Michael Jackson 1958 - 2009

Born Aug. 29, 1958, in hardscrabble Gary, Ind., Jackson was a nightclub performer by the age of 5. The first gig, with older brothers Jackie, Marlon, Tito and Jermaine, earned the group $8, and, according to a Billboard-branded history of the charts, a whole lot more in tips.

"On stage for me was home," Jackson told Oprah Winfrey in 1993. "I was most comfortable on stage but once I got off stage, I was like very sad.

In 1969, the brothers were signed to Motown Records. Their band, the Jackson 5, with then 11-year-old Michael on electrifying lead vocals, scored their first No. 1 hit in 1970: "I Want You Back." "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There" followed. As did teen idoldom.

Like their Osmonds counterparts, the Jackson 5 lived the 1970s highlife: hit records, magazine covers, an animated series, and a prime-time variety show, The Jacksons, which gave early exposure to a very young Janet Jackson the musical family's youngest child, and a semi-green David Letterman . Unlike the Osmonds, the Jackson 5 did it all by breaking barriers as the first teen-idol act of color.

At the center of it all was Michael, who became a chart-topper on his own with 1972's "Ben," a song sweet enough to transcend its rat-movie roots.

The singular member of the Jackson 5, rebranded as the Jacksons after the group left Motown in 1976, Michael Jackson seemed primed for film stardom, as well, after costarring as the loose-limbed Scarecrow, opposite his mentor, Diana Ross, in The Wiz. But the 1978 musical bombed, and took out the decade's once-booming black-film market with it.

Released in December 1982, Thriller represented the pinnacle of Jackson's career, and the birth of the Pepsi-pitching, Disneyland-appearing superstar. Combined with his Moonwalk-introducing appearance on Motown 25, the 1983 TV special, Jackson—and music—were transformed. The revolution, at the dawn and maybe peak of the music-video era, was televised on MTV, which previously had been slow to showcase black artists.

In a 2002 interview with Vibe magazine, Jackson said he knew Thriller and Off the Wall were going to be special.

"Not to be arrogant, but yes. Because I know great material when I hear it, and meoldically and sonically and musically, it's so moving." Jackson said. "They keep the promise."

The crowns fit: Michael Jackson was the King of Pop; Elvis Presley was the King of Rock 'n' Roll. Both men commanded the pop-culture landscape, as much as the charts. Both men influenced their industry, as well as scores of artists.

And both men died suddenly and barely into middle age.

Jackson, whose lifetime of hits sold more than 750 million albums worldwide, whose landmark Thriller broke records and racial divides, whose smooth moves revolutionized dance as much as pop, and whose penchant for headline-making helped burnish his brand, and, following child-abuse allegations, helped tarnish it as well, died today after being found unconscious at his Los Angeles-area home.

Jackson suffered a heart attack around noon, according to father Joe Jackson, and never recovered. He was prounced dead at 2:26 p.m., officials said.

(Via E! News)

R.I.P Michael Jackson

R.I.P

I'll have full story tomorrow when everything is out.

R.I.P Ed McMahon.

Johnny Carson was tapped to replace Jack Paar on NBC's late night talk show, The Tonight Show. Carson insisted McMahon come with him to NBC. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson first aired on October 1, 1962. For the next three decades, McMahon served as the show's announcer--with the trademark line "Heeeeeeere's Johnny!"--and the perfect chuckling foil for Carson's monologues and witty banter. First based in New York, then in Burbank, California, The Tonight Show became one of the best-loved programs in America. Even as Carson himself relied more and more on guest hosts during the 1980s, McMahon appeared nightly to perform his announcing duties and support the visiting hosts, who included Joan Rivers and Jay Leno.

Long before the final episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson aired on May 22, 1992, McMahon made a name for himself in other areas. First as a pitchman for products as diverse as Budweiser, Breck Shampoo, and Sara Lee Kitchens, and later as host of the long-running syndicated talent show Star Search, which debuted in 1983. McMahon also became well-known for his role as spokesman (along with longtime friend Dick Clark) for American Family Publishers (not to be confused with Publishers' Clearinghouse) and its sweepstakes.

