The short and truthful answer is no, BU Now didn’t interview the world famous entertainer and culture-maker before his untimely death Thursday, June 25 from apparent heart failure on a bright, summer California afternoon.

So now, maybe the more important question is would BU Now have interviewed Mr. Jackson given the chance? And to that question we most emphatically answer yes we would!

How then, should BU Now handle this story? Absent the interview, what contribution can we make for our readers? Perhaps our best effort is to collect for our readers some of the major stories being written about his career and death, and then to present some of his most famous video contributions.

‘Link journalism’ is what the business calls it, and it’s the ability to deliver in real time multiple stories in multiple formats. It’s online journalism at its best…it’s what BU Now is all about.

So what are the major media saying about Michael Jackson on the day after his death?

The world’s most popular online news site CNN reports he was “both lauded and ridiculed,” that he was the ultimate crossover, and that he broke the color barrier before Oprah and Tiger. For CNN’s current coverage click on this CNN link.

USA Today’s coverage provides links to multiple digital-presentation formats from a single page. These links include an interactive graphic, slideshows, video clips and related stories. Click this USA Today link to enjoy its stories.

The New York Times presents a reflection on the pop icon’s cultural contributions. Its 4-plus-minute video retrospective offers snippets of some major moments in the singer’s life. The Times also links to outside sites to add depth and context to its coverage. Click this New York Times link to view the video and stories.

Personally, I like the Washington Post’s story best. While the Post’s coverage is not as popular as CNN’s coverage, nor as broad as the USA Today coverage, I am drawn to the authors’ reflective comments on the singer’s controversies and the timely quotes of his contemporaries. But, judge for yourself, and compare the coverage by clicking on this Washington Post link.

Certainly only the media can provide real time coverage of an event this significant. But how would Michael Jackson himself want to be remembered? What would be his ‘take-away?’

BU Now thinks his artistic contributions best summarize his life and energy. That only through his work can we really know him as an artist. And so, with the help of YouTube we present some of Jackson’s most memorable artistic moments.

Let’s start with his 1982 Thriller video. This 13-plus-minute video directed by John Landis set the bar for all music videos after the release of the most popular music album of all time. Relax and enjoy this ground breaking video. While the video’s embed code has been disabled (the code that presents the actual YouTube screen) you can enjoy the video by clicking on this Thriller Music Video link.

Following the release of Thriller, Jackson cemented his position as the all-time entertainer with his sequin-gloved Billy Jean moonwalk at the 1983 Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Forever television special. Enjoy the fedora-topped icon, and try to keep up with his machine-gun speed dance steps.

Some critics claim that Jackson’s 1993 Superbowl half-time is still unsurpassed in its glitz and energy. You be the judge.

Some claim Jackson’s 1995 MTV Awards song-retrospective is evidence of his ever increasing problems. They claim his financial troubles, his child molestation trial, his alleged health concerns and trailing popularity all drove the performance’s frenetic energy. I don’t know about this. Does he really seem all that anxious to you?

Whatever your think about Michael Jackson…a never-to-be-equalled entertainer, or an angst-driven, reclusive freak…his life’s contributions will be remembered and celebrated by many for years to come. Certainly, the one-time innocence of this boy from Gary, Indianna has touched us all in some way.

His energy, vision and willingness to test the boundaries certainly can inspire us, too, to think great thoughts and take great actions.

Thank you, Michael, may you be remembered as someone who, however flawed, helped heal the world.

BU Now gratefully acknowledges Google, YouTube, and the other information and image sites for use of and links to their content. It will credit these sites as requested. Simply contact BU Now. Thank you.

Photo courtesy of The Sun

In 2008 they followed up this success with the release of their full length album Partie Traumatic.  The 10 track album continued to showcase the groups dance rock element, with anthemic choruses and word play that would make a Brooklyn battle rapper envious.  On the track “Hurricane Jane” the band laments having a lonely Friday night after being rejected by the hard partying dance machine known as Jane.  The title track “Partie Traumatic” implores us to not be so passive, and that this band, “live like champs, though we’re unemployed.  We get it automatic.”

