Today's Episode of the Jackson Show
PGage
But, wow, it really is just as nauseating and fawning as I imagined it would be. This goes beyond Kevin's original complaint - I think arguably a death of a big celebirty is news, and deserves some reportage. But the non-stop gab fests has nothing to do with news at all. How many different times can they bring on guests, and even fellow commentators, just so they can say something like "Thriller changed the standards of music video" or "That moonwalking dance was really incredible" or "he may have diddiled a few kids, but Billy Jean was a great song"?
Phil Collins
I have pretty much avoided all of the TV coverage of MJ's death; periodically I turn to CNN to get some news, see it is still all-MJ-all-the-time, and switch off. But I have been watching a little this morning, since my youngest sister, who was a teenager in the 80s and a big Jackson fan, won one of the golden tickets (bracelets actually) and called me this morning to tell me how it was one of the biggest experiences of her life, and warned me that I better watch it. I have to go to the gym in a little while, but I will TiVo the main ceremony and watch some of it tonight.
But, wow, it really is just as nauseating and fawning as I imagined it would be. This goes beyond Kevin's original complaint - I think arguably a death of a big celebirty is news, and deserves some reportage. But the non-stop gab fests has nothing to do with news at all. How many different times can they bring on guests, and even fellow commentators, just so they can say something like "Thriller changed the standards of music video" or "That moonwalking dance was really incredible" or "he may have diddiled a few kids, but Billy Jean was a great song"?
There's a moment after you cast the die but before it hits the table. Breathe wrong and you'll change the way it lands
scruffy
> But, wow, it really is just as nauseating and fawning as I imagined
> it would be. This goes beyond Kevin's original complaint - I think
> arguably a death of a big celebirty is news, and deserves some
> reportage. But the non-stop gab fests has nothing to do with news at
> all. How many different times can they bring on guests, and even
> fellow commentators, just so they can say something like "Thriller
> changed the standards of music video" or "That moonwalking dance was
> really incredible" or "he may have diddiled a few kids, but Billy
> Jean was a great song"?
last night i saw the BREAKING NEWS graphic flapping wildly on CNN; as
far as i could tell the BREAKING NEWS was Donald Trump telling Larry
King that he knew for sure that MJ was not a child molester because he
played nicely with the Trump kids.
my favorite so far is the CNN reporter who tracked down Bubbles the
Chimp and determined that were MJ to reunite with him Bubbles would in
fact remember MJ and they might even moonwalk together.
do...@flids.net
PGage
Name a single person that is "Michael Jackson" famous?
I will stipulate that Jackson is about as famous as any one human being can possibly be. As noted earlier, given his place in popular culture, I think his death, and its circumstances, are real news. But it is a huge and absurd leap from reporting (and even over reporting) the details surrounding his death, with appropriate obituaries, to the hours and hours and hours of clearly non-news repetition of the same hackneyed cliches and trite observations over and over and over again - often coupled with the worst kind of excuseology for any possible crimes he may have committed.
I had OJ Simpson's poster on my wall in the same years that my sister had Michael Jackson's on hers. When OJ dies, will CNN reporters be referring to the alleged double murders he committed as simply a genius "wrestling with his demons"?
Kevin M.
collectively going insane, live on national television (and the
internet).
It is not polite to speak ill of the dead. Fine. But it is insane to
ignore the ill of the dead. And it is more insane to ignore more
important events of the day.
Today, the celebrities join in the insanity because, though they
didn't regard Jackson as much when he was alive, they don't want the
bad publicity that might come along with NOT being in attendance.
Sycophants and fanatics in the same place. Mass psychosis capturing
all of them in its thrall.
If we, as a society, had our wits about us, there would be a fleet of
ambulances waiting outside the Staples Center to shuttle those in
attendance to padded cells, as they are clearly a danger to themselves
and others.
Michael Jackson meant nothing to you three weeks ago. Going to
extremes to prove that he means something to you today is insane.
Wasting more than five seconds grieving for someone you never met is
insane. Taking a pilgrimage to Neverland after Jackson's death, when
he never would have let you through the gate when was alive, is
insane.
--
Kevin M. (RPCV)
Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Pollak, Melissa F.
moonwalking.
-----Original Message-----
From: tvor...@googlegroups.com [mailto:tvor...@googlegroups.com] On
Behalf Of scruffy
Sent: Tuesday, July 07, 2009 12:51 PM
To: tvor...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [TV orNotTV] Re: Today's Episode of the Jackson Show
Steve Baxley
Kevin M.
