The double-edged sword of losing an artist you love(d): It's sad the person dropped dead, but the postmortem press avalanche devoted to the art and life of the freshly dead is a lovely consolation prize. This sword gets quadruple-edged when applied to Michael Jackson, whose artistic highs were unprecedentedly extravagant and whose personal lows were heartbreakingly depraved. So let's get started!

* Over to the left is the cover of the Michael Jackson Commemorative Issue of Time being rushed to newsstands this morning. (As TMZ reports, "The last time the magazine published a special edition in between weekly issues was in the days following 9/11.")

* Meanwhile, The Sun does the dirty work, sharing the shock findings of Jackson's autopsy:

Harrowing leaked autopsy details show the singer was a virtual skeleton—barely eating and with only pills in his stomach at the time he died. His hips, thighs and shoulders were riddled with needle wounds—believed to be the result of injections of narcotic painkillers, given three times a day for years. And a mass of surgery scars were thought to be the legacy of at least 13 cosmetic operations.

* Meanwhile meanwhile, the Daily Mail has Ian Halperin's insider chronicle of Jackson's world.

According to a member of his staff, he was ‘terrified’ at the prospect of the London concerts. ‘He wasn’t eating, he wasn’t sleeping and, when he did sleep, he had nightmares that he was going to be murdered. He was deeply worried that he was going to disappoint his fans. He said he thought he’d die before doing the London concerts. He gave up. His voice and dance moves weren’t there any more. I think maybe he wanted to die rather than embarrass himself on stage.’

Halperin also breaks (heartening) allegations about Jackson's would-be adult homosexuality...

In the course of my investigations, I spoke to two of his gay lovers, one a Hollywood waiter, the other an aspiring actor....When Jackson lived in Las Vegas, one of his closest aides told how he would sneak off to a ‘grungy, rat-infested’ motel—often dressed as a woman to disguise his identity—to meet a male construction worker he had fallen in love with.

...and his final gift to his kids:

‘He has as many as 200 unpublished songs that he is planning to leave behind for his children when he dies. They can’t be touched by the creditors [Jackson reportedly died $400 million in debt], but they could be worth as much as £60million that will ensure his kids a comfortable existence no matter what happens,’ one of his collaborators revealed.

* Meanwhile meanwhile meanwhile, Gawker attends Jackson memorials outside Harlem's Apollo Theater, and finds some great conspiracy theories being born:

Murray has his own little twist on why Jackson was finally killed: he wouldn't tour the U.S. "The CIA did it," Murray explains. "The U.S. was mad at Michael for taking money overseas. They wanted that money."

Allow me to close by highlighting the man doing what he always did best: Selling records. From iTunes:

Since Michael Jackson's passing, the troubling stories are mounting, particularly this long, "insider" screed from the Daily Mail. Drugs, paranoia, debt, anorexia, et al. No way. I'll continue holding out hope that it's all a ruse, meant to cover up MJ's crimefighting truth:

(Life-size BatJacko "figurine" from the famed Sotheby's auction)

Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie): "I was driving in la down La Brea crossing Beverly when I got a text from Nick that read, 'RIP michael jackson.' I was so shocked I momentarily forgot I was driving a car and nearly caused an accident."

Jason Finn (Presidents of the United States of America): "Super boring....I was driving around. But! Interesting side note: I don't keep up with current events as much as I should, so I actually found out about MJ and John Lennon at the same time."

Sean Nelson (writer, singer of Harvey Danger amongst other things): "I heard via text, while driving home from therapy with a copy of The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook on the passenger seat, and Scott Walker's "On Your Own Again" on the stereo—so I guess I was ready. I thought about it a lot, because as with anyone who has been between the ages of 8 and 18 at any point in the past 30 years, Michael Jackson was not just a pop figure but an archetype for pop figures (to understand, embrace, or reject) in my life. Still, news of his death didn't feel sad, or even surreal. Nor was it remotely funny either. His life was such a walking, dancing tragedy and the suffering that enshrouded everything about him was so completely off of any recognizable chart that his recognizable human life—outside the bubble of notoriety or wealth or acclaim or even genius (if genius exists or excuses anything)—seemed to have been over a long time ago. The records, which had become harder to listen to as the shadow of his unimaginably creepy and possibly monstrous real world grew ever longer, are still there. Out of duty and curiosity (and, within about two seconds of the opening bass line of "Wanna Be Startin' Something," reflexive joy), I went home and listened to Thriller, Off the Wall and a Jackson 5 Best Of. I never had Bad or any of his later stuff, but if I had, I'd have listened to them, too. Guess what: His music is still incredible. The perverse interest in his life as a drug-beset, child-obsessed, plastic surgery worst-case scenario will surely be served by the scrolls of revelations that will unfurl in the weeks to come. But that was just his life. Now that it's over, maybe the greatness of his innovative, still-astonishing music won't have to suffer from the insoluble contradiction of its baffling proximity to it."

