Is Michael Jackson really dead?

The news of Jacko's death is truly sad. He was a musical genius and a true legend, as such he will be greatly missed. He leaves behind some genuinely great music and a legacy as one of the most amazing performers that ever lived. He has earned his place in the history books and deserves to be remembered for the awesome talent that he was.

That said, and with all respect to Jackson and his loved ones, i'm not entirely sure i believe he is really dead. Call me a conspiracy theorist but it all seems a bit suspicious. I've thought for a while that if anyone was going to fake their own death, Jacko would be the ideal candidate. Like a lot of people i was doubtful that he'd be able to pull off 50 nights at the O2, and i suspect he knew it himself. If he really was as ill as we have been led to believe he could surely never have thought that he could perform anywhere near the standard he used to in his heyday. I've personally been very skeptical about whether he'd even play one night for several months now.

The public persona of Michael Jackson aka Jacko aka The King of Pop was very much a character, none of us truly knew what he was really like. We only ever saw him as either the singer/dancer or the media figure. Did he really sleep in that glass tank? Was his best friend really a monkey? The Wacko Jacko image certainly added to his mystery and intrigue throughout the 80s and early 90s. It didn't do his career any harm at the time either. Of course as Wacko Jacko transformed into the troubled artist searching for his lost youth, it all started to go wrong. People will forever question whether or not the allegations about his involvement with kids were true. No-one really knows but everyone has an opinion on it. Whatever, Jackson has consistently remained a superstar and has never been out of the spotlight for long.

But what about the real man, what do we actually know about him? Very little, it seems. In my opinion, Jackson has always been a shrewd man, he wouldn't have been as successful as he was if he didn't know what he was doing. He's made some very smart business moves in his time, the sort that just don't fit with the Jacko we've seen in the media.

Faking his own death could be hugely profitable, it seems that there are going to be some considerable problems with refunds. I don't know the figures but i'm sure that a significant proportion of those 750,000 tickets have been traded through or by resellers and touts effectively voiding their warranty. Regardless, it appears that these refunds are the responsibility of the promoters and their insurance companies, not Jackson who no doubt received a large advance. Every radio station is playing his music which will earn his estate a vast sum in broadcast and publishing royalties. No doubt we will see a wave of best of albums, tributes and collectors box sets over the next few years, maybe even a Hollywood movie of his life. I wouldn't be surprised if the Michael Jackson estate re-acquires Neverland and turns it into a Jacko shrine which will inevitably attract thousands of paying visitors every day. It could be one of the greatest scams ever pulled.

He certainly went out well. Rather than fading as a broken man or fallen icon before ultimately passing away isolated and alone, Jackson's last days will be remembered as a genuine a-list star. The sort of superstar who can sell out 750,000 tickets for a residency in London. The star who pushed himself beyond his own limits because he wanted to put on the best show he could. He may not have actually performed but its easy now to remember what a great talent he really was, to remember him for his exceptional music. And that is exactly how we should, because it's the one thing we really do know about him.

If Michael Jackson, the man, is still alive then Jacko, the superstar is dead. We'll never hear from him again, he'll never record any more music, never appear infront of an audience again. If he is still alive maybe he really does just want to be left alone now, to grow old in peace. The only way he could ever achieve that would be to convince the world that he's dead. And surely, he deserves that right. Maybe its not a scam after all, maybe its Jacko's last word, his final exit, the only way he knew he could go out with any dignity.

A lot of people feel very sad today, and those grieving for the loss of their hero should grieve, this is the only way and the only time we can say goodbye to someone who has given so much pleasure to so many people, someone who has inspired and influenced many generations.

Regardless of anything i have suggested, this is the end of an era. My full respects go out to Jackson, his family, friends and fans. My apologies to anyone offended by my timing here, it truly is a sad day. Whether Jackson the man is alive or not, Jacko the superstar, the King of Pop passed away yesterday and he will be truly missed. May he rest in peace.

The legend may be dead but the legacy lives on.

Hey, Whats Been Happening?

I've been keeping a pretty low profile over the last few months, apart from an occasional blog and the odd tweet it probably looks like i've completely disappeared. Put simply i've been busy, you may know that i've been working on a new EP, that in itself has taken longer than i'd hoped but its more or less ready now. The main bulk of my time lately has been taken up with college coursework.

In case you didn't know i've spent the last two years studying music production at Access To Music in Bristol (CMP level 3), and its finally close to finished. For the record i should be on for a distinction. :) The whole course has been truly great, my production skills have improved significantly as has my own source of inspiration and sense of direction, next year i'm going to be taking the ADP level 4 course at Access To Music BANM in London which should be interesting and hopefully equally rewarding. For what its worth though i would highly recommend the CMP course for anyone interesting in making tunes, its government funded which means it costs next to nothing to do which is even better. Visit the website here.

Anyway, the last few months have been pretty hectic with a serious amount of coursework being due, the EP i have been promising has tied in with one particular unit at college, although thats done and dusted i felt like i needed to take a break for a couple of weeks before revisiting it and fixing a few fundamental problems with a couple of the tracks, i've also taken this as an opportunity to improve upon my mastering.

Honestly, i'm really quite pleased with how this new material sounds, its miles ahead from the demo-quality stuff i knocked out on Prelude (i'll talk more about that some other time) and a lot more dancefloor orientated. The beats are heavier and there's no pianos this time. I'm looking forward to getting it out there. I won't be releasing it as a freebie this time though, i wanna get it signed and out to a wider audience, we'll see how that goes.

I have got a free track i'll upload over the next few days though, its a collaboration i did at college with Danny Unkut featuring Ruth Royall on vocals and a few other guest players, its a bit slower than everything else but i hope you like it.

Aside from that, i'm working on a new website. If you've visited the current one, you'll notice that it hasn't changed much over the last 6 months. The new website is wordpress based and will become my main blog (i'll continue using the MySpace blog but i'll probably ditch the blogspot one). Aside from that, i will attempt to finish the Virtual Reality blog series i started and semi-abandoned over the next few weeks. Finally, i've also got a little bootleg project that i'll be unleashing this summer which i hope everyone will like.

Anyway, now i've got a bit more time to chill you will probably hear a lot more from me. The sun's out and summer's here at last, no more complaining about the weather. Take it easy.

The Drug Laws do not Work

(a copy of my reply to the discussion at myspace.com/commentuk)


We all know the drug laws don't work. But the harsh reality is that illegal drugs are big business, the second most profitable industry after weapons. If drugs were legal they would be a lot cheaper, they cost as much as they do simply because they are illegal. Big business rules this world and there are powerful influential "organisations" that make a LOT of money from illegal drugs and i'm not talking about street dealers.

The big businesses running the drugs trade don't want them to be legalised because that would seriously cut their profits. Instead we have a ridiculous system in the UK, and the rest of the world that criminalizes innocent people but is never actually effective in wiping out drugs.

The first step should be to allow cultivation for personal consumption of cannabis in reasonable quantities. There is significant evidence that cannabis use can have positive medicinal use for a wide range of illnesses, both physical and mental. But of course, the big pharmaceutical companies don't want you growing your own medicines because that would ruin their profits.

Ultimately, all drugs should be legal. The current system does not work for the people. While drugs are illegal, drug related crime will continue to be a problem in society as heroin and crack addicts will still be driven to theft, violence and prostitution to fund their habits. All the while, recreational drug users, many of whom contribute much to society through work and art, are forced to continue buying drugs from street dealers and ultimately funding organised crime.

We all know the drug laws don't work, but those laws don't exist for our benefit.