> I am not watching it as I am just burned out over the overcoverage by
> a media that just ...ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!
Uh oh. Anyone know where Steve lives? He may require medical attention.
--
Kevin M. (RPCV)
Bob in Jersey
Doug Fields, to Phil Collins, in part:
>
> Brangelina
>
> Paul McCartney
>
> Any member of the British Royalty
>
> (outside the US) David Beckham
>
>
>
> ...there are more.
sports at compareable fame levels to MJ...hell, someone ON ESPN (or at
least their web site) prolly already has...
--
BOB
Ben Scripps
I tried to write something about the following, but words completely
fail me. This crossed on the AP national wires. I thought it was a
joke.
AP-Michael Jackson-Chatter
Seen and heard at Jackson's memorial service
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The unprecedented public memorial for Michael
Jackson drew fans, stars, onlookers, street vendors and countless
police officers. A glimpse into the scene outside and inside Staples
Center:
------
As fans slowly file into Staples Center, the jumbo screens overhead
show an image of a smiling Michael Jackson and read, "In loving memory
of Michael Jackson King of Pop, 1958-2009."
------
Holders of VIP tickets slipped through a side door to access their
premier seats. The usher working the VIP door says, "Have your tickets
out please, unless you're Janet Jackson."
------
Smokey Robinson just arrived, followed by Verne Troyer in a tiny wheelchair.
------
The Rev. Jesse Jackson was welcomed by a smattering of applause.
When Kobe Bryant walked into the arena, the crowd erupted in cheers.
------
When a voice over the loudspeaker says the service is about to
start, the entire stadium hushes to a whisper.
------
Audience members stand and sing along with Mariah Carey and Trey
Lorenz, reprising their cover of "I'll Be There." Many are shooting it
with handheld cameras.
------
Fans continue to file in, more than 45 minutes after the service began.
------
Coroner Ed Winter, who's investigating Jackson's death, just took a
seat inside Staples.
------
A sign-language interpreter translates the service for a small group of fans.
------
Don King just came in -- an hour late!
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APNP 07-07-09 1335CDT
--
--
Ben Scripps
bensc...@gmail.com
Kevin M.
into the Staples Center
--
Kevin M. (RPCV)
Kevin M.
Michael Jackson, which is very different than a daughter mourning her
father. That is real, and not something the public needs to be a part
of. Actual grief, not show business bullsh*t, is tragic and personal,
and shame on anyone who feels compelled to watch that. Shame on
whoever thought it would be a good idea to thrust her onto a stage at
what has to be the most difficult time in her life. And shame on
anyone for televising that.
--
Kevin M. (RPCV)
Karla Robinson
I respectfully disagree. If we are talking world-wide fame—not just U.S/Europe/Australia, but also Africa and Asia and the Middle East, there is no one as famous as Michael Jackson. That’s why the heavy coverage, that’s why the spectacle. Maybe Paul McCartney or perhaps Madonna are the only other modern stars as famous internationally as Michael Jackson.
I would say this about the television coverage: NBC made the smart decision to have several of their African-American staffers assisting with the coverage. Brian Williams deferred to people like Lester Holt and Michael Okwu to provide some of the analysis and context for why MJ was so important to so many people. What many of us white folks don’t get is that the iconic stature of Michael Jackson was not diminished in the African-American community, even though his reputation had suffered in the world more generally.
I’m not trying to excuse MJ’s admittedly poor decision-making, his bizarre stunts, his odd appearance, the possibility that he truly did hurt children, his many many quirks…but I think many people in this group just don’t get it, because they culturally cannot understand it.
I would say that the furor should now die down completely, and the news coverage should return to normal, but I totally get that he received the level of coverage we saw today.
I would also guess that those of us in the flyover states are not being as inconvenienced by the spectacle as those of you in the LA area, and thus a lot of the consternation….
Just my humble opinion….
From: tvor...@googlegroups.com [mailto:tvor...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of do...@flids.net
Sent: Tuesday, July 07, 2009 12:59 PM
To: tvor...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [TV orNotTV] Re: Today's Episode of the Jackson Show
do...@flids.net
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [TV orNotTV] Re: Today's Episode of the Jackson Show
Wesley McGee
I think this is also somewhat culturally biased or blindness. The black community is more open to big public displays of grief. Funerals in my family were big public affairs.
--
Wesley McGee
http://www.ambivi.com
http://sterlingnorth.vox.com
Phil Collins
Kevin M.