Spencer Moody (Murder City Devils, Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death) reached at his junk shop the Anne Bonny: "I was sitting at work, at the store. I was looking at the New York Times online, and then it came up that he had lost consciousness and been taken to the hospital. And then I refreshed a few minutes later and he was gone." When asked if he has any Michael Jackson stuff (paintings, etc) in the store: "No. I probably have some stuff he would have liked though."

Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Audioslave) in a statement on his website: "Driving from Poland to Berlin following a show. At 1am I got the news and was immediately saddened. I remembered being six years old and seeing the Jackson 5 on our black and white TV. His brothers were cool but he had a halo around him. Superstar at 12. What promise. He had magic! It was by chance that I recorded and rearranged his song 'Billie Jean' and have been amazed at the response it gets when I perform it every night. He was amazingly talented and largely misunderstood."

Kerry Zettel (See Me River, Aviation Records): "Safeco Field, section 333, isle 16, seat 15. Mariners vs. Padres. Somewhere around the 3rd or 4th inning. My friend had just came back from the concessions stand with the news he had received from his wife: 'Michael Jackson's dead.' It was kind of eerie. I had mixed feelings about the demise of this generations most influential pop musician/creepiest tabloid headliner. Even eerier still was how quickly the news spread like a murmuring wave through the stadium as people turned their attention from the game to their mobile internet browser to confirm the passing of the pop icon."

Gary Smith (Partman Parthorse): "I was at work at Easy Street. I was chilling. We had just finished listening to Michael Jackson. I love a LOT of Michael's music. But I dont give a flying fucking shit that he died. My cat Clyde died recently... that, i cared about."

Sean Horton (Nordic Soul, Decibel Festival): "I was in a conference room with a dozen other coworkers listening to new music when our lead audio tech busted into the room exclaiming "Michael Jackson is dead!". We spent a good remainder of the meeting checking CNN online trying to verify the information, which we eventually did."

Terry Radjaw (Mad Rad): "I was playing put put golf at Funtasia in Edmonds getting my ass whooped by my lady."

Larry Mizell (Cancer Rising, They Live!, and Stranger columnist): "Literally arriving in NYC for the first time. My dad and my uncle who worked with MJ as a kid are both from here. It made me call my pops."

Devin Welch (Past Lives, Flexions): "My coworker Ryan and I were taking out the trash at the thrift store, another coworker Ian came walking up and was tripping out about how MJ was found in cardiac arrest, in a coma, I couldn't believe it. Oddly enough earlier in the day someone donated a suitcase with customs tags from Dubai on it and we had talked about how Michael had sought refuge there after his child molestation scandal. We have played Off The Wall, Thriller and Dangerous in their entirety and displayed the centerfold of Thriller draped with a single white glove at the cash register at the store. As a child I my parents didn't let me watch MTV but I distinctly remember a babysitter putting it on and dancing around my living room to Thriller, I was scandalized. Later on, me and my preteen friends used to rock out to Dangerous with those heavy new jack swing beats and MJ's weird breathy percussive vocalizations. I think 'Wanna Be Starting Something' is my favorite MJ jam though, that beat is so insane! What can you say about this guy, he is one of the greatest mutations that pop culture has ever produced. Sorry to ramble..."

Kim Warnick (Fastbacks): "Napping! My phone kept buzzing....when I finally checked it there were a bunch of texts but the first one I clicked on was from Kevin Willis saying, 'Michael Jackson is dead.' That is how I found out. So very thankful that I actually got to see the (young) Jackson 5 live at the Coliseum (Key Arena) in 1973. They did two shows that day and I went to the 'matinee' one. Who does that? A matinee?They even brought out little Randy Jackson who sang "Superstition." It was a show I will never forget, probably what it would've been like to see The Beatles. Sometimes it's awesome to be this old."

Shannon Perry (Katherine Hepburne's Voice): "I was at work. Carlos got champagne and Moon Pies, and printed out pictures on the copier. He made posters and put them on the wall of his office. We wrote letters to MJ, and watched our favorite videos."

J-Justice (SunTzu Sound, City Soul Radio): "Sitting at my desk. Wishing I was working on music instead of dealing with my dayjob. Decided to check twitter and it all went down from there!"

Adam Swan (Truckasauras, Foscil): ”Drinking a 40, smoking a blunt... I heard it first as a rumor on Twitter. Funny how the Internet was way ahead of the 'real news.' Thriller was my favorite album as a kid. Terrible news."

