7.29.2009

the many moods of larrydigital, pt. 17

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So here you go, my half-ass tribute to the music of Michael Jackson.

I know what you're asking, "Why half-ass, Larry?"

Well, I'll tell you. I started kicking around the idea of an all Michael Jackson podcast last month after he died but I myself was a little tired of seeing all "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" everywhere so I thought, well, Michael's career didn't exactly start with the Thriller album so what if I focused on his earlier solo work? So I mentioned to my wife that I planned on doing a Michael Jackson tribute without playing anything from Thriller.

Whaaaat?, she asked. You can't have a tribute without playing "Beat It," what kind of tribute is that?

A half-ass one, obviously. Hence, the subtitle.

I had a really good time putting this together. I guess I was getting a little tired of the Michael idolatry myself so for me, listening to his older work was a good reminder that he was an artist. The fact that he became such a spectacle in his later life really overshadowed that. Recently I was reading an interview with Smokey Robinson in Vanity Fair magazine (yeah, I read Vanity Fair, ¿y que?) and he said that Michael was the one of the most complete artists Motown ever produced, he just got lost somewhere along the way. Which is quite a bold statement when you think of some of the luminaries Motown had on their roster, and the influence those artists had in their day.

As you might expect, this episode is a little different. Both in content and tone. Generally, I try to shy away from multiple appearances from the same artist in one podcast but I believed that losing an artist of Michael's magnitude deserved something special.

Check it out, let me know what you think.

Episode 17: Just An Average Man Tracklist

1. larry's intro
2. "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" by Michael Jackson (1979)
3. "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" by The Jacksons (1978)
4. "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell (1984)
5. larry's interlude #1
6. "Dancing Machine (Original LP Version)" by The Jackson 5 (1973)
7. "I Want You Back (Z-Trip Remix)" by The Jackson 5 (2005)
8. "I Wanna Be Where You Are" by Michael Jackson (1972)
9. larry's interlude #2
10. "Get It Together (4Hero Remix)" by The Jackson 5 (2001)
11. "Blame It On the Boogie" by The Jacksons (1978)
12. larry's interlude #3
13. "What Goes Around Comes Around" by Michael Jackson (1972)
14. "We're Almost There" by Michael Jackson (1975)
15. larry's interlude #4
16. "Girlfriend" by Michael Jackson (1979)
17. "Everybody" by The Jacksons (1980)
18. larry's interlude #5/outro
19. "You Rock My World" by Michael Jackson (2001)

This month's theme song is "Hum Along and Dance (United Future Organiztion Mix)" by The Jackson 5.