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[hani-at-cu]

Kid A, Radiohead (REVIEW)

Kid A’s sound can be described as the breaking down of Radiohead’s traditional, guitar-heavy rock based style of their older music, and builds an alien-like world through an exploratory style; the album’s aesthetic is formed completely from scratch. Kid A also challenges the normalised conventions of 2000s pop, by experimenting with previously unheard sounds. This album’s intention was to interrupt their writer’s block, and recognition can surely be given for their emotionally driven synthetic instrumentation.

Listener’s love for this album becomes widely apparent when listening with full attention. Texturally, the multilayered and poly-melodic synths, as well as Yorke’s compelling vocals, pull at the heart strings; yet, drags you through the depths of odd time signatures. This is a very welcomed shift in modern sound and despite being described as avant-garde electronica, it’s better to eliminate labels and address this album as a concept, resistant to thorough interpretation. Many may find being able to use their intellect in the 2000s as refreshing, especially when mental health conversations in the early 2000s were commonly snuffed-out.

Kid A redefines what music should be to listeners of all ages, including those who have grown up listening to older music, and can impact the flowing of dadaism through modern music. Radiohead’s method to allow the natural flow of spontaneity; frustratingly this album is for those seeking an enlightenment from their music or a creative output, with this album’s prominent feature of negative space.

As musicians come out of the era of writing songs with intention and straightforwardness, the expectation for music following this album has risen to an insanley higher standard. The expectation is to bring meaning without a plan. Though music is frustratingly coordinated, it is uncommon to find musicians who are confident enough and willing to decompose their style and build something as whimsical and unorchestrated as Radiohead’s Kid A.

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Anita Wardells Tribute to Betty Carter for the EGF London Jazz Festival 2022 (PRESS RELEASE)

Our winner of two BBC Jazz awards and a British Jazz Award has made a comeback from teaching in Adelaide to put the audience at the 606 club in awe with her stunning celebration of one of the most influential jazz musicians, Betty Carter. Anita Wardell’s performance featured classics from Carter’s repertoire as a tribute and expression of the gambling nature of Carter’s renowned style that fully welcomed vocalese and improvisation to a striking degree.

For the EGF London Jazz Festival 2022, Anita Wardell’s ambition to showcase ‘…how spontaneous and ‘in the moment’ she was…’, willfully embraces Carter’s dangerously dramatic dynamic shifts and exciting emotional improvisation, skillfully and elegantly the night of her performance. The audience were left astonished; majority being vocalists, watching in amazement of the Wardell’s freedom opening in front of them. Her confidence in her ability gave The Arts Desk a place to say, ‘she has the skills and the jazz chops to do it'. The display of agility and precision mix with emotional intent by Wardell gave the 606 club an intensely intimate experience.

Costarring with Wardell were her returning collaborators pianist Robin Aspland, bassist Jeremy Brown and drummer Steve Brown, taking part of in improvising in the lively scene as fellow musicians alike. Wardell’s scat singing (vocalising without the use of lyrics) was welcomed by the band and gave ground to the performance and a drive of commitment and entertainment that Carter had dedicated her own performances to. Betty Carter being involved the works of Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, her experimental style paved the way for artists like Wardell. Sebastian Scotney accounts that for those who impose a dislike to this style of singing she has talent that can change anyone’s mind easily with her modern sound and interpretations.

Wardell, born in the UK but raised in Australia attended Adelaide University and continued her musical studies at Guildhall School of Music in London. The Evening Standard deemed her ‘the most creative jazz singer in London’ with her currents albums and appearances in a documentary on Ella Fitzgerald for Ovation Television. Her appearance at the 606 club was welcomed, being happy to have her back in the scene after spending four years working at Adelaide University once more as a teacher. The expectation of her comeback leads to many to hope that she is here to stay once again.

In future, the jazz scene are hoping to catch Anita Wardell opening an act with her newest album Stars, an album with Dave McEvoy and features another tribute to late British jazz vocalist, Tina May.

