Musical Standard

People constantly ask me do I listen to this artist?, have I heard this song?, and are completely baffled by my dislike of what is considered mainstream music and artist. I can't help it if I have musical standards, I grew up listening to the masters of he craft in backseat of my dad's car: Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, Earth, Wind & Fire, the Temptations, Billy Joel. I got exposed to Michael Jackson early in life via my big brother. Other exposure to greats like Nirvana, Aerosmith, U2, Madonna & Metallic came from lots of time spent w/ a favorite aunt. My own explorations brought me to the Beatles, the Beach Boys and J5/the Jacksons. With standards like that, how can I buy into the flash in the pan acts of today? These artist who seem to have come from nowhere and suddenly are "the it shxt" of music? Or these artist who can only ever sing about sex, partying and money....oh and let's not forget the ever popular "I'm so flashy...I'm the bomb... I'm so good in bed... You wish you could be me" songs.

Where did artist with a true passion for the art go? I understand that the music industry is a business, I don't hate on people making money, everybody's got to make some. But. That's all artist are about these days, or so it seems anyway. You didn't see Michael Jackson "popping bottles of Cris" or "making it rain" in his videos. His talent, passion and vision was always enough. Sure Michael had phenomenal stage shows with plenty of flash & boom...but it added to the presentation... it wasn't THE presentation. You can strip away all the extra and be content w/ just Michael, his expression through movement and music would captivate you without any of the extra. But there are artist today, who I won't name, that seem to be lost in the theatrics and take drastic effort to be dramatically different.

And worse yet, some of the few veteran artist, that ARE WORTH THEIR SALT, seem to be influenced and or threatened by some of these theatrics and the sudden popularity of a new artist. You need not be, you've proven yourself, we know you can sing, we know you've got talent. There's no need to stoop and try the tricks of the flashy new artist. Trust me, you don't want to be them.

I don't know what the future holds for some of these artist. My guess is that they're come and go artist. There's a certain cute teen that people hail as the greatest thing since sliced bread. And all I can think is... excuse me? and WTF? I'm not a fan or a hater of this particular young artist, but please realize that he's still in his first 15 minutes of fame.. who's to say he won't be replaced when the next child star arrives, who may or may not be any more talented but just cuter...? Seems like for a couple years I couldn't take a step without walking into something Jonas Brothers, but now, where are they? Certainly not as relevant in the mainstream as they were before that new young sensation came bursting out of the internet.

All that being said, there are some artist that I will mention. These artist are the ones I spend my money on, the records I buy. Sure there may be a single here and there from the "flashy artist" that I like..but nothing that makes me want to swipe my debit card. The following artist have been out since the 90s and are still current, still recording and touring. These artist, I'm sure you won't completely agree with because the majority of listeners seem easily swayed by "the cool kids" and move on when told... but if you're a fan of real singers, harmonies, good song writing and musicians...then you should forget about the flashy new guys and stick to "old reliable".... Artist like, Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Hanson, John Mayer & Jason Mraz. All of the mentioned artist are still recording and touring acts...and have only gotten better at their craft over the last decade or so. You won't be disappointed vocally from any of them. And while groups like Backstreet Boys and Hanson may not be as popular as they once were, its only because the mainstream tells you not to listen to "boy bands"... get over it and give them a listen. You won't be disappointed.

But then again, some of you, a lot of you will always prefer the flashy new toy than the old tried and true. I suppose that's your loss. As for me, I'll stick to my musical standard.

Justin Bieber, the Next Michael Jackson?... Seriously?

The latest hot artist in pop culture is 16 year old, Justin Drew Bieber. He sings, dances & plays both guitar & drums. He's trending day in and day out on Twitter, and is already released his second album (My World 2.0), the kid is doing well for himself. Sounds like a slam dunk right? Sure. But with so much love for the Bieb, there's also equal part "haters," I think it's less to to with his talent and more to do with people already declaring him the next King of Pop. Number one, there's only one King of Pop, his name is Michael Joseph Jackson. His dear friend Elizabeth Taylor declared him the King, so if anyone should have the right to rename a King, it's her, she gave the title in the first place. Though, as I already stated, there's ONLY ONE King of Pop. But I'm getting off point, back to Bieber.

I'm not hating on Justin at all, the kid can sing, no one's denying him that. But I think "they" throw around the term "the new King of Pop" and "the next Michael Jackson" a little to loosely and certainly a little too quickly. And what makes Justin so credible as to earn such a complimentary allegation? Is it because he can glide/moonwalk? It seems so. The same things have been said about Usher and Justin Timberlake and the common link, the trend I'm seeing is that they do a few of Michael's signature moves. It's not that Bieber, Timberlake & Usher aren't good artist in their own rights, but none of them is in Michael's league. Michael's name falls in with our greatest of great. You mean to tell me the list that includes Michael Jackson, Prince, the Beatles, Madonna and Elvis should amend itself to include Justin Bieber? I don't think so.

