Angry Web

Michael Jackson’s This Is It

Sony has released the trailer for “This is It”, a film documenting Michael Jackson’s final moments leading up to his concert tour. The documentary will be released worldwide on October 28th for a limited 2-week engagement. Tickets go on sale September 27th.

Here’s the press release:

Kenny Ortega directed the film, which is produced with the full support of The Estate of Michael Jackson. Ortega, director of and Jackson’s creative partner on the THIS IS IT concert, said, “This film is Michael’s gift to his fans. As we began assembling the footage for the motion picture we realized we captured something extraordinary, unique and very special. It’s a very private, exclusive look into a creative genius’s world. For the first time ever, fans will see Michael as they have never seen him before – this great artist at work. It is raw, emotional, moving and powerful footage that captures his interactions with the THIS IS IT collaborators that he had personally assembled for this once in a lifetime project. This film shows a consummate performer working with and guiding singers, dancers, band members, choreographers, special effects creators and countless other creative members of the team as we all assemble this historic concert. I can think of many words to describe Michael as he rehearses for and creates THIS IS IT– inspirational, dynamic, generous, dedicated, loving and the guiding force—you see him as the true architect and driving force of this project – a true master of his craft, the Entertainer of Entertainers. I’m proud of the many years of friendship and creative association I shared with Michael and I’m happy that people will get a chance to see his spirit and drive in action. THIS IS IT may go down as the greatest concert that no one got a chance to see, but with this film, we get a rare portrait of Michael as he prepares for his final curtain call and what I believe was going to be his master work.”

Michael Jackson THIS IS IT will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place beginning this summer in London’s O2 Arena. Chronicling the months from April through June, 2009, the film is drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, and genius as he creates and perfects his final show.

“I have never been partners with a more creative, innovative or groundbreaking entertainer than Michael Jackson,” said Randy Phillips, President & CEO, AEG LIVE and producer of Michael Jackson THIS IS IT. “While the concerts would have been the greatest shows in the history of music, our film will provide a historic event for Michael’s fans to see for themselves the genius that he was and the creativity, talent and imagination that the entire cast devoted to create the ‘greatest concert that never happened’.”

Trent Reznor reacted strongly on the Nine Inch Nails forum when news broke that Apple had rejected an iPhone application that was submitted for the group. The following is Trent’s outburst:

“Now, “The Downward Spiral” the album is not available anywhere in the iPhone app. The song “The Downward Spiral” I believe is in a podcast that can be streamed to the app.

Thanks Apple for the clear description of the problem – as in, what do you want us to change to get past your stupid fucking standards?

And while we’re at it, I’ll voice the same issue I had with Wal-Mart years ago, which is a matter of consistency and hypocrisy. Wal-Mart went on a rampage years ago insisting all music they carry be censored of all profanity and “clean” versions be made for them to carry. Bands (including Nirvana) tripped over themselves editing out words, changing album art, etc to meet Wal-Mart’s standards of decency – because Wal-Mart sells a lot of records. NIN refused, and you’ll notice a pretty empty NIN section at any Wal-Mart. My reasoning was this: I can understand if you want the moral posturing of not having any “indecent” material for sale – but you could literally turn around 180 degrees from where the NIN record would be and purchase the film “Scarface” completely uncensored, or buy a copy of Grand Theft Auto where you can be rewarded for beating up prostitutes. How does that make sense? You can buy The Downward Fucking Spiral on iTunes, but you can’t allow an iPhone app that may have a song with a bad word somewhere in it. (…) Come on Apple, think your policies through and for fuck’s sake get your app approval scenario together.”

Does Trent have a point? What do you think?

For fans of Nine Inch Nails, the wait for the official iPhone application is over. I’ve had a chance to play with this app and, for what it is, it’s a great way to not only get up to date information on all the latest happenings and tour info, but is a great way to connect with other fans.