>
> I think this is also somewhat culturally biased or blindness. The black
> community is more open to big public displays of grief. Funerals in my
> family were big public affairs.
I will concede that in some segments of black society, most famously
New Orleans, a funeral can be a public event complete with loud music
and dancing, but the same is also true of some Irish wakes. And the
reasons for engaging in such behavior is radically different than what
is taking place today in Los Angeles.
Respectfully, to paraphrase Whoopi Goldberg, there is no more of a
black community than there is a white community. People are different
for many reasons, skin color being least among them. Having grown up
in Pomona, I feel more culturally close to African-Americans and
Mexican-Americans than to so-called White America because they were my
friends growing up. I know all about big families and big displays for
family events (such as weddings, birthdays, and funerals), but what
happened today in the Staples Center had nothing to do with family (or
cultural) tradition. We were king-making.
At the recording of the original "We Are The World," Quincy Jones hung
a now famous sign above the entrance with the words "Check Your Egos
At The Door" printed on it. That was a moment when the music industry,
including Michael Jackson, set aside personal interest and sang about
peace, love, and compassion. Singing that song today was an insult to
everyone who originally collaborated on it, Jackson included, because
they made it a part of a king's funeral. Our nation rejected the
notion of a king when we broke away from England. The song wasn't "I
Am The World."
Watching the CNN/Facebook video feed, I was astounded at the comments
being made by people. "He was our Elvis" was common. "The US should
make his birthday a national holiday" was also common. Well, this
generation doesn't get an Elvis, because this generation didn't make
an Elvis. They made a Michael Jackson. I saw this take place on 9/11
when it was said that was our generation's Pearl Harbor and/or Kennedy
Assassination. No, it wasn't. While it was not unimportant, it wasn't
the same. Not only is our generation in the business of making kings,
our generation wants to believe it is as special as those who came
before, to the point of claiming every event is historically
significant.
Michael Jackson was the king of pop, not the king of the United States
of America. He did not deserve the state funeral he received today.
His child should not have grieved in public. Who was standing in the
shadows while Michael's daughter spoke? Joe Jackson, the same man who
stood in the shadows while his own children took to the stage years
ago. And look how well that worked out for them.
For those who are my Facebook friends, you'll note I posted frequent
status updates mocking and ridiculing the event (I confess I was still
asleep when it began, so I missed the opening... and the pre-show). My
desire to serve as a witness to the collective insanity is something
that hasn't changed since I followed the OJ trial. But I couldn't
watch when the daughter the took the stage. I had to stop. I had no
right to see her pain. The world had no right to see her pain. I guess
what separates me from the rest of the world is that I had no interest
in seeing it. At that moment, it ceased to be insane and progressed to
a sickness which I fear more than the swine flu. And, as someone who
watched the insanity of the OJ trial, I cannot help but draw the
comparison to the times the Brown family (with more than a little help
from Gloria Allred) dragged OJ's children in front of cameras. It made
me sick to my stomach then, and it still does today.
Because the sad, insane, sick truth of it is this: Placing Michael
Jackson's daughter on that stage was as exploitative as child
pornography. She was propped up to satiate the sick appetites of
others. And I know people will tell me I'm overstating things or that
I just don't understand, but it offends my sensibilities that the
media would televise such crass exploitation. And even the most casual
reader of this message board knows I do not offend easily.
--
Kevin M. (RPCV)
PGage
I respectfully disagree. If we are talking world-wide fame—not just U.S/Europe/Australia, but also Africa and Asia and the Middle East, there is no one as famous as Michael Jackson. That’s why the heavy coverage, that’s why the spectacle. Maybe Paul McCartney or perhaps Madonna are the only other modern stars as famous internationally as Michael Jackson.
I would say this about the television coverage: NBC made the smart decision to have several of their African-American staffers assisting with the coverage. Brian Williams deferred to people like Lester Holt and Michael Okwu to provide some of the analysis and context for why MJ was so important to so many people. What many of us white folks don’t get is that the iconic stature of Michael Jackson was not diminished in the African-American community, even though his reputation had suffered in the world more generally.
I’m not trying to excuse MJ’s admittedly poor decision-making, his bizarre stunts, his odd appearance, the possibility that he truly did hurt children, his many many quirks…but I think many people in this group just don’t get it, because they culturally cannot understand it.
I shouldn't talk - I cried when Mrs. Landingham died.
