Who’s the Joke?

Thank you, Public Enemy, for fighting the power, and thank you, Washington Post, for this awesomely awesome correction.

Chasing Green Grass

When it comes to love, life and career, all of us are (hopefully) pursuing our individual ideas of perfection. To strive is to thrive, but how often when we’re not daydreaming about the future do we reminisce about and long for “the good old days” ― you know, when things were seemingly simpler and more familiar?

How easy it is to get distracted by both the future and the past. The present gets relegated to middle child status and is unfairly neglected. How does one achieve balance and appreciation for what is while preparing for the future and learning from (and potentially yearning for) the past?

I <3 Dancing Mascots

This makes me smile. Now that I know fast-food mascots can dance, they should do it more often.

In (Self-)Defense of Public Transit

This week, I was blessed enough to view not one, but two videos about the joys of public transportation. Pick a city and enjoy.

San Francisco

New York

NEW: Los Angeles

Dear Twitter …

Dear Twitter,

I have fallen out of love with you. I’m sorry for being so blunt, but this has been a long time coming.

Now please don’t think I haven’t enjoyed our good times. You are one of the fastest ways to alert friends and colleagues of the über-important things going on in my life or that I’m thinking about at any given moment. You know, things like my joy about Kim Zolciak’s pseudo-video for “Tardy for the Party,” my all-caps “shouts” about Tevin Campbell appearing on the BET Awards and my intellectual back-and-forths about whether Megan Fox could play the role of Pizzazz in a Jem and the Holograms movie. You’ve kept me company at work and during depressing moments, such as the death of Michael Jackson, as well as helped me promote personal projects and organizations. There’s a certain allure to you, but alas, not one I can commit to and maintain with any sort of regularity.

You see, you have others who love you more ― but theirs is a love that is one-way, obsessive and abusive. They use you as the medium to channel their lives, which are so interesting that they must Tweet the mundane, such as “Driving to work” or “At lunch with @whocares at @trendyrestaurant. Thinking of having a @Sprite.” They express their opinions, seemingly with little regard to who may read/hear them and how the may feel, full of #fails, sucks or other snarky addendums. They re-Tweet quotes and meeting minutes ― ad nauseam ― which, as inspirational and/or informational as they may be, build a brick wall that seems to keep out the single Tweets of others.

And no one ever add me on #followfriday (except for @vettieroe … holla!).

Twitter, these people have caused you to become a distraction, the online equivalent to noise. Like The O’Reilly Factor, Al Sharpton and any Pitbull song, you say so much without truly saying anything.

I wish I could say that “it’s me, not you,” but it is you. I hope you can escape this abusive relationship. You deserve better, but ultimately, it’s you who has become empowered in order to emancipate yourself (or just malfunction, then we will have to Tweet like this).

Best to you. And if anyone reading this chooses to follow me, I won’t fight it.

J.Ly

Random Stuff

Tonight, I just felt like listening to Johnny Gill and spilling some thoughts. I’m going with the title above since this is not an organized entry about anything in particular. Away I go …

Since most of my dating life has been relegated to online avenues, my turn-ons now include: honest profile information; correct grammar, spelling and punctuation; face pictures; three-or-more-word responses; exchanges that don’t ask my racial background; and no-pressure invitations to meet.

If I were a betting man, I would wager that most of my social outings in New York have been with my friends who have visited. Planning activities with local buddies seems to be a rare circumstance. See, apparently saying, “Let’s meet up at 5 p.m. on Saturday at the Cozy Soup ‘n’ Burger” is some sort of social faux pas. Yet, spontaneity usually results in, “Oh, I’m working” or “I already have other plans” or unanswered phone calls or texts. Where’s the balance or is it just me? As a result, I’ve signed up for one Meetup.com group and will probably find a few others. I could use some new blood in my nonexistent social circle.

Maybe I could invite the kid (man? boy?) from the restaurant I went to last night. At one point, when the DJ put it on, he proceeded to perform the entire routine to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).” I’m talking about with an arch in his back, a bounce in his step and a smile on his face. Bey would be so flattered.

