MICHAEL'S PASSING

When I first heard of it, I had a pain in my stomach. The world seems like a different place now. Many things have and will be said about him, but he was a true genius.

I was lucky enough to witness that up close a few times before all the big fame.
I remember driving in a snowstorm to see the Jackson 5 in 1975 when Dancing Machine was the hit. Janet Jackson was a little girl and she and her brother Randy did a Sonny and Cher impersonation. In 1981 I bought tickets at a Crazy Eddie Ticketron for the Off The Wall Tour. My friend Jeff reluctantly went along with me. We sat off to the side of the stage at Madison Square Garden. The Jacksons performed in a straight line. Whenever Michael came to the front and danced, the crowd went crazy. He was like nothing I had ever seen before. He was unbelievable to watch. We left the Garden on a high and spent the rest of the night dancing and singing around the streets of New York City.

I loved him, and truly was a fan. I bought all the records and danced in my room to them. We we're the same age so I felt like we were growing up together.

When the fame came.... I was proud of him. He broke barriers and changed the music world.

When it was announced early this year that he was going to perform again and do 50 shows I was excited and rooted for him. I wanted to see him back on top doing what he did best.

I'm just so sad.....

For the last few months we've had a stray black & white cat living in our backyard. And we grew very attached to him. He was very vocal, and would seem to sing at our back door every morning and every night. We just called him Black & White and would sing Michael's song when we saw him.

Yesterday he went missing.......

 Tony Shanahan



MELTDOWN

Patti Smith played at the Meltdown Festival in London on June 18. Here are a couple of reviews of the evening:

The Telegraph
The Guardian



SOCIALISM, BY JEAN-LUC GODARD




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