Hello,
There is more music coming out from Melinda Doolittle. This comes directly from the Melinda Doolittle Newsletter e-mail I get occasionally. "The soulful and moving song "It's Your Love" gets reworked by some of the hottest remixers/DJs in the world, including Jason Nevins, Mike Rizzo, and Smashmode, to create a pulsating rendition of the song that will be sure to get everyone out of their seats. The EP features three club versions of each track, as well as two radio remixes and a free bonus copy of the original music video for the song".
I haven't yet bought this CD and probably won't for the foreseeable future because we are so poor. I listened to it and wasn't overwhelmed by it. However if we had the money it would be one of the about 15 CDs I would buy. She is one of my favorite singers of her season of "American Idol". She has that great big strong voice, I love her version of Bon Jovi's "It's My Life". I couldn't even remember who won that season until 12 hours later. I then remembered it was Jordin Sparks, who I also like. Sparks' new song "Battlefield" is a pretty cool song. Second place that year was Blake Lewis, who mercifully faded away.
A couple of days ago I watched "Johnny Dangerously" with a couple of my kids. I had forgotten how funny that movie is. This is an 80's movie that actually holds up. If you get a chance, check it out. It's one of the under appreciated movies of the 80's. There are so many things going on that you are going to miss something. They remind me a lot of the hilarious 80's "Airplane" movies.
I mentioned Spin magazine the other day and their feature about The 100 Greatest Bands You've (probably) Never Heard. That was a pretty cool feature but I have to call their cover band into question. Wilco, really? They are easily one of this decades most over rated bands along with The Fray and Coldplay.
Songs rockin' my life: 1) "These Days"- Rascal Flatts. That's such a great song. 2) "Funky Town"- Lipps Inc. Definitely one of the most unique and yet danceable songs ever. 3) "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"- Michael Jackson 4) "I Want Candy"- Bow Wow Wow 5) "1492"- Counting Crows. Probably the best song from their latest CD.
themusicaddict
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Michael Jackson, more Whitney
Hello,
I was at the local grocery store and picked up the Rolling Stone Commemorative Michael Jackson issue. As I was going through the line the checker said, "I'm so sick of hearing about him", I'm sure that's a sentiment shared by many of you. I'm trying to keep what I write about him to a minimum.
Yesterday I received a pleasant surprise when I got the Michael Jackson book a day earlier than expected. I read about the first 35 pages of "The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story 1958-2009" by Randy Taraborelli. (Obviously this was rushed out quickly, now I hope they go back and fix everything.) So far there isn't much insight. Joe Jackson pushed his kids to become big stars, making them rehearse twice a day. He beat Michael and his brothers and almost ignored his daughters. Also while he was accompanying the Jackson Five on tour, he was stepping out on their Mom. Joe's abusive behavior is nothing new but I didn't know he was cheating on his wife. I'm not taking this book at face value. If I have read the same facts somewhere else I'm believing the facts stated . From my study of his life recently I can see how the abuse etc. led to some of his strange behavior later in his life. Again Micheal Jackson himself didn't take the opportunity to clear up any misconceptions or rumors in his autobiography "Moon Walk".
Michael Jackson is the next cover subject of Rolling Stone. I watched the video of the interview with the author of that article. Her name is Claire Hoffman and the video is available on rollingstone.com right now. (She said she was in Utah on the day when he died. As you probably know Utah is where I live, Claire what were you doing in Utah? It was good to have you here.) I look forward to reading that article. Also the Rolling Stone Commemorative Issue is pretty interesting, reprinting some old articles about Jackson and a review of each one of his CD's.
Also the early reports have the Michael Jackson movie made from his rehearsals out in October. Concerts usually don't translate to the theater very well. It could be fantastic or a complete disaster. Nearly a month after his death, the Michael Jackson furor is dying down. For the first time in four weeks, one of his CD's is not the top selling CD in the land. Daughtry's new CD "Leave This Town" is the new #1 selling CD in America. Jackson's "Number Ones" did still sell 192,000 copies last week though.
Here's some much more pleasant news, Whitney Houston had another appearance where 9 songs were played from her upcoming CD "I Look To You". The 9 songs were played, and just as they did in London, received a standing ovation. Rolling Stone columnist Sean Fennessey writes that reports of Houston losing her classic singing voice are incorrect. I'm so glad to hear that. (How do you get invited to these things anyway?)
The following is a direct quote from Fennessey, "Rumors have also been floated that her historically powerful singing voice has begun to fade. Hearing I Look To You, a modern-sounding and crisply produced comeback, should prove any doubters wrong. Whitney’s voice is as soaring and capable of gliding power as it was 25 years ago when Davis first began work with the singer." (Thanks to Rolling Stone!)
Other news for you big fans of "Mad Men" Comcast On Demand currently has all 13 episodes of Season Two available right now. I watched the first three last night. I hope to watch the final 10 episodes again before Season Three starts. We finally have a starting date for Season Three, it will begin on August 16th.
Finally I received my new copy of Spin magazine today. It has a feature of The 100 Greatest Bands You've (probably) Never Heard Of. I thought they were wrong and so I looked through the whole list. However there is not one band or musician I have ever heard of. These musicians aren't even one hit wonders, they are more like no hit blunders. Now obviously that doesn't make them bad bands, although they are extremely obscure. Some of these bands have extremely cool names, for instance Big Drag, Born Against, Junk Yard Band, Electric Frankenstein, The Heavy Blinkers, Maggotron, The Pooh Sticks, Renegade Soundwave and Sweatmaster. Now if their music is as creative as their band names, then their music is worth checking out.
