To answer your first question: No, R. Kelly did not perform—or, for that matter even allude to—Trapped in the Closet, his rightly obsessed-over R&B opera, during his WaMu Theater at MSG concert last night. All the same, Kelly’s Ladies Make Some Noise! Tour, as the event was billed, offered a hell of a spectacle, complete with copious set changes, ADD-friendly medleys of the singer’s many hits (yes, including “Ignition (Remix),” but only about 90 seconds of it), meaningful nods to his R&B forebears, plenty of obligatory raunch, and believe it or not, a candid meditation on the star’s recent legal travails. The singer was abetted by a crack band, a few backup dancers and a hype man, but this was Kelly’s show all the way.
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Photos by Hank Shteamer.
Last night, soul-rock superstar Lenny Kravitz played the second gig of his five-night run at the Fillmore New York, which continues tomorrow (Wednesday, October 14). Check out pics from the show above, and click past the jump for a brief review.
Michael Jackson’s previously unreleased song “This Is It” might just be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to new music recorded by the artist before his death. Hear the song here (image via the Associated Press). [The Volume]
Exactly when Michael Jackson penned and taped the rough demo of “This Is It,” the new single released to the world via the Internet at midnight last night, may never be pinned down. What must surely be the case, though, is that the bittersweet ballad—treated to a slick arrangement with strings and his brothers’ backing vocals—is probably just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to unreleased studio tracks from the late pop icon. This one is particularly timely, given that the title was also to be the name of Jackson’s planned 50-concert series in London; now, as you’re probably well aware, the title has been attached to a new documentary film based on rehearsal footage, which opens October 28. The soundtrack album arrives in stores a day earlier, and will surely leak to the the Net before that—dig around hard enough right now and you can already find your very own copy of this single, which (according to official word) won’t be released on its own. It might not be first-rate Michael—but it’s previously unheard Michael all the same, and worth the tiny pang of remorse it’ll certainly stir in anyone who listens.
Check out the artwork for the upcoming Monsters of Folk album to the left, due out October 22, and click here to listen to a few songs. The band’s playing in New York November 6 and 8. [Stereogum]
Brit outfit Fuck Buttons will hit Bowery Ballroom November 2 as part of its Europe–North American promotional tour for Tarot Sport, the band’s second album, out October 20. [Pitchfork]
Michael Jackson’s body was laid to rest yesterday at a tight, 200-guest ceremony, with Quincy Jones and former wife Lisa Marie Presley among the crowd. [Billboard]
The Stooges reunite with Raw Power guitarist James Williamson to play the entire 1973 album live next spring at London’s ATP. [Rolling Stone]
The New York Phillharmonic is hosting a free rehearsal September 16 early in the morning, and if you can’t make it, there are other options. Check ‘em out here. [The Volume]
The weirdest, loudest, glitziest, trashiest city in the world, NYC was surely the perfect place to celebrate Michael Jackson’s (would have been) birthday on Saturday. First there was Spike Lee’s celebration at Prospect Park (for pictures, including possibly the scariest hair weaving we’ve seen, go here.) And then in the evening, Q-Tip presented his “All Hail the King” dance party at Nokia Theatre—a marathon spinning session with Mark Ronson and DJ Spinna. Grandmaster Flash and Solange Knowles were both seen grooving, and even Quincy Jones called in to address the crowd. But the night’s highlight had to be Q-Tip teaching the packed crowd how to do the electric slide. Who knew he could dance like that? In fact, who knew so many people could electric slide in unison? Color us impressed.
Click past the jump for more photos by Jaecyne Howell, of MoonRisingNYC.com.
Vivian Girls‘ Everything Goes Wrong is streaming here (due out September 8), while Muse posted 30-second advance clips of its upcoming The Resistancehere (out September 14). [Spinner, NME]
Details surrounding the upcoming Tegan and Sara October 27 release of Sainthood are here, including artwork, the entire track list and stints at Town Hall on October 30 and 31. Tickets go on sale Friday through Ticketmaster. [Spin]
Islands premiere the title track for their forthcoming album Vapours, which drops September 22. Give it a listen here [Pitchfork] and check our recent live review here.
And from the TONY desk:
Read our review of Whitney Houston’s I Look to You, track by track, and check out her finest YouTube moments here. [The Volume]
Word on the Michael Jackson remixes is that the five-disc installment will be released digitally in five parts through iTunes starting tomorrow. Link here to stream reworkings by the Neptunes, Dallas Austin and more. [The Volume]
Read on the death of eccentric jazz improviser Joe Maneri here. [The Volume]
What a very strange August, in the world of Michael Jackson news. Yesterday it was declared that Jackson’s death was officially a homicide. Today, Universal announces a series of Michael Jackson remix albums, the first of which is released tomorrow. And Saturday would have been Jackson’s birthday.