The album was well received in the U.S., peaking at number 127 on the Billboard Hot Charts.  In the UK , however the album was a smash hit, reaching all the way to number 2 on the UK Album Charts. This prompted the group to appear on the late night talk show circuit, with appearances on “The Late Show with David Letterman”, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” When the year rounded out the accolades still hadn’t stopped. The New York Times placed the album at number 4 on it’s “Best Albums of 2008″ list, “SPIN” magazine placed the album at number 22 on it’s list of the top 40 albums of the year.  The albums first single “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You” hit number 11 on the UK Singles charts.

As of 2009 the group has been on a U.S. tour alongside husband/wife indie pop group “Mates of State” and will be playing at the Trocadero club in Philadelphia on April 3 at 8:00 PM.

That’s right. They are together again. Mark Hoppus, Tom Delounge, and Travis Barker have decided to leave all their animosity behind and bring back Blink-182. It was the news that many loyal fans have been starving to hear for four years: “Blink-182 is back!” These words from bassist and singer, Hoppus, at the 2009 Grammy Awards, were like music to the ears of fans who thought they would never see the day their beloved Blink-182 would be reunited. The trio stood on stage together and proceeded to announce the nominations for “Best Rock Album,” together as a band.

On the very same day as the Grammy Awards, a message appeared on Blink-182’s official web site announcing the end of the bands three-year hiatus. Fans logged onto their computers to see the words with their very own eyes: “We want you to hear it from us. To put it simply, we’re back. Picking off where we left off and then some… Thanks and get ready.” Fans were ecstatic with the news of the band’s return after their devastating breakup.

Even though the band was gone for four years, the members were still active and making music. Delounge went on to make the band Angels and Airwaves while Hoppus and Barker partnered up to make +44. Blink-182 fans followed these bands but they could not compare to the original Blink. In fact, these follow up bands only made fans miss Blink-182 and hope for an eventual reunion. Fortunately loyal fans who grew up listening to Blink and continued to listen to them on their iPod throughout their absence, got what they’ve been waiting for.

“I vividly remember listening to Blink back in grade school,” reminisces 21-year-old Andrew Hill of Bloomsburg University. “I just never got tired of them.”

Their major hits such as “What’s My Age Again?,” “Rock Show,” and “Feeling This” are songs that made the band popular in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. The teenagers that grew up listening to Blink-182 back in high school are older now, many still in college. The generation that grew up listening to Blink-182 really admired the band’s immaturity and hilarious stunts like the unforgettable “What’s My Age Again?” music video where the trio ran around in public naked.

“Blink-182 was unique,” says die-hard fan, Alissa Jayne from Rutgers University. “They were funny and about not being serious and being big kids that never grew up. I was really disappointed when they broke up.”

There are several factors that caused the band to announce their official hiatus in 2005. The band members were starting families, which was hard to balance while being in a band and individual side projects. Some of those side projects, like forming other bands, caused disputes amongst the trio. The band played their last show on December 16, 2004, and canceled their 2005 tour prior to announcing their separation. Unable to stand the tension within the band, Delounge announced that he was quitting on February 22, 2005, and Blink-182 was no more, leaving their fans disappointed, knowing they lost an influential band.

So what’s next for Blink-182? The band is currently in the studio recording a new album and already posed together for a photo shoot. Blink hopes to have their new album completed by summer 2009 and plan a tour to follow. Blink-182, back together and on tour will surely sell out box offices and concert venues all over the country, but fans are eager to know who will accompany the band. Rumors have been swirling that Blink will possibly share the stage with big-name bands such as Green Day and No Doubt, both of which have new music coming out this year as well. Blink paired with any one of these bands will make one of the most anticipated shows of the year. All anxious fans have to do is wait for the new music that Blink-182 has to offer and get ready to purchase their new album and concert tickets this summer.

They will listen to the story over and over again. They will beg us to tell it just one last time. And we will, because we will understand the importance of passing these memories down to our ancestors.

On January 20th 2009, America changed. We changed. Everything changed forever. We knew there was no going back.

Because on that day, this happened.

All other events of this day will pale in comparison to the discovery of this video. The credit for the find could go to the Fearsome Foursome radio hosts, but I like to believe that fate had a little something to do with this.

“We were looking for a song to play and I found this CD just laying on the table,” says WBUQ host Andrew “Sugarcubes” Wakelee. “We found a track listing for this song and I couldn’t believe it.”

“I like to think an angel left it here for us to find,” admitted Tali “Dr. Lovebuckets” Zangari.