That's it for now, have a great day. themusicaddict
I was at the local grocery store and picked up the Rolling Stone Commemorative Michael Jackson issue. As I was going through the line the checker said, "I'm so sick of hearing about him", I'm sure that's a sentiment shared by many of you. I'm trying to keep what I write about him to a minimum.
Yesterday I received a pleasant surprise when I got the Michael Jackson book a day earlier than expected. I read about the first 35 pages of "The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story 1958-2009" by Randy Taraborelli. (Obviously this was rushed out quickly, now I hope they go back and fix everything.) So far there isn't much insight. Joe Jackson pushed his kids to become big stars, making them rehearse twice a day. He beat Michael and his brothers and almost ignored his daughters. Also while he was accompanying the Jackson Five on tour, he was stepping out on their Mom. Joe's abusive behavior is nothing new but I didn't know he was cheating on his wife. I'm not taking this book at face value. If I have read the same facts somewhere else I'm believing the facts stated . From my study of his life recently I can see how the abuse etc. led to some of his strange behavior later in his life. Again Micheal Jackson himself didn't take the opportunity to clear up any misconceptions or rumors in his autobiography "Moon Walk".
Michael Jackson is the next cover subject of Rolling Stone. I watched the video of the interview with the author of that article. Her name is Claire Hoffman and the video is available on rollingstone.com right now. (She said she was in Utah on the day when he died. As you probably know Utah is where I live, Claire what were you doing in Utah? It was good to have you here.) I look forward to reading that article. Also the Rolling Stone Commemorative Issue is pretty interesting, reprinting some old articles about Jackson and a review of each one of his CD's.
Also the early reports have the Michael Jackson movie made from his rehearsals out in October. Concerts usually don't translate to the theater very well. It could be fantastic or a complete disaster. Nearly a month after his death, the Michael Jackson furor is dying down. For the first time in four weeks, one of his CD's is not the top selling CD in the land. Daughtry's new CD "Leave This Town" is the new #1 selling CD in America. Jackson's "Number Ones" did still sell 192,000 copies last week though.
Here's some much more pleasant news, Whitney Houston had another appearance where 9 songs were played from her upcoming CD "I Look To You". The 9 songs were played, and just as they did in London, received a standing ovation. Rolling Stone columnist Sean Fennessey writes that reports of Houston losing her classic singing voice are incorrect. I'm so glad to hear that. (How do you get invited to these things anyway?)
The following is a direct quote from Fennessey, "Rumors have also been floated that her historically powerful singing voice has begun to fade. Hearing I Look To You, a modern-sounding and crisply produced comeback, should prove any doubters wrong. Whitney’s voice is as soaring and capable of gliding power as it was 25 years ago when Davis first began work with the singer." (Thanks to Rolling Stone!)
Other news for you big fans of "Mad Men" Comcast On Demand currently has all 13 episodes of Season Two available right now. I watched the first three last night. I hope to watch the final 10 episodes again before Season Three starts. We finally have a starting date for Season Three, it will begin on August 16th.
Finally I received my new copy of Spin magazine today. It has a feature of The 100 Greatest Bands You've (probably) Never Heard Of. I thought they were wrong and so I looked through the whole list. However there is not one band or musician I have ever heard of. These musicians aren't even one hit wonders, they are more like no hit blunders. Now obviously that doesn't make them bad bands, although they are extremely obscure. Some of these bands have extremely cool names, for instance Big Drag, Born Against, Junk Yard Band, Electric Frankenstein, The Heavy Blinkers, Maggotron, The Pooh Sticks, Renegade Soundwave and Sweatmaster. Now if their music is as creative as their band names, then their music is worth checking out.
That's it for now, have a great day. themusicaddict
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Whitney Houston: Queen of the Ballad.
Hello,
First of all my congratulations to Peter Wiscombe, my old boss, for doing so well on Jeopardy. He appeared on two episodes and won the first time. I could tell he was very disappointed when he didn't win the second time, but he ran into a contestant who was a buzzsaw of information. His opponent also took a big chance on the daily double in the first round. He answered the question correctly and went from $4000 to $8000. Peter I know you are disappointed but you did well for yourself. You showed a lot of knowledge on a vast array of subjects. I would say to brush up on your pop culture knowledge if you ever have a chance to go on again. As for me I'm not going to try to get on Jeopardy, I know if I did I would completely freeze up and make a fool of myself on national TV. I'd rather keep the people who know I'm a fool to a local level. Also Peter a few people accessed my blog because it contained info about you. Thanks!
Driving to work I've been listening to a completely random assortment of music. Last week I was listening to songs from the queen of the ballads, Whitney Houston. On her Greatest Hits double CD, these four ballads lead off Disc 1. Those songs are "You Give Good Love", "Saving All My Love For You", "The Greatest Love of All" and "All At Once". She also has several other classic songs including that one song from "The Bodyguard". Her other classic ballads include "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "Where Do Broken Hearts Go", "Run To You", "I Have Nothing" and "One Moment In Time". I'm hoping her new CD has a few more classic ballads and I hear that it does. There's suppose to be a pretty great ballad called, "I Didn't Know My Own Strength". I've read online reports that Whitney has lost her great voice though. I hope those rumors are wrong, because the music world needs you Whitney.
