Musik Indonesia

Michael Jackson turns 50 years old today. Jackson has spent most of those years under heavy scrutiny in one of the more intense public spotlights in music history. Click below for an in-depth gallery of Jackson images, including little or never seen early shots of Michael and his siblings care of the Getty-owned Michael Ochs archive. Plus check out classic Rolling Stone

features on the King of Pop.

• Michael Jackson at 50: A Look Back at the King of Pop’s Three Decade Career

Related Stories:

• Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” Mind: The Making of the King of Pop

• The Invisible Man Returns (From RS 526)

• Michael Jackson: Life in the Magical Kingdom (From RS 389)

The Olympics came to a close this past week, capped off by an energetic performance of

Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” care of
Jimmy Page and
Leona Lewis. The duo’s song was part of the ceremony that passed the Olympic torch to London, who will host the summer games in 2012. The end of the Olympics allowed for another circus to kick off — the Democratic National Convention, which featured appearances from Stevie Wonder and Fergie, among others. Click below for these images, as well as the rest of the week’s news in full color photo form.

• Random Notes: Leona Lewis, Jimmy Page, Michael Jackson and the Week in Rock

Last night, on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, Barack Obama closed the Democratic National Convention with a stirring speech that laid out his plan for the rest of the campaign. Click below for Tim Dickinson’s live blog of last night’s closing ceremony in Denver, as well as the rest of the coverage from the convention including

Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla’s blog and coverage of the surrounding concerts and parties.

• RollingStone.com’s National Affairs Blog: The Barack Obama Speech, The Convention and Beyond

• Death Cab at the DNC

• Kanye West, Rage Against the Machine Energize Denver Crowds

• Tom Morello, Crosby & Nash Steal “E-Town” Show in Denver

• John Legend Debuts New Song at Dem Convention

• Otep Win MySpace Voter Registration Contest

• Sheryl Crow, New Orleans Bluesmen Kick Off Dem Convention

When a recording of

Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In the U.S.A.” blared through the speakers at Invesco Field at Mile High after Sen. Barack Obama’s acceptance speech Thursday night, it was official. Springsteen, rumored all week to close the final night, would not show. Thus did ex-
Doobie Brother Michael McDonald have the last musical word a few hours earlier. Actually, the pre-Obama music was kind of a letdown:
John Legend and
Will.i.am brought YouTube to life with “Yes We Can,” complete with a huge live choir and Obama speaking on a video screen overhead. But all that activity on stage as delegates and spectators were filing in was confusing and the performance fell flat.
Sheryl Crow did three songs with her band, opening with (altered for the occasion) “A Change Will Do Us Good.”
Stevie Wonder did two, beginning with an unreleased obscurity, the hymnlike “Fear Can’t Put Dreams to Sleep,” then emphasizing “good-BYE” in his Motown chestnut “Signed, Sealed, and Delivered,” which might have been dedicated to John McCain and the Republicans. On the floor, near CNN’s podium, the Rev. Al Sharpton told Rolling Stone he first met Wonder at a concert by his friend, James Brown, in the early ’80s. Then he lamented the lack of cutting-edge hip-hop surrounding this Democratic campaign. “I know there was a lot more hip-hop presence in ‘04,” he said. The rev, by the way, has gospel, JB,
Jay-Z and
Mary J. Blige on his iPod.

Related Stories:

• Death Cab at the DNC

• Kanye West, Rage Against the Machine Energize Denver Crowds

• Tom Morello, Crosby & Nash Steal “E-Town” Show in Denver

In the past decade,

Randy Newman has become known less for his excellently cantankerous work from the Seventies and more for his scores for Pixar movies. But with his new album Harps and Angels, the old Newman is back, led by last year’s biting single “A Few Words in Defense of Our Country.” Click below for more on Newman, including the essential album guide, from his self-titled debut to his film scores and his version of Faust.

• Bad Moon Rising: Randy Newman Battles Republicans, Death and a Goddamn Alligator

Related Stories:

• Randy Newman Premieres New Songs For VIP Crowd in Los Angeles

• Fricke’s Picks: Everyone Sings Newman

• Smoking Section: Randy Newman

As you already know, Michael Jackson turns 50 years old today. To celebrate Jacko hitting the half-century mark, this week’s Rock List is dedicated to the King of Pop’s music. Whether it’s a cut from the Jackson Five years, something off Thriller or a tune from the days when MJ was hanging out with Michael Jordan and Macaulay Culkin, tell us your favorite Michael Jackson song and on Tuesday, we’ll reveal the winners for Rock List: The King of Pop. Before you pop in your worn VHS copy of Moonwalker, check our picks:

“Wanna Be Startin’ Something”
“I’ll Be There”
“Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”
“Smooth Criminal”
“In the Closet”

If it felt familiar when

Brooks & Dunn’s “Only In America” played after Barack Obama’s acceptance speech last night, there was good reason: President George W. Bush used the same song four years ago when he was rallying against Democratic candidate John Kerry. Brooks & Dunn were big supporters of Bush, even playing W’s inauguration party back in 2001. So how does Kix Brooks feel about Obama’s use of the track? He wasn’t angry at Obama for using the song, a la Jackson Browne with John McCain. Instead Brooks said, “Seems ironic that the same song Bush used at the Republican Convention last election would be used by Obama and the Democrats now. Very flattering to know our song crossed parties and potentially inspires all Americans.”