Lars Finberg (the Intelligence): “Celebrating getting engaged today in Amsterdam.”

Chris Martin (Kinski): “I was woken up by my host in Tokyo, Tabata from Acid Mothers Temple and Zeni Geva, and told that Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Sky Saxon all died on the same day. Now I'm going record shopping.”

Joy Von Spain: “Watching the video of ‘Rock With You’ with those splendid sparkly boots. And pants. And shirt. And jheri curl.”

Jeff Albertson (the Lights, Lamborghiniz): "Like most people I was sitting at my desk checking Facebook updates. It's sad that such a talented and gifted performer was reduced to frail shell of his once vibrant self. I prefer to remember him as the charismatic child performer that blew people away with his tremendous voice at an early age and then shocked the world by moonwalking across the stage on the 1983 television special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever."

Kerri Harrop (publicist, the Crocodile): "Fittingly, I was online, updating my Facebook page. By the time the Jackson 5 video uploaded, reports that MJ had kicked the bucket were rolling in. My first thought: Wow, way to steal Farrah's limelight. Second: TMZ is an actual credible news source? Weird. And, lastly: Dude sure had some cuts. The speed in which this pop culture news has traveled is mind boggling. What incredible media times we live in."

Michael Jackson has been a continuing Stranger obsession. If you need more Michael Jackson miscellany and are getting tired of reading the vulture-like media reports, here is your one-stop shop for things we have written about our newly departed King of Pop:

David Schmader published a poem about MJ that he received via e-mail back in 2005. He also published a child's story about Michael Jackson titled "Booger Boy and Snot Boy Versus Michael Jackson." He linked to a sad retrospective interview of Michael Jackson on the eve of his 50th birthday. And of course, who could forget Mr. Schmader's wonderful, weird news story about people hanging out at the MJ trial?

My plan was simple: I would go to California for the beginning of the trial and mix with the true believers in their natural habitat—support rallies, courthouse vigils—in hopes of acquiring, or at least better understanding, their unshakable faith in Jackson. However, to true believers, there is no enemy more insidious than the Media. To "pass" as a true believer, I needed a strategy: Walk softly and wear an expressive T-shirt. Local custom-made T-shirt shop B-Bam! put together a collection of pro-Michael T-shirts for me. "Innocence Is Beautiful" read one, the letters framing an airbrushed image of Michael surrounded by the Children of the World. "Tom Sneddon Is a Cold Man" read another shirt, its anti-prosecution slogan rendered in an icy wintery blast. Finally, my most confrontational shirt, which dissed Jackson's accuser with the creepy nickname allegedly given to the boy by Jackson himself: "BLOWHOLE IS A LIAR."

At the end of that year's issue, we published a regret by Michael Jackson:

First and foremost, I regret being made the target of a prosecutorial witch hunt and the subject of vile slander by evil people who only want to bring a successful black man down and who wouldn't understand the true meaning of love if it bit them in their big, mean butts.

He's been featured on a list of Ten Things That've Made Us Say "Wow" SInce the Dawn of Time, not very far after The Big Bang.

And most recently, Lindy West studied Michael Jackson's stuff from very close-up:

The other week, I was blessed (by Jesus, I’m pretty sure!) with the opportunity to visit a most wondrous land, entitled “A Whole Bunch of Michael Jackson’s Stuff Sitting in a Big Room.” You see, Michael Jackson accidentally got suuuper destitute, because he spent all of his money on child-sized flying carpets and gold-plated best friends and Teaching Your Pet Chimp Sign Language for Dummies, so he decided to auction off his crazy-shit collection to raise some bucks. All of which meant that people—like ME—could go look at it at an auction house in Los Angeles! At the shit! For a minute!

Clearly, we have adored the man for a very long time and we will miss him.

...FOR NOW*.

Sign formerly of Neverland Ranch.

*Does that mean he'll be coming back?

Michael Jackson’s death has put to rest the controversial man he had become. For right now, all skeletons have been released from the closet and all alleged sins have been forgiven.*

The world can now unabashedly celebrate a man who made some of the best goddamn pop music history has ever known, and tonight we should all motherfucking dance. If you know of any Michael Jackson tribute sets/dance parties happening around the city tonight, let us know about them in the comments.

RIP, Michael Jackson.

TMZ reports that Michael Jackson has died.

UPDATE: LA Times confirmation.

So fucking sad, for so many reasons.

He will not be forgotten, to say the very least.

English-born music journalist Steven Wells died of cancer June 24; he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphona in 2006. Philadelphia Weekly ran his last column, which has turned into a heartfelt commemoration to the man in the comments.