Paula "Loopy" Abdul may not come back to "American Idol". themusicaddict is all for that. Not having to listen to her rambling, nonsensical critiques ever again would be delightful. Please "AI" don't offer her a contract. The judges auditions start on August 6th so any contract would need to be signed by then. This show desperately needs an infusion of new judges. Getting good judges would be a bonus as well. No word on whether the Kara "The Torture" DioGuardia will be back. One season is enough for her. Already known is that Randy "Grasp of the Obvious" Jackson will be back, he's locked into his contract until 2011. WTH? Of course the only good judge, Simon Cowell, will be back. Or at least he's the best judge.
Book info: I should be getting that Michael Jackson book tomorrow and will probably start reading it tomorrow as well. Lately when I've had time I've been reading "The Time Traveler's Wife", this is a pretty good book. I just wish I had more time to devote to it. The movie adaptation is coming out on August 14th. It stars the lovely Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana.
Two upcoming books I'm looking forward to are: 1) Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" which is out September 15th. 2) "Where Men Win Glory: The Pat Tillman Odyssey" by Jon Krakauer. This book will also be released on September 15th. What a great day for people who love to read. If you are excitedly looking forward to these books as much as I am, here's a couple of books to check out. Both authors have previous great books you can read now. Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" is a classic telling of a tragedy on Mt. Everest. Dan Brown's "The Davinci Code" also was a fantastic read. "Code" is a very hard book to put down.
Speaking of great books, the author of "Angela's Ashes", Frank McCourt, died Sunday from cancer at the age of 78. McCourts's memory of growing up in Ireland and all his childhood struggles he went through is a modern classic. On one hand it's very heartbreaking but also a very redemptive novel. This is one of those books that should not be missed.
One final note, the executors of Micheal Jackson's estate are working on making deals to release more Jackson related material. They've shown clips to major movie studios who may want to bring a movie of his concert rehearsals to the big screen. They are also looking to release some of his unreleased music. I'm hoping they don't pick songs that will tarnish his legacy. Usually unreleased music is unreleased for a reason. Be prepared for the Jackson blitz to continue. MTV is reporting that his "Thriller" may eclipse the Eagles "Greatest Hits 71-75" as the top selling CD of all-time. Apparently Janet Jackson has been filling in sort of a mother to Jackson's three kids.
Joe Jackson also recently went on Larry King to deny ever beating Michael. However that appears to be a very well known fact in the industry. Magic Johnson, at Jackson's memorial, took great pains NOT to mention Micheal's father. Johnson not mentioning Micheal's father speaks volumes.
That's it for now, I should be back tomorrow, themusicaddict
First of all my congratulations to Peter Wiscombe, my old boss, for doing so well on Jeopardy. He appeared on two episodes and won the first time. I could tell he was very disappointed when he didn't win the second time, but he ran into a contestant who was a buzzsaw of information. His opponent also took a big chance on the daily double in the first round. He answered the question correctly and went from $4000 to $8000. Peter I know you are disappointed but you did well for yourself. You showed a lot of knowledge on a vast array of subjects. I would say to brush up on your pop culture knowledge if you ever have a chance to go on again. As for me I'm not going to try to get on Jeopardy, I know if I did I would completely freeze up and make a fool of myself on national TV. I'd rather keep the people who know I'm a fool to a local level. Also Peter a few people accessed my blog because it contained info about you. Thanks!
Driving to work I've been listening to a completely random assortment of music. Last week I was listening to songs from the queen of the ballads, Whitney Houston. On her Greatest Hits double CD, these four ballads lead off Disc 1. Those songs are "You Give Good Love", "Saving All My Love For You", "The Greatest Love of All" and "All At Once". She also has several other classic songs including that one song from "The Bodyguard". Her other classic ballads include "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "Where Do Broken Hearts Go", "Run To You", "I Have Nothing" and "One Moment In Time". I'm hoping her new CD has a few more classic ballads and I hear that it does. There's suppose to be a pretty great ballad called, "I Didn't Know My Own Strength". I've read online reports that Whitney has lost her great voice though. I hope those rumors are wrong, because the music world needs you Whitney.
Paula "Loopy" Abdul may not come back to "American Idol". themusicaddict is all for that. Not having to listen to her rambling, nonsensical critiques ever again would be delightful. Please "AI" don't offer her a contract. The judges auditions start on August 6th so any contract would need to be signed by then. This show desperately needs an infusion of new judges. Getting good judges would be a bonus as well. No word on whether the Kara "The Torture" DioGuardia will be back. One season is enough for her. Already known is that Randy "Grasp of the Obvious" Jackson will be back, he's locked into his contract until 2011. WTH? Of course the only good judge, Simon Cowell, will be back. Or at least he's the best judge.
Book info: I should be getting that Michael Jackson book tomorrow and will probably start reading it tomorrow as well. Lately when I've had time I've been reading "The Time Traveler's Wife", this is a pretty good book. I just wish I had more time to devote to it. The movie adaptation is coming out on August 14th. It stars the lovely Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana.