McMahon has also pursued a career as an actor, with considerably less success. His interest was sparked by a brief stint as a replacement in the Broadway production of The Impossible Years in the mid-1960s. His feature films included The Incident (1967), Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (1973), Fun With Dick and Jane (1977), and Full Moon High (1981). More recently, McMahon appeared as himself in Love Affair (1994), starring Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, and earned a measure of praise for his supporting role on the short-lived 1997-1998 sitcom The Tom Show, starring Tom Arnold. In 1998, McMahon published a popular autobiography, For Laughing Out Loud: My Life and Good Times (he had previously published another memoir, Here's Ed, in 1976).

Scrubs.

Fans of 'Scrubs' can expect a different format when the new series begins.

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello was told by 'Scrubs' creator Bill Lawrence that next season the story would move from the hospital to the classroom with Dr Cox (John C McGinley) and Dr Turk (Donald Faison) now teaching in medical school.

Lawrence said: "It'll be a lot like [The] 'Paper Chase' as a comedy. It's going to be a different show. It'll still be life-and-death stakes, but if the show is just 'Scrubs' again in the hospital with a different person's voiceover, it would be a disaster and people would be mad."

The Stig is............

The Stig, a mystery driver who tests high-performance cars on Top Gear, has been "revealed" as Michael Schumacher.

The seven-times Formula 1 champion dressed as the show's famous driver and removed his helmet during an interview with presenter Jeremy Clarkson.

However, an appalling driving performance by Schumacher at the end of the show cast doubt on the "revelation".

Clarkson told viewers: "I don't think Michael Schumacher is the Stig".

The presenter had earlier revealed in his column in the Sun that Stig's identity would be a "staggering surprise" to viewers.

As a television moment, it's up there with Neil Armstrong walking on the... corpse of JR Ewing," he added.

Earlier, a BBC spokesman said: "As Jeremy said, in tonight's Top Gear Stig will remove his helmet for the first time."

After the show a BBC spokeswoman could not confirm whether or not Schumacher was the genuine Stig, or a stunt to mark the first episode of a new series of Top Gear.

But she added: "You have to bear in mind that Top Gear is an entertainment programme."

Perry McCarthy, a former Formula 1 driver, was the original Stig, wearing black overalls for his appearances.

He was replaced with a new Stig, dressed in white, after he had revealed his identity in his 2002 autobiography.

"He only wanted 3 aswell ?!"

Check out NBC's Late Night host Jimmy Fallon.

56

The tattooist embroiled in a row with a teenage girl who claims he tattooed 56 stars on her face when she only asked for three has said he will help pay for them to be removed.

Rouslan Toumaniantz said today that Kimberley Vlaminck 'absolutely' agreed she wanted 56 stars tattooed on the left side of her face.

But now the 18-year-old is suing Toumaniantz, claiming she had asked him for only three stars - and had fallen asleep during the procedure, waking up to a nightmare.

Toumaniantz - himself covered from head to foot in tattoos and piercings - said he would help pay for half of the treatment to remove the tattoos.

'I maintain that she absolutely agreed that I tattoo those 56 stars on the left side of her face,' he told newspaper La Derniere Heure.

'A witness, a woman who was present, has already been questioned by police, and she confirms it.

'But be that as it may: Kimberley is unhappy and it is not my wish to have an unsatisfied client. There is a way to remove the tattoos with the help of a laser. I accept to pay for half the cost.'

Toumaniantz claimed Kimberley was happy with the work when she left his shop in Coutrai but changed her mind when her father saw the stars.

'She's 18 years old, she's an adult,' he said. 'I don't regret it. To tell you the truth, this has given me some publicity.'

Kimberley is suing Toumaniantz for ?10,000 after she paid ?55 for 'the graffiti that has ruined my life'.

Three legends.

Rove Mcmanus (host), Kevin Clash (Elmo voiceover), Elmo.

I'm secretly a huge fan of Elmo, always have been and always will be.

Would you use it ?

Powdered wine in a bag - just add water. Or you can take a candy stick and dip it in there to make wine-flavored Fun Dip

YEAR ONE

Really hope this is as funny as it looks.