Having the incredible honor to listen to this duet makes me never want to write again, because I know deep in my heart that I could never create anything as beautiful.

Can we now say that we as a human race have come as close to artistic perfection as we ever will?

In my opinion?  Yes we can.

(The Fearsome Foursome can be heard every Tuesday from 10 to midnight on WBUQ 91.1 The Revolution)

A Farewell Rescue’s debut full-length album, “Never Meet Your Heroes,” isn’t exactly hot out of the recording studio, but it’s starting to gain some serious attention, which makes it seem new.  Originally debuted last summer, the band’s label, Snapdragon Records, put it back in stores and gave it a second push in mid-September of this year.

The second time around, drummer of A Farewell Rescue, Jordan Rhoads said, “We haven’t gone out of our way to see if it’s being sold in much larger retailers.” He then spoke of last summer and explained how a friend of the band went to a large retailer to purchase the album, but undeniably left empty handed.

But they mapped out a brilliant plan to get retailers to order in their album in larger metropolitan areas.

They’d take their own CD into a music store while on tour and have the clerk ring it up. As expected, it wasn’t in the store’s inventory. Eventually it would make it there. The store would order a handful, five or six copies, and the band could snatch a few sneaky sales!

Along with Rhoads, the band consists of Joey Heid, vocals; Jeremiah Zellers, lead guitar; Johnny Peifer, guitar and vocals; and Josh Kerstetter, bass. The band itself has been together for more than four years, with, of course, the occasional necessary replacement.

In this area of Central Pennsylvania, A Farewell Rescue never felt at home when seeking venues to book shows. Rhoads briefly described the limited resources for themselves. “The people, the venues, and the overall area is very limited to its accommodations for young up-coming artists.”

That led the band to tour virtually everywhere else they could, except Central PA. It built up a bit of resentment, the resulting emotions of which permeate throughout “Never Meet Your Heroes.”

This past summer alone during their Disas-Tour with A Coastline Ending, the band had 31 shows booked in 30 days between June 20 and July 19. Traveling in a gas-guzzling, 15-passenger Ford E-350 — transportation and occasional lodging all in one — they drove from the East Coast to the Midwest and into the Deep South before coming back north.

“It’s definitely a long haul,” Rhoads said of the Disas-Tour. “The hours begin to wear at you. You just get to the point where you’re like, all I want is to sleep in a bed and not have to eat and share economy size peanut butter for two weeks straight.”
Keeping up on top of their game, they would use wireless Internet at places like Panera Bread to primarily promote and book shows for hours on one of their slow days.

Their time, efforts, hard work, and money (a lot, a lot of money, I know, my bank account shows it) on the road and in the studio hasn’t gone unnoticed. According to their space on the Sonicbids Web site, they were the most downloaded band on purevolume.com in July and October 2007, with their music being featured throughout MTV’s regular set of shows — “Parental Control,” “Next,” and “Laguna Beach.”

Their video for “Pretty, Cut & Dry” has been featured on MTV2 and Fuse On Demand, as well. In addition, they’ve appeared at Bamboozle, Summerfest, AmpFest and Van’s Warped Tour ’07 and ’08.  And I must also give them recognition on their very impressive accomplishment to be reviewed in AMP Magazine.

“Never Meet Your Heroes,” produced by Doug White, was re-released Sept. 16th of this year and the band’s already been working on a follow up, with plans to record in March of 2009.

In the meantime, the band continues to play and promote “Never Meet Your Heroes” and hope it distributes a bit better this second time around. With the support of Snapdragon Records and national distribution by Sony Red Distribution, chances are good that it could happen.

“We had hopes and dreams of success happening, but deep down I didn’t know if it would see the light of day in stores,” Rhoads said of the albums first release. “Now we’re getting pictures from friends and family with the CD on store shelves.”
“It’s a big step for us that someone feels it deserves national release and attention.”

For tour dates, news, videos or any other information, visit A Farewell Rescue on MySpace. Their record is available to purchase at Amazon.com, FYE.com, Bestbuy.com and can be found in retail stores such as Hot Topic, FYE, Best Buy, Virgin Megastores and more.

The picture listed below is from Harrisburg’s Colonial Park Mall in Hot Topic. I was shopping there a few months ago with a bit of wishful thinking in mind, I thought I’d check out their Hot Topic; and as you can see, it was my lucky day, there their album sits front, top, and centered, this probably was one of the most exciting days of my life.