In reality, Justin has miles and miles to go before he can even consider himself in the running to be anything close, to being close, to a portion Micheal's talent. Michael wasn't just a dancing puppet or half decent singer. He wrote, produced, arranged & choreographed his way into musical history, and was a fashion icon. Michael started culling his craft well before he was even in double digits! Micheal's ability was just as much gift as it was a life long practiced craft. That's what makes HIM special.

Copying Michael doesn't make you the next Michael Jackson, King of Pop... taking inspiration and going BEYOND would make you bigger... better... but let's be real, no one will ever top Michael. Because there isn't anyone who is capable of going beyond the heavens...and that's where Michael Joseph Jackson's talent came from. He is a one of a kind gift to the world, he's the one and only King of Pop. He's the one and only Michael Jackson.

That is all.

Peace, Luv & Oatmeal
Merita

the League of Extraordinary Genius

When you think about the greatest musical entertainers of all time, there are a few top dogs that come to mind, Michael Jackson (of course), Prince, James Brown, Little Richard and Ray Charles, perhaps. Ever wonder what it’d be like to be a fly on the wall while they all sat around interacting with each other? Or wonder what goes through the minds of say, Michael Jackson & Prince when they run into each other at some Hollywood shindig? I was talking to Husband last night, and we got to wondering how those conversations would go.

After a short brainstorm, I’ve decided that a sketch show would be a brilliant idea. Each of these artist are uber talented in their own right, and to boot, they are all interesting personalities, with signature mannerisms. so that alone could be entertaining. The aim wouldn’t be to insult, or be taken seriously. But a sketch show centered on these major artist, retellings of actual life events (much like Charlie Murphy’s tellings of Prince & Rick James) or Chris Tucker’s tellings of his time with Michael. Perhaps at times guest narrators to tell the funny events (as impersonators play out the scenes), ex security, managers, friends ect. I’d like to reiterate that this isn’t intended to make fun of or humiliate these legendary artist, but to show the humorous side of their lives. Between the five of them, there’s got to be a million funny stories to be reenacted, or skits that could be done with all the legends in one room, almost like a new version of THE VIEW, as they discuss current events & music. They'd be like the musical genius Justice League..LoL...Could you imagine?

I know it might be a little too soon with Michael passing last June, but still in yet; it might help to be able to find laughter with him & with all the other greats. I think the show could be a hit, the possibilities are endless! So you get a better impression of what I’m talking about as far as stories and mannerisms, I’m going to include some videos below! Be sure to watch them, and leave comments with what you think of the idea!!

Peace, Luv & Oatmeal

Merita

:::Sketch Example:::
Imagine CHRIS TUCKER narrating a story of some silly shenanigans he & Michael into, while a caricature of the scene is played out w/ actors.
The example below, isn't exactly the type of stories I'm thinking of sharing, but you get the idea of how the skits could go.

::Mannerisms::
If done w/ love, not hate, impressions of these famous mannerisms could be hilarious! I've only put up one of the 5 artist I've mentioned...but I think you can get the idea. They've all got such individual styles & mannerisms...LoL.

Little Richard

Justice For Michael: My Thoughts on "Dr." Conrad Murray

It's been a long while since I've BLOGGED, I suppose I haven't had as much to say as I initially thought when I started this BLOG. But today, I've got something to say.

I've been thinking about Dr. Murray. And you know, I get that a doctor is JUST a doctor, not God. I understand that sometimes there's just nothing you can do to save that life...and I understand that sometimes if you'd have been quicker on your feet...that you MIGHT not have lost that patient..... and not being fast enough...or flat out being out done by the injury/illness isn't cause to call the doctor a murderer or treat him as such.

BUT in the case of Conrad Murray I just don't feel like its the same. I don't feel like it was just one of those things... just that 1 in 20 that you can't save. In this case, Conrad is the CAUSE. I wouldn't even consider it accidental considering he was aware of the risk. He knowingly administered a drug to Michael to treat his insomnia that isn't even FOR insomnia. He gave Michael a drug used in surgery rooms, under very closely monitored conditions. Not only did he leave MJ unattended, he didn't have any of the proper equipment to administer to or monitor Michael.

He wants to use the excuse that Michael demanded it, that he was already addicted to it and other prescription drugs as well..but that's irrelevant. Ever see a show called CELEBRITY REHAB w/ Dr. DREW PENSKY? Those people are addicts and are under his care, you don't see him giving out coke, meth & heroine in even SMALL doses...claiming to be weaning them from the drugs. Those people go cold turkey, no matter how agitated they become, mo matter how much they may vomit or even seize... you don't see Dr. Drew going, well, maybe just a little bit of coke for you, Since you're cranky and asking for it. He tends to their vitals and gives them therapy. Why couldn't Conrad Murray just do that? Why couldn't he JUST do as he was trained? Make sure Michael was in good health, take his vitals, find alternative ways to help him sleep. Oh yea, I forget, its because Michael ASKED for it. If I ASK you to stab me... does that mean DO IT? Stab me in my leg and then say "I didn't stab her in a place that should have killed her.."..?