Will it boost the ratings of the show after 10 years of it ?

Big Brother' is reportedly set to introduce a new housemate to the show next week.

According to The Sun, producers have ten potential housemates on standby and are hoping to allow one of them to go into the house next week in order to boost the ratings of the show.

A 'Big Brother' source reportedly said: "We're thinking of how we can put someone in and shake things up."

Mickey Rourke suits up as Whiplash for 'Iron Man 2'

In Iron Man 2, the scarlet and golden-metaled hero must face an adversary with some amazing gadgets of his own.

Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) sports a power pack on his chest that looks similar to the one that Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) uses.

"The technologies are definitely related," says director Jon Favreau. "That's part of the core theme of the film."

The villain's alter ego, Ivan Vanko, is a Russian who "has constructed his own version of a suit," Favreau says. Among the creative innovations: a pair of whips, powered by the suit's glowing chest piece, that are expected to keep Iron Man cracking.

Whiplash "is going to light them up," Rourke quips.

Kids choir does GaGa

Too cool

All Night Disco Party - Brakes

All Night Disco Party - Brakes

Pink Floyd.

Wish You Were Here.

The battling exes both turned up to watch the same basketball match in Florida the other night.

But they avoided an uncomfortable reunion by sitting on different sides of the Amway Arena for the NBA FInals clash between Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic.

Later this month she is due to give evidence against 20-year-old Brown who is accused of assaulting her in February.

An onlooker said: "They couldn't help glancing at each other now and again."

Brown denies two felony counts.

Can it be true ?

House Is Highest Rated Show In The World !

Fox's medical drama House was the most-watched show in the whole wide world last year, with more than 81.8 million viewers in 66 countries.

Those numbers smoked previous years' winners CSI and CSI: Miami. It makes sense to me that the CSI dramas would triumph -- the flashy, yet straightforward whodunits don't need all that much translating. (And David Caruso's sunglassed scowl is an international language in and of itself.)

But I would've guessed Hugh Laurie's caustic caregiver would be a tougher case. What do you think: Does House's win surprise you? Or does it make sense that he's a doctor without borders?

Beer Pong !

American actress and former game show and talk show host Betty White plays 'Beer Pong' with Jimmy Fallon on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Lady Gaga Teams With Marilyn Manson for Remix

LOVEGAME.

Editors come to the Olympia Theater Dublin, 8 Oct.........

Editors return in June 2007 with their second album An End Has A Start, on Kitchenware Records. Following on from the phenomenal success of debut platinum album The Back Room the new recordings see the band deliver on the promise so many identified on that record.

Recorded in Ireland at Grouse Lodge with Garret Lee and mixed at Olympic Studios by Cenzo Townshend, the album sees the team behind the re-recorded version of Bullets set to work on an entire collection of Editors work with stunning results.

To seasoned Editors watchers, a handful of tracks on the album will already be familiar. The heart stopping Weight Of The World and Bones were both regulars in the band's set from the summer of 2006 and their recorded versions are as sure as their live relations.

Whilst The Back Room seethed with claustrophobic menace and icy grandeur, An End Has A Start sees Tom Smith more focused on the power of redemption and the human necessity for friendship and family in the face of death.

The album's lyrics are closely linked to events over the last year or so as Tom explains: "There is a lot of death on the record, that sounds pretty morbid but it's the truth. Death has touched me and my friends in the last year in several ways. Realising everything comes to an end is important and I think we've done our best to make it something glorious and uplifting as well as scary".

However, Tom is keen to stress that not all is dark in Editors world. Alongside the inevitable, the record also reflects the hectic touring of the last two years that saw Editors play everywhere from Istanbul to Osaka: "Living in an over-populated but exciting world, the buzz of the city, electricity, neon, lights, skyscrapers, planes, billions of people all run through the lyrics of songs on the record".

Amongst an album that reinforces the visceral power of Editors music, the album closes on the simple piano and guitar of Well Worn Hand. Recorded in one take with Tom and Chris playing live in the studio, the track emphasises Editors desire to stretch themselves on this album. Such willingness to experiment saw them rope in friends alongside band members to create the choir that is heard at the close of Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors, the single that will precede the album on June 18th.

