Michael Jackson

I'm Singing Michael Jackson Songs!

​Oy vey, I've gotten hooked into performing at the Hear Me Roar! Project benefit for Sylvia's Place this Thursday August 20 at 6 at Bowery Poetry Club. I don't have an act, having worn out Suzanne Somers's poetry book as if it were a raunchy bottom, so out of desperation, I'm going to dig back ... More >>

The Gay Housewives of New York Are Coming!

​It was inevitable, folks. The people who brought you all those hit Real Housewives shows have turned to the gays, and I say yay for the inclusionariness of it all! Check out this link for info on just what they're looking for--which amounts to hot, fun, shopping-crazed kooks who are preferab ... More >>

Let's Have a Moratorium on Jacko Remarks

​Well, just one, actually. Everyone from me to Bill Maher still thinks it's hilarious to say something on the order of "Michael Jackson started as a black man and he ended up a white woman." You can't turn on the TV or pick up the phone or crawl into a sewer without hearing someone say that ve ... More >>

VIDEO MADE THE RADIO STAR

The music of three legends under one roof

"The King of Pop's Going To Lick Your Lollipop"

​No, that's not a threat. That's part of a quote from the new book about Michael Jackson in which a male actor is quoted as saying, "The very first time he blew me, he said 'The King of Pop's Going To Lick Your Lollipop'." And the actor was a grownup! The book--thrown together in two days the ... More >>

News Roundup: The Pixies, Bruce Springsteen, Ticketmaster/Live Nation, Michael Jackson

​--The Pixies have announced the dates for their Doolittle 20th anniversary tour, where the alt-rock legends will play the album in its entirety. The band will play nine cities, including three New York gigs: November 23, 24, and 25 at the 3,000-capacity Hammerstein Ballroom. We recently talke ... More >>

'The Be Yourself Tribute to Michael Jackson with Danny Tenaglia'

Will That Scandalous Jacko Book Finally Come Out For Reals?

In the mid '90s, every single friend of mine suddenly possessed a copy of an underground, hard-to-get book called Michael Jackson Was My Lover, The Secret Diary of Jordie Chandler by an investigative journalist named Victor M. Gutterrez. They all had it because I lent it to them! The incendiary pag ... More >>

Weird Photos of Michael Jackson's Legs

ABC News has uncovered these upsetting pix of Michael Jackson's legs at a rare moment when they weren't moonwalking. What the shots uncover is a bunch of discoloration and needle marks suggesting IV usage. And these were from 2002! Discuss.

How Michael Jackson Would Have Looked Without All That Surgery

Michael Jackson used to downplay the amount of surgery he had--I think he copped to one nose tweaking and perhaps an occasional eyebrow tweaze--but we know better. The guy had even more surgery than Kathy Griffin and Faye Dunaway combined. But what if he'd gone au naturel? What if he'd never touched ... More >>

Say Something Nice About Michael Jackson

We know that Michael Jackson was a brilliant musical artist, but as a person, he often seemed conflicted and a tad self-loathing. Still, now that's he's gone, it's not polite to remind people of stuff like that, so let's go out of our way to find only positive things to say about the man and his eye ... More >>

Letters: July 8, 2009

This Week's Voice: The Apollo's Salute to Michael Jackson, Maxwell, Sasha Baron Cohen's Bruno, Memoirs by Lydia Lunch and Reverend Jen, Bard's 'Consider the Lobster,' and More

Tina ChouIn this week's Village Voice Music Section, Rob Harvilla reports back live from the somewhat Michael Jackson-themed Amateur Night at the Apollo: "It is extraordinarily difficult to impersonate, mimic, or pay entirely reverent homage to Michael Jackson without coming across like you're makin ... More >>

Michael Jackson Memorial Fails to Destroy the Internet

Despite the best efforts of hundreds of simultaneous live blogs, streams on an incredible array of different platforms and websites, and John Mayer's unforgivable jazz face, the internet survived yesterday's midday Michael Jackson memorial with barely a stutter. MSN reported that 50% more people w ... More >>

