M Is FOR MASHUP - July 1st, 2009
Michael Jackson, The King Of Mashups
By DJ Useo
Thanks for all the good times, MJ. You left us a lot of music to enjoy, & much more. You may not have realized it, but you had also conquered another area of music - the mashups! Yes, when I check my files I find there are even more MJ mashups than Eminem & that's saying something. Math is not my strong area, but I would say there must be at least a kajillion MJ mashups. Some of the earliest bootleg mixes I remember hearing had MJ as the vocals. Go Home Productions, McSleazy, Pheugoo & many other pioneer mashers used him often. I remember a lengthy period of time when you couldn't look at GET YOUR BOOTLEG ON ( www.gybo5.com/ ) without seeing at least 2 MJ tracks on every page. He appears on most mashup collections too, it seems. Check for yourself.
Now, when people crave his music the most, despite the fantastic catalogue he left behind, they turn to the bootlegs to hold more of their love of him close to their hearts & ears. For instance, MASHUPTOWN ( www.mashuptown.com ) has posted a splendid collection of the their favorite MJ mashups, remixes & blends (www.mashuptown.com/2009/06/with-the-passing-away-of-michael-jackson-it-seems-like-its-the-end--of-an-era-the-king-of-pop-has-been-unparalleled-in-his.html ). If you are already the owner of MJ's entire series of albums this is great news for you. The variations are strong & the talent the best on 'MASHUPTOWN presents Michael Jackson: Mashups, Blends, and Remixes'. You'll find mashups like DJ Schmolli's 'Justice For Billie Jean', DJ Topcat's 'Busta Thriller', & one of my faves, McSleazy's 'The Baddest One I Know', which adds the Charlatans UK to the mix. Big props to Jason Funk Permanand of MASHUPTOWN for making this set available.
It seems like only a few weeks ago, things were normal, Michael was readying for his upcoming huge tour, the press were doing the muck-raking as they always do, & I would also see an MJ mash every few days. Here's proof of that & an excellent boot as well ( www.pheugoo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=42:viva-la-beat-it&catid=1:mash-up ) - The afore-mentioned PHEUGOO ( www.pheugoo.com/ ) released this gem merely from love of the music. PimpDaddySupreme has been releasing superb tracks for a few years now & he dips into the well of MJ with his June 25th 2009 release 'Beat It Shove It Push It', in this case grafting Salt & Pepa together with MJ's tune. You can't ask for fresher bootleg than this one.
Michael Jackson's HideOut ( mjhideout.com ) has gone to the extra measure of providing links to a massive page of MJ mashups. Clearly done out of appreciation & affection the collection boasts SEVENTY-NINE (!) incredible tracks all made with the endearing presence of MJ throughout. You will find tracks like BANGERS & MASH's 'MJ In Jamaica', the Santana injected Voicedude track 'Black Magic Thriller', & DJ Prince's 'I Want You Back Human' which uses the Human League, & represents a sentiment most of us feel at this point. The HideOut seems a fine site & includes a forum as well as a blog & a chat. It's in Spanish, so take that into account.
The Dutch mashers have a very strong connection with MJ & to attest to that a new collection called 'DUTCH MASHUP TRIBUTE MICHAEL JACKSON' has been released. Almost all the top Dutch mixers have released work with MJ featured prominently, & the best tracks appear on this collection. This set collects 12 tracks from 8 mashers & just check out some of the people involved - Mash2mix, G3rst, Pytski, Pheugoo (his coldplay/MJ track mentioned above), MadMixMustang, & Leebuzz. Get this set when you can. It's hot right now & the bandwidth is gone, but by Wednesday July 1st it should be up again.