Two upcoming books I'm looking forward to are: 1) Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" which is out September 15th. 2) "Where Men Win Glory: The Pat Tillman Odyssey" by Jon Krakauer. This book will also be released on September 15th. What a great day for people who love to read. If you are excitedly looking forward to these books as much as I am, here's a couple of books to check out. Both authors have previous great books you can read now. Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" is a classic telling of a tragedy on Mt. Everest. Dan Brown's "The Davinci Code" also was a fantastic read. "Code" is a very hard book to put down.
Speaking of great books, the author of "Angela's Ashes", Frank McCourt, died Sunday from cancer at the age of 78. McCourts's memory of growing up in Ireland and all his childhood struggles he went through is a modern classic. On one hand it's very heartbreaking but also a very redemptive novel. This is one of those books that should not be missed.
One final note, the executors of Micheal Jackson's estate are working on making deals to release more Jackson related material. They've shown clips to major movie studios who may want to bring a movie of his concert rehearsals to the big screen. They are also looking to release some of his unreleased music. I'm hoping they don't pick songs that will tarnish his legacy. Usually unreleased music is unreleased for a reason. Be prepared for the Jackson blitz to continue. MTV is reporting that his "Thriller" may eclipse the Eagles "Greatest Hits 71-75" as the top selling CD of all-time. Apparently Janet Jackson has been filling in sort of a mother to Jackson's three kids.
Joe Jackson also recently went on Larry King to deny ever beating Michael. However that appears to be a very well known fact in the industry. Magic Johnson, at Jackson's memorial, took great pains NOT to mention Micheal's father. Johnson not mentioning Micheal's father speaks volumes.
That's it for now, I should be back tomorrow, themusicaddict
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Quick blog
Hello,
Just a quick blog today. I was bored the other day and I went to Comcast On Demand to find something to cure my boredom. What I found instead was the terrible 1992 "Dracula" movie starring Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder. Do not watch this movie, it's terrible. I could only watch the first 20 minutes before I turned it off. Keanu Reeves attempts to play an English lawyer, he was completely unconvincing in that role. My wife and daughter had went and got a video. They picked up "Inkheart" from a local Red Box outlet. That was not much better, at least I did watch all of that movie. It is very slow moving, boring and I never cared about the characters. Those are two movies to be avoided at all costs.
I subscribe to Entertainment Weekly, Time, Newsweek and Rolling Stone and all four magazines produced commemorative editions about Michael Jackson. EW is the only magazine that sent that edition to its regular subscribers. I hate that as to me if you subscribe to a magazine you should get every issue that magazine publishes. Thank you EW for being the only one of these four magazines who sent the special MJ issue to all its subscribers.
Songs rockin' my iPod: 1) "Don't Let Go"- Pacha Massive 2) "These Days"- Rascal Flatts 3) "Reelin' In The Years"- Steely Dan A band that doesn't get much publicity now but has several great songs. 4) "Me Plus One"- Annie 5) "Battlefield"- Jordin Sparks It is good to see Sparks still around and I'm hoping for many more hits for her in the future. 6) "Bathwater"- No Doubt 7) "Radio Song"- R.E.M. and KRS-One 8) "Time To Say Goodbye"- Sarah Brightman One of the best female singers of all-time. She has a powerful, beautiful voice. 9) "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"- Poison One of the best songs from the best decade for music. 10) "Mixed Emotions"- Rolling Stones A song that anyone in a relationship can relate to. 11) "Mayday"- People In Planes 12) "Hallelujah"- Paramore 13 and 14) "Billie Jean" and "Black or White"- Michael Jackson. In my opinion those are Michael Jackson's two best songs. 15) "The Boys of Summer"- Don Henley "The Heart of the Matter" is another great Henley song. 16) "Since I've Been Loving You"- Led Zeppelin 17) "Burning Down the House"- Talking Heads. One of the most innovative songs of all-time. 18) "Brass In Pocket"- The Pretenders 19) "Sugarfoot"- Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears 20) "Rebel Yell"- Dope.
Good luck tomorrow Peter on Jeopardy.
I'll be back Tuesday, themusicaddict
Just a quick blog today. I was bored the other day and I went to Comcast On Demand to find something to cure my boredom. What I found instead was the terrible 1992 "Dracula" movie starring Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder. Do not watch this movie, it's terrible. I could only watch the first 20 minutes before I turned it off. Keanu Reeves attempts to play an English lawyer, he was completely unconvincing in that role. My wife and daughter had went and got a video. They picked up "Inkheart" from a local Red Box outlet. That was not much better, at least I did watch all of that movie. It is very slow moving, boring and I never cared about the characters. Those are two movies to be avoided at all costs.
I subscribe to Entertainment Weekly, Time, Newsweek and Rolling Stone and all four magazines produced commemorative editions about Michael Jackson. EW is the only magazine that sent that edition to its regular subscribers. I hate that as to me if you subscribe to a magazine you should get every issue that magazine publishes. Thank you EW for being the only one of these four magazines who sent the special MJ issue to all its subscribers.
