie Jean” and “The Man in the Mirror” to suit my own voice and aesthetic interests comes to an end, which makes me sincerely sorry. Nine years, six studios, 21 tracks (don’t worry, I won’t foist all of that on you); and amid it all the tributee made a comeback record that fizzled, was jailed, fled the US, became ever more a figure of pathos and contempt and fun and disgust, began to stage another comeback, died. The aughts were happier times out where I live.

Fulks says it could be out by Christmas. To share a feel for what some of this might sound like, we found a 20-second live video snippet of Fulks doing “Going Back to Indiana” at the 2008 Hideout Block Party here in Chicago. Check it out after the jump…

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Michael Jackson – Is This It?

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Stream: Michael Jackson – “This Is It”

It’s not very good, is it? Oh well. Co-written with Paul Anka in 1983, it was originally released as “I Never Heard” by Safire on her 1991 album I Wasn’t Born Yesterday (Polygram). You can stream her version on her MySpace if you wanna compare. Let’s hope they find better stuff in the can than this. Boo.

Michael Jackson: iTunes, Amazon, Insound, wiki, web.

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Autopsy results: Michael Jackson was healthy

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Michael Jackson, 2009The Associated Press has obtained a copy of Michael Jackson‘s autopsy report, and the doctor who reviewed it for the AP says, “His overall health was fine” (Variety, Billboard). Nevertheless, there are some interesting tidbits in the report.

The good:

• Jackson weighed 136 pounds, which is “in the acceptable range for a 5-foot-9 man.” I.e., not skeletal.

• His heart was strong, and his kidneys and “most other major organs were normal.”

• Aside from two sedatives and the propofol that caused his death, the only substances found in his system were Lidocaine, which he probably used to numb injection sites and ephedrine, which doctors probably administered to attempt to resuscitate him. The AP reports that “No other drugs – legal or otherwise – were detected, nor was any alcohol.”

The bad:

• His lungs were “chronically inflamed and had reduced capacity that might have left him short of breath.”

• MJ had “arthritis in the lower spine and some fingers, and mild plaque buildup in his leg arteries.”

• Jackson’s death was ruled a homicide caused by “acute propofol intoxication,” with the other sedatives listed as a contributing factor.

The weird:

• Jackson had “several tattoos, all them cosmetic, including dark tattoos in the areas of both eyebrows and under his eyes, and a pink tattoo around his lips.” He also had “what appeared to be a tattoo” across his the top of his head where his “short and tightly curled” hair was receeding.

• He had multiple scars on his face and body. The AP’s doctor said that most of the scars “appeared to be from plastic surgery.”

• There was “depigmentation of his skin around his chest, abdomen, face and arms.” Which seems to confirm his claims of vitiligo.

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The Jackson 5’s First Studio Recording Unearthed

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One-derful Records

This is, quite simply, the best piece of investigative music journalism I’ve read in a long, long time: “The Jackson Find” by Jake Austen for the Chicago Reader.

Many hardcore fans know that the Jackson 5 released a pre-Motown single called “Big Boy” on Steeltown Records. It was recorded in November 1967 at a small studio in Chicago’s West Englewood neighborhood. But what was unknown until this article was being researched was that a few months earlier—on July 13, 1967—the Jackson brothers had recorded the same song at legendary One-derful Records, home of the Five Du-Tones (“Shake a Tail Feather”).

The decades to come may well bring a wealth of unreleased Jackson songs, on par with the from-the-grave output of Hendrix or Tupac. But most observers expect this onslaught to consist principally of overproduced late-period jams, many of them unfinished at the time of Jackson’s death and augmented posthumously. The possibility that the first unreleased track to surface will instead be a decades-unheard recording of the Jackson Five’s first studio endeavor—a stripped-down 60s R & B tune, cut without adult ringers at a better studio than their debut single—is almost too good to be true. The One-derful session is worlds away from the slick and calculated work the Jacksons would soon do for Motown. It captures an eager, unjaded nine-year-old only months away from the end of his childhood, a childhood he would pursue for the rest of his life: Michael, a big boy now, soulfully lamenting that “fairy tales and wishful dreams are broken toys.”

Let’s hope this gets actually gets released.

