Michael Jackson 1958-2009 (RIP)

I don't know what to say... two pop culture icons lost in one day. I was leaving for the movies when I first heard the news (then but a rumor) so I'm just catching up now. Like many pop stars Michael Jackson wanted to be in movies and the Peter Pan obsession in particular was one he never shied away from expressing. His Steven Spielberg / Peter Pan project never happened -- well it did but without songs and without Michael Jackson and in a different form altogether -- and neither did the movies. But, like Madonna, he was a mammoth small screen star by way of the music video.

And a mammoth star in general.

I can't say that I was ever a big fan and the sordid tabloid problems turned me off as much as anyone but it was hard to live through the 70s or 80s without having some connection to his work. Here are four of my favorites from his oeuvre. I'm not claiming they're necessarily his best but they're four that mean something to me personally or bring back vivid good memories.

And finally Liberian Girl and Leave Me Alone. I include these not because they have special significance to me but because they perfectly illustrate Michael Jackson's obsession with celebrity in general and the family he found in other celebrities. There are tons of stars in the first video (including Olivia Newton John & John Travolta "acting" together!) and it's dedicated to Elizabeth Taylor, the lone Jackson obsession to which I can fully relate. She's one of the true immortals. La Liz also factors heavily into the second video.

Madonna's statement...


Well said.

Suggested reads
Towleroad have you heard Jay Brannan's sung tribute? It's beautiful
Arjan Writes is shocked
Roger Ebert has a great piece
The Disney Blog remembers Captain Eo
fourfour Rich is as readable as ever

If all the shit that he went through couldn't knock Thriller, Off the Wall, Bad and, to whatever degree, Dangerous and HIStory out of our hearts, minds and asses, a little thing like death isn't going to, either.

Scanners investigates the mask and the problems with adult stardom
IFC Daily collects the web obits
Gawker collects the headlines. God, the NY Post is an embarrasment
A Socialite's Life collects the celebrity reactions

MTV Movie Awards

I didn't live blog the MTV Movie Awards tonight but I tweeted about it -- if you followed along -- whilst bracing myself for the last death rattle of Slumdog Millionaire's trophy gathering prowess. It lost everything to Twilight and that makes total sense since the latter stare-fest was the worst movie in the mix and this ain't about the cinema!

It was the MTV Twilight Awards. They won everything. Here's the New Moon trailer. Lots of screaming on MTV when Taylor Lautner took his shirt off.



It looks like he'll lose more than his shirt. When he transforms into a fearsome WereCGI his clothes explode.

The big takeaway of the night: Brüno wins. Eminem loses.

Sacha Baron Cohen hasn't lost any of his ability to cause a comedy stir and Eminem hasn't gained any sense of humor. Shouldn't rehab give you a humbler handy sense of humor about yourself? I do think it was justly hilarious to see Eminem's gaybaiting come back to (ass)slap him in the face. To be fair though he has cooled the homophobia a bit, unless you consider the 'don't mean to offend' to be sarcastic

He does not mean to lesbian offend
But Lindsay, please come back to seeing men
Samantha’s a two, you’re practically a ten
I know you want me, girl, in fact, I can see a grin
...
Sorry Portia, but whats Ellen DeGeneres
Have that I don’t, are you telling me tenderness?
Well I can be as gentle and as smooth as a gentleman

At least Zachary Quinto and Cameron Diaz thought the Brüno/Eminem bit was funny. Here's a theory about the prank that I suspect is true

"Crazy" May Flowers

May Flowers, evenings at 11... or thereabouts

I go crazy, crazy, baby, I go crazy
You turn it on - then you're gone
Yeah you drive me crazy, crazy

Remember when Liv Tyler wasn't yet "Arwen" and Alicia Silverstone wasn't yet "Cher"?



Yeah, me neither. (That was so many career phases ago. Crazy, indeed)

[This 1995 flashback has been brought to you by three vodka tonics and visiting friends from Michigan. gulp]

Linkt!