Conrad Murray needs to own up to his poor care of Michael, he needs to own up to administering drugs to a known addict (MJ was indeed dependent on certain drugs) and he needs to be justly punished. Nothing done to Conrad will bring Our Dear Michael back...but his family....his children deserve justice...and even perhaps it'll be a wake up call to other celebrity doctors.... stop giving them "special treatment"... we're losing far too many wonderfully gifted people these days. Far too young & far too soon.

Michael always said, you can do anything if you want it bad enough and work hard enough for it. We want JUSTICE and we want it bad. Justice for Michael. Justice for Prince Michael, I. Justice for Paris Michael Katherine. Justice for Prince Michael, II. Justice for his mother Katherine & his father Joe. Justice for his siblings, Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, LaToya, Randy & Janet. Justice for the whole Jackson Family. Justice for those who lost a dear friend. Justice for the lost children. Justice for every heart Michael ever touched. We demand it. We'll raise our voices as one and seek it until it is given.

That is all.

Michael Jackson's NEW SONG... This Is It...???

To be sure, this IS NOT a slap shot to Michael as a man nor his musical creativity (past, present or “future”)..but rather the result of feeling cheated by Sony.

To say that I’m a HUGE Michael Jackson fan would probably be an understatement, so you’d be safe to assume that I was more than thrilled to hear there would be a new MJ song released, and so soon too! But, and I think I’m not alone in having thought that, this NEW SONG from Michael Jackson was to be of his latest of works, something perhaps he’d created to title track his THIS IS IT TOUR. But boy was I wrong. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a good song, it can’t help but to be, after all, MJ did sprinkled a little of the “Michael Magic” on it. But it didn’t take long for me to find myself questioning, would Michael have released this song? Would he be happy that this is out as one of his final works? I don’t think he would, and here’s why.

After clicking on a link posted on Twitter about the new MJ song , I found myself on RyanSeacrest.com reading his post about the song. It was there, that I read the first bit of disappointing news about the song, it was recorded almost TWO decades ago! As it turns out, or at least certainly appears as such, “This Is It” was a song, no, a demo, recorded during Michael’s DANGEROUS sessions back in 1991. This is a song that Michael apparently didn’t deem good enough to make the DANGEROUS album or any album following it. And after plugging into YouTube to see if I could find comments on what others thought of the song, I see a comment, suggesting that the song was written by Michael, yes, but then given to another artist! So, as suggested by the comment, I put in “I Never Heard” by Safire in the YouTube search box, and guess what I found? You guessed it, same song, different artist, different title.

It seems to me, fairly clear that Michael had no intent in ever releasing this song as his own, he’d dismissed it as a possibility and then given it to someone else. Not to mention “This Is It” wasn’t even the intended title of the song. Seems to me, Sony heard the famous string of words “This Is It” in the opening lyric and decided to run with it. Then digging up the demo of the song “I Never Heard” that Michael recorded years ago, they changed the title to “This Is It,” tasked his brothers to sing back up vocals , threw together a “new” album (which is little more than yet another “hits” album) and ran to the bank with it. They’re not doing this for us fans, this “new” song and album serves for one single purpose. Money.

The only thing NEW about the album is the “new” song “This Is It” and a poem by Michael. Outside of that, its just a hits album, the songs are merely arranged in the order in which they appear in the film (a soundtrack of sorts). If you’re a fan like me, you’ve probably already got all of Michael’s music and the hits in duplicate (due to albums like “Essential Michael Jackson,” “HIStory,” “Number Ones,” & “Ultimate Collection”), so in buying the “new” album THIS IS IT, you’d be repurchasing the same old same old. Its been said that Michael has something like two hundred FINISHED songs that can be released, songs he intended to help secure his children’s financial needs. Songs that he does want released. So lets have some of THOSE, not another glorified hits album. I love the hits sure, but how many times does one need the same songs?

Just to reiterate, I’m a fan. I love Michael, man & music. But I’m truly disappointed that even after his death his label continues to mistreat him. They’d thrown him to the side after Invincible, and now they’re just out to squelch him for all he’s worth. They’ll take as much money from his fans as they can get out of us, not even making the effort to give us something we don’t already have. I think Michael said it best in his song “Money:”

“So you call it trust. But I say it's just. In the devil's game. Of greed and lust. They don't care. They'd do me for the money. They don't care. They use me for the money… Anything. Anything. Anything for money.”

Anyway, I suppose I’ve said my peace.

Peace, Luv & Oatmeal
Merita

My Very First Words....

Hello and welcome to my BLOG.
Before making my first topical post, I wanted to explain why I decided to start a BLOG.
Mainly for one simple reason, I've got things to say, and I'd like to see how others feel, if they agree, disagree, or can contribute to the topic. To have a voice on certain topics. This need to be heard actually started with Michael Jackson and his passing, things people say about him, think about him and how people continue to treat him. Just doesn't seem right. I've been kicking around the idea of BLOGGING on this for a while, so here I am. That being said, I don't know that this will be a BLOG strictly devoted to Michael Jackson topics, but it will surely have several post as its currently what's on my mind. We'll all just have to wait and see what future directions this BLOG will take.

Okay, so. On with the show I suppose!

Peace, Luv & Oatmeal
Merita