There seems to be a veritable flood of MJ tracks since the tragedy of his passing. I've seen tribute tracks from Voicedude, DJTOPCAT, Amoraboy, DJ Gizmo, & ILLeYeBootlegs, oh geez, the list goes on & on. There's lots of long mixes also, a large batch of podcasts, & don't get me started with the YouTube & other mashup videos. Don't miss this one, tho, by DJ Le Clown ( www.kyte.tv/ch/661-mashuptowntv/488725-remember-09-michael-jackson-vs-p )
MJ will not soon be forgotten due to his own genius, but the bootleggers will do their damndest to keep his musical memory prominent as well.Rest In Peace, King Of Pop (& mashups).
Mix Of The Week - I found the motherlode of long MJ mixes here - mjremixed.tricky3.co.uk/megamixes.html
Have fun! But be warned, the links don't seem to work with all browsers.
Mashup Tip : Music is the one incorporeal entrance into the higher world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend. So mash all music.
DJ Useo's Podcast
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Esther Wojcicki: Educators Urged to Allow Their Students to Fail (huffingtonpost.com)
"What you get [in education] is a simple function of what you put in. That is the beautiful and powerful idea behind learning... Sometimes the struggle to learn something is where the actual learning lies," he said.
MAUREEN DOWD: Genius in the Bottle (nytimes.com)
As in all great affairs, Mark Sanford fell in love simultaneously with a woman and himself - with the dashing new version of himself he saw in her molten eyes.
ROSS DOUTHAT: The Way We Love Now (nytimes.com)
Have modern American couples let anxieties about children, mortgages and success destroy their passion and romance?
Tim Dowling: "The weekend's TV: The Madoff Hustle" (guardian.co.uk)
In attempting to explain his epic fraud, The Madoff Hustle gave us more insults than facts.
Barron H. Lerner, M.D.: Farrah's Fictions (slate.com)
What stories like Fawcett's can teach us about cancer.
Christopher Beam: Your Money or Your Health (slate.com)
Everyone wants to cut costs. But what if saving my life is expensive?
William Saletan: The Outrage of a Fading World (slate.com)
Is it rude to focus on your smartphone during meetings?
Edward Cody: Le Sandwich Takes a Bite Out of French Tradition (washingtonpost.com)
Ah, France, bastion of the three-hour lunch. First comes the appetizer, followed by the main course, then cheese and dessert, washed down with red wine and, along with an espresso at the finale, maybe a little cognac to enhance digestion back at the office.
Judy Reeves: The Writing Life - Quirks and Idiosyncrasies (judyreeveswriter.com)
William Faulkner loved the early 1960s TV program Car 54, Where are You? Having no TV of his own, each Sunday night he watched it at a neighbor's home.
"Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang" by Ziyang Zhao: A review by Jonathan Mirsky
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The siren call of Emma Watson (timesonline.co.uk)
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David Bruce: Wise Up! Work (athensnews.com)
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The Weekly Poll
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Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Our 40th consecutive day with below normal temperatures. Quite grand, as my grandmother would have phrased it.
The fans are usually in the windows by mid-April, but they're still in their boxes in the garage.
And there are still blankets on the beds!
Yep, quite grand.
BMI To Honor
Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson will be honored by BMI as a music icon during the music licensing organization's country awards in November.
BMI announced the selection Tuesday morning. The group gives the honor to songwriters and artists who have had a "unique and indelible" influence on generations of music makers.
Kristofferson's classic songs include "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," "Help Me Make it Through the Night" and "Me and Bobby McGee." He's also an actor who has appeared in movies like "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" and the "Blade" trilogy.
Kristofferson will be saluted in an all-star musical tribute in Nashville on Nov. 10.
Kris Kristofferson
Owns Copyright
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono is the rightful copyright holder of rare, intimate footage showing John Lennon and his family in London in 1970, a federal judge has ruled.
U.S. District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel last week refused to reinstate a copyright-infringement lawsuit filed by a Lawrence, Mass.-based company against Lennon's widow and the broker who sold her the tapes.