Final Destination 4

This is one of those OMG moments !

Take a look --->

Record of the day.

Hello new coffee table...........

New band !!! - Dragonette

JUGGER.......what ?!

I Wanna............. ???

Passion Pit- Sleepyhead (JazZstePpa Remix)

Record of the Week.

Florence writes her best songs when she’s drunk or has a hangover, because that’s when the freedom, the feral music comes, creating itself wildly from the fragments gathered in her notebooks and in her head. “You’re lucid,” she explains, “but you’re not really there. You’re floating through your own thoughts, and you can pick out what you need. I like those weird connections in the universe. I feel that life’s like a consistent acid trip, those times when things keep coming back.”

Florence herself is a mass of contradictions: she’s tough yet she’s terrified, a bundle of nerves and passion, of darkness and pure joy. “I feel things quite intensely, which is why the music has to be so intense. I’m either really sad or really happy, I’m tired or completely manic. That’s when I’m at my most creative, but it’s also dangerous for me. I feel I could write some good songs, or break some hearts. Or tables. Or glasses.”

As a performer she can seem fearless, but she’s also far too quick to pass judgement on herself. This is the woman, after all who got into Camberwell art college by making a huge floral sign telling herself ‘You are a twat.’ She says she’s a geek, who loses all control when in love. She’s also something increasingly rare and precious in a time of karaoke pop: an artist who has found her own, authentic voice.

Owwww !

Poison singer Brett Michaels had a run-in with some scenery at the Tony Awards ceremony in New York on Sunday night.

Billboard reports that Poison were finishing a performance of their song 'Nothin' but a Good Time' when Michaels was hit by a stage prop which was descending from the ceiling of the venue.

Tony Awards spokesperson Christina Stejskal said that the singer "missed his mark".A spokesperson for Michaels described him as "a trooper" and told People.com that he was still hoping to go some parties after the awards, but planned to visit a hospital first for some X-rays

New Music........Think it's fixed ?!

Loving this song, big time ! New music from Dragonette.

No Champagne ?! What............

Arkells are a Canadian rock band, formed in Hamilton, Ontario. In 2008, they signed with Dine Alone Records, home to other Canadian acts such as City and Colour, Bedouin Soundclash, Black Lungs and Cancer Bats.
The band inclued, Max Kerman – vocals, guitar, Mike DeAngelis – vocals, guitar, Dan Griffin – vocals, keyborads & guitar, Nick Dika – bass, Tim Oxford – drums.

This is the ONE !

Brand new album 'Everything Is New' released June 22nd!

Summer tune !

Calvin Harris invented disco. No, Calvin Harris reinvented disco. He was Marks & Spencers' champion shelf-stacker two years running. He made his debut album fuelled by chicken breast fillets. He knows the whereabouts of Alex Kapranos' secret studio-hideaway-laboratory-home cuz it's quite near his own place in Dumfries.

Calvin Harris's debut album, with the subtle title "I Created Disco", cost 0p to record. He fashions future-disko using an ancient Amiga computer and is, right now, (literally) knocking together a stonking live set using MDF and 204 samples. "My live band's gonna be even more rocking than the tunes. I'll be singing, but only because no one else in Dumfries can sing. I've got an extremely limited range. But I will be wearing a top hat made from the skin of a tiger."

Calvin Harris is one of those 'myspace sensations' you keep reading about. He was wildly popular amongst The Kids and on The Club Scene, a cult producer-slash-singer-slash-bedroom-knob-twiddler who can make the banging-est of pop-dance tunes out of bugger-all kit. The last time he spent any money on gear was three years ago, when he bought a voice processor for £200. "I'm not the kind of dude who buys Sound On Sound. I know if something sounds nice. If it does, I'll keep it. If not, I'll try and make it nice. You don't need to splash out on technology."

Calvin Harris has big plans for summer 2007: a debut album, of course, and then a single called 'Colours', which contains a dash of Visage's proto-electronica classic 'Fade To Grey' and is about girls' clothes. "Chicks who don't wear colours annoy me because there are many wonderful colours in world - and those women who are not utilising them make me very upset. Although black and white does look good. But if you're gonna go out I wanna see someone in a big canary-yellow hoodie. And big baggy pink jeans."