The home page will allow you to log in with your nin.com username and password and pick up the tour schedule and any current news. Once you have done that, below you will have an option to explore features like media, a mobile forum and even a Twitter-esque messaging feature that will allow you to connect to fans that are in your area. The media section has playlists that will stream music, play video and even provide you with downloadable iPhone wallpapers.

This application is a nice hybrid of artist information and social networking. It is a must have for NIN fans and, like Trent’s latest albums, can be downloaded free of charge.

Tapulous has released the NIN edition of their popular iPhone/iPod Touch rhythm game, TapTap Revenge. The game includes 13 NIN tracks from The Slip and Ghosts I-IV, multi-player mode, and NIN-themed graphics. To get the game on your iPhone or iPod Touch, visit the iTunes store.

Additionally, Tapulous is giving away floor tickets for every NIN show between 11/8 and 12/12 – and one winner will get a Les Paul guitar signed by Trent. To enter, just submit a score of over 150,000 points on any track in the game. Each submission counts as one contest entry, so you can submit as many times as you like.

It is the night after the MTV Video Music Awards and all I have to say is “what the fuck was that about?” Throughout the night we were reminded that this was a special occasion since it was the 25th anniversary of the MTV VMAs. Well MTV sure did pull out all the stops on that show!

During the pre-show, the carpet was surround by preteen girls who obviously have watched more than enough of “The Hills”. Standing there and cheering with their banshee high pitch voices while one hit wonder rap artists and skanky looking R&B singers get there pictures taken by cell phone cameras. To top that off, MTV was kind enough to provide a helicopter for an aerial shot of celebrities arriving in their vehicles…thanks.

Once the show started, we were immediately hit with MTV’s first attempt at making Britney Spears a celebrity again. The pop sweetheart, who can’t sing a lick and has mothered 2 kids, came on for a quick intro and then left the stage only to leave us with what had to be the worst host in VMA history, and that’s not saying much.

Our beloved host came all the way from the U.K. wearing pants that looked like they had to be cut off and had hair like he took a bath with a blow dryer. After making the case that we may not have any idea who he is but he could act like a jerk off because he has some sort of following overseas, he started to bash U.S. politics and pursued the viewing public that England wants us to vote for Obama (which may account for McCain’s 10 point lead in the polls today).

Put all of this shit into a room that is 1/4 the size of what the VMAs provided in the past and you have the most lackluster and disappointing 25 year anniversary that anyone has produced. MTV has quite the history and last night proved that the network has become nothing but a bunch of scripted “reality” shows aimed at homosexuals and teenie bop girls.

I would write more about the events that took place last night but to be honest, I turned the TV off because the loss of brains cells was making me woozie. Thanks MTV.

The new NIN album was released today and Trent Reznor has already taken the liberty of making it available for free. The new album is entitled “The Slip” and can be downloaded in nearly all formats including FLAC and Apple Lossless for the audiophiles. Unlike, “Ghosts I-IV”, this new album is not instrumental and is lyrically driven. I want to give you a more detailed review but all I can say about it is it’s Nine Inch Nails. If you are already a fan of their music then this will be a nice addition to their discography. The album comes completely tagged and includes the artwork as well as a PDF booklet. Reznor made it available free of charge as a “thank you” to his fans and you can download it free and legally HERE. Keep supporting free music and the artists like NIN and Radiohead that are willing to make it available.

The new Weezer single, “Pork and Beans”, has recently hit the radio stations and it’s surprisingly good. First heard on KROQ, a rock music station based in Los Angeles, it has spread over the internet like a wildfire. I never jumped off the Weezer ship like many did when their style slightly altered from their early music (Mainly the “Blue Album” and “Pinkerton”) and I have to say the new single reflects some catchy alternative music that is similar to what we heard on the early records.

Instead of me getting all critical on this track why don’t you check out the new single for yourself and judge. You can listen to it HERE. Leave us a comment and let us know how you like it! The album, which has been dubbed “The Red Album”, is set to release on June 17.