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Michael Jackson: A Life in Ten Pictures (ESSAY)

Michael Jackson’s rise to becoming the world’s most recognisable pop idol began at the humble age of eight, when Jackson was set to be the lead vocalist of a familial band of brothers known as the Jackson 5. This band compromised of the five brothers after being musically coached by their father Joe Jackson and became a popular band amongst locals performing at children’s shows and Roosevelt High School, to later to be recognised for their accomplishments with awards and their first press. Most of their revenue came about performing within nightclubs. They begin to ease into the profession as the scale of their performances grew, and they were finally recognised to audition for Berry Gordy for their signage into Motown Records. (LLC, 2023)

Michael Jackson’s first solo release is often described as his way of identifying himself as a professional male vocalist; “Got To Be There”, it’s release in 1972 gave an opportunity for Jackson to separate himself from his five brothers as a musician (Intosh, 2022). There was a sense of intentional musical direction from Jackson with the overseeing and nourishment of his mother and father. The track list had confident covers like Bill Withers’ ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ and Carole King’s ‘You Got a Friend in Me’ as well are originals inspired by Diana Ross. His song ‘Maria (You Are the Only One)’ is on the topic of an old man seeking for his past lover, embellishing some of Jackson’s sadness and showing his maturity for his music to come. (Intosh, 2022)

'Off the Wall’ subsequently is often referred to as Jackson’s first solo album despite being his fifth studio release, as he signed to Epic Records in 1975, becoming his first rendition of his song writing and collaboration with his chosen producer being Quincy Jones. Jackson had expressed a distaste for the Vegas style shows and costumes while working within Jackson 5, Motown records and under his father unwavering discipline, ‘Off the Wall’ is recognised to be the liberation of Michael Jackson. (Dombal, 2016) With this album he expressed to the world that his goal was exceptionalism, ‘I will be magic. I will be a perfectionist.’ (Dombal, 2016) This album captured his desire to defy expectations in a natural and posed manner.

Upon its release in 1982, ‘Thriller’ is the album that formed Jackson’s position as an icon in the global world. It remains as the most successful album of all time, selling over one hundred million certified copies worldwide. (Ewing, 2008) Continuing his collaboration with Quincy Jones, they collectively produced an album that broke through even racial tensions. Jackson had created an album that could be enjoyed by all and carefully formulated the choreography and visuals with his album to be equally as significant. Due to its pleasing nature, ‘Thriller’ as an album has many troughs and ploughs with a lack of overall climax. (Ewing, 2008)

Another one of Jackson’s most iconic moments in history is his popularisation of the moonwalk, a dance originated from breakdancing and hip-hop techniques known as ‘popping and locking’ from the late 70s. (Childs, 2021) Jackson’s meticulous nature ensured that his performance was one to remember and last the decades to follow, in which it continued to inspire other young artists. The origins of the dance itself had variations found in prior decades, for example 50s tap dancing and 30s being called ‘the buzz’ or the ‘backslide’. There have also been instances of these variations being performed by other musicians such as James Brown. (Childs, 2021) It’s been thought that Jackson was taught these variations, where Jackson later formed his own rendition of the moonwalk alongside the pop-and-lock style.

Jackson received many awards in his career; his largest achievement where he became the first artist to win eight GRAMMY Awards in one year (GRAMMYs, 2017). Jackson was also awarded by President Ronald Reagan for the philanthropic efforts to dispel drunk driving across the United States, by campaigning with one of his highest-ranking songs, ‘Beat it’ towards the teenagers of America. This event sparked attention of President Reagan: ‘Jackson was at the height of his popularity, and the Reagan administration was engaged in its War on Drugs.’ (Ahner, 2022) The public and the administration assumption of the substance free lifestyle Jackson proposed would continue to become more questionable into the late 80s (Ahner, 2022).

In 1991, Jackson released one of his most controversial songs, “Black or White”. The song was features on Jackson’s eight studio album ‘Dangerous’ and quickly topped the charts over 20 countries (Valencia, 2023). The song addresses important issues surrounding race and racial identity, promotes unity, and encourages embracing our shared humanity. The song’s innovative music video featured ground-breaking visual effects and an all-star cast, and became an instant classic, which helped to establish Jackson as a true pioneer in the world of music (Valencia, 2023). Despite its release being more than thirty years ago, the song’s message of unity and acceptance still holds relevance – making it one of the most important pop songs of all time.