World Wide Video LLC sued Ono in March 2008, accusing her of copyright infringement and of wrongfully interfering with its personal property. Ono countersued, saying she is the rightful owner and that World Wide Video has no rights to the material.
The 10 hours of footage was shot at Lennon's England estate in February 1970 - before the Beatles broke up - by Anthony Cox, Ono's husband before her marriage to Lennon in 1969. It shows Lennon hunched over a piano, smoking marijuana and joking about putting LSD in President Richard Nixon's tea. It has never been shown publicly in its entirety.
Yoko Ono
Invitations Extended
AMPAS
Vancouver-born actor-writer Seth Rogen, Hugh Jackman, Oscar nominee Anne Hathaway and Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle have been invited into the exclusive Hollywood club that votes on the Academy Awards.
Others among the 134 people asked to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences include recent acting nominees Taraji P. Henson, Amy Ryan, Melissa Leo, Casey Affleck, Viola Davis and Michael Shannon. Jackman was host for the Oscars last February.
Michelle Williams, former girlfriend of 2008 posthumous supporting-actor winner Heath Ledger, also has been invited into the academy. Williams co-starred with Ledger in "Brokeback Mountain," earning a supporting-actress nomination for the film.
Other actors extended an academy invitation include James Franco, Paul Rudd, Emily Blunt, Emile Hirsch, Jeffrey Wright, Michael Cera, the Brampton, Ont., native who co-starred in "Juno," Jane Lynch and Brendan Gleeson.
AMPAS
6-Year Extension
Lance Burton
Magician Lance Burton is staying on the Las Vegas Strip for another six years.
Burton and the Monte Carlo hotel-casino said Tuesday that they have agreed to a new contract that will keep him as the resort's headliner through 2015.
The 49-year-old illusionist says he plans to return to the stage next week after breaking his right foot during a show in May. Burton says he is still wearing a large boot but hopes he can switch to a tennis shoe soon.
Burton began his Las Vegas career 27 years ago with an eight-week trial engagement at "Folies Bergere," which turned into a nine-year run.
Lance Burton
Bigger Than Life, In Butter
Michael Jackson
Iowa State Fair organizers announced Tuesday that in addition to their annual butter cow statute, there would be one of pop music icon Michael Jackson.
Both the butter sculptures will be on display in a 40-degree cooler throughout the fair from Aug. 13 to 23 in Des Moines.
Organizers say Jackson has been to the Iowa State Fair. He performed there twice with the Jackson Five in 1971.
Michael Jackson
LA School Superintendent Fumes
`Bruno'
The chief of the nation's second-largest school district is fuming over comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's magazine photo shoot with high school football players.
Los Angeles Superintendent Ramon Cortines isn't amused by the GQ magazine photos shot at Birmingham High School that feature the "Borat" star in his new incarnation as gay Austrian fashionista "Bruno."
The GQ cover story features pictures of Baron Cohen wearing shoulder pads, tight red shorts, an athletic cup and little else as he poses with football players at the school in the San Fernando Valley.
Cortines says the district has "allowed our students to be used."
`Bruno'
Texas Museum
Nat's Hats
The Cow Lot Western Wear store, which opened in 1953, sold boots and cowboy hats, but customers could leave their old hats to hang on the wall when they bought new ones.
Owner Nat Fleming closed the store in 2006, but his hat collection, called "Nat's Hats," will be preserved at the Museum of North Texas History. A display of more than 500 of the hats will open in the museum's Heritage Hall on July 25.
The hats are labeled with the former owner's names, and some also bear the name of the ranch where the cowboy worked. A couple of hats belonged to rodeo stars. They range from "light-colored to black, from relatively new to absolutely worn to a frazzle," said museum director Lita Watson. Some are plain, others are adorned with feathers, beading, eyelets, braided leather or a colored band around the crown.