Chinese Drug Addict Performs Touching Baby-Out-Window Tribute to Michael Jackson

The shock waves from Michael Jackson's death continue to be felt around the world. A man in Sichuan Province, China dangled his two-year-old daughter out the window of his apartment in a touching tribute to the King of Pop's similar stunt with infant Prince Michael II, aka Blanket, in 2002. The New ... More >>

Jackson Memorial Scheduled for 1PM EST

Michael Jackson's bonkers Staples Center memorial is scheduled for 10AM PST, and is set to feature a random assortment of basketball players, reality TV show contestants, and John Mayer. This Rolling Stone item cites TMZ and contains the allegation that "Michael Jackson's casket will take center sta ... More >>

Rep Peter King Continues Anti-Michael Jackson Rant Into Monday, Observes Reverent, Respectful Day of Silence Tuesday

Angry GOP Congressman Peter King is not backing down from his remarks, posted on YouTube over the weekend, alleging that the deceased pop star Michael Jackson was a "pervert" and a "low life" who "did some dancing" in between molesting kids. CBS 2 HD gave King an opportunity to fan his own flames, ... More >>

Dems Use Pete King's Michael Jackson Dis to Fundraise Against Him

While it's sad that everything is politics in our sick era, at least sometimes it's the kind of sad you can laugh at. This morning we mentioned the now-viral Pete King video in which the GOP Congressman blasts the media for lavishing attention on the dead "pervert" Michael Jackson. Now Huffington Po ... More >>

Michael Jackson and John Dillinger: The Amazing Parallels

We see people are still talking about Michael Jackson. Also, partly because of some unfortunate comments Jackson made to Lisa Marie Presley, they're comparing him to Elvis -- in gross ways, in tale-of-the-tape ways, in conspiracy theory ways, in Neverland/Graceland ways, etc. Even Christianity Toda ... More >>

About that Cover Photo...

Our cover this week has been provoking some strong reactions -- many have expressed how much it means to them to see Michael Jackson so vibrant and on top of the world in a shot that was taken in New York City more than 30 years ago.Jackson was 18 when the shot was taken in September 1976 on a balco ... More >>

Homeless Shelter Auctions Off Original Michael Jackson "Thriller" Film

Can we get one more Michael Jackson story in before the holiday? You bet! A homeless shelter in Paterson, New Jersey claims to have the 35mm original of Michael Jackson's Thriller video, and seeks a buyer. Eva's Village Healthcare for the Homeless says former CBS Records president Walter Yetnikoff ... More >>

News Roundup: Brooklyn Bowl, Michael Jackson, Woodsist Captured Tracks Festival

--The Brooklyn Bowl is almost open. Curated by former Wetlands owner Peter Shaprio, the 600-capacity Williamsburg space triples as a bowling ally/music club/Blue Ribbon Restaurant. It includes eight massive high-def screens (tickets for a Sept. 24 Lebowski-fest are on sale now). The ally's opening n ... More >>

Michael Jackson: The Man in Our Mirror

Black America's eulogies for the King of Pop also let us resurrect his best self

This Week in the Voice

Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson. Harlem, the world. Greg Tate. Michael Jackson. Bed-Stuy. Jean Grae. Michael Jackson. Gary, Indiana. Jessica Hopper. The Village Voice Michael Jackson Archives. We all know about the Albany Coup and how bad it makes everyone look. But who really benefited ... More >>

This Week's Voice: Michael Jackson, 1958-2009

In this week's Village Voice, we remember Michael Jackson: Greg Tate on the man and his legacy, rapper Jean Grae on what Jackson meant to musicians everywhere, and Jessica Hopper, reporting live from Gary, Indiana the night Jackson died. Elsewhere, Rob Harvilla describes the daffy sci-fi audacity ... More >>

Michael Jackson's Accuser All Grown Up

Back when little Jordan Chandler was in the middle of those torrid allegations against Wacko Jacko, you'd have to have been SICK to think "He's super hot." But look at Jordie now that he's all grown up and quite woof-y. It's enough to warrant a loud chorus of "Pretty Young Thing"!

