Artist who sampled Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 music.

 


This upcoming Sunday August 29, 2010, will be Michael Jackson 52nd Birthday.  For the month I decided to focus my iTunes playlist on his music.  In the first week it was the Jackson 5, second The Jacksons, third Michael Jackson himself, and for this week I am focusing on artist that sampled his music. Some people are against sampling tracks, but I think it helps keep older music alive.  For example, I only had the Jackson 5 greatest hits, and The Jacksons music before Mr. Jackson's death. However, artist such as Mos Def, "U R the One", and Jadakiss, "Put Ya Hands Up" sampled music from the early 70's, so when I heard the original versions, it sounded very familiar to me and current. I set up a Jackson Family Music Store with Amazon if you want to see what CD's or downloads you are missing.  In addition, I have a sample of tracks of some of my favorite artist that sampled or redid his music. Finally, I attached a picture of what tracks I personally own for this weeks playlist.  There are hundreds of songs that sampled the Jacksons and Michael's music, so happy hunting. For the die hard fans, without using a search engine, try to figure out what is the original song that is being sampled from the widget below.

Only Michael Jackson Action figures can make be feel like a kid again.

Michael Jackson Solo Music

I'm in my third week of celebrating Michael's 52nd Birthday and focused each week on a different aspect of his career starting with the Jackson 5, The Jacksons, and now his solo career. Before Michael's death, I thought his first solo album was "Off The Wall" (1979), but did some research just to discover that Michael had four more solos prior! "Got To Be There" (1972), "Ben" (1972) "Music and Me" (1973), and "Forever Michael" (1975). Each and every album had many elements of genius and you hear Michael grow as an musician, artist, and a man. The transformation vocally and lyrically made the discovery simply put ~ magical. In the 80's, Michael and Quincy Jones created the Greatest album of all time "Thriller" (1982), and followed by the second greatest selling album, "Bad" (1987). In the 90's Mr. Jackson gave us more classic hits from, "Dangerous" (1991), "History" (1995), and "Blood On The Dance Floor" (1997). In the decade of 2000, MJ last release alive would be "Invincible" 2001.  It's the most under appreciated body of work, but it's a must have. Michael had some great compilation releases in this decade such as "The Ultimate Collection" (2004), "Visionary" (2006), and the 25 year anniversary of "Thriller" with new remixes from iconic tracks from the original 1981 release. If you don't have the entire Michael Jackson collection, I would recommend it.  Each decade has a different sound and element of wonder.  Check out my Jackson 5, The Jacksons, and Michael Jackson music store to see what releases you are missing. Below is my review of the "Hello World - The Motown Solo Collection", it's a great investment as a collector's item, rare singles, and mixes.

Song of the Week: You Can't Win by Michael Jackson

Song of the Week: In 1978, Universal Pictures released "The Wiz" an African-American version of "The Wizard Of Oz."  It starred Diana Ross, Nippy Russell, Ted Ross, and Michael Jackson. It was considered a box office flop, but for me it was the first memory of me seeing Michael Jackson in a different light.  I loved the scene where MJ is interacting with the crows and they are discouraging him from getting down.  The song, "You Can't Win" started playing, and that's when I started falling in love with MJ's music and voice.

Song Lyrics: You Can't Win

You can't win
You can't break even
And you can't get out of the game
People keep sayin'
Things are gonna change
But they look just like
You're stayin' the same

You get in
way over your head
And you only got yourself to blame
You can't win Child
(You can't win Child)
You can't break even
And you can't get out of the game

You can't win
The world keeps movin'
And you're standin' far behind
People keep sayin'
Things'll get better
(Just to ease your state of mind)
(So you lean back, and you smoke that smoke)
(And you drink your glass of wine)
Say you can't win, Child
You can't break even
And you can't get out of the game

You can't win, you can't win no way
If your story stays the same
(You ain't winnin'),
No, no,
(But it's nice to see you)
(I'm awfully glad you came)
(Better cool it 'cause
It ain't about losin')
And the world has got no shame
You can't win, Child
You can't break even
You can't get out of the game

You can't win
You can't break even
Ain't the way it's supposed to be
(You'll be spendin'),
No, no
(Your little bit of money)
While someone else rides for free
(Learn your lesson), ooh,
(Refuel your mind)
(Before some turkey blows out your flame)

You can't win, Child. No!
You can't win
You can't win, Child. No!
You can't win
You can't win, Child. No!
You can't win
You can't win, Child. No!
You can't win

You can't win, Child
You can't break even
And you can't get out of the game
You can't get out of the game
You can't get out (wooh!) of the game
No, no... 

Michael Jackson inducted into Dance Museum

"Aug 15, 2010 — The late "King of Pop," Michael Jackson, was inducted into the National Museum of Dance's hall of fame. His older brother Marlon Jackson received the award on his behalf. Local dancers Ricardo Sopin and Iraida Volodina and the Lombard Twins performed tribute routines for the crowd, which included Spa City socialites and some local politicians."

Gadget Trish Fashion Disaster: Crocs

Okay this is not a fashion disaster, but to my family it is because they hate my crocs. I personally don't care; these are the most comfortable shoes in the world. I wear my crocs with dresses, fishnets, sweats, whatever! I did have a pet peeve with the classic croc style because of the toe malfunction. My second toe is very long and would always hang out, so I was super excited when the Crocband style came out and eliminated the problem. So far I own four different styles of crocs and don't plan to stop wearing them anytime soon. I personalized my favorite pair with Michael Jackson pins. If you are proud of wearing Crocs, or have a cute way of wearing them, please leave a comment. Check out my post to see how the Fashion Police did to me for wearing these shoes. As a bonus, for my Michael Jackson fans, look at the post and tell me how many M.J references can you find, happy hunting!

Barbie to the next level!

I have been playing with Barbie my entire life and I was just amazed on what Mattel did for the year 2010. They infused a video camera to a barbie body and the result is a very cool toy.  You get real time playback, 25 minutes of recording time, and the back of the doll has a full color LCD screen. Barbie includes a pink USB cord, works with PC and Mac, and the editing software only works with Windows/PC.  This is available on Amazon.com for around $50.00 or you can click on the picture below to get to the site. Please check out iJustine's video about the product and her tour at Mattel.