Keith Lynch is no stranger to independence. 

As a one man indie rock/pop band, Lynch recently released his fifth album, “In Direct Communication,” under the moniker Unknown Component.

Hailing from Iowa, Lynch wrote and recorded the entire 10 track album without the help of a band, producer and a high tech recording studio.

Although Lynch lacked most of the financial and creative support most well known artists enjoy in the music business, he has pieced together a fluid, entertaining and thought provoking soundtrack.

Throughout the entire album, Lynch keeps the listener guessing from one track to the next. The tracks vary between slow and soft rock ballads to more upbeat rock/pop tracks. Some showcase beautiful and serene piano work while others introduce catchy upbeat guitar riffs.

Lynch’s vocals are interesting and unexpected. What he lacks with his range he makes up for  with a monotonous and scratchy grunge-esque style that attracts and maintains attention. Lynch’s voice has been compared to a diverse mix of musical legends, such as Kurt Cobain, Bob Dylan and Sting. 

Lyrically, each track is thought out and flawlessly composed. The instruments do not overpower, but lend to the meaning and emotion Lynch demonstrates through each verse. Taking his music to the next level, Lynch undeniably has a talent for fusing together relateable and intelligent prose and melodic instrumentals.

“In Direct Communication” can be summed up as a calm and relaxing collection of music that still packs enough punch to remain interesting.  The album is unique but should not be dismissed for this quality. 

Unknown Component mirrors but does not replicate the ’90s grunge rock scene. Slightly different from any song played on popular radio today, Lynch’s “Unknown Component” project stands proudly by itself, without the support of the multi-million dollar music industry. 

For more information on Keith Lynch, the one man band, and song samples from this Unknown Component album, visit www.unknowncomponent.com.

When considering the modern sound of punk rock, chances are you’d expect the same recycled sound that you’ve heard from countless imitators attempting to fit into a well-worn stereotype.

No bullshit. The Gaslight Anthem is something new.

Hailing from New Brunswick, New Jersey (which has brought you bands like Thursday, Lifetime and Pavement), the boys of TGLA have made music influenced by fellow New Brunswick punk natives, The Bouncing Souls, but more noticeably, New Jersey hero Bruce Springsteen.  Songs on the band’s newest album, “The ’59 Sound,” reference artists like Tom Waits, Joe Strummer, Miles Davis and Tom Petty.

The group formed in 2005 and has since shared the road with Against Me!, The Loved Ones, The Bouncing Souls and others.

“The ’59 Sound” was released in mid-August and has been met with great reviews from magazines the likes of Rolling Stone and Alternative Press and even “The New York Times.”

www.collider.com

The album is filled with stories and imagery read to a refreshingly simple sound. The first track, “Great Expectations” is about divorce, hope and a young man’s struggle between living life and thinking about the past. The album’s title track is about someone young dying in a car accident and singer/guitarist Brian Fallon opens asking, “Well I wonder, which song they’re gonna play when we go. I hope it’s something quiet and minor and peaceful and slow.” He closes the song with, “Young boys, young girls, ain’t supposed to die on a Saturday night.”

Many songs just pour right from the mouth of a young man dealing with the ugliness of the world and not only growing up and dealing with it, but yearning for better days of childhood. He sings in “Miles Davis and the Cool,” “as we go down, down, down from our youth to the ground.”

The tone of the album’s songs varies greatly. “The Patient Ferris Wheel” is bouncy and light-hearted with a quick-paced guitar riff, while “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” is scorching and soulful. It’s easy to tell where Fallon’s influences come from when he croons on this track. “Here’s Looking at You Kid,” an obvious nod to “Casablanca,” touches on past relationships and mysterious stories before some of the weightiest lyrics on the album; “boys will be boys, and girls have those eyes that will cut you to ribbons sometimes, and all you can do is wait by the moon and bleed if it’s what she says you oughta do.”

When the music is heavy on rock ‘n’ roll with a “rebel without a cause”-inspired punk foundation, and you back that with Fallon’s raspy, soulful vocals, you’ve got something unique.

The Gaslight Anthem are currently trekking across the US opening for Thrice, Alkaline Trio and Rise Against now through the end of November.