As we all know the King of Pop MICHAEL JACKSON passed away on Friday and the world went into shock including EMI staff members which include some big fans. It was a special day on Friday where everybody was reflecting on just his amazing music and not have all the intense distractions of how he died, who killed him and what was he worth, which has since grown over the last few days.

Let’s never forget what he brought to the music industry and how one man changed the world with the albums Off The Wall, Thriller, Bad, Dangerous and History.

We were sitting in our Big Bad Boardroom earlier today when some bright spark mentioned a catchy track from a pop ad several years back… What was that tune!?

After some scratching of heads and wiki-action, turns out it’s The Caesars with Jerk It Out from their ‘06 album Love For The Streets.  Hellooo summer! (even if it’s a bit wintery outside…)

Now this is an incredible story…

Our very own Dixie Battersby (rogue and intrepid WA Sales & Media Manager), talked her way into spending the day with MJ and The Jacksons, when she was just 16!? Not only that, she rode to her VERY FIRST concert ever in the Jackson’s limo with Michael, Jermaine, and Tito, and watched show – by invitation – side of stage. Kudos!

Not that she knew what she was doing, apparently!?

“I decided to make the trek up to Perth to meet them,” she said. “I thought that you could just go and do that. I stayed at my grandmother’s house in Kelmscott and caught the train into the Sheraton Hotel and was confronted by a bunch of kids waiting outside the hotel.

I can’t remember how I managed to get into the foyer as the security was very tight, but nevertheless I did and walked up to the first black man I saw and boldly said ‘I wanted to meet the Jackson 5′. He looked a bit amazed that I had managed to get through security and asked me my name – I thought I was going to get thrown out. Anyway, he asked me to come with him and took me up in the lift. The man turned out to be their father, Joe…”

Suppose you’d never break a sweat as an adult – even when working with Robbie Williams, Paul McCartney, Brian Ferry, Crowded House, Empire of the Sun, and Paul Kelly – after having lunch with the King of Pop as a kid.

Read the article in full here on news.com

From all of us here at EMI… RIP MJ, music and the world itself will never be the same again.

Ten years ago, all the Sigur Ros fans in the world were yannow…  in Iceland. In fact, they probably all probably crammed inside a single small cold dark room – which incidentally is where they all were on June 10, 1999.

Sigur Ros’ glorious breakthrough album Agaetis Byrjun was launched at the Icelandic Opera House ten years ago this month, and thankfully the band have released exclusive 2 video and audio from that incredible (& no doubt chilly) evening. Tears would have been shed.

Hafssol – download here
A fascinatingly transitional rendition of the seminal Hafssol (later Hafsol), one of the true survivors in the band’s live show, having appeared in almost unrecognisably nebulous form on their debut album Von, and went through endless transmogrification year by year until 2007’s Hvarf/Heim double pack. To this day, Hvarf/Heim is some of my favourite album artwork.

Nyja Lagid
Filmed originally for Icelandic TV and unseen for years, this shows the boys when they really were still boys, performing a song that never made it onto Agaetis Byrjun (or any album) and disappeared from their set-list shortly after. The film also records the last show by original drummer Gusti. The audio of this live recording was featured on Sigur Ros’s first ex-Iceland release, the Svefn-G-Englar EP.

Had a bad day? Bad week? It’s FRIDAY! Get the weekend off to a good start…

Nothing is more cathartic than screaming “F*** YOU” at the top of your lungs on a crowded city street. Other than giving annoying girls a big bum and smashing up cars that just don’t respect your personal space.

Everyone’s favourite lad from London, Jamie T, is back with a new album and we have a streaming delight just for you.

Coming off of killer debut release with Panic Prevention, Jamie T was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize and won the 2007 Shockwave NME award over the likes of heavyweights Jarvis Cocker and Thom Yorke. Not bad company for a shy 23 yr old.
He has also been what I deem as ‘best described’ by Canvas Mag as “like the bastard lovechild of Billy Bragg and Mike Skinner doing his best Joe Strummer impression”

Bringing on more of his catchy story telling Jamie T’s following up is no exception what what I’ve heard so far. Take a listen from the Sticks ‘n’ Stones EP stream below and keep your ears on the ground for more to come.

We’ve got fully streaming audio of Bob’s highly memorable Like a Version of Lily’s Not Fair.

After breaking away from The Morning After Girls, Sydney duo Aimee Nash & Scott Von Ryper formed The Black Ryder. Last year they supported the likes of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Raveonettes, The Brain Jonestown Massacre & The Charlatans with Time Out giving them a cracker of a review and enough insight to keep us all chomping at the bit;

“Imagine the swagger of The Brian Jonestown Massacre with the dark blues / rock sensibility of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (with whom they have toured), topped off with a good dose of Mazzy Star reverb-drenched country minimalism.” Time Out

Having locked themselves away in a home studio the debut album is nearly ready to be unleashed. First sneak peak is the track Burn and Fade that features Peter Hayes from B.R.M.C on vox and stalking their MySpace I see that friends Leah Shapiro from B.R.M.C and Ricky Maymi from Brain Jonestown Massacre also lend a hand. Oh to have friends in cool places…

Download this track by clicking on the arrow feature in the widget above or head to their MySpace to jump on board countdown to the The Black Ryder album.

When Paul Dempsey began work on his solo album, he made a concerted effort to do it differently from the Something For Kate modus operandi. So he set out to make the album at a home studio on the New South Wales Central Coast. Just Paul and co-producer Wayne Connolly and apparently so many birds that it meant the more acoustic and quiet moments needed to be done at night.

Here’s a bit of a look-see into the recording process and a taste of the songs to come from Everything Is True.

Second single ‘Ramona Was A Waitress’ will be available on iTunes July 3 and you can pre-order the multi-track CD single now at JB Hi Fi online, for release July 24.