Nat's Hats
Puck Smuggles
Silver
A husband and wife have been jailed for smuggling $2.1 million worth of scrap silver out of a western Pennsylvania plant in their lunch boxes. Fifty-two-year-old Pamela Shermenti and 57-year-old William Shermenti, of Loyalhanna Township, will begin serving their sentences July 6. A Westmoreland County judge on Monday sentenced the wife to one to two years in the county jail; her husband will serve nine to 23 months.
The couple must also pay $250,000 in restitution to AMI DOCUCO, the company they worked for while stealing the hockey puck-sized silver disks from 2006 to 2008. The plant in Murrysville, about 15 miles east of Pittsburgh, makes electrical equipment.
The couple sold some of the scrap to a dealer for about $600,000.
Silver
Where They Serve Pink Sauce
Baker City, OR
Bill Fulton doesn't remember losing his wallet, but its return helped him remember the past. The leather stayed smooth and the cowboy design unblemished. The zipper moved with ease. And when he looked inside, the contents brought back memories from 1946, when he apparently dropped the wallet behind the balcony bleachers in the Baker Middle School gym.
Fulton's Social Security card and bicycle license, bearing the address where he lived during his teenage years, were positioned in their respective compartments, apparently untouched since the year after World War II ended.
Worker Nathan Osborne found the wallet - along with old homework, lost library books and a 1964 talent show program - while removing the bleachers for renovations on June 17. It was brought to Fulton's door the following day by Melanie Trindle, the Baker Middle School secretary.
Fulton, 78, said he probably lost the wallet while cheering for the Baker High basketball team with a group of friends. Though a high school team, the Bulldogs played at the middle school gym back then.
Baker City, OR
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for June 22-28. Listings include the week's ranking, with viewership for the week and season-to-date rankings in parentheses. An "X" in parentheses denotes a one-time-only presentation.
1. (22) "America's Got Talent" (Tuesday), NBC, 11.46 million viewers.
2. (5) "NCIS," CBS, 11.09 million viewers.
3. (33) "America's Got Talent" (Wednesday), NBC, 10.4 million viewers.
4. (6) "The Mentalist," CBS, 9.15 million viewers.
5. (15) "60 Minutes," CBS, 8.79 million viewers.
6. (4) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 8.74 million viewers.
7. (10) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 8.69 million viewers.
8. (X) "20/20 Special Edition" (Thursday), ABC, 8.17 million viewers.
9. (14) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 8.01 million viewers.
10. (51) "Wipeout," ABC, 7.8 million viewers.
11. (51) "So You Think Can Dance" (Wednesday), Fox, 7.62 million viewers.
12. (12) "Criminal Minds," CBS, 7.56 million viewers.
13. (X) "CBS News: Michael Jackson" (Thursday), CBS, 7.47 million viewers.
14. (17) "CSI: NY," CBS, 7.43 million viewers.
15. (41) "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 7.23 million viewers.
16. (74) "The Philanthropist," NBC, 7.12 million viewers.
17. (67) "48 Hours Mystery," (Tuesday), CBS, 6.96 million viewers.
18. (48) "So You Think Can Dance" (Thursday), Fox, 6.89 million viewers.
19. (72) "The Bachelorette," ABC, 6.76 million viewers.
20. (104) "Dateline" (Friday), NBC, 6.74 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Fred Travalena
Impressionist Fred Travalena, a headliner in Vegas showrooms and a regular on late-night talk shows with his takes on presidents, crooners and screen stars, has died in Los Angeles. He was 66.
Publicist Roger Neal says Travalena died Sunday at his home in the Encino area after a recurrence of the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that first surfaced in 2002.
Travalena was known for the sheer volume of celebrities he imitated, leading to the nicknames "The Man of a Thousand Voices" and "Mr. Everybody."
His act included presidents from Kennedy to Obama, musicians from Frank Sinatra to Bruce Springsteen and actors from Marlon Brando to Tom Cruise.
The Bronx native started his career in Las Vegas in 1971.
Fred Travalena
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