Love or hate Steven Wells (it was impossible to feel "meh" about his work), his writing projected a strong, gutsy voice that made up in bilious, spit-out-your-drink humor what it lacked in subtlety and, to my mind, good musical taste. Nevertheless, I used to obsessively read his copy in NME and other UK music rags in the '80s and '90s. I disagreed with nearly everything he said, but damn if I didn't read every bloody article with the "Swells" by-line attached to it. He was a rare, poison-penned shit-stirrer in a field dominated by bland lifers terrified of falling off promo lists.

Electronic producer and former member of The Orb, Andy Hughes, died of liver failure on June 12th. Best known for his work with Alex Patterson and Thomas Fehlmann from 1995-2001, Hughes contributed to the under-appreciated mid-period Orb material, Orbus Terrarum, Orblivion and Cydonia. Hughes is also credited on many Orb remixes during that period. After leaving The Orb in 2001, following what The Guardian referred to as "another acrimonious split", Hughes continued producing ambient and electronic dub sounds on his own. News of his death was first revealed in a comment on YouTube by Hughes' cousin.

Official statement:

Andy Hughes, electronic music producer/DJ who was born 11th November 1965 and, and who lived and grew up in Harrow, Middlesex, tragically passed away on Friday 12th June 2009 after a short illness.
Andy was a genius who gave so much inspiration and passion to all with his incredible work. He was loved by many aficionados of the trance/ambient genre, but will be especially remembered for his work with Alex Paterson and The Orb, most notably the album Orblivion and single Toxygene, which reached number 4 in the UK charts in 1997. Together with his musical partners Alex Patterson and former members Kris Weston, Simon Phillips and Thomas Fehlmann together with Nick Burton of Westworld fame. Andy created electronic and ambient/techno/house/dub masterpieces. These took him across the globe where he played to masses of fans in countries including the USA, Japan and Canada as well as a sell out concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1998.

Please enjoy this live recording of a superb Orb track from Orbus Terrarum featuring the late Andy Hughes.

Andy Hughes Discogs.com page

That's what it says on Holy Mountain's (top secret?) myspace page, myspace.com/holymountainvenue: "R.I.P. 5-24-2009."

For those keeping track, that puts their time of death at nearly four weeks before this post was made.

More details as we get them. RIP, Holy Mountain.

Hugh Hopper, best known as bassist for the Canterbury-based prog-rock group Soft Machine, died June 7 of leukemia. He was 64.

Hopper established his rep with Soft Machine, one of the linchpins of the Canterbury-based prog-rock scene, for whom he created hypnotic, robustly fuzzed-out bass lines. He also could write beautiful, more conventional songs, as exemplified by “I Should Have Known," ”Hullo Der," and “Memories,” the last of which drummer Robert Wyatt sings the hell out of below (both the Mars Volta and Whitney Houston [?!] have covered this tune). “Memories” captures better than almost any other song I've heard nostalgia’s exquisite bittersweet nature; it’s unbelievably poignant. You can find it on Soft Machine’s Jet Propelled Photographs. I also highly recommend Soft Machine’s One, Volume Two, and Third, as starting places for Hopper’s manic, nuanced artistry.

Besides working with Soft Machine from 1968-1972 (and also with their precursor, the Wilde Flowers), Hopper played with Isotope, Robert Wyatt, Gilgamesh, Stomu Yamash’ta, Carla Bley, and many others. He also recorded several solo records, including the phenomenal 1984, which best revealed his experimental compositional skills, use of tape loops, and inclination for unusual tonalities.

This past weekend, Kill Rock Stars singer/songwriter Jeff Hanson passed away at his St. Paul home due what appears to have been an accidental fall; he was 31.

The Minneapois/St. Paul Star Tribue has further details. Kill Rock Stars has issued the following statement:

We are deeply shocked and saddened to report that Kill Rock Stars artist Jeff Hanson passed away on June 5, 2009 in his home, a victim of a terrible accident. Jeff has been a part of the KRS family since 2003 when he became the first artist signed to the label from an unsolicited demo.

Jeff Hanson was an amazing artist, a riotously funny person, and a good friend. Everyone at Kill Rock Stars feels that we were privileged to put out his records. We will miss him tremendously. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.

I had no idea...

On April 28, 2009 Hip Hop legends De La Soul, in collaboration with Nike, released Are You In? : Nike + Original Run.

The concept of the series is ingenious and helpful for those of us that spend time in gyms and/or running. Artists that you know and love create new music specifically with exercise and fitness in mind. Each album last approximately 45 minutes; the typical length of a workout/run. The music is meant to be listened to while exercising. Each album has a natural warm up track(s) that crescendos into heavy beats and momentum inspiring melodies as your routine becomes more intense! How cool is that?