too much. it's all too much

Michael Jackson died yesterday.

i had never had the chance to see him live. despite all the live concerts i've been to.

i pulled out my first vinyl crate and found Thriller. it's scratchy, but it sounded like the first time i played it.

made me feel sick to my stomach to think it's done.

we had already lost Farrah Fawcett earlier that morning, and i don't think i'll ever forget driving to meetings in Burbank and both my iPhone and my blackberry starting to blow up w/texts.

all i could think of was my Jr and Senior high school friends that were so obsessed with him that they dressed like him and knew all the steps in thriller, beat it, Billie Jean. when off the wall came out it was mesermizing. soul music came through pop-like rock chord progressions. his apollo show with the jackson 5 was long gone then. it was MTV that made him omnipresent, iconic, legendary. how talented he was. how his voice when he sang Ben could bring tears.

i was the one loving bowie in that same way, but really Michael was the most popular singer, bowie was not at that time. i completely appreciated their fanaticism, though. it was amazing, really like how bowie was in the 70's.

but i digress.

eventually, the swirl of the rumours gave way to the sad truths--2:46 pm EMT; cardiac arrest, UCLA hospital, failed to resuscitate.

it really felt surreal. and terribly sad.

passed at 50... with the London shows right around the corner.

the London shows that sold out in MINUTES.

which showed the undying love for this man's talent/music.

in the end, it's what he will be known for, thankfully.

his music and not his eccentric behavior.

i just wish he had had the chance to do those shows, remind us of his talent, and reclaim officially his musical throne.

but that was not to be.

this morning, i can only listen to his music and celebrate his life. i just read john's blog (bluestraveler.com) and it was great perspective. especially from someone who i always worry is on a creatively destructive path. in it he refers to the music. it's the music that will persevere. that made me feel better...

here's to Michael Jackson--who will always be remembered as the true, undisputed King of Pop.

they are moon walking in heaven.

hollywood, out.

k

Song of the moment: obviously an MJ one-- You rock my world.

it's the best video with Marlon Brando and others.

check it out and have your own Michael Jackson moment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k0GZaPPkf4

musical a.d.d.

david bowie found me in 1980 when i was at my mom's university's library. and i've never loved anyone more.

musically, of course.

he was on a cover of a rolling stone magazine from the late seventies. his face was haunting. after memorizing the article, i went to listen to any of his songs on the vinyl that the library had. when my mother picked me up after her class, i was dizzy from the personas: ziggy stardust, the thin white duke, aladdin sane...

i begged her to take me to record store to buy his first album from 1969, hunky dory. i knew i'd be forever lost in his musical grasp and i wanted to start from the beginning.

the next big influence was later that year (not nearly as impactful, but still worth noting), when i was turned onto led zeppelin, janis joplin, and jimi hendricks.  even in later years, they would provide a soundtrack for my later years at the great Pocono Mountain High School.

but even during that time, my musical tastes were peppered with black uhuru, run dmc and public enemy (911 is a joke was my favorite vinyl hip hop single and the soundtrack for "breakin'" was all that mattered to me). 

then i got to nyu, right after my mom's passing, and i was off to the hip-opera, starting with mary j. blige in 1989.  her collaborations were fly and her voice astounding. i liked monie love, and queen latifah but mary was FRESH. the 90s were epic years for r&b/hip hop (in my humble opinion) with notorious big, jay z, dre's chronic, snoop, ja and wyclef (who produced great songs for everyone)... 

but the aught decade (which is almost over!) has felt light for hip hop until recently. i felt like it was propped up by luda and fabulous. 

it got kinda angry and boring, but t.i. is helping to bring it back a little... and his collaborations  are wicked. combining artists on one song i really believe is the best approach -- it's like co-branding.

all that to say that from the beginning i was always a bit ecceletic in my musical taste, and it felt more like the swing of a pendulum to me at times... acoustic -- rock -- hip hop -- r&b.

then in the late summer/early fall of '07 my tastes in music changed, yet again.

i think it could be specifically due to two albums in particular: john mayer's continuum and jack johnson's sleep through static. both of them brought acoustic guitar front and center -both really made an impression on me in their simplicity. i loved it and it made me pick up my own guitar again with a passion like i haven't had since college. 

after that, i really only listened to music that i could figure out the chord progressions and sit down and play myself. it meant a radical departure for me from r&b and hip hop which up til then had been center stage on my ipod--with the exception of the prerequisite david bowie, black crowes or blues traveler songs which were always loaded in. 

i will always be that girl... jam band's rock.

but it was weird for me and anyone who knew my monthly playlists--the balance of power on the lists went way acoustically based. or alternative-oriented. it also apexed somewhat with coachella and mile high music festivals last summer. 

now, for the first time, i went almost all hip hop/rap/r&b on my march playlist, but what's noticable is that there's a real skew to the past. (check out my newest tech indulgence: blip.fm/kristinjuel)

i suppose that's the point. ebb and flow of music mirrors the times in our lives. as i design music and health initiatives for the healthcare company i work with, i am really impressed at how each one of us have our own soundtrack for our lives.

so in the meanwhile, perhaps i can live through all of you - send me your fav songs so i can hear them...

and check out my newest tech/music indulgence: blip.fm/kristinjuel to see how i build my station to show just how much of musical a.d.d. i might have...

mwah. 

hollywood, out.

k

 

song of the moment: day n' nite by kid cudi  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z50o6qmb2w