I am going to disagree with Kevin about the MJ-Elvis comparisons; I think they are exactly parallel. We did not have the internets or cable news when Elvis died, but I remember that day very clearly, and how insane everyone about 5 years older than me started acting. By my lights, Elvis deserved his fanatic following even less than Jackson did - and thank the gods we did not have cable and the web back then.
I am a little puzzled by Karla's ethnic point above. First, with a few exceptions of people who have shared their photograph, I don't know that the ethnic backgrounds are of most posters to this list (and don't care). I know a lot of black people who are going crazy for Jackson, and a lot of white people who are going crazy for him. I don't detect any more tolerance for child molestation in the African-American community than I do in the white community. If there is an ethnic or "racial" angle here, it has to do with Michael's long-standing racial self-hatred, or at least ambivalence, which says as much about the America he grew up in than it does about him, or the so-called black community. CNN also deferred to a lot of the black and ethnic correspondents, but the result I thought was mostly absurd, and at times sounded exactly like a bit from the Jon Stewart show. I don't think there is really anything culturally unique about the appeal of Michael Jackson, or the insanity surrounding his death (have you seen the response in some parts of Japan?).
I don't think there is much need to debate MJ's standing on the celebrity meter - he pegged it. The fact that a few others may have also (Ali certainly, Tiger Woods maybe later someday, Obama, maybe later someday, Beatles together or separately, maybe a few others). But I do not buy for a second the claim that the saturation coverage on US news stations is motivated by his world-wide appeal; this is motivated by pandering to US audiences, and passing off as news what people want to see instead of what they need to know. I had a hell of time finding TV news about the recent US action in Afghanistan (which may turn out to be one of the most important things that happened in 2009), or Obama's visit to Russia (I guess there is nothing really important there). The state I live in (and Jackson died in) is having a financial meltdown whose consequences are more far reaching than all but a handful of countries, a Supreme Court hearing is imminent, and two pieces of potentially historic (or dangerous, depending on your POV) legislation are pending in congress (climate change and health care). Its not exactly like we are in the dog days of summer and there is nothing else going on but the Jackson hysteria. Yes, his memorial is news and I don't begrudge it getting reported, but its domination of the recent news cycle is shameful and irresponsible
scruffy
> Watching the CNN/Facebook video feed, I was astounded at the comments
> being made by people. "He was our Elvis" was common.
oh, that's too bad, i'm pretty sure 'he was our Princess Diana' was
more what he was going for.
Donz5
[snip]
>
> At the recording of the original "We Are The World," Quincy Jones hung
> a now famous sign above the entrance with the words "Check Your Egos
> At The Door" printed on it. That was a moment when the music industry,
> including Michael Jackson, set aside personal interest and sang about
[snip]
Just one note: as I recall, Jackson insisted he be videotaped with a
special filter on the camera to ensure that his outfit sparkled. His
ego wasn't _that_ checked at the door.
Dave Sikula
wrote:
I have to respectfully disagree myself. I think Muhammad Ali is bigger
-- and actually -did- something that changed the world, rather than
walking backwards or singing ditties based on catchy bass lines. When
he goes (or McCartney or Madonna, for that matter), I don't expect
anything near the media frenzy we've seen this week. Jacko is dead. He
had a lot of fans and a daughter and a family who loved him. Let's
leave it at that, let them grieve privately, and get him the hell off
of my teevee.
--Dave Sikula
Wrecks
that I don't get. Someone please explain it to me.
What do Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett get for Christmas? Patrick
Swayze.
David Lynch
present tense. And if you remember the state of Patrick Swayze's
health.
David J. Lynch
djl...@gmail.com
PGage
hotcakes. I also noticed that almost all the 10 ten albums and half
the top ten songs on I-Tunes were MJ a couple of days ago (fewer
today, but still a lot in both top 10s).
I notice this because the other day I was driving with my daughter and
we were listening to music from my ipod. She wanted to listen to some
MJ, and I only had one song (and it was from the J5).
The point is that, while I once owned an Off The Wall album, and had
Thriller and Bad on CD, in the itunes and ipod era, where I have
relatively unconstrained access to just about any song I would like, I
have never really expended even the low level energy/expense required
to get MJ music. When I hear some of those songs I recognize
somethings that I like - part nostalgia perhaps, part actual merit,
but very little of it is now the kind of music I choose to listen too
(I do have about 10 Elvis songs on my ipod, but I almost never listen
to those either). It seems that a lot of Americans did not have very
much MJ music around either, and so had to scramble to to but it in
the last 10 days.