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Michael Jackson: Sixth Week on Top

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BillboardMichael Jackson has had the best selling album in the country, Number Ones, for six out of the past seven weeks. But despite the fact that it sold 98,000 last week (down 14%), you won’t find it on the Billboard 200 where current mediocrity reigns supreme:

1. Sugarland – “Live on the Inside” – 76,000 (debut)

2. “Now 31” – 45,000 (down 16%)

3. Gloriana – “Gloriana” – 44,000 (debut)

4. Black Eyed Peas – “The E.N.D.” – 44,000 (down 10%)

5. Kings of Leon – “Only By the Night” – 44,000 (down 6%)

6. Daughtry – “Leave This Town” – 44,000 (down 29%)

7. Maxwell – “BLACKsummers’night” – 43,000 (down 22%)

8. Taylor Swift – “Fearless” – 37,000 (down 1%)

9. Fabolous – “Loso’s Way” – 37,000 (down 63%)

10. “Kidz Bop 16” – 34,000 (debut)

15. Modest Mouse – “No One’s First, And You’re Next” EP – 27,000 (debut)

Hey Billboard, either change the criteria of the Billboard 200 or show the Comprehensive Albums chart on your bloated new website.

• Michael Jackson – “Number Ones” – 98,000 (down 14%)

• Michael Jackson – “The Essential Michael Jackson” – 54,000

• Michael Jackson – “Thriller” – 47,000

Additional sales data via Yahoo Chart Watch.

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Michael Jackson: Best Selling Album Again

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Michael Jackson, Number OneFor the fifth week out of the past six weeks, Michael Jackson has the best-selling album in the country. But you still won’t see that reflected in the Billboard 200. This story’s getting old, but here are the numbers:

• Michael Jackson – “Number Ones” – 114,000 (best-selling album this week)

• Michael Jackson – “Essential Michael Jackson” – 69,000 (third best-selling album this week)

• Michael Jackson – “Thriller” – 59,000 (fifth best-selling album this week)

1. Fabolous – “Loso’s Way” – 99,000 (debut)

2. Daughtry – “Leave This Town” – 62,000 (down 39%)

3. Maxwell – “BLACKsummers’night” – 55,000

4. “Now 31” compilation – 53,000

5. Black Eyed Peas – “The E.N.D.” – 49,000

6. Kings of Leon – “Only By the Night” – 47,000 (up 21%)

7. “Hannah Montana 3” TV soundtrack – 41,000

8. Demi Lovato – “Here We Go Again” – 39,000 (down 64%)

9. Taylor Swift – “Fearless” – 38,000

10. Lady GaGa – “The Fame” – 27,000

12. Ashley Tisdale – “Guilty Pleasure” – 25,000 (debut)

Additional sales data via MTV.

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Billboard 200 still way out of touch

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BillboardOnce again, the #1 album on Billboard 200 is not the best selling album of the week. With 154,000 copies sold (down 21%), Michael Jackson‘s Number Ones sold 46,000 more than this week’s #1 album. That’s just dumb.

1. Demi Lovato – “Here We Go Again” – 108,000 (debut)

2. Daughtry – “Leave This Town,” – 101,000 (down 63%)

3. Maxwell – “BLACKsummers’night” – 72,000 (down 30%)

4. “Now 31” – 58,000 (down 17%)

5. “Hannah Montana 3” – 54,000 (down 26%)

6. Black Eyed Peas – “The E.N.D.” – 52,000 (down 4%)

7. Jordin Sparks – “Battlefield” – 48,000 (debut)

8. Kings of Leon – “Only By The Night” – 39,000 (up 19%)

9. Taylor Swift – “Fearless” – 37,000 (up less than 2%)

10. Lady GaGa – “The Fame” – 28,000 (down 9%)

Billboard doesn’t post its Comprehensive chart on its website (not even after its bloated redesign — ugh), but Hits Daily Double shows Jackson holding three of top ten overall, with Thriller selling 74,921 and Essential right behind it with 73,628. MTV reports that MJ holds seven of the Top 20 on the Comprehensive chart, and nine of the top 10 positions on the Catalog chart.

It’s time for Billboard to stop the anachronistic practicing of excluding the Catalog albums (generally those less than 18 months old) from its main album chart, the Billboard 200, which “houses only new and current titles.”

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Michael Jackson is still selling

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BillboardSo the bald American Idol growler sold more records this week than any of Michael Jackson‘s albums. Nevertheless, MJ “has six out of the top 10” best selling albums of the week, as reflected on Billboard’s Top Comprehensive Albums chart, and “the entire top 12 slots on Top Pop Catalog Albums” chart.