More on the music: The Remix Suite will be released in five parts on iTunes starting tomorrow, then a disc in October collects together all five installments.
Following an autopsy, an L.A. coroner has ruled Michael Jackson’s death a homicide. Jackson had apparently been given “lethal levels” of the anesthetic propofol, reports the L.A. Times:
“Conrad Murray, Jackson’s personal doctor, told detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department that he had been treating Jackson for insomnia for about six weeks.… Much of the investigation has focused on propofol…and whether Murray’s decision to give it to Jackson as a sleep aid outside a hospital setting reaches a level of negligence required for an involuntary manslaughter charge.”
When we ran into Esso backstage at the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival in mid-June, the Harlem MC seemed very excited to discuss his upcoming release, a reworking of a then-unnamed classic album. The rapper let slip, off camera, that the vintage work in question was Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall, and the record was all set to drop in August to coincide with the 30th anniversary of MJ’s breakthrough effort. Fellow artists and Esso himself were calling the project his best work to date.
But just five days later the King of Pop passed away, leaving Esso in a difficult position. He didn’t want to appear to be exploiting Jackson’s death, but he had already completed the free LP, produced by friend and collaborator Woody. After much deliberation, he has decided to release his version of Off the Wall, an undertaking that he claims sprung out of “the utmost respect and reverence.” In the video above, Esso talks about the making of the LP and video for the single “Don’t Stop.”
My Chemical Romance (pictured) is in the studio recording its fourth album, and the band tested out a few songs from these sessions at a secret show at L.A.’s Roxy. Listen to “Death Before Disco” here. [NME, Spin Magazine]
Natasha Khan, otherwise known as Bat for Lashes, unveils her third video from Two Suns, “Sleep Alone.” [Pitchfork]
Listen here to a tantalizing snippet of Muse’s “Uprising,” the opening song from the outfit’s upcoming album, The Resistance. [NME]
In Michael Jackson news, his 79-year-old mother, Katherine, has been awarded custody of his three kids: Prince Michael, Paris Michael and Blanket. [NPR]
Fred Durst & Co. are set to record a new Limp Bizkit album pretty soon, and Red Hot Chili Peppers are reuniting and recording new material in October. [NME]
And from the TONY desk:
A re-formed Polvo does right by its history at Brooklyn Bowl. [The Volume]
TMZ has just posted an unreleased song by Michael Jackson on its site, right here. On the new track, Jackson recycles the tune from “A Horse with No Name” by ubiquitous 1970s AM-radio staple America into…well, we’re not exactly sure what, but it still gives us a chill to hear Michael’s voice in an unfamiliar track.
Says the site: “We’re told several years ago America’s manager gave his group’s permission for Jackson to record the song, ‘A Place with No Name’—despite the similarity. America’s current manager, Jim Morey, who was also Michael’s manager in the late ’80s and early ’90s, tells us, ‘The band was honored that Michael chose to do their song and they hope it becomes available for all Michael’s fans to hear.’”
“Simply the greatest entertainer who ever lived” was Berry Gordy ’s tribute to Michael Jackson—and it drew a huge cheer from a 20,000-strong audience attending this afternoon’s Memorial service to Jackson in L.A., following a private family service nearby.
Jackson’s casket was placed at the front of the stage on a deep-blue carpet, covered in flowers; his family sat in the front row, each wearing sunglasses and a single sequined glove.
Religious figures, civil-rights activists, basketball players and stars took the stage of the Staples Center in L.A., for an event that was half service, half show. Of course.
Harlem’s Apollo Theater opened its doors for a public memorial today, and Michael Jackson fans arrived in droves—the line snaking around two blocks, with some arriving as early as 10pm the previous evening to ensure they would make it into the theater to see a special video tribute.
Check out our slide show of the scene outside the Apollo, and find more Michael Jackson tribute events here, including a special Amateur Night at the Apollo tomorrow.
All weekend long, Michael Jackson’s hits served as a soundtrack to the city. The unmistakable thump of “Billie Jean” wafts from the open window of a passing car and then is gone, a ghost. A man with mirrored sunglasses and a single, mournful glove carries a boom box toward Fifth Avenue, “Rock with You” blaring. People memorializing Jackson favored Thriller,Off the Wall and, to a lesser extent, Bad. The songs of the Jackson 5 just seem too sad given the context: a little boy lost. Also absent were songs from the star’s post-’80s albums. Alas, we will never learn what strange works Michael Jackson had in mind. His final LP was 2001’s Invincible, by no means his best recorded moment. Back when the album was just arriving in stores, TONY’s music staff met for a round-table discussion. In retrospect, parts of the review read as obnoxious and petty. The overall assessment of the album, however, is unlikely to change. Click here for the article.