Songs rockin' my iPod: 1) "Don't Let Go"- Pacha Massive 2) "These Days"- Rascal Flatts 3) "Reelin' In The Years"- Steely Dan A band that doesn't get much publicity now but has several great songs. 4) "Me Plus One"- Annie 5) "Battlefield"- Jordin Sparks It is good to see Sparks still around and I'm hoping for many more hits for her in the future. 6) "Bathwater"- No Doubt 7) "Radio Song"- R.E.M. and KRS-One 8) "Time To Say Goodbye"- Sarah Brightman One of the best female singers of all-time. She has a powerful, beautiful voice. 9) "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"- Poison One of the best songs from the best decade for music. 10) "Mixed Emotions"- Rolling Stones A song that anyone in a relationship can relate to. 11) "Mayday"- People In Planes 12) "Hallelujah"- Paramore 13 and 14) "Billie Jean" and "Black or White"- Michael Jackson. In my opinion those are Michael Jackson's two best songs. 15) "The Boys of Summer"- Don Henley "The Heart of the Matter" is another great Henley song. 16) "Since I've Been Loving You"- Led Zeppelin 17) "Burning Down the House"- Talking Heads. One of the most innovative songs of all-time. 18) "Brass In Pocket"- The Pretenders 19) "Sugarfoot"- Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears 20) "Rebel Yell"- Dope.
Good luck tomorrow Peter on Jeopardy.
I'll be back Tuesday, themusicaddict
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Random Notes Again
Hello,
Right now I'm in the middle of working 5 days straight at Verizon Wireless. Due to that my time is very limited so my blog activity is going to be low.
I realize you're probably getting sick of news about Michael Jackson. However I keep on finding interesting news about him as his legacy continues to grow. The following is for the the week ending July 12th, 2009. First of all Jackson continues selling a lot of Cds, last week he sold 1.1 million CDs. (Jackson has sold 2.3 million CDs since his too early demise on June 25th.) Jackson's CD "Number 1's" is the top selling CD in the nation for the third straight week. (All this chart information is from billboard.com.) Even though this CD has sold the most CDs in the nation for the last three weeks, it has not been #1 on the Billboard Top 200 CD chart. In a very nonsensical ruling, if a CD has been out for over 18 months it's considered a catalog CD. That means it's able to be on the catalog chart but not on the Top 200 chart. Even though it has sold the most CDs last week, its not eligible for the Top 200 chart. I think that's stupid. The only condition to be on the Top 200 chart should be which CD sells most. The Top 12 Catalog CDs are all Michael Jackson related CDs. (Thanks to Billboard.)
I received some surprising news from amazon.com last night. The book I ordered from them about Michael Jackson has shipped. I'm only telling you this because the book isn't due to be released until August 5th. I'll be getting it two weeks before it's official release date. I'll be getting it in a few days. Again the title of the book is "The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story 1958-2009". I'm looking forward to reading this book, it has 768 pages. I'm hoping its a lot more in depth and hard hitting than Jackson's autobiography "Moon Walk".
Michael Jackson 1958-2009 R.I.P.
Awhile earlier I had mentioned that the BYU head basketball coach Dave Rose was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. (For the record, I'm a big BYU fan.) Three weeks ago he announced he was free of the pancreatic cancer and now his cancer is in remission. He's healthy enough to make his first recruiting trip of the summer and should be healthy enough to coach the team this season. All the cancer has been removed and for now his prognosis is good.
Cancer is a insidious disease, it has killed a friend of mine at the too young age of 27. My mother-in-law is currently fighting a courageous battle with colon cancer right now. Perhaps if you have some extra money you can donate some money to cancer research. If cancer has not touched a friend or a family member of yours it will soon.
The following is probably just my fevered imagination, but has anyone else noticed the London/ 80's musician disastrous connection? First of all Michael Jackson was going to perform 50 concerts in London this July. Unfortunately on June 25th he passed away. Next Madonna opened her current Sticky and Sweet tour in London, including a tribute to Michael Jackson. The stage that was being constructed in Marseilles, France had issues. "Workers were building the stage for Madonna’s July 19th Sticky & Sweet show when a crane gave way, causing a crush of rubble that claimed the lives of Charles Criscenzo of France and Charles Prow, from England. The concert, which would have been attended by 40,000, has been canceled...."
Because of that I'm fearful for Whitney Houston's safety. She was in London a couple of days ago debuting 9 songs from her new CD "I Look To You". These tracks aren't complete as of yet, but after the 9 songs were played the CD received a standing ovation from obviously a very pro Whitney crowd. Some of the songs have leaked online, where they are getting a mixed review. May I say the 45 year old Whitney Houston is looking absolutely gorgeous still. (Thanks to the dailymail.com.) The new CD is due September 1st. To hear new music and see the new video, go to whitneyhouston.com. You do have to register. Welcome back Whitney! Please stay safe Whitney.
I apologize I made an incorrect statement about when Pearl Jam's new CD will be released. I originally stated it was November 20th, actually its going to be released on September 20th. The name of the CD is "Backspacer" and it features 11 songs. The first single is "The Fixer". For more information go to pearljam.com. That's where you can preorder the CD or you can pick it up exclusively at Target on it's release date.
I should be back with a short blog tomorrow and a much longer blog on Tuesday. Have a great weekend, themusicaddict
Right now I'm in the middle of working 5 days straight at Verizon Wireless. Due to that my time is very limited so my blog activity is going to be low.