I wonder if I come across as fake when I switch up how I talk. We all know it’s important to tailor your speech for your audience. I might have an easier time doing this because of my racial background, level of education and the places I’ve lived. I caught myself doing the switcheroo at a networking event a few weeks back. Reflecting on it later, I wondered what I would really sound like if I just talked freely.

200-Mine (2009, natch) is slowly moving along. For the most part, I feel in control of my life, but I am taking steps to become home happy  and work happy in 2010. Guess I’ll have to theme next year 20-Again.

Goodbye, Reading Rainbow

PBS is canceling Reading Rainbow. A piece of my childhood just died.

Why Michael Jackson Matters and Will Be Missed By That’s My Jam

A borrowed blog post from my music site, That’s My Jam.

Michael Jackson is dead. Those are words that still evoke confusion and an intense disbelief, even though it has been nearly two months since he passed. It’s our hope that writing about it will finally provide some clarity and acceptance ― as well as an eloquent reflection on the importance of the King of Pop ― for That’s My Jam’s readers.

It’s one of those days that will forever be etched in our memories. It started with a simple text from a good friend that Michael had had a heart attack. Within minutes, we were on TMZ.com, of all sites, which had only moments before been the first agency to declare that the singer had died. It was difficult to concentrate over the next few hours as we followed Twitter and watched TV for more confirmation. Hours later, it came pouring in from news outlets such as CNN, the Los Angeles Times and ABC News.

Powerful Web sites such as Google and Twitter experienced problems because of the amount of traffic coming from people looking for information on what had happened and what was to come.

When communication online failed, we found ourselves calling loved ones in disbelief of the news we had received. It was somehow comforting to speak with others who were equally distraught, even though this was not a person that most of us had ever met or even seen in person. In this moment, just like many others, Michael Jackson brought us together. Friends, families, communities … all reflecting on memories that he had given us. Jackson has famously spoken of how he didn’t have the type of childhood that many of us take for granted, but in him we had our growing-up experiences enhanced with his fashion-forward threads, innovative sounds and eye-catching visuals.

He’s also a major “entry point,” if you will, to the music we celebrate here at That’s My Jam. In 1979, the infamous “Death to Disco Night” encouraged hundreds, possibly thousands of Chicago White Sox fans to storm the field and destroy disco records. Many of the genre’s performers were black, gay, female or any combination of the three, though the stampeding audience barely reflected these demographics. With the event giving “permission,” several DJs and radio stations across the United States joined in the backlash and pulled disco and R&B from their playlists. Disco/dance was nearly indistinguishable from R&B, specifically funk, as evidenced by the Billboard charts at the time, and many a good record weren’t considered for airplay in the near future based on this connection. (It should be noted that Billboard has also had various charts for “black” music, some dating as recent as 1990 and always compiled of R&B in whatever its current incarnation happened to be.)

This led to many more rock acts dominating the charts. When MTV launched nearly two years later on August 1, 1981, it took on the format that top 40 stations across the country were playing: guitar-infused album rock, most often performed by white men. This was especially palatable given that the network’s early audience was in rural areas, where cable was necessary to get local channels (and also the impetus for the “I Want My MTV” campaign, as the channel naturally wanted to be in more homes).

Though MTV’s roster wasn’t exclusively white men, the black artists who did get airtime, such as Tina Turner and Eddy Grant, produced music that fit into the album-oriented rock structure that the network had styled. Black artists who didn’t conform to it simply didn’t get played.

In the time between MTV’s debut and 1983, Rick James’ 1981 album Street Songs saw neither of the videos for the popular “Give It to Me Baby” or “Super Freak” played on the channel. James vocalized his anger and accused the network of “blatant racism.” This led David Bowie to question VJ Mark Goodman during an interview about why the network didn’t play black artists, which left the VJ ― who clearly wasn’t in programming department ― speechless. Nightline even had a segment about the subject and BET provided an outlet for black artists by introducing the long-running program, Video Soul. (To this day, some former MTV representatives claim that there weren’t any quality, or the quantity of, black videos in existence at the time to air, though Video Soul seemed to have no problem filling that daypart.)