It was hard enough to distinguish on Saturday at the TKTS booth of Times Square whether the people there were tourists, or were part of a silent flash mob in honor of Michael Jackson. But to make things worse, people didn’t seem to know, themselves, as they stood looking at each other wondering who would give the cue.
The flash mob was spread through Twitter by Ginger Baker, and it attracted about 100 people, most of whom stared, took pictures or recorded video of a small dozen people and a few “Thriller” zombies dancing to the tune of one of the top hits of all time by the King of Pop, on their headphones.
The rules were simple: Get there by 5 pm, wear a music player with headphones and play Jackson’s “Thriller,” version 5:57, at the same moment as everybody else. The latter wasn’t as simple. When should people push play? Or who should say when to start? It seemed nobody knew.
Eventually, tweens in zombie makeup began to make a move, playing “Thriller” on their iPods and telling the others to just start. The line between tourists and New Yorkers blurred, as onlookers stared and even a bride and groom combo photographing their wedding asked two of the “zombies” to take a picture with them. In less than 20 minutes, the crowd was gone.—Raquel Villarreal
Bizarre as it may seem, for a brief sliver of his life, Michael Jackson was a nonprofessional singer, appearing at the Apollo’s famed Amateur Night along with his brothers. (Shockingly, the Jacksons won.) The singer returned to the Harlem theater at other points in his career, most recently a 2002 fund-raiser for the Democratic National Committee. This week, the Apollo pays tribute to the late pop star. Tomorrow at 2pm, the Reverend Al Sharpton and others will eulogize Jackson under the theater’s marquee in a public memorial. Following the tribute and throughout the day, the Apollo will welcome fans into the theater to listen to Jackson songs and watch a half-hour video tribute. (The first entry is at 2:15, the final one at 8:30pm.) Wednesday evening means Amateur Night at the Apollo. Fittingly, this week’s concert will feature a Jackson tribute, including celebrity impersonator C.P. Lacey and—more dangerously—moonwalking by brave audience members, unafraid of the Sandman’s wrath.
Editor-at-large Howard Halle has added his thoughts to TONY’s reflections on Michael Jackson. Halle sees Michael Jackson’s death as “a bookend for a crucial period of race relations in this country,” one that, in some ways, is similar to the death of Elvis Presley 32 years ago this summer. Read how Michael Jackson changed America, as much as he changed himself, here.
Among all the songs floating around my head in the past 24 hours, only one non-megahit fights for a hearing: Kimya Dawson’s “My Heroes,” from Hidden Vagenda. It’s the best song I know about Michael Jackson—a mournful manifesto released in 2004, soon after the star’s courtroom difficulties. Dawson is unforgiving toward Jackson and his codefendant in the song, Pee-wee Herman. Yet her tone is poignant, not vengeful. Through Dawson, Jackson becomes a tragically flawed idol—and a symbol of youth as it gradually fades.
Earlier this year, I interviewed the razor-sharp R&B singer Ne-Yo. Few young artists have absorbed Michael Jackson’s muse as thoroughly as the Las Vegas performer. Like Jackson, Ne-Yo is an expert song craftsman, singer and dancer. Stylistically, songs like “Nobody” (from 2008’s Year of the Gentleman) borrow very specifically from Jackson’s playbook. So it was no surprise to hear that Michael Jackson had reached out to Ne-Yo to write songs for what was to have been his comeback album. Ne-Yo has written and produced tracks for plenty of big names—Beyoncé, Rihanna and even Janet Jackson—but he was clearly awed by the prospect of working with pop royalty. After the jump: an excerpt from his TONY interview, from early February, in which Ne-Yo speaks about Jackson. Read more »
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Check out the artwork for the upcoming 
What a very strange August, in the world of Michael Jackson news. Yesterday it was declared that Jackson’s death was 
TMZ has just posted an unreleased song by Michael Jackson on its site, right 
“Simply the greatest entertainer who ever lived” was 
All weekend long, Michael Jackson’s hits served as a soundtrack to the city. The unmistakable thump of “Billie Jean” wafts from the open window of a passing car and then is gone, a ghost. A man with mirrored sunglasses and a single, mournful glove carries a boom box toward Fifth Avenue, “Rock with You” blaring. People memorializing Jackson favored Thriller, Off the Wall and, to a lesser extent, Bad. The songs of the Jackson 5 just seem too sad given the context: a little boy lost. Also absent were songs from the star’s post-’80s albums. Alas, we will never learn what strange works Michael Jackson had in mind. His final LP was 2001’s Invincible, by no means his best recorded moment. Back when the album was just arriving in stores, TONY’s music staff met for a round-table discussion. In retrospect, parts of the review read as obnoxious and petty. The overall assessment of the album, however, is unlikely to change. Click 
Among all the songs floating around my head in the past 24 hours, only one non-megahit fights for a hearing: 
Earlier this year, I 