News Roundup: Michael Jackson, Beastie Boys, Drake, Pixies

--As you might have predicted, Michael Jackson is experiencing a posthumous sales surge. Three albums--Number Ones, The Essential Michael Jackson, and Thriller--each sold around 100,000 copies last week. The King of Pop left behind plenty more opportunities for cash flow, including a high-tech 3-D v ... More >>

City Council Honors Michael Jackson, White People Walk Out

Today the city council held a moment of silence for Michael Jackson and councilmembers Inez Dickens and Helen Diane Foster gave the King of Pop a nice tribute, but just as things got underway several members walked out. Staten Island's James Oddo confirmed to Azi Paybarah that he walked out in resp ... More >>

Rightbloggers Mourn Michael Jackson's Death -- As Good News for Obama, Ahmadinejad

It was no surprise to most of us when the death of Michael Jackson on Thursday took over the news, both mainstream and citizen varieties, and even the internet. Americans are suckers for celebrities, and the unexpected demise of one of the world's most famous entertainers was bound to obsess us. ... More >>

Academic Press Releases of the Day: Michael Jackson, Friends, Male Vibrator Use

From the University of Wisconsin-Madison: "Experts: Big Tobacco Dead by 2047, Possibly Sooner." But if you're a smoker, they'll certainly outlive you. The University of Rochester: "Rock, Pop Historian Assesses Michael Jackson's Greatness." Sample: "The single glove, his patented moonwalk step, that ... More >>

Monday Michael Jackson News Roundup

The weekend saw a host of news reports that make us all wonder how we didn't see Michael Jackson's death coming. But no matter how many tales of the King of Pop's fragility there are, we still can't believe he's gone. It's impossible to sort through all the speculation, but here are the depressing f ... More >>

From the Voice Archives: Chuck Eddy Reviews Michael Jackson's Dangerous in '91

In honor of Michael Jackson, we're raiding our archives. Here's Chuck Eddy on Michael Jackson's 1991 hated-on-mostly-but-still-plenty-epic Dangerous. Sound of Breaking Glass By Chuck Eddy December 17, 1981 Hey, so how come nobody's compared the fucker to There's a Riot Goin' On? Well, maybe Rio ... More >>

From the Voice Archives: Guy Trebay on Michael Jackson in 1987

In honor of Michael Jackson, we're raiding our archives. Here's Guy Trebay on the inscrutable and surgically air-brushed creature Jackson had become in 1987. It ran alongside a Greg Tate piece on the same subject. The Boy Can't Help It Guy Trebay September 22, 1987 There's no longer any question t ... More >>

From the Voice Archives: Simon Frith on Wacko Jacko in London, Circa 1988

In honor of Michael Jackson, we're raiding our archives. Here's Simon Frith's London dispatch--it ran in Frith's regular 'Brit Beat' column--on the bonkers media spectacle that broke out when Jackson came to town in 1988. Wack Attack By Simon Frith August 16, 1988 "Pandemonium broke out in Soho, ... More >>

Coup in Review: Dems, GOP Do Quickie, Dems Honor Dead Celebs, Parker Apologizes

Michael Jackson madness met Albany madness today as the Republicans-plus-Espada and the Democrats enacted their now customary ritual of holding separate sessions: the Democrats had a moment of silence for Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, while the GOP-plus-E, perhaps worried about political fallout, just ... More >>

From the Voice Archives: Stanley Crouch on the Cross-Cultural Continuity of Michael Jackson in 1987

In honor of Michael Jackson, we're raiding our archives. Here's Stanley Crouch, writing in response to twin hit pieces on Jackson (by Greg Tate and Guy Trebay) published in the Voice two months prior. Man in the Mirror By Stanley Crouch November 17, 1987 Because Afro-Americans have presented chal ... More >>

From the Voice Archives: Vince Aletti Reviews Michael Jackson's Thriller in 1982

In honor of Michael Jackson, we're raiding our archives. Here's Vince Aletti on Jackson's Thriller in 1982. E.T as Mr. Entertainment 'Michael Jackson: intense fame, dreams of flying, and a paranoid undertow' By Vince Aletti Dec. 14, 1982 Michael Jackson, who has been "touring, singing, dancing" ... More >>

