"What hit me most about hearing the news of Michael Jackson dying was only then I realized just how much he meant to me, how much his music was such a part of my life," confided my friend Eboness from New York by phone on Thursday evening, just hours after the shocking news of the pop star's passing had clogged all channels of communication. 

One of the many friends and acquaintances who seemed compelled to reach out and talk MJ on Thursday and in the days since, Eboness is 38 and lives in Harlem. Like so many people out there, she grew up on Jackson's music.

She said she and her mom had just come from 125th Street, where a growing crowd was gathering en masse outside the Apollo Theater to spontaneously mourn alongside total strangers in the shared sadness. As Jackson's music boomed from speakers up high, the teary eyed crowd below, with sunken shoulders, sang along to every lyric.

Thursday afternoon's shocking news of MJ passing caught everyone off guard it seemed. When I got that first text on my phone sometime after 3pm from my friend Timi D... which read "Michael Jackson just died???" I thought that maybe it was some of kind of prank or inside joke about the oft mocked star. Maybe it had something to do with his string of upcoming UK concert dates, I theorized as my Google search quickly confirmed the tragic news, with reports citing either the LA Times who broke the story or leading gossip news site TMZ that simultaneously reported on the same story. And when I next logged on to my email, my inbox was overflowing with messages with MJ's name in the subject box. I then clicked on the Amoeblog, where I saw that Whitmore had just posted the news. That was about 3:15 or 3:20 pm on Thursday; by then the news had already spread like wildfire via news and gossip sites and of course via Twitter, Facebook, and every other social network.

Whitmore, Amoeba Brady, Brent James, and J. Mark Beaver all contributed to this second part in the ongoing Ameoblogay Music Lists week for the best queer/gay or gayest albums, songs, music videos or movies. Amoeblogay Music Lists Part I yesterday included SFQueer.com's Larry Bob's Top 26. His and all of these lists were inspired by the recent Top 100 Gayest Albums of All Time compiled by Out Magazine, previously Amoeblogged about in these pages, and to whom we are indebted.

One thing worth mentioning in light of the outcome of Proposition 8 in the California elections last week and its blow to same-sex marriage in the state, is that despite this step backwards for human rights, a likely positive outcome is that it will not only strengthen & energize the civil rights movement but will most probably also inspire some powerful new art, including of course lots of great reactionary music.

The record I couldn't believe wasn't on the list, because I would have placed it at number one -- with a bullet! -- if for no other reason then the fact that it's so weirdly brilliant, not necessarily good, but weirdly brilliant: Jobriath's self-titled first album on Elektra. I thought about blogging about this record recently because I think it was just reissued on CD along with his second album, Creatures of the Street.

Britney Spears will find God, actually become a religious zealot. She’ll start her own religion, set up a compound/church in Iowa where millions of her disillusioned directionless fans will follow her.

A couple of years down the line Iowa will pass a referendum establishing itself as the independent Sovereign Nation of Iowa. By 2009, Mike Huckabee, having only ever won in Iowa, will run for President of Iowa and win. Meanwhile Britney’s sister, Jamie Lynn, will disappear from public view only to resurface in 2012, when she signs with Blue Note Records as a jazz singer.  Her new approach will emulate her idol Anita O’Day. Jamie Lynn then will write her own parenting book titled It’s Never Too Early to Start Good Parenting. 
            
She’ll eventually marry the California Highway Patrol officer who pulled her over for driving under the influence, though he’ll tear up the ticket once he recognizes her from her Playboy spread.
                     
-  Whitmore ("the thing of a thing of a thing..." Hollywood AMOEBLOGGER, member of the band Listing Ship)

BABY EATING ON FEAR FACTOR & PERSONAL MEMORIES ON NETFLIX

The cross cultural fusions happening in popular music will grow so varied that Frankenstein-esque new genres will have to be sewn together in order to describe the newest music like: gothic indie folk, or post-grunge screamo tech, or neuvo-retro contemporary psychobilly Christian, acappella death electro, braille, sunshine blues and every CD will have either a string quartet tribute or a downtempo remix.   Someone in everyone of these band will either have the chin-beard/dreads combo, extreme bedhead/facial grimace combo or will wear a necktie incorrectly.