All of this set the stage for Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” Along with its high-production qualities and rumors ― which still persist today ― that some record labels threatened to pull their music videos from MTV if it didn’t show black artists, the video entered rotation and became a massive hit. As was “Beat It,” which followed and, finally, the title track from the Thriller album. Jackson’s belief in video as an art form raised the bar for the genre, but also sparked an interest in other black artists (Prince and Billy Ocean were soon added to MTV’s rotation). This style of music, growing in popularity, also found a home back on the radio in the rhythmic top 40 category, a format that embraced the likes of Madonna, Shannon, the aforementioned artists and, of course, Michael Jackson.

This paved the way for freestyle, hip-hop and new jack swing movements, and the resurgence of R&B that took place in the mid ’80s to early ’90s, which in turn evolved music (for better or worse) into the current landscape, in which black artists are much more prevalent on video outlets. Perhaps it wasn’t Jackson who put the video for “Billie Jean” into the VCR for broadcast, but someone had to provide the spark to ignite the recognition and revolution of video-era-to-present black music and rhythmic styles, and we’ve yet to see anyone else make quite this impact that his sales numbers made on the industry.

This format is the seed that branched off into the dance, pop and R&B we focus on at That’s My Jam, and his was the music that influenced so many of the musicians and performers that create it today. He made us demand more from their music; he made us demand more from their videos; and he made us demand more from their performances.

So many artists wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for Michael Jackson because his international superstardom and all-around good music pushed through barriers to inspire young people to hone their talent to try and compete on his level. While few will be able to duplicate what he’s done, many have carved their own niche and are quick to acknowledge him as one of their key influences.

The scars on his career ― thanks to a colorful lifestyle and an eager press ― will likely taint his legacy for some time, but those are situations of which we are not privy to certain information, or at this point have the power to change or judge. The scars may fade one day, and historians, fans and critics will only remember and respect his music. We know that we are saddened by his loss because we will no longer hear new material from him, nor get another chance to see him do what he did best. But we at That’s My Jam grieve most for his friends, family and especially his children, for though we lost someone who gave so much to us in the form of music and memories, they have lost a friend, a brother, a son and a father.

Our prayers and well wishes go out to those friends and family, and we hope for a swift handling of the estate and other affairs that were left behind or have arisen since his death. We also say thank you for sharing Michael with us, because his music touched each of us individually. And to Michael, we say thank you for speaking to each of us with your music, for inspiring us with your dancing and for encouraging us to demand more of ourselves. May you rest in peace.

Metaphorically Speaking

Curiosity has killed its fair share of cats, but curiosity sometimes reveals that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Now that I’ve reached my quota for clichés, I can say that what seemed to be a complete package ended up being excess baggage, complete with a personal item and a carry-on.

One more cliché. Is “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” relevant to the concept of being friends with your former lovers?

That’s My Jam R&B Chart – June 2009

Click song titles to see videos or hear audio. Click here to view this chart’s video playlist.

1. Jeremih – “Birthday Sex” (2)
2. Keri Hilson featuring Kanye West & Ne-Yo – “Knock You Down” (3)
3. Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain – “Blame It” (1)
4. Pleasure P – “Boyfriend #2” (5)
5. Maxwell – “Pretty Wings” (-)
6. Beyoncé – “Halo” (4)
7. Trey Songz – “I Need a Girl” (-)
8. K’Jon – “On the Ocean” (-)
9. Beyoncé – “Ego” (-)
10. Musiq Soulchild – “sobeautiful” (-)

*Charts are based on a predetermined set of listings that rank songs by airplay, streams, sales, requests and/or audience reaction. Information for this chart was accessed on Friday, June 12, 2009. Click here for more information on That’s My Jam’s Charts.