Michael Jackson 1958-2009
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
One of the largest icons of my generation is gone. Michael Jackson is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice both as a solo artist and a member of the Jackson 5. When I was growing up, there's no doubt that I had Michael Jackson fever just like every other kid, teenager and young adult in 1983.
As I write this, Thriller is sitting at the top of the US Itunes chart of top downloads.
We'll have more thoughts and posts next week - in the meantime, I'm going to grab my Michael Jackson CDs and remember a legend, just like many will do today. Here also are a few nice tributes that I've seen online already:
Roger Ebert's piece was the first item that I saw last night, and eloquently pays tribute to The King of Pop.
John Gorman remembers the infamous and controversial decision to play Jackson's music on WMMS.
Eddie Van Halen, Brian May, and others comment on Jackson's passing.
Plain Dealer pop music critic John Soeder has a nice tribute to Jackson online.
Our newest pal Annie Zaleski hits a lot of my favorite points about MJ with her piece for the Riverfront Times.
Ken Shane at Popdose pays tribute.
View CommentsThe Worst Single of All Time?
Written by: Kevin Brennan
Before I give it away, I have to ask you a question.
Have you ever heard a song by one of your favorite bands and upon listening to it for the first time, you instantly knew that you and the band had grown apart and were headed for a divorce?
Welcome to my world in the year 1984.
After championing said band to all of my friends and enjoying their tunes many times over, I about PUKED the first time I heard "Jump" by Van Halen.
Where in the hell did this piece of schlock come from?
Well, after some thought and some years of reflection, it's pretty apparent as to where it started for them and that's the same place that it ended for me.
As you probably know, Eddie Van Halen contributed the guitar solo to Michael Jackson's "Beat It." What you may not know it that he did it free of charge as in "No Royalties for Eddie, Thanks for Coming and See You Later."
Having watched piles of blow and fast cars and fluff chicks go right out the door based on that decision along with seeing the potential for "Arena-Rock" singles growing by the minute, Eddie jumped right on that soon-to-be runaway train and got himself a piece of the pie by writing the biggest piece of garbage Van Halen has ever produced.
As referenced in a Wikipedia entry about the song, David Lee Roth and Ted Templeman, producer extraordinaire (Montrose, Van Morrison, Little Feat, and the Doobie Brothers when they were still good), wanted to continue taking the band down the hard-rock road.
Eddie was blinded by the dollar signs in his eyes, resisted their request and insisted on releasing one of the worst singles of all time.
Let's look at what preceded this and what came later.
After their phenomenal debut album, the band was on the road so much and in an altered state of mind so often, they never again issued an album that was fully mature and complete. Van Halen II and Women and Children First both contain great rock moments ("Dead or Alive, Take Your Whiskey Home") but they have so many moments that reek of demos and ideas that were not fully realized.
Knowing this and probably getting tired of Dave's personality and the hassle of being a mega-star in demand, Eddie was ready to cash in. Thus, the release of one of the worst singles of all time.
Little did we know at that time that Eddie was setting the stage for one of the worst rock bands of all time in Van Hagar, but I digress...
"Jump" is a song that would not have been nearly as offensive were it released by a band that had not produced such greatness as "Aint Talkin 'Bout Love" or "I'm On Fire." Even "Jamie's Cryin" had substance.
But coming from the guys who gave hard-rock a major kick in the ass when it was most needed, "Jump" is inexcusable and indefensible.
There have been hundreds of one-hit wonders over the past 50 years which have produced nonsense singles so I get that not every song has to be a great one. But none of them were Van Halen in 1984 disappointing their fan base so terribly. You had to be there and I know a lot of you weren't. Many of you who were likely enjoyed the tune in grade school. Enough said.
Don't even come at me with the "Bands progress and you don't so that is your problem" take. "Jump" is a SELL-OUT in every way and it stinks.
What could have been never was because Eddie got greedy and ruined a real rock and roll band. Shame on him and shame on you for digging that song.
View CommentsRecord Store Day in Cleveland and beyond….
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
Getting stoked for Record Store Day? We're barely a month away from RSD09, and news continues to stream in regarding all sorts of exclusive releases that are planned for April 18th.
Make sure that you're following the official Twitter feed which recently had news regarding vinyl exclusives including a Beck/Sonic Youth split 7", and exclusive 7" releases from Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and our man Bruce Springsteen.
Esquire Magazine has a list of "75 albums that every guy should own."
What about the girls? Who cares about the girls! Just kidding, Mel - please don't hit me!
Among those 75 albums, it looks like our man Bruce nabbed a well-deserved spot with Darkness On The Edge of Town....just in case you don't own that one, for some strange reason.
Esquire also has your bitching about the list covered with an additional list of "Glaring Omissions" - 30 Records You Probably Want On This List.
What the hell? Bring me the head of the bastard that left The Joshua Tree off the main list. And Purple Rain. And Thriller. We really need to talk about this.
Backstreets has more info on the Bruce 7" (Thanks to Blogness for the tip!)
A new Springsteen seven-inch is being pressed for Record Store Day, featuring "What Love Can Do" as the A-side and "A Night With the Jersey Devil" as the B-side. It'll be available exclusively not from Wal-Mart, not from Amazon, but from indie stores.
So if you're here in Cleveland....where can you go to be a part of Record Store Day on April 18th?
C'mon, you know that Music Saves is at the top of the list, with additional retailers including Record Den in Mentor, Spin-More Records and Turnup Records in Kent, The Joy of Music on Lee Road, and Ultrasound in Willoughby. Find more participating stores in your neck of the woods using the store locator.
Here in Cleveland, we'll have team coverage for Record Store Day. "CB" aka the Cleveland Bachelor will be at his home away from home, Music Saves. I'll be making a midday visit to bring him food from Melt to tide him over during the long shift. Truthfully, Record Store Day falls on the normal day that CB visits Music Saves anyway...but you don't know that!
After I drop off the care package to CB, I'll head out to Mentor and lose myself in the stacks at Record Den for a minimum of 8 hours during my quest to become the first person to get thrown out of Record Den on Record Store Day. Use the PayPal button on the right hand side to donate to the "get Matt out of Jail" fund. All donations are appreciated.
Jose and Kelly will be working crowd control at Music Saves to help make sure that CB's rare appearance doesn't cause public pandemonium.
The above picture was taken during CB's appearance at Music Saves during last year's Record Store Day.
Brian from Broken Headphones already told me that he has the stores in Kent covered, where he will be live-blogging the event from both record stores simultaneously. Which sounds complicated.
The best part about it all, is that our good friend Burgo will be coming in from Australia to capture the entire day of Cleveland events on video.
Our comrade Mel will enjoy pre-game at an undisclosed bar where we will all wind up to celebrate a victoriously successful Record Store Day.
There are portions of the above Cleveland information that might be exaggerated just a tad. But all of the venues mentioned above are participating in Record Store Day.
No matter what zip code you're in, get out there and support your favorite local indie retailer....and buy me something while you're at it!
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