It's extremely difficult to write about him right now; with everyone sharing perspectives it feels like there is so much content to be processed reflecting on his life, his music and his psychology, it's very difficult to think of anything to say. Michael's peak came around the time I was born; the emanating shock waves continued to reverberate when I first became aware of popular music. And of course, the generation raised on Michael became pale reflections of his persona, style and music; Ne-Yo, Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, Usher. All incredible artists at various times, all a generation of Jackson acolytes. But his significance feels so unquantifiable and massive. Even DJ Paul's (pretty great) album from earlier this year had a track reflecting on his influence, "Wanta Be Like You":

I remember watchin TV in 1983 when michael jackson first did the moon walk
the next day all over the world man that there was the big talk
seein him and quincy jones rackin up awards
so many #1s songs on billboard
it had me sayin man i wanna be like mike
they made me wanna sit my lil ass down and write
i wanted to make hits

Many folks are making a lot of bad jokes about this, but I don't really feel like irreverence is the appropriate tone here. Even those who want to damn him for his crimes seem too self-satisfied in their judgment to consider the tragic, underlying sadness that permeates his entire life and career, as well as those he knew and may have harmed. Personally, Off the Wall has always been my favorite Jackson-related record; this feels increasingly like a cop-out, the MJ for people not ready to grapple with the complicated person he really was. But watching the performance of Billie Jean at the Motown Anniversary show from '83, you begin to realize how powerfully who he was became a part of his music -- not just lyrically, but the creeping paranoia and darkness of it all. The desperation. Earlier this year, Tom Ewing wrote a great piece on the track, which discusses exactly that.

Here are some pieces that are really worth reading:

-- Chuck Eddy remembers Michael Jackson
-- Tom Ewing's reflection on MJ, "After Pop"
-- Linda Holmes for NPR
-- Vibe's Danyel Smith
-- Roger Ebert, typically thoughtful
-- Sasha Frere-Jones with the New Yorker
-- flickr of the vigil outside MJ's childhood home in Gary

And Oliver Wang has a list of links to other writers discussing Michael, including this amazing piece from Hua Hsu.

I'm wary of talking too much about this, because the kind of hype that can build around a non-Western artist from Western music critics with no understanding of the music's context usually result in some very bad writing. I do not have the perspective to say how different this is or how it stands apart from the traditions it is a part of, or whether it is a particularly exceptional example of those traditions. Nor do I have any idea what dude is singing about. But all these caveats aside, Omar Souleyman's music & presentation strike me as pretty notable:

Also really digging "La Sidounak Sayyada" off of Dabke 2020: Folk & Pop Sounds of Syria, which reminds me of the "Applause" rhythm, best known in the states as the beat for Sean Paul's "Temperature."

More details here and here, where you can also pay to download two compilations of his work.

UPDATE: Just realized the folks over at Disco Horror posted about this recently as well. Check their site for instructions on dancing dabke style.

So my review of DJ Quik & Kurupt's new record was published in Pitchfork today. It got an 8.2, so at least Mos Def didn't release the BEST RAP ALBUM OF 2009 any more, ha.

The album really is pretty great. I think I got my point across pretty clearly in the piece, but what really makes it work is Quik's function as a DJ; he sets expectations for how the record will sound, then upends those expectations at every opportunity -- yet somehow the album maintains a really cohesive overall picture. One writer I enjoy reading once referred to Puffy's "curatorial flair" when making records; Puffy is like the DJ who never quite learned how to beatmatch, but knows how to construct a record. Quik is like that, but learned how to beatmatch, produce & rap all at once. It's a rare talent, I think, to be such a multi-dimensional artist, jack of all trades & master of them too.

If you're not really familiar with Quik's career (& you NEED to be) I recommend checking out Matthew Africa's Best of DJ Quik mix which u can download for free.

Here's one of my favorite Quik tracks, 2nd II None's "Up N Da Club." Further evidence of Quik's multi-threat skills as an artist, how great of a summertime jam chorus is this??