Let me put it this way, when the very sad day comes that Stevie Wonder
dies, I won't have to go to itunes to buy any of his music to listen
to - because I already have it, and listen to it all the time.
********************
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090708/ap_en_mu/us_jackson_album_sales
NEW YORK – Nielsen SoundScan says 800,000 copies of Michael Jackson
albums were bought in the U.S. last week — nearly double his sales
from the previous week. Jackson is claiming the entire Top 10 roster
on the Top Catalog Album chart this week. His "Number Ones" collection
is the top seller, followed by "Thriller." Solo albums occupy every
position but No. 7, where the Jackson 5's "Ultimate Collection" album
resides. Data from the week ending Sunday — the first full week since
Jackson's June 25 death — shows physical albums accounted for 80
percent of his sales. On Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart, Jackson
holds five out of the top 10 slots, with "Man in the Mirror" leading
as his top-selling digital download song of the week. Four Jackson CDs
also are in the top 10 albums sold on iTunes, and five of the top 10
singles for the week ending Monday.
Tom Wolper
> albums were bought in the U.S. last week — nearly double his sales
> from the previous week. Jackson is claiming the entire Top 10 roster
> on the Top Catalog Album chart this week. His "Number Ones" collection
> is the top seller, followed by "Thriller." Solo albums occupy every
> position but No. 7, where the Jackson 5's "Ultimate Collection" album
> resides. Data from the week ending Sunday — the first full week since
> Jackson's June 25 death — shows physical albums accounted for 80
> percent of his sales. On Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart, Jackson
> holds five out of the top 10 slots, with "Man in the Mirror" leading
> as his top-selling digital download song of the week. Four Jackson CDs
> also are in the top 10 albums sold on iTunes, and five of the top 10
> singles for the week ending Monday.
I have stayed away from the media circus the last few days and so I
won't comment on it.
Seeing the above article, my first thought was of the concept of
zombie creative works, meaning the situation where the work of dead
artists pushes the work of living artists out of the marketplace. An
example of this is in newspaper comics where strips go on long long
after the creator died and up-and-coming comic artists don't get a
chance. My first thought ends with a supposition that a lot of people
feel that they can buy MJ albums now knowing their money isn't going
to enable him to do depraved things or pay off the victims. And that's
in my head - I haven't talked to anybody who has bought MJ albums
since his death.
My second thought comes from something Aaron Barnhart said (I think to
Paul Harris) about the show Rockstar - INXS. This was back when the
show was on the air. Aaron said it made sense to find a group from the
'80s, from a time there was a mass music scene before it became
fragmented. My second thought is surprise, not that an album became
best-selling after his death, but that the top 10 best sellers are
his. Nobody making music now can compete with music made 20 years ago,
not for the most sold album and not even for the tenth most sold
album.
My third thought is that this shows a shift in the entertainment
market - the people who were coming of age in the '80s are the ones
who are buying all the albums. Taking the top ten spots shows that
these people are willing to spend more money on music than the
teenagers and young adults who are considered to be the target for
popular music.
As an aside: the question arose of which celebrity achieved the status
of Jackson? When he was playing, and for a few years after, I would
have said Michael Jordan. He was certainly as well known, and at least
as well respected. I don't think he is at that level in the US today
and I haven't been overseas in years to find out if he is still an
icon overseas or if his star has dimmed in his absence.
Tom
Kevin M.
> It seems that a lot of Americans did not have very
> much MJ music around either, and so had to scramble to to but it in
> the last 10 days.
Yeah, people were such big fans of Jackson, but nobody listened to his
music until after his death. Maybe, like 2Pac, Jackson will release
several albums posthumously. Honestly, I don't begrudge those making
the recent purchases, since that's how I'd prefer Jackson's fans
react... by listening to his music, which they really haven't done in
the last 10 years.
For the record, the Jackson 5 have been included in my "History of pop
music" lesson that I have taught to my 7th grade students for the last
several years. I don't need to be a true fan of people to see the
influence of their careers. Heck, I also include Nirvana and I'm
firmly convinced Kurt Cobain is a scum-sucking bastard who is rotting
in hell for all eternity. He just happened to change the face of
popular music, and he should be remembered, though not deified, for
his achievements.
> Let me put it this way, when the very sad day comes that Stevie Wonder
> dies, I won't have to go to itunes to buy any of his music to listen
> to - because I already have it, and listen to it all the time.