I realize you're probably getting sick of news about Michael Jackson. However I keep on finding interesting news about him as his legacy continues to grow. The following is for the the week ending July 12th, 2009. First of all Jackson continues selling a lot of Cds, last week he sold 1.1 million CDs. (Jackson has sold 2.3 million CDs since his too early demise on June 25th.) Jackson's CD "Number 1's" is the top selling CD in the nation for the third straight week. (All this chart information is from billboard.com.) Even though this CD has sold the most CDs in the nation for the last three weeks, it has not been #1 on the Billboard Top 200 CD chart. In a very nonsensical ruling, if a CD has been out for over 18 months it's considered a catalog CD. That means it's able to be on the catalog chart but not on the Top 200 chart. Even though it has sold the most CDs last week, its not eligible for the Top 200 chart. I think that's stupid. The only condition to be on the Top 200 chart should be which CD sells most. The Top 12 Catalog CDs are all Michael Jackson related CDs. (Thanks to Billboard.)
I received some surprising news from amazon.com last night. The book I ordered from them about Michael Jackson has shipped. I'm only telling you this because the book isn't due to be released until August 5th. I'll be getting it two weeks before it's official release date. I'll be getting it in a few days. Again the title of the book is "The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story 1958-2009". I'm looking forward to reading this book, it has 768 pages. I'm hoping its a lot more in depth and hard hitting than Jackson's autobiography "Moon Walk".
Michael Jackson 1958-2009 R.I.P.
Awhile earlier I had mentioned that the BYU head basketball coach Dave Rose was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. (For the record, I'm a big BYU fan.) Three weeks ago he announced he was free of the pancreatic cancer and now his cancer is in remission. He's healthy enough to make his first recruiting trip of the summer and should be healthy enough to coach the team this season. All the cancer has been removed and for now his prognosis is good.
Cancer is a insidious disease, it has killed a friend of mine at the too young age of 27. My mother-in-law is currently fighting a courageous battle with colon cancer right now. Perhaps if you have some extra money you can donate some money to cancer research. If cancer has not touched a friend or a family member of yours it will soon.
The following is probably just my fevered imagination, but has anyone else noticed the London/ 80's musician disastrous connection? First of all Michael Jackson was going to perform 50 concerts in London this July. Unfortunately on June 25th he passed away. Next Madonna opened her current Sticky and Sweet tour in London, including a tribute to Michael Jackson. The stage that was being constructed in Marseilles, France had issues. "Workers were building the stage for Madonna’s July 19th Sticky & Sweet show when a crane gave way, causing a crush of rubble that claimed the lives of Charles Criscenzo of France and Charles Prow, from England. The concert, which would have been attended by 40,000, has been canceled...."
Because of that I'm fearful for Whitney Houston's safety. She was in London a couple of days ago debuting 9 songs from her new CD "I Look To You". These tracks aren't complete as of yet, but after the 9 songs were played the CD received a standing ovation from obviously a very pro Whitney crowd. Some of the songs have leaked online, where they are getting a mixed review. May I say the 45 year old Whitney Houston is looking absolutely gorgeous still. (Thanks to the dailymail.com.) The new CD is due September 1st. To hear new music and see the new video, go to whitneyhouston.com. You do have to register. Welcome back Whitney! Please stay safe Whitney.
I apologize I made an incorrect statement about when Pearl Jam's new CD will be released. I originally stated it was November 20th, actually its going to be released on September 20th. The name of the CD is "Backspacer" and it features 11 songs. The first single is "The Fixer". For more information go to pearljam.com. That's where you can preorder the CD or you can pick it up exclusively at Target on it's release date.
I should be back with a short blog tomorrow and a much longer blog on Tuesday. Have a great weekend, themusicaddict
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Old boss, new tricks
Hello,
Random news today: Ryan Seacrest signed a new 3 year, $45 million dollar contract to host "American Idol" for 3 more years. You can tell its a slow news time when that is newsworthy. Honestly I think "American Idol" is about tapped out. The contestants seem to be less interesting each year. When three of the final four are Danny Gokey, Kris Allen and the extremely overhyped Adam Lambert- what does that say about the future of the show? The only consistently good judge is Simon Cowell, the other three judges are overpaid producer's shills. I predict that this show has two more years left before it will be cancelled. Next year will continue the decline and the following season will be the death knell for this franchise.
I would like to make a shout out to my old boss Peter Wiscombe. This last Friday he was on "Jeopardy" and won that night. He moves to the next round which will be next Monday. He's getting a week break because it's kids week this week. Wiscombe was very calm, cool and collected. He's probably the smartest guy I've ever met. (I say that even though his ego doesn't need the help.) He has a wide range of knowledge, so he's perfect for "Jeopardy". Keep on doing well Peter and I'll keep on watching. Thank goodness for the DVR so that I can watch him.
Pearl Jam's new CD was originally to be out this past Tuesday. However it was pushed back to November 20th. That's typical for many CD releases. It will be released exclusively in Target stores on that day. I'm anticipating another good collection of hard edged rock songs. Daughtry's new CD "Leave This Town" and The Dead Weather's new CD, "Horehound", did come out as scheduled yesterday. I haven't come across any review of these CD's as of yet. I don't make enough money to buy them either.
This morning at my doctor's office I finished reading Michael Jackson's "Moon Walk" and it was an okay book. It's not the most deep thinking book in the history of the world. Jackson tends to touch slightly on things that he didn't like. Jackson writes about his struggles with various record companies and his Dad driving him and his brothers to succeed. However it seems like he lightly touches on these parts of his life. The book only has 283 pages and about 50 of those pages have pictures. About the most juicy detail in this book is that he had to be talked into appearing on the Motown 25th year anniversary special. That show and his legendendary performance of "Billie Jean" catapulted him into a big star. If he hadn't performed who knows how different his career would have been.