Risky Business on the piracy pendulum for Wolverine
Attackerman on Wolverine, the character. Good piece that shares my concerns about origin stories in general
Slate another piece on Wolverine, the character. This one's on how he came to dominate comics
MTV Vulcan salute. Christian Slater has some difficulty


Justin Plus One on those wackadoo MTV Movie nominations. I stopped caring about these forever ago because they always feel to me like a parody of what an aggressive corporate team thinks that teenagers love.
Silly Hats Only Criterion releases for July. Be still my heart
Us Maggie Gyllenhaal & Peter Sarsgaard finally tie the knot.
Fraktastic On Star Trek. "this isn't your..." HA!
i09 have you seen this working Star Trek clock? Pretty amazing. If I were a Trekkie, I would n-e-e-d this

And here's Moby's "Shot in the Back of the Head" as interpreted by David Lynch

Shot In The Back Of The Head from Moby on Vimeo.

I love how David Lynch seems to live 24/7 in REM state. It's always both dream and nightmare. The still inky black and whites reminded me of his comic strip "The Angriest Dog in the World" for a minute. I miss that!
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Movie Stars Video Stars

Music Video Week

Being a crazed movie freak my #1 pet peeve of music videos --back in the day of course, they're not so important or widely seen these days-- was when movie soundtracks would just use clips from the movies to sell a soundtrack single. They should have always been giving the fans a little something extra: use the movie stars as MTV stars, too! So I thought I'd share a few videos starring screen icons who actually went that extra mile to entertain their fans.

Here are Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas, and Danny DeVito (hot boxoffice stuff in the mid80s) in Billy Ocean's "When the Going Gets Tough" --this song/video is so 80s but the stars are having fun: good for them. Ditto the next one: Winona Ryder, Cher, and Christina Ricci goofing off with the "Shoop Shoop" song from Mermaids in the early 90s. Can you believe how tiny and cutie Ricci is? Remember when Cher used to act? How much does this clip remind you of how awesome Winona Ryder used to be?



And since I left Madonna out of Music Video week (can u believe it? i'm just trying to keep you guessing) you know I have to make room for my other girl Michelle. Here she is as the star of Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise". I dig all those gorgeous shots of her face all chiaroscuro. You may recall that That Little Roundedheaded Boy did a whole write up on this video back when the film experience hosted the Michelle Pfeiffer Blog-a-thon. That post at TLRHB has mysteriously disappeared but it was fun while it lasted. Anyway --here is the video:



Michelle starts that video asking "you wanna tell me what this is all about?" but though I dig the song I never actually hear the answer. La Pfeiffer is so yummy I forget to breathe let alone listen.

*

Previously on Music Video Week:
Annie Lennox's Revolution * Melissa Etheridge Wants Angelina Jolie * Missy Make Me Lose Control * To Lindsay on her 20th Birthday

tags: Michelle Pfeiffer, music, MTV, Cher, Winona Ryder

Movie Stars Video Stars

Music Video Week

Being a crazed movie freak my #1 pet peeve of music videos --back in the day of course, they're not so important or widely seen these days-- was when movie soundtracks would just use clips from the movies to sell a soundtrack single. They should have always been giving the fans a little something extra: use the movie stars as MTV stars, too! So I thought I'd share a few videos starring screen icons who actually went that extra mile to entertain their fans.

Here are Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas, and Danny DeVito (hot boxoffice stuff in the mid80s) in Billy Ocean's "When the Going Gets Tough" --this song/video is so 80s but the stars are having fun: good for them. Ditto the next one: Winona Ryder, Cher, and Christina Ricci goofing off with the "Shoop Shoop" song from Mermaids in the early 90s. Can you believe how tiny and cutie Ricci is? Remember when Cher used to act? How much does this clip remind you of how awesome Winona Ryder used to be?



And since I left Madonna out of Music Video week (can u believe it? i'm just trying to keep you guessing) you know I have to make room for my other girl Michelle. Here she is as the star of Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise". I dig all those gorgeous shots of her face all chiaroscuro. You may recall that That Little Roundedheaded Boy did a whole write up on this video back when the film experience hosted the Michelle Pfeiffer Blog-a-thon. That post at TLRHB has mysteriously disappeared but it was fun while it lasted. Anyway --here is the video:



Michelle starts that video asking "you wanna tell me what this is all about?" but though I dig the song I never actually hear the answer. La Pfeiffer is so yummy I forget to breathe let alone listen.

