http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/extendedplay/
Grammys don't need Michael Jackson
There is one question that will dominate the pre-Grammy discussion over the next week-and-a- half:
Will Michael Jackson appear on the telecast, or won't he?
Two days after the Feb. 10 awards,
Sony's Legacy Recordings will release the 25th anniversary of "Thriller."
You can bet the mystery surrounding *****'s rumored appearance will drum up more hype for the release (witness this posting), which will certainly boost CBS ratings thanks to those curious to see what state Jackson is in. That's why I'm not expecting a firm answer anytime soon.
But here's hoping he's not in the Staples Center next weekend. For one, if he is, every other artist and performance will be overshadowed by talk of what Jackson will/or won't do, and what he will look like. And besides, the Grammys should honor the past year in music, not help sell a re-issue for Sony.
But more important, Jackson has already received a better tribute than the Grammys can provide. It came by way of Chicago rapper
Rhymefest, who, along with Grammy-nominated producer
Mark Ronson (
Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse), has crafted a Jackson "dedication album," which takes inspiration from Jackson's work to create compelling new songs. I first learned about the project, dubbed "Man in the Mirror," via the blog of the
Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot, and I haven't been able to stop listening since I downloaded it on Friday.
And speaking of downloading, one should head to the official Web site of
Ronson's Allido Recordings (a label affiliated with Sony) or
Rhymefest's MySpace page to download the project now. It's free, and these kind of unlicensed remixes have a tendency to disappear suddenly.
But Rhmyefest is able to do what major label marketing firms have failed at doing, and that's trim Jackson of the tabloid drama and bring the focus back to his music. Rhymefest sets out right away to humanize Jackson, and bring him down to earth, portraying him as a simple man from Gary, Ind., one who still has the power to unite a desperate community (see "Mike the Mentor"). He also inter-splices the album with brief, but always humorous, "conversations" with Jackson, in which Rhymefest's inserts himself into dialogue from Jackson interviews.
It's a tribute to a hero, but also a call to action. The 25th anniversary of "Thriller" comes bloated with extra tracks and remixes from
will.i.am.,
Kanye West,
Akon and
Fergie, a disjointed smattering of superstars rather than a cohesive collection (as Rhymefest
writes on his MySpace page, "As a fan, I expected a bit more"). By contrast, Rhymefest and Ronson have created a seamless offering, in which the rapper and the King of Pop play give-and-take with Jackson's songs of yore.
"Can't Make It" opens with a sample of "You Can't Win," and swipes and spices funk sounds over bombastic beats, mixing hip-hop dreams with a working-class reality. Rhymefest re-imagines "Dancing Machine" as a sparse club tune, and Rhymefest dramatically dances around a young Jackson covering "Ain't No Sunshine," re-crafting it as a song about tortured aspirations.
Rhymefest has more fun with Jackson's "Break of Down," turning it into the sly and soulful "Breakadown," in which he wonders what Jackson's share of the Beatles catalog is worth. "Don't Let Your Baby Catch You" becomes the playful "Foolin' Around," and the title track brings it to a show-stopping close, with Rhymefest asking what he's done to lose the trust of his own mother.
After listening to "Man in the Mirror," it's clear there's only one Jackson Grammy pairing worth hearing: Jackson & Rhymefest, a duo that would probably make CBS suits cringe.