I only recently (within the last year or so) discovered the funk-era
Stevie Wonder. For those who, like I once did, only think of the bland
"I Just Called To Say I Love You" years, check out the "Songs in the
Key of Life" album from '76.
--
Kevin M. (RPCV)
Jon Delfin
[snip]
>> Let me put it this way, when the very sad day comes that Stevie Wonder
>> dies, I won't have to go to itunes to buy any of his music to listen
>> to - because I already have it, and listen to it all the time.
>
> I only recently (within the last year or so) discovered the funk-era
> Stevie Wonder. For those who, like I once did, only think of the bland
> "I Just Called To Say I Love You" years, check out the "Songs in the
> Key of Life" album from '76.
Oy, did that make me feel old. Anybody else who remembers Stevie
Wonder's stuff from before "Key of Life," grab your walker and come
over here by me.
PGage
That would be me - be careful of my hip...
PGage
>
> On Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 3:24 PM, PGage<pga...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> It seems that a lot of Americans did not have very
>> much MJ music around either, and so had to scramble to to but it in
>> the last 10 days.
>
> Yeah, people were such big fans of Jackson, but nobody listened to his
> music until after his death. Maybe, like 2Pac, Jackson will release
> several albums posthumously. Honestly, I don't begrudge those making
> the recent purchases, since that's how I'd prefer Jackson's fans
> react... by listening to his music, which they really haven't done in
> the last 10 years.
I don't begrudge it either; it just makes me wonder about all of the
claims that his music was so great and transformative.
And wow, thinking of Stevie Wonder in terms of his 80's Muzak period
is like thinking of Willy Mays in terms of his days with the Mets.
Kevin M.
> And wow, thinking of Stevie Wonder in terms of his 80's Muzak period
> is like thinking of Willy Mays in terms of his days with the Mets.
I know it is wrong, but that was the era when I started listening to
music, so it was years of me associating Stevie with those songs as
opposed to his better work. Same with Springsteen. I couldn't stand
his commercially successful songs from the 1980s, but his lesser known
stuff from earlier and more recently is actually quite good. And, back
to Jackson, I enjoyed "Smooth Criminal," which came later in his
career, but I prefer the "Alien Ant Farm" cover. It was, at its core,
a rock song, and Jackson may have been good at many things, but
rockin' wasn't one of them.
--
Kevin M. (RPCV)
Donz5
> The story below got my eye today - MJ's records are selling like
> hotcakes. I also noticed that almost all the 10 ten albums and half
> the top ten songs on I-Tunes were MJ a couple of days ago (fewer
> today, but still a lot in both top 10s).
>
> I notice this because the other day I was driving with my daughter and
> we were listening to music from my ipod. She wanted to listen to some
> MJ, and I only had one song (and it was from the J5).
>
> The point is that, while I once owned an Off The Wall album, and had
> Thriller and Bad on CD, in the itunes and ipod era, where I have
> relatively unconstrained access to just about any song I would like, I
> have never really expended even the low level energy/expense required
> to get MJ music. When I hear some of those songs I recognize
> somethings that I like - part nostalgia perhaps, part actual merit,
> but very little of it is now the kind of music I choose to listen too
> (I do have about 10 Elvis songs on my ipod, but I almost never listen
> to those either). It seems that a lot of Americans did not have very
> much MJ music around either, and so had to scramble to to but it in
> the last 10 days.
>
> Let me put it this way, when the very sad day comes that Stevie Wonder
> dies, I won't have to go to itunes to buy any of his music to listen
> to - because I already have it, and listen to it all the time.
>
> NEW YORK – Nielsen SoundScan says 800,000 copies of Michael Jackson
> albums were bought in the U.S. last week — nearly double his sales
> from the previous week. Jackson is claiming the entire Top 10 roster
> on the Top Catalog Album chart this week. His "Number Ones" collection
> is the top seller, followed by "Thriller." Solo albums occupy every
> position but No. 7, where the Jackson 5's "Ultimate Collection" album
> resides. Data from the week ending Sunday — the first full week since
> Jackson's June 25 death — shows physical albums accounted for 80
> percent of his sales. On Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart, Jackson
> holds five out of the top 10 slots, with "Man in the Mirror" leading
> as his top-selling digital download song of the week. Four Jackson CDs
> also are in the top 10 albums sold on iTunes, and five of the top 10
> singles for the week ending Monday.
spike in both his solo and Beatles albums.