Times critic Persall moonwalks out of 'This Is It'

 

"Director Kenny Ortega -- whom Jackson trusted with staging his comeback – orchestrated a minor miracle with This Is It, culling footage from weeks of rehearsals into a surprisingly smooth, energetic idea of what a 21st century Michael Jackson concert would be." READ STEVE PERSALL'S REVIEW.

The Ultimate Halloween Playlist: The Top 10

 

Here you go, boys and graverobbers, the finale to our Ultimate Halloween Playlist. I’m lovin’ all 40 cuts on the countdown, although there were two tough omissions. Loyal Pop Life reader Bill S. made repeated pleas to get Vanilla Fudge’s Season of the Witch included. Alas, I couldn’t squeeze it in. But if you live in Pasco, Bill promises to set up speakers outside his house and crank the ’68 creepfest for brave trick-or-treaters. That’s the evil spirit, Bill! Also, the fantastically named Vic Mizzy died this week. The Brooklyn songwriter was 93. Don’t know the Miz? He wrote two classic TV themes: Green Acres and...The Addams Family. Not sure why Gomez and Morticia’s finger-snappin’ fun didn’t make our list. But hey, if you’re building your own party soundtrack, feel free to swap it in for, say, Christina Aguilera’s Candyman, which readers really didn’t appreciate. Of course, we all agree on the Top 10, right? Happy Halloween, kids.

10 Time Warp, the cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show
9 Weird Science, Oingo Boingo
8 This Is Halloween, Danny Elfman
7 The Twilight Zone Theme, Marius Constant
6 Werewolves of London, Warren Zevon
5 Bela Lugosi’s Dead, Bauhaus
4 I Put a Spell on You, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
3 Halloween Theme: Main Title, John Carpenter
2 Monster Mash, Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt Kickers
1 Thriller, Michael Jackson

To recap the Ultimate Halloween Playlist, here are Nos. 40-31 and Nos. 30-21 and Nos. 20-11. 

Michael Jackson: New song "This Is It"

Here you go, MJ fans! The KOP's new song, This Is It. LISTEN RIGHT HERE.

Spectacularly so-so, isn't it? A sappy up-with-people ballad that won’t make anyone forget Human Nature or even man-rat love song Ben. It’s music for unicorns, a saccharine trap the King of Pop blundered into now and then.

But I’m trying to feel the MJ love these days, so let’s be positive. The mushy harmonies are ’80s-ish and sweet (supposedly his famous bros added backing vocals). And although the riff sounds boosted from Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing, Jackson’s buoyant man-child vocal hits a few nice, reminiscent notes.

The buzz is that This Is It was originally intended for 1991’s hit-or-miss Dangerous album, but Jackson didn’t like it enough to include it on the final cut. Oh well. At least it wasn’t something deemed not good enough for the miss-or-miss Invincible, right?

The movie This Is It, which focuses on Jackson’s planned comeback tour, opens Oct. 28, and ticket demand is already nutso. The movie’s two-disc soundtrack — featuring the title track, demos plus select hits in the order they would have appeared on his comeback concert’s setlist — comes out Oct. 27.

Some are blubbering that this will be the last new product we’ll hear from Jackson. Yeah, I don’t think so: He was working on several projects when he died, including music with Black Eyed Peas ringleader Will.i.am.

DALY TV: Two more votes for 'Off the Wall' (verdict still out on sport coat)

I taped two segments at ABC Action News yesterday: a catchall on Michael Jackson plus a hodgepodger on hot albums (St. Vincent, 500 Days of Summer) and upcoming shows (Vans Warped, Maxwell). The MJ bit ran this morning; the other goes next Saturday. Because I'm often ridiculed for my wardrobe (and rightfully so), lemme just say right now I didn't bother changing my hot getup. You'll be seeing my Century 21 jacket again next week, although with more visible sweat stains. HERE YOU GO.

Podcast! Best facial hair of 1984 (or horrible hits from Michael McDonald, James Ingram, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson & more)

When I look back on my 39 years, wondering how I got from there to here, I'm pretty sure I can pinpoint the moment that decided everything: taking Holy Communion to the groovin' sounds of Yah Mo B There. It wasn't that my Sunday School (aka CCD) was overly progressive --although it was held in Westford Academy, the high school in my Massachusetts hometown. Instead, I think those crazy Catholics were more concerned with keeping 800 fidgety preteens entertained. So as Father Cronin & Co. dished out the body of Christ, the sound system in the school's gym cranked out that infamous duet from Michael McDonald and James Ingram. (Also in the Sunday rotation: Bette Midler's The Rose.) There we were, mouths open for the wafer, butts wagging to the sexy Yah Mo beat. It explains everything.

So it's with guilty heart that I present this week's Stuck in the '80s podcast: Horrible Hits of 1984. Alas, McDonald & Ingram make the list. You'll also get some Michael Jackson, and I feel crummy about that, too. All that said, this is a wild, madcap 'cast. Let me know what you think. ENJOY THE SHOW!

  

On Michael Jackson, legacy and living on

Hey gang, I heard the news about MJ when I was at home, totally preoccupied. For reasons I won't get into now, I wasn't going to come in. But come on, I had to say something, right? If only because Kid Lulu looooves Michael now. Here's my MJ appreciation for Friday's St. Pete Times. I'll talk to you soon.

His legacy will be as messy, as cluttered with oddities and accusations, as his life: a dark, spinning carnival ride we peeked at through our fingers. But whether you adored Michael Jackson throughout his 50 years — or left him after the Elephant Man’s bones or the tabloid horrors or the nose that became an electrical socket — this much is true:

History, as history tends to do with iconoclasts who provide great spinning flashes of joy, will remember the King of Pop well.

Like Elvis.

Like Sinatra.

In fact, it’s already happening.

You might recoil at this notion, and that’s fine, totally understandable. But you can’t deny that the kid — and he was always a kid, for better or worse — was incandescent, otherworldly, a black Fred Astaire who shattered sales records and racial barriers, especially those at MTV, the greatest pop cultural force of the 20th century. Birthed during cable television’s infancy, the music-video channel was primarily a vehicle for white artists. Then came 1983, and Billie Jean and Beat It and Thriller — the last being an album, a video, a zipperiffic fashion movement.

One white glove for all.