Calvin Harris's first release will be a limited edition 10-inch featuring the turbo-funky 'Acceptable In The 80s' and the robo-pop jitter of 'This Is The Industry'. What are they about? "The song titles say it all. My tunes aren't supposed to invoke deep thought within people; they're just to get you dancing. But musically it is for the brain - it's not music for stupid people. I take great pride in my productions. It's not knocked out in a few seconds." And if you can't track down a copy of 'Acceptable In The 80s' on 10-inch, don't worry. It'll be coming out properly as a single in March too.

Calvin Harris will make you jump around like a silly-billy - the slamming likes of 'The Girls' and 'Merrymaking At My Place' (the latter soon to be found on a second 10-inch) will meet you on the dancefloor now. But if you let him, he might also make you cry. "I've made a lot of miserable tunes - I've got an album worth of depressing chords. I've not got any lyrics, like."

The blog of all blogs !

Hey, this is my first entry to my brand new blog. Here is waht you can expect to come on my blog.

On my blog you can listen and watch some of the best new bands, singer song writters etc. and also so old songs and bands that many people have forgotten about.

You can get upto speed with entertainment news as it happens and also there will be the odd random video or bit of news thrown in just to mix things up.

Hope ye all enjoy my blogging and please get in contact if you may need anything.

Shane Buckley,
$Bucks$ out !™.

One of my all time favourite !

U2 formed in Dublin in the fall of 1976 after 14-year-old Larry Mullen, Jr. posted a note on the bulletin board at his high school seeking musicians for a new band. From the group of hopefuls that showed up at Mullen's home that first day, a five-piece known originally as "Feedback" formed with Mullen (born October 31, 1961) on drums, Adam Clayton (born March 13, 1960) on bass, Paul Hewson (later nicknamed "Bono Vox" and eventually just "Bono", born May 10, 1960) on vocals, and Dave Evans (later nicknamed "The Edge", born August 8, 1961) on guitar. Dave's brother, Dick, also played guitar for a while, but left Feedback very early on to join another Dublin band, the Virgin Prunes.

Feedback quickly changed their name to "The Hype," and began rehearsing on weekends and after school as often as possible, forming genuine friendships and developing an undeniable chemistry in the process. After nearly 18 months of rehearsing, the band's big break came at a talent show in Limerick, Ireland, in March, 1978. With CBS Records' Jackie Hayden judging, U2 (they had just changed their name again) won the contest, earning a £500 prize and studio time to record their first demo.

Shortly after the talent show contest, the band convinced a Dublin businessman named Paul McGuinness to manage them. Now out of school, the band played as many shows as possible in and around Dublin, trying to build up a local fan base. In September, 1979, U2 released its first single, an Irish-only release called "U2:3" which topped the national charts. In December of that year, U2 traveled to London for its first shows outside Ireland, but struggled to get attention from music fans and critics.

After continuing to build a large following inside Ireland, and after the success of a second Irish-only single, Island Records signed U2 to its first international contract in March, 1980. The first album to come from that agreement was Boy, released in October of that year. The album offered a fresh, new sound that earned rave reviews in both the Irish and UK press. Bono's lyrics tackled subjects like faith, spirituality, and death -- subjects generally avoided by even the most seasoned rock acts. U2's first tour outside the UK helped develop new fan bases in other parts of Europe and in the United States, where strong club shows helped propel Boy briefly onto the U.S. album charts.

U2 returned to the big screen in 2007, with the premiere of the groundbreaking U2 3D at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The band began work on new songs in Morocco with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois as co-writers, but the only new material released in 2007 was a few outtakes that appeared on the November re-release of The Joshua Tree, celebrating the album's 20th anniversary.

More than thirty years on, it appears that U2 still has plenty of gas in its tank. The four original band members remain close friends and stellar musicians, and their collective ambition appears to be as strong as ever. U2 remains one of only a few bands qualified to wear the label of World's Biggest Band. They continue to write music and explore new ideas on their own terms, and their future releases and tours will be no less anticipated than those of the past.