In 1993, Jackson’s agreed to appear on his most televised and controversial interview yet with show-host Oprah, in which he shared his reflection of his childhood trauma from being introduced into the industry so early on (Winfrey, 2009). The stark honesty and candid nature of the interview lead the conversation to the rumours around the whitening of his skin, in which he debunked any claims of skin bleaching with the medical condition vitiligo and covered any blotches with makeup. People have refuted his claim without any evidence from Jackson himself (Davis, 2014). ‘…He had absolutely no pigmentation in his skin – you are looking at his veins...’ a testimony from Oprah in her own reflection of her interview with Jackson (Winfrey, 2009).

Thirteen years ago, ‘Jackson sparked outrage when he appeared to dangle his baby son ‘Blanket’ over his hotel balcony in front of photographers in 2002…’ (Pocklington, 2015) At the time of the incident, his son was only nine months old. Jackson later apologised for the occurrence: ‘I offer no excuses for what happened. I got caught up in the excitement of the moment.’ In his interview with Oprah a few years prior, he had claimed his lack of childhood impact his outward work in amusement parks and few believe this incident came because of his previous trauma. (Winfrey, 2009)

In the afternoon of June 25th, 2009, Michael Jackson had died of apparent cardiac arrest in Los Angeles at the age of 50 (Grad, 2019). The Los Angeles County coroner’s office completes an autopsy on Jackson’s body and found the anaesthetic propofol and sedatives in Jackson’s system, creating a lethal mix. Jackson’s dead is ruled a homicide. Despite the worst kinds of allegations against him, his extravagances and his perceived narcissism (Grad, 2019) – the world still respected Michael Jackson for the music he made for more than four decades.

Bibliography

Ahner, L. (2022, June 17). Presidents and Celebrities: Ronald Reagan and Michael Jackson. Retrieved from Presidential Geeks Journal: https://potus-geeks.livejournal.com/1452721.html

Childs, J. (2021, September 23). The First Time Michael Jackson Moonwalked On Stage, The World Lost Its Mind. Retrieved from Ranker: https://www.ranker.com/list/the-first-time-michael-jackson-did-the-moonwalk/jesse-childs

Davis, L. (2014, June 25). VIDEO: Michael Jackson & Oprah Interview Outtakes (1993). Retrieved from SampleFace: https://sampleface.co.uk/michael-jackson-oprah-interview-outtakes-1993/

Dombal, R. (2016, February 24). Off the Wall. Retrieved from Pitchfork: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21548-off-the-wall/

Ewing, T. (2008, February 15). Thriller: 25th Anniversary Edition. Retrieved from Pitchfork: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11163-thriller-25th-anniversary-edition/

Grad, S. (2019, June 25). Michael Jackson's Final Day: A sleepless night, dangerous drugs and a death that shook the world. Retrieved from Los Angeles Times: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-michael-jackson-death-anniversary-20190625-story.html

GRAMMYs, T. (2017, May 15). Remembering Michael Jackson's Record-Setting Music Career. Retrieved from GRAMMY Awards: https://www.grammy.com/news/michael-jackson-a-record-setter

Intosh, D. (2022, January 22). Michael Jackson’s Debut Solo Album ‘Got To Be There’ Turns 50 | Anniversary Retrospective. Retrieved from Albumism: https://albumism.com/features/tribute-celebrating-50-years-of-michael-jackson-debut-solo-album-got-to-be-there

LLC, J. E. (2023, January 1). History 60-60 of The Jacksons. Retrieved from thejacksons.com: https://www.thejacksons.com/history/the-jacksons-5-60-68/

Pocklington, R. (2015, June 10). Michael Jackson's son Blanket all grown up: See famous baby the singer dangled over balcony now. Retrieved from The Mirror : https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/michael-jacksons-son-blanket-grown-5859090

Valencia, M. (2023, October 12). The Meaning Behind The Song: Black Or White by Michael Jackson. Retrieved from OldTimeMusic: https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-black-or-white-by-michael-jackson/

Winfrey, O. (2009, September 16). The Michael Jackson Interview: Oprah Reflects . Retrieved from Oprah.com: https://www.oprah.com/entertainment/oprah-reflects-on-her-interview-with-michael-jackson/all