This is a scene from the 74th and Roosevelt Avenue subway station in Jackson Heights, the stop where I get on an off every day. It was taken this afternoon and it has been the same scene every afternoon this week:
They are watching ancient Michael Jackson videos being broadcast by a record store in the station.
Enough already. Read a book, hug somebody, get a life, do something productive.
By the way, I'm glad to see this article by the brilliant Kelefa Sanneh. If you were alive in the 1970's you knew Soul Makossa. Say whatever you want about Michael Jackson in this instance he was hardly an original. The fact that Manu Dibango had to pursue MJ to protect his rights as MJ used his material without crediting him (Rihanna apparently may have done the same) is inexcusable. We all know what the word to describe someone who uses someone else's property is. Manu Dibango is a classy guy.
Can we also get rid of the "sampling" euphemism, please? If someone else created something and you used it without crediting it, you're copying, or to be more accurate, plagiarizing.
This story received endless coverage here in Aotearoa which goes to show that the obsession with mindless celebrity news is not limited to the U.S. I think we should be thankful that MJ's family decided against preserving his remains ala Lenin and creating a similar tomb for him at Neverland.
Posted by: David D | July 09, 2009 at 01:27 AM
In case "Char" was wondering where her comments are, they were deleted and she has been banned.
You are welcome to disagree with me and debate me, but if you come into my house and insult me as you did, you will be booted out.
Posted by: Randy Paul | July 22, 2009 at 09:25 PM