From the Voice Archives: Greg Tate on Michael Jackson in 1987

In honor of Michael Jackson, we're raiding our archives. Here's Greg Tate on what's wrong with Michael Jackson in 1987. It ran side by side with a piece on the same topic by Guy Trebay. I'm White! By Greg Tate September 22, 1987 There are other ways to read Michael Jackson's blanched skin and di ... More >>

From the Voice Archives: Elvis Mitchell Reviews Michael Jackson's Moonwalker

In honor of Michael Jackson, we're raiding our archives. Below, Elvis Mitchell's review of Jackson's straight-to-DVD Moonwalker, published in May of 1989. Psycho Shopper By Elvis Mitchell May 23, 1989 I recently had a truly astonishing viewing experience, catching "Moonwalker," the Michael Jackso ... More >>

A Chat with Michael Jackson's Attorney, and a Beyond-Devastating Missive from Lisa Marie

At this point we're drowning in both Michael Jackson eulogies and carefully curated roundups of Michael Jackson eulogies, and while there's plenty of that to go around -- here are excellent dispatches from Voice sister papers in St. Louis and Nashville, just for starters -- the best stuff I've r ... More >>

From the Voice Archives: Scott Poulson-Bryant Reviews the Michael Jackson/Michael Jordon Collision That is "Jam"

In honor of Michael Jackson, we're raiding our archives. Below, Scott Poulson-Bryant's review of the Michael Jackson/Michael Jordan convergence that was the video for "Jam," first published in August, 1992. Be Like Mike By Scott Poulson-Bryant August 4, 1992 You've been ruminating on Black Beaut ... More >>

More Michael Jackson Reactions

In death, Michael Jackson gets Baba Booeyed. Jeremiah's Vanishing New York eases on down the road of The Wiz: "As is well known, Michael Jackson was most happy in his fantasy lands -- and the New York of The Wiz is pure fantasy. The city that inspired it is gone. Michael Jackson is gone. Roger E ... More >>

5 Things That Were Cool About Michael Jackson

Image (cc) brenheitt bakst. See also the tribute by our own Rob Harvilla and Robert Sietsema's pictures of the MJ Tribute in Union Square. 5. He liked children. We admit that when a politician is -- as Jackson was -- frequently accused and never convicted, we are less inclined to generosity. But ... More >>

Michael Jackson, 1958-2009

Michael Jackson is dead, and I'm taken aback by how incredibly unpleasant a feeling it is, far beyond the usual celebrity-grieving response: This is devastating in an unexpected and overwhelmingly surreal way. I'm also tremendously/overly conscious that at this exact moment thousands of writers/blog ... More >>

RIP, Michael Jackson

Let's put all jokes aside for a moment---all sardonic reminiscences of the Jesus juice, the child-dangling, the courtroom appearance in pajamas. Let's brush away any remembrances of his bizarre insistence on being called the King of Pop long after his career had been way overshadowed by his persona ... More >>

So What's Wrong With Michael Jackson? (Update: TMZ Says He's Dead) (Update: Washington Post Confirms: Michael Jackson is Dead)

We hear paramedics were summoned, and he wasn't breathing when they got to his house. Cardiac arrest. 99 out of 100 celebrity watchers are thinking "drugs." But you know both Michael Jackson and you are older than you used to be, right? We doubt MJ's the type to watch his cholesterol. We know ever ... More >>

Michael Jackson Announces "Curtain Call" Shows, Looks Weird

Michael Jackson announced today that he would give this July his last public performances -- whether his last in London, or anywhere, it was hard to tell from his brief, garbled remarks ("This is it... This is the final curtain call"). This is a brave decision because Jackson was recently seen bei ... More >>

Michael Jackson Seriously Ill?

Ho-Ho-Ho's Up: Santacon New York

Mister Lonely: Harmony Korine's Moody Neverland

A former enfant terrible, now singular and sincere