*

Previously on Music Video Week:
Annie Lennox's Revolution * Melissa Etheridge Wants Angelina Jolie * Missy Make Me Lose Control * To Lindsay on her 20th Birthday

tags: Michelle Pfeiffer, music, MTV, Cher, Winona Ryder

Annie Lennox's Revolution

Music Video Week

Annie Lennox belongs to that rare breed of pop star musicians who could also have been actors but were too married to the musical life to cheat. Like Tina Turner (Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome) before her and Björk (Dancer in the Dark) after her when she's been onscreen (Revolution, Edward II) she's had potent screen presence. But she's just not interested.

The following two clips are two of my favorite moments from her solo career post Eurythmics. The first is her video to Little Bird. She performs on a cabaret stage while all the past famous versions of her self (played for the most part by drag queens), compete for her spotlight. It's an idea that Madonna really should have thought of first. She probably turned green when she saw it. In the second clip Annie sings the classic Queen tune "Under Pressure" with another musician who happens to makes a decent actor, David Bowie. At the end of this superb number he refers to her as "the most exquisite..." which is a very good and true call on his part.

Watch and marvel.



And finally... the reason for "music video week" in the first place. This is arguably my favorite music video of all time (yes, I argue with myself all the time. shut up). It's "Beethoven (I Love to Listen To)" from one of the least successful Eurythmics records Savage which happens to be their very best CD anyway --so screw the fickle public. The sometimes rowdy sometimes haunting always inventive Savage has an entire video album to go with it and if you can get your hands on it I highly recommend. It's the best of all "video albums" that I personally have seen. Providing more proof of the actress within, Annie plays three characters throughout: herself, a slutty chaunteuse (so stylized she's practically a drag queen herself), and a psychotic dowdy housewife.


"Some women think that they don't count..."

Annie Lennox is obviously not one of those unfortunate self-doubting women. She's been rocking the charts and amazing the world for decades. She's rumored to be ready to --or in the process of-- recording again. That news makes me smile because: Annie Lennox (I Love to Listen To)


Previous Music Video Posts:
Melissa Etheridge Wants Angelina Jolie, Missy Make Me Lose Control, To Lindsay on her 20th Birthday

tags: Annie Lennox, music, MTV, eurythmics, David Bowie

Annie Lennox's Revolution

Music Video Week

Annie Lennox belongs to that rare breed of pop star musicians who could also have been actors but were too married to the musical life to cheat. Like Tina Turner (Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome) before her and Björk (Dancer in the Dark) after her when she's been onscreen (Revolution, Edward II) she's had potent screen presence. But she's just not interested.

The following two clips are two of my favorite moments from her solo career post Eurythmics. The first is her video to Little Bird. She performs on a cabaret stage while all the past famous versions of her self (played for the most part by drag queens), compete for her spotlight. It's an idea that Madonna really should have thought of first. She probably turned green when she saw it. In the second clip Annie sings the classic Queen tune "Under Pressure" with another musician who happens to makes a decent actor, David Bowie. At the end of this superb number he refers to her as "the most exquisite..." which is a very good and true call on his part.

Watch and marvel.



And finally... the reason for "music video week" in the first place. This is arguably my favorite music video of all time (yes, I argue with myself all the time. shut up). It's "Beethoven (I Love to Listen To)" from one of the least successful Eurythmics records Savage which happens to be their very best CD anyway --so screw the fickle public. The sometimes rowdy sometimes haunting always inventive Savage has an entire video album to go with it and if you can get your hands on it I highly recommend. It's the best of all "video albums" that I personally have seen. Providing more proof of the actress within, Annie plays three characters throughout: herself, a slutty chaunteuse (so stylized she's practically a drag queen herself), and a psychotic dowdy housewife.


"Some women think that they don't count..."