It's still an interesting snapshot into the mind of a huge legend. Although I wish he would have written more about his creative process. For instance, when writing about the song "Thriller" he doesn't even mention Vincent Price's name. One thing did bother me a bit, everytime he mentioned his love of kids I got the heebie jeebies. I don't doubt that he loved children in a pure sense, but his impure relationships with some kids make me sick to my stomach.
I look forward to reading the updated version of Randy Taborelli's "The Magic and the Madness." That has a lot more pages and I think it will be a lot more in depth. It will be interesting to see more about Jackson's relationship with his driven father and many other facets of his life. I hope Taborelli focuses more on Micheal's creative process as well. For instance how did "Billie Jean" come to be made. I would like the story of that song and the story for "Dirty Diana" would be pretty interesting. He wrote that a lot of his songs did not come from personal experience though.
Last night I watched the last episode of Season One of "Mad Men". A very satisfying conclusion to an excellent season. Yesterday Season Two of that excellent show was released. I think the first season was a lot better than the second season. I'm getting excited about the third season starting next month. I'm hoping Don Draper won't be such an adulterer this season. There's still no word on when the first episode of season three will be.
Be strong Kevin Cogill.
Have a great day, themusicaddict
Random news today: Ryan Seacrest signed a new 3 year, $45 million dollar contract to host "American Idol" for 3 more years. You can tell its a slow news time when that is newsworthy. Honestly I think "American Idol" is about tapped out. The contestants seem to be less interesting each year. When three of the final four are Danny Gokey, Kris Allen and the extremely overhyped Adam Lambert- what does that say about the future of the show? The only consistently good judge is Simon Cowell, the other three judges are overpaid producer's shills. I predict that this show has two more years left before it will be cancelled. Next year will continue the decline and the following season will be the death knell for this franchise.
I would like to make a shout out to my old boss Peter Wiscombe. This last Friday he was on "Jeopardy" and won that night. He moves to the next round which will be next Monday. He's getting a week break because it's kids week this week. Wiscombe was very calm, cool and collected. He's probably the smartest guy I've ever met. (I say that even though his ego doesn't need the help.) He has a wide range of knowledge, so he's perfect for "Jeopardy". Keep on doing well Peter and I'll keep on watching. Thank goodness for the DVR so that I can watch him.
Pearl Jam's new CD was originally to be out this past Tuesday. However it was pushed back to November 20th. That's typical for many CD releases. It will be released exclusively in Target stores on that day. I'm anticipating another good collection of hard edged rock songs. Daughtry's new CD "Leave This Town" and The Dead Weather's new CD, "Horehound", did come out as scheduled yesterday. I haven't come across any review of these CD's as of yet. I don't make enough money to buy them either.
This morning at my doctor's office I finished reading Michael Jackson's "Moon Walk" and it was an okay book. It's not the most deep thinking book in the history of the world. Jackson tends to touch slightly on things that he didn't like. Jackson writes about his struggles with various record companies and his Dad driving him and his brothers to succeed. However it seems like he lightly touches on these parts of his life. The book only has 283 pages and about 50 of those pages have pictures. About the most juicy detail in this book is that he had to be talked into appearing on the Motown 25th year anniversary special. That show and his legendendary performance of "Billie Jean" catapulted him into a big star. If he hadn't performed who knows how different his career would have been.
It's still an interesting snapshot into the mind of a huge legend. Although I wish he would have written more about his creative process. For instance, when writing about the song "Thriller" he doesn't even mention Vincent Price's name. One thing did bother me a bit, everytime he mentioned his love of kids I got the heebie jeebies. I don't doubt that he loved children in a pure sense, but his impure relationships with some kids make me sick to my stomach.
I look forward to reading the updated version of Randy Taborelli's "The Magic and the Madness." That has a lot more pages and I think it will be a lot more in depth. It will be interesting to see more about Jackson's relationship with his driven father and many other facets of his life. I hope Taborelli focuses more on Micheal's creative process as well. For instance how did "Billie Jean" come to be made. I would like the story of that song and the story for "Dirty Diana" would be pretty interesting. He wrote that a lot of his songs did not come from personal experience though.
Last night I watched the last episode of Season One of "Mad Men". A very satisfying conclusion to an excellent season. Yesterday Season Two of that excellent show was released. I think the first season was a lot better than the second season. I'm getting excited about the third season starting next month. I'm hoping Don Draper won't be such an adulterer this season. There's still no word on when the first episode of season three will be.
Be strong Kevin Cogill.
Have a great day, themusicaddict
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Random Michael Jackson
Happy Sunday,
Now at work I'm working my schedule where I work 5 straight days. I've completed 3 days of that schedule. There is just a tad bit of pressure and I'm still struggling to learn everything. You cannot believe how much there is to know in the cell phone industry. Due to my schedule I've paid scant attention to what's going on in the world.
The Michael Jackson furor is burning out. Although I did see his daughter Paris is going to record a song for him. I wonder if she has her Dad's musical genius. In reading his "Moonwalk", he says that both of his parents had musical ability. He says his Mom had a beautiful singing voice but was hindered by a limp from Polio. Also his Dad played in a band. They were at most a local hit and never took off. I think that's why he pushed his kids so much to become superstars. Another sad case of a parent living his life through his kids.