Not surprisingly, his sales—while still massive—are starting to slip: The Essential Michael Jackson (125,000; down 15%), Thriller (114,000; down 57%), Off the Wall (68,000; down 36%), Bad (61,000; down 38%) and Dangerous (55,000; down 19%).

Billboard 200 (non-“catalog” albums)

1. Daughtry – “Leave This Town” – 269,000 (debut)

2. Maxwell – “BLACKsummers’night” – 103,000 (down 67%)

3. “Hannah Montana 3” soundtrack – 73,000 (down 47%)

4. “Now 31” compilation – 69,000 (down 31%)

5. Black Eyed Peas – “The E.N.D.” – 54,000 (down 13%)

6. The Dead Weather – “Horehound” – 51,000 (debut)

7. Joe – “Signature” – 49,000 (debut)

8. Twista – “Category F5” – 45,000 (debut)

9. Taylor Swift – “Fearless” – 37,000 (up 1%)

10. Kings of Leon – “Only By the Night” – 33,000 (up 9%)

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Sales: Michael Jackson, again, beats the #1 album

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BillboardFor the third week in a row, Michael Jackson has sold more albums than anything on the Billboard 200. His Number Ones collection sold 349,000 copies, while this week’s “No. 1” record, Maxwell’s BLACKsummers’night, only sold 316,000.

He can be posthumously comforted by the fact that he’s locked the TOP TWELVE positions on the Catalog Chart:

1. Michael Jackson – “Number Ones” – 349,000 (up 3%)

2. Michael Jackson – “The Essential Michael Jackson” – 149,000 (up 18%)

3. Michael Jackson – “Thriller” – 264,000 (up 41%) [Wait, shouldn’t this be #2 then? -ed.]

4. Michael Jackson – “Off The Wall” – 107,000 (up 108%)

5. Michael Jackson – “Bad” – 97,000 (up 332%)

6. Michael Jackson – “Dangerous” – 67,000 (up 157%).

7. Jackson 5 – “The Ultimate Collection” – 34,000 (up 239%)

8. Jackson 5 – “The Best of Jackson 5: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection” – 17,000 (up 280%)

9. Michael Jackson – “Greatest Hits: HIStory — Volume 1” – 15,000 (up 98%)

10. Michael Jackson – “HIStory: Past, Present and Future Book 1” – 14,000 (up 153%)

11. Michael Jackson – “Invincible” – 14,000 (up 61%)

12. Michael Jackson – “The Ultimate Collection” – 7,000 (down 26%)

According to Billboard, since he died, “consumers have purchased 1.9 million physical MJ albums and 491,000 digital MJ albums.” Amazing.

Top Ten of the non-catalog albums after the jump…

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Sales: Wilco (the album) Beats Off the Wall

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BillboardIn the wake of Michael Jackson posthumously setting all kinds of chart records, Billboard has actually published the Top 25 of its all-encompassing Comprehensive Album Chart as well as the Top 22 of its Catalog Album Chart.

Wilco has the seventh best selling album of the week, which, when you subtract the three Michael Jackson “catalog” albums ahead of it, places it as #4 on the Billboard 200, selling almost twice as many copies as Off the Wall!

The big news though is the Catalog Chart, which MJ sweeps:

1. Michael Jackson – “Number Ones” – 339,000 (up 215%)

2. Michael Jackson – “Thriller” – 187,000 (up 86%)

3. Michael Jackson – “Essential Michael Jackson” – 125,000 (up 23%)

4. Michael Jackson – “Off the Wall” – 51,000 (up 58%)

5. Michael Jackson – “Dangerous” – 26,000 (up 85%)

6. Michael Jackson – “Bad” – 23,000 (up 33%)

7. Jackson 5 – “Ultimate Collection” – 10,000 (down 44%)

8. Michael Jackson – “Ultimate Collection” – 10,000 (down 10%)

9. Michael Jackson – “Invincible” – 8,000 (up 76%)

10. Michael Jackson – “Vol. 1 – Greatest Hits – History” – 7,000 (down 36%)

Top 10 of the non-catalog albums after the jump…

Continue reading Sales: Wilco (the album) Beats Off the Wall →