Annie Lennox is obviously not one of those unfortunate self-doubting women. She's been rocking the charts and amazing the world for decades. She's rumored to be ready to --or in the process of-- recording again. That news makes me smile because: Annie Lennox (I Love to Listen To)


Previous Music Video Posts:
Melissa Etheridge Wants Angelina Jolie, Missy Make Me Lose Control, To Lindsay on her 20th Birthday

tags: Annie Lennox, music, MTV, eurythmics, David Bowie

Melissa Etheridge Wants Angelina Jolie

Music Video Week

Pop culture has a very short memory but I'm like an elephant. I don't forget. Which is why, amidst all the hoopla surrounding the international romance of the Jolie-Pitts, one question keeps haunting me that no one else is asking: When is Angelina going to star in an Etheridge video?

Brad Pitt's girls always do.

One of my favorite and most adorably subtextual Hollywood friendships is the longstanding one between Melissa Etheridge and Brad Pitt. They've been friends now for at least a dozen years. When Melissa's ex (also the ex-Mrs. Lou Diamond Phillips) got pregnant some years ago there was even initial tabloid speculation that Brad was the sperm donor. It turned out to be David Crosby so hopefully the kid never learns of what might-have-been.

And now: a trilogy in reverse chronological order. First up is Jennifer Aniston wandering around bars and parties looking for a little of Brad's love (it's gone girlfriend --let it go) in the Melissa Etheridge video "I Wanna Be in Love." Then, Gwyneth Paltrow doing her trademarked manic-depressive act as she stalks her married Bradlover from a car in "I Wanna Come Over." Brad does not appear in any of the videos... but surely he is there in spirit. He is Melissa or Melissa is he or--I don't know. All I know is that someone needs to snatch up this friendship and its parallel romantic obsession videos for the subject of their doctoral thesis. Just thank me in the acknowledgements.



Finally we come to the best and the first so I saved it for last. It's the truly brilliant Juliette Lewis losing her mind for the love o' Brad in Melissa's enduring classic "Come to My Window".



If I were Melissa Etheridge and I was recording my next record I'd be locking up a few dates on Angelina Jolie's globe-trotting schedule right now. She can fit you in somewhere. Why not make a whole video album starring Angie? Think of the exotic location shooting? She might do it for Brad. If she refuses, I shudder to think of the consequences: the universe torn asunder, hell frozen over, the sky falling.

For this is the way of things: Brad's women becoming Melissa's until the end of all our days.


Related Posts:A History of... Angelina Jolie

Melissa Etheridge Wants Angelina Jolie

Music Video Week

Pop culture has a very short memory but I'm like an elephant. I don't forget. Which is why, amidst all the hoopla surrounding the international romance of the Jolie-Pitts, one question keeps haunting me that no one else is asking: When is Angelina going to star in an Etheridge video?

Brad Pitt's girls always do.

One of my favorite and most adorably subtextual Hollywood friendships is the longstanding one between Melissa Etheridge and Brad Pitt. They've been friends now for at least a dozen years. When Melissa's ex (also the ex-Mrs. Lou Diamond Phillips) got pregnant some years ago there was even initial tabloid speculation that Brad was the sperm donor. It turned out to be David Crosby so hopefully the kid never learns of what might-have-been.

And now: a trilogy in reverse chronological order. First up is Jennifer Aniston wandering around bars and parties looking for a little of Brad's love (it's gone girlfriend --let it go) in the Melissa Etheridge video "I Wanna Be in Love." Then, Gwyneth Paltrow doing her trademarked manic-depressive act as she stalks her married Bradlover from a car in "I Wanna Come Over." Brad does not appear in any of the videos... but surely he is there in spirit. He is Melissa or Melissa is he or--I don't know. All I know is that someone needs to snatch up this friendship and its parallel romantic obsession videos for the subject of their doctoral thesis. Just thank me in the acknowledgements.



Finally we come to the best and the first so I saved it for last. It's the truly brilliant Juliette Lewis losing her mind for the love o' Brad in Melissa's enduring classic "Come to My Window".



If I were Melissa Etheridge and I was recording my next record I'd be locking up a few dates on Angelina Jolie's globe-trotting schedule right now. She can fit you in somewhere. Why not make a whole video album starring Angie? Think of the exotic location shooting? She might do it for Brad. If she refuses, I shudder to think of the consequences: the universe torn asunder, hell frozen over, the sky falling.