Related Stories:

• Jackson Browne Sues John McCain Over Campaign Commercial

• Stevie Wonder, Will.i.am, Sheryl Crow Close Out DNC Festivities

• The Democratic Convention: Total Coverage of Kanye, Death Cab, Rage and Obama

Next Thursday,

Dave Grohl and
Taylor Hawkins will host a radio program marking the world premiere of another band’s album, as the Foo duo will help
Metallica debut Death Magnetic on radio stations across the country. According to a post on the Metallica’s website, “On Thursday, September 4, we’re going to hang out, play tracks from Death Magnetic and chat with Dave and Taylor.” The hour-long program will be broadcast live from Metallica’s HQ to radio stations across the country, as well as stream on both the Metallica and Mission: Metallica websites. Details about which stations will carry the program should be announced soon. For fans, the prospect of hearing some Death Magnetic on the radio a week before its release definitely beats murky song streams and 10 second snippets.

Related Stories:

• Metallica’s New Single “The Day That Never Comes”: First Review

• Metallica To Play Pair of Cheap Death Magnetic Shows in Europe

• Metallica Announce U.S. Tour Dates, Completion of Death Magnetic

• More Metallica at Rock Daily

Pagelaran musik dua grup band papan atas, Gigi dan Ungu Rabu (27/8) malam benar-benar menakjubkan.

Dengan menghadirkan lagu-lagu religi dari kedua grup band itu, konser yang bertajuk "Pintu Surgamu" tersebut terbilang sangat dahsyat.

Gigi tampil ciamik dengan lagu-lagunya, memasuki lagu keempat mereka membawakan lagu milik Ungu berjudul "Andai kutahu". Saat dibawakan Gigi, lagu tersebut terlihat lebih ngerock.

Seusai konser, pentolan Gigi Armand Maulana mengatakan, kalau dirinya sempat salah saat membawakan lagu itu. "Iya, saya lupa sedikit lirik tadi diatas panggung. Gigi juga minta maaf, karena lagu Ungu dirusak, "ucapnya seusai manggung,di lapangan D Senayan, Jakarta.

Lebih lanjut suami dari Dewi Gita itu mengatakan, kalau dirinya dan Gigi merasa puas dengan konser itu."Sebuah kolaborasi dan konser yang mantap, padahal latihannya nggak lama. Insyaallah akan ada konser serupa lagi,"tambah Armand.

Senada dengan Armand, vokalis Ungu Pasha juga menyatakan hal tersebut. "Konser Pintu Surga Mu sangat dahsyat, mudah-mudahan bisa duet bareng lagi,"kata Pasha.

Konser tersebut diadakan untuk merayakan ulang tahun pertama radio GenFM. Selain Ungu dan Gigi, konser tersebut juga didukung penampilan Tohpati dan paduan suara dari sekolah musik Purwacaraka.

Hingga saat ini, grup band yang akhir Februari 2007 silam pernah menggelar konser di Jakarta ini telah menyelesaikan beberapa lagu. Demi bagusnya album tersebut, grup band yang beranggotakan Matthew Bellamy, Chris dan Dominic rela berlibur untuk menulis lirik lagu.

"Sudah ada beberapa materi lagu baru, dan kita akan jeda beberapa minggu. Kemudian, 2 minggu berikutnya kami kembali ke Italia untuk menulis lagi," tutur sang drummer, Dominic Howard.

Dominic menambahkan, kalau Muse akan selalu menghadirkan warna musik yang selalu berubah.

"Kami sudah memilih beberapa track, terdengar berbeda dan akan hebat. jadi kami akan terus bekerja demi masa depan," tambah Dominic.

Menurut Indra, sang bassis, membuat album religi adalah sebuah pekerjaan yang tak mudah. Karena dalam membuat album religi diperlukan kesiapan hati dan mental, supaya bisa menciptakan sebuah karya apik yang menceritakan tantang hubungan manusia dan Tuhan. The Titans memang ingin menciptakan sebuah album religi. Namun mereka masih harus melakukan banyak persiapan, agar karya mereka tampak beda dari album-album religi dari band-band yang lain.

The Titans juga menyatakan, bahwa beberapa waktu lalu mereka berencana me-release single religi untuk bulan puasa tahun ini. Namun karena terlalu padatnya jadwal tur, single yang rencana diberi judul sisi gelap ini ditunda. Mereka berharap di bulan Ramadhan tahun 2009, The Titans akan siap dengan album religinya.