You couldn't tell the furor is dying down though by the top music on amazon.com. Jackson has the top 11 CD's at this hour. The top five are 1) "Off The Wall" How often is a 30 year old CD the #1 CD. Obviously it's because Jackson died but it's also a testament to his artistic legacy. 2) "Bad" That CD is only 12 years old. 3) "Thriller" 25th Anniversary CD. That was released last year. 4) "Dangerous" This is one of his lesser known CD's but it's a fantastic CD. 5) "Essential Michael Jackson" Obviously a greatest hits CD. Their eighth best selling CD is "The Ultimate Collection"- The Jackson 5. Did you know the Jackson Five's first three singles went to #1? That's a pretty amazing feat". The highest non Michael Jackson CD is Daughtry's "Leave This Town" which is out this Tuesday. Even "Blood On the Dance Floor" is the #13 CD. That is a mix of 5 new songs plus remixes of some of Jackson's past songs. (I've been resisting the temptation to buy this CD, but I may give in soon.) He also has the #15 CD the original "Thriller".
On the mtvmusic.com rankings for this past week: Jackson has the #6 to #12, the #14 to the #30 and also the 32nd, 33rd and 35th top videos. In the all-time videos he has the 4th, 6th and 20th most viewed videos of all-time. 4) "Thriller" (Long version) 6) "Thriller" 20) "Billie Jean"
I had a bid on ebay.com for "The Magic and the Madness", the Randy Taraborelli biography of Michael Jackson. I believe that was the 1991 edition. Thankfully I was outbid on that. I went to amazon.com and bought the 2009 edition of that book. It's been retitled "Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story 1958-2009". I'm actually paying a bit less overall to get the 2009 edition of that book. I should be getting that book in about a month. I look forward to reading it and a review will eventually be coming. (I know I still owe you a review of Green Day's "21st Century Breakdown")
Two other books on Micheal Jackson that I've read part of are "Moon Walk" written by Michael Jackson. I'll be honest in that I didn't hold out much hope for this book. It's fairly well written and provides a glimpse into the way Michael Jackson thinks. Another book I read part of is "On Micheal Jackson", a series of essays written by Pulitzer Prize winning author Margo Jefferson. It's an academic look of some of Micheal Jackson's experiences. It's a pretty dry reading of Jackson and his life.
Have a great week, themusicaddict
Now at work I'm working my schedule where I work 5 straight days. I've completed 3 days of that schedule. There is just a tad bit of pressure and I'm still struggling to learn everything. You cannot believe how much there is to know in the cell phone industry. Due to my schedule I've paid scant attention to what's going on in the world.
The Michael Jackson furor is burning out. Although I did see his daughter Paris is going to record a song for him. I wonder if she has her Dad's musical genius. In reading his "Moonwalk", he says that both of his parents had musical ability. He says his Mom had a beautiful singing voice but was hindered by a limp from Polio. Also his Dad played in a band. They were at most a local hit and never took off. I think that's why he pushed his kids so much to become superstars. Another sad case of a parent living his life through his kids.
You couldn't tell the furor is dying down though by the top music on amazon.com. Jackson has the top 11 CD's at this hour. The top five are 1) "Off The Wall" How often is a 30 year old CD the #1 CD. Obviously it's because Jackson died but it's also a testament to his artistic legacy. 2) "Bad" That CD is only 12 years old. 3) "Thriller" 25th Anniversary CD. That was released last year. 4) "Dangerous" This is one of his lesser known CD's but it's a fantastic CD. 5) "Essential Michael Jackson" Obviously a greatest hits CD. Their eighth best selling CD is "The Ultimate Collection"- The Jackson 5. Did you know the Jackson Five's first three singles went to #1? That's a pretty amazing feat". The highest non Michael Jackson CD is Daughtry's "Leave This Town" which is out this Tuesday. Even "Blood On the Dance Floor" is the #13 CD. That is a mix of 5 new songs plus remixes of some of Jackson's past songs. (I've been resisting the temptation to buy this CD, but I may give in soon.) He also has the #15 CD the original "Thriller".
On the mtvmusic.com rankings for this past week: Jackson has the #6 to #12, the #14 to the #30 and also the 32nd, 33rd and 35th top videos. In the all-time videos he has the 4th, 6th and 20th most viewed videos of all-time. 4) "Thriller" (Long version) 6) "Thriller" 20) "Billie Jean"
I had a bid on ebay.com for "The Magic and the Madness", the Randy Taraborelli biography of Michael Jackson. I believe that was the 1991 edition. Thankfully I was outbid on that. I went to amazon.com and bought the 2009 edition of that book. It's been retitled "Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story 1958-2009". I'm actually paying a bit less overall to get the 2009 edition of that book. I should be getting that book in about a month. I look forward to reading it and a review will eventually be coming. (I know I still owe you a review of Green Day's "21st Century Breakdown")
Two other books on Micheal Jackson that I've read part of are "Moon Walk" written by Michael Jackson. I'll be honest in that I didn't hold out much hope for this book. It's fairly well written and provides a glimpse into the way Michael Jackson thinks. Another book I read part of is "On Micheal Jackson", a series of essays written by Pulitzer Prize winning author Margo Jefferson. It's an academic look of some of Micheal Jackson's experiences. It's a pretty dry reading of Jackson and his life.
Have a great week, themusicaddict
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