For this is the way of things: Brad's women becoming Melissa's until the end of all our days.


Related Posts:A History of... Angelina Jolie

Missy Make Me Lose Control

Music Video Week
I haven't fallen in love with any new summer hit yet this year (though I'll definitely take i-Tunes suggestions in the comments) but for maximum summertime bootyshaking fun, my first choice is always Missy Elliott. This video "Lose Control" is directed by Dave Meyer. It was nominated for an MTV award for best special effects but when Missy is involved she's always the most special effect, visual, aural, otherwise.

I love the shot of her rising from the earth, shaking the dust off her before she 'loses control' what with that composite heavy booty bouncin', tail droppin and head knockin. It reminds me of another great Missy video entrance when she rises up on a giant M in the ocean for "She's a Bitch." When your film is only four minutes long, every second counts. You best know how to make an entrance. She does.

You can watch the fuzzy YouTube clip right here...

or click over to radium.com for a much more pleasurable crystal clear version. Hot!

previous Missy-related posts: "She's a Bitch @ The Movies" March 06 * iPod Lyric of the Moment Nov 05 * Missy! Missy! Missy! July 05 *

Missy Make Me Lose Control

Music Video Week
I haven't fallen in love with any new summer hit yet this year (though I'll definitely take i-Tunes suggestions in the comments) but for maximum summertime bootyshaking fun, my first choice is always Missy Elliott. This video "Lose Control" is directed by Dave Meyer. It was nominated for an MTV award for best special effects but when Missy is involved she's always the most special effect, visual, aural, otherwise.

I love the shot of her rising from the earth, shaking the dust off her before she 'loses control' what with that composite heavy booty bouncin', tail droppin and head knockin. It reminds me of another great Missy video entrance when she rises up on a giant M in the ocean for "She's a Bitch." When your film is only four minutes long, every second counts. You best know how to make an entrance. She does.

You can watch the fuzzy YouTube clip right here...

or click over to radium.com for a much more pleasurable crystal clear version. Hot!

previous Missy-related posts: "She's a Bitch @ The Movies" March 06 * iPod Lyric of the Moment Nov 05 * Missy! Missy! Missy! July 05 *

A Tale Of Two Kisses

The Earth shatteringly important nominations for the MTV Movie Awards were announced today - you can see them over here.

The only part that interests me, though - Jake & Heath's nomination for Best Kiss. Because the internet's decidedly not being my friend today, I'm unable to figure out which kiss is nominated - The One In The Puptent, or The One Where Michelle Williams Catches Them Going At It Really Hard In The Stairwell (I really made those sound like the titles of forgotten Friends episodes). Anyone able to get this to work?

Not that it matters. Either kiss is sublime. Jake & Heath's competition:

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie, Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Taraji P. Henson & Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow
Anna Faris & Chris Marquette, Just Friends
Rosario Dawson & Clive Owen, Sin City

I refuse to accept any of those as better heirs to an admittedly pointless throne.

(And with that, I fulfill my Brokeback-related posting quota. I had to get at least one in while here)

tags: Brokeback Mountain, Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, movies, kiss, MTV

A Tale Of Two Kisses

The Earth shatteringly important nominations for the MTV Movie Awards were announced today - you can see them over here.

The only part that interests me, though - Jake & Heath's nomination for Best Kiss. Because the internet's decidedly not being my friend today, I'm unable to figure out which kiss is nominated - The One In The Puptent, or The One Where Michelle Williams Catches Them Going At It Really Hard In The Stairwell (I really made those sound like the titles of forgotten Friends episodes). Anyone able to get this to work?

Not that it matters. Either kiss is sublime. Jake & Heath's competition:

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie, Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Taraji P. Henson & Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow
Anna Faris & Chris Marquette, Just Friends
Rosario Dawson & Clive Owen, Sin City

I refuse to accept any of those as better heirs to an admittedly pointless throne.

(And with that, I fulfill my Brokeback-related posting quota. I had to get at least one in while here)

tags: Brokeback Mountain, Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, movies, kiss, MTV