What is there to write about anymore? Why write here when I can, Tweet? Why Tweet, and limit my ideas to 140 characters when I can explore them without limits here? Who cares?
On one hand, I feel like I’ve forgotten how to do this, why I do this. On the other hand, well, I’m not sure. I do know that I miss it, though. The lights have been out long enough around here. Proceed and continue, I shall.
I hate to break my silence here on the blog on such a somber note, but as a fan, I’d be remiss if I didn’t take this moment to pay homage to the man, the legend, the greatest entertainer of my generation, The King of Pop, The King…Michael Jackson.
Hours later, and the thought of his passing is still as shocking, numbing as it was the first second I heard it reported, and later confirmed across the media last evening.
And today, as I look around and see manifestations of the undeniable impact that he had on our culture, on music, on people, I can only think that this may well be the most devastating loss that we’ve ever endured collectively as fans of music. That is, since MJ impacted everyone, regardless of race, culture, generation, location or musical preference. All boundaries were transcended on his watch.
I mean, just with my generation alone (true 80’s babies), you’d be hard pressed to find individuals who, at some point in their lives, didn’t try to emulate him on a talent show stage or dance floor (hell, sometimes breaking into an MJ dance move was just instinctive); who didn’t own a screenprinted t-shirt bearing his image at some point in their lives or other memorabilia; who didn’t want to dress as him atleast once for Halloween (respectfully); who didn’t have an extreme appreciation for the Thriller video (though most of us were way too young to remember when it premiered); who didn’t go to school buzzing about the “Black & White” (the morphing sequence) or “Remember the Time” (the cameos and guest appearances) videos the day after they premiered on Fox; who didn’t wish they could hang out with the dude just once (no *pause* necessary). I could go on and on.
I’m not sure how much music he was able to record in the time leading up to his planned comeback, but if there is some I hope that it receives a proper release.
Peace to his kids, the entire Jackson family, and the millions of devoted and loyal fans around world, who I count myself among, that admired and respected him, as both a person and an artist.
If not for every official Michael Jackson video on YouTube having the embed feature “disabled by request” at the moment (I’m guessing the content owners are trying to keep the views local), I’d end this by posting one of my all time favorite MJ vids here, Bad.
Instead, here’s a clip of him at the 2007 BET Awards, making a surprise appearance alongside his idol James Brown. James was in shock, the crowd was in shock; it was a thrilling moment all around, and also one of MJ’s last televised performances. RIP:
I’ve heard many a hip-hop artist extend props to those in the game whose work and lyrical abilities they greatly admire, and who ultimately keep them on their toes. But never before have I heard it done in such a way that not only gives me a new found appreciation for the artist whom the props are being bestowed upon, but also makes me hungry for a collaboration of some sort (any sort) between the bestowed and the bestower. Case in point, Mos Def on MF Doom:
Make that $2-million on Doom against Wayne.
I’m in Austin, TX at SXSW Interactive, the mecca of all things tech/social media/web2.0, blogging on the fly in a hallway lined with bloggers, twitterers, and podcasters in the humongous Austin Convention Center. Simply stated, this conference is unlike anything that I’ve ever experienced in my life. To be surrounded by so many people who share my passion for the web is exhilarating! And what’s more is that there are so many dope things to be had, and experienced at just about every turn here–from the latest and greatest web apps and services, to films, games, parties and schwag (tons of it)! It’s only my second day here (first full day of panel discussions) and, while this may sound kind of corny, already I’m beginning to feel rejuvenated. I’m remembering why I fell in love with blogging, why I created Gureala, and most importantly, the power and possibilities of the web. It’s beautiful.
To the one that muted the West Coast/G-funk sound that reigned supreme over my young ears during the early-mid 90’s and, with the most beautiful flow I’d ever heard in my life, brought my attention back to East Coast Hip-Hop…I say: Thank you and rest in peace. The Great One:
This might just be the worst kind of “ether” I’ve seen handed to a rapper thus far:
Update 2/3: On second thought, this isn’t “ether”, and to have labeled it as such is actually an insult to the word and all that it stands for in hip-hop. True, 50 succeeds at delivering some pretty harsh blows to Rick’s character (which is the ultimate goal of any rapper engaging in battle with his/her opponent), however, the method behind his madness here (using his opponent’s ex-girlfriend as a pawn in such an unprecedented fashion) is all too real, too sleazy to sit back and cheer on as one would in a normal rap battle (which this is clearly not). This is the sort of thing that you’d expect to see on daytime televison, not in the midst of a what should be an entertaining rap battle confined to lyrics. What I fear most, though, is that in this age of hip-hop meets new media, this will become the norm. Just as “Nas vs. Jay” gassed up a legion of mediocre rapcats to take their best shots at hip-hop’s elite, this stunt and others like it, will give the go ahead to a new legion mediocre rapcats to take to youtube (and other video outlets) to do what it is that they are not artistically capable of doing on pen and pad, in the booth, or on the mic.
At this point I think it’s pretty obvious that I haven’t been keeping up too well with my new year’s resolution to write more. I’ve fallen off the wagon pretty hard! Hence the reason why at the top of the year I seldom resolve to do anything for the rest of the year. That’s just unnecessary pressure birthed by an artificial and very temporary state of mind, and no one (I especially) needs that sort of wackness looming overhead, but I digress. Truth is, I’m experiencing a bit of writer’s block anxiety. Which means that when I’m not killing posts for fun, I’m either sending them down to the developmental league (read: the draft folder), or off in the background trying to find my voice (or doubting the one that I possess) before I step to the stage (read: the WordPress control panel). In fact, I wasn’t going to write all of this here but, I desperately needed to clear out the mental backlog and make sure the “publish” button still works around here. Besides, it’s essential to write even when you don’t feel like writing. At the end of the day, I just want to be certain that my voice, my thoughts and my views are all genuine, and that I’m posting from a place of passion and conviction and not just for the hell of it. In the meantime: writer’s block anxiety…how do you personally deal?
Happy New Year, folks! Look ahead, strive to make this year better than the one before, and most of all, enjoy! What’s my new year’s resolution, you ask? Ha! To blog more, of course! Watch me. But for now, I’m out…peace and enjoyment, all!
