Hello all, I have plenty of ideas rolling around in my head to they are going to come out fast, furious and in no particular order.  If you do not have interest in my topic for the day, please don't forget to check the bottom of today's posting which will always include the "Quote of the Day", "Download This" and often other interesting nuggets.  On to today's topic...

Does the artist as a person affect your view of that person's art???  I admit, it is difficult to separate the two.  I would rather not know anything about the artist and merely appreciate the artist's work, but that is no longer realistic in the instant information world we live in.  Two examples that come to mind immediately for me are Michael Jackson and Tom Cruise.  I really enjoy both artist's work very much even though both seem to becoming more bizarre as time goes by.  Michael Jackson is a more extreme example with some of the serious allegations he has faced in addition to the physical transformation he has gone through.  Tom Cruise in a much more harmless fashion with only his awkward behavior surrounding his marriage to Katie Holmes, his baby's birth and his passion Scientology and the recent unauthorized biography.  As bizarre as both might be, you cannot argue that they have produced some incredible work over the years.  Here is a brief synopsis for each of them followed by Top 10 lists. *(Top 10 lists will be a regular part of my postings, are based solely on MY opinions and obviously open for debate)

Michael Jackson, known as the "King of Pop," is one of the best-selling music artists and one of the most charitable humanitarians of ALL TIME.  His Thriller album spent 37 weeks at #1 on the US album charts.  His Bad album is the only album ever to have five #1 singles in the U.S.  He revolutionized the music video industry and helped put MTV on the map.  What he accomplished in the 1980's and 1990's is nothing short of spectacular.  Here is OLD SCHOOL's TOP 10 MICHAEL JACKSON SONGS:

Honorable Mention:  "Say Say Say" duet with Paul McCartney from the 1983 McCartney album Pipes of Peace.  Did not put it on the list because it was a duet and not on a MJ album.

10.  "You Are Not Alone" from the 1995 album HIStory: Past, Present and Future

9.  "Unbreak able" from the 2001 album Invincible (great head bopping beat)

8.  "Keep the Faith" from the 1991 album Dangerous

7.   "S mooth Criminal" from the 1987 album Bad

6.   "B utterflies" from the album Invincible

5.   "W anna Be Startin' Somethin'" from the legendary 1983 album Thriller

4.   "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" from the album Bad

3.   "S tranger in Moscow" from the album HIStory: Past, Present and Future (see 'Download This' section at the end of the issue)

2.   "H uman Nature" from the album Thriller (truly wonderful song)

1.   "M an In the Mirror" from the album Bad (great message, great song)

Now we can move on to Tom Cruise who is at least one of the highest grossing actors at the box office if not #1 all by himself.  He has not always been the most critically acclaimed actor of his generation, but definitely one of the most popular and successful.  His career has spanned 3 decades and has earned him 3 Oscar nominations (no wins) and 6 Golden Globe nominations (3 wins).  Here is OLD SCHOOL'S TOP 10 TOM CRUISE MOVIE PERFORMANCES (as of January 2008):

Honorable Mention:  "Ron Kovic" from the 1989 movie Born on the Fourth of July.  This movie did not register with me as much as I would have hoped for, but earned Cruise his first Oscar nomination and won him the Golden Globe for best actor.  I felt I at least needed to mention it.

10.   "E than Hunt" from the Mission Impossible movies (3 of them 1996, 2000 & 2006)

9.   "V incent Lauria" from the 1986 movie The Color of Money (sharing the screen with Paul Newman helps)

8.   "J oel Goodson" from the 1983 movie Risky Business (sliding across the screen in his underwear to Bob Seger is iconic)

7.   "C hief John Anderson" from the 2002 movie Minority Report (directed by Steven Spielberg)

6.   "M averick" from the 1986 movie Top Gun (of course)

5.   "L t. Daniel Kaffee" from the 1992 movie A Few Good Men (I want the truth!  You can't handle the truth!)

4.   "V incent" from the 2004 movie Collateral (he plays the bad guy, if you haven't seen it, please do)

3.   "F rank TJ Mackey" from the 1999 movie Magnolia (1^st class performance in a supporting role earned Cruise an Oscar nomination and Golden Globe win)

2.   "C harlie Babbitt" from the 1988 movie Rain Man (was overshadowed by Dustin Hoffman's performance, but extremely under-rated in his performance in this Best Picture Oscar winning film)

1.  "Jerry Maguire" the title role from the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire (great movie, great performance earned him Oscar nomination and Golden Globe win, go see it again)

I am sure there are other artists that may create this quandary for you.  For me, I have learned to separate the art from the artist and that makes all the difference.  Look forward to your feedback.

A couple other things I want to touch on before I wrap this one up.  The Critic's Choice Awards are on live right now.  If you read my last posting, you would have saw the love I gave to the film Juno.  It seems the Broadcast Film Critics Association is giving Juno some love as well with several nominations and the award for Best Writer (Diablo Cody) and Best Comedy.  You will continue to see this film celebrated on all of the awards shows, so do yourself a favor and see it. 

That will wrap up this issue of Kickin' it Old School.  Thanks again for reading my ramblings.  I appreciate the support and feedback.  If you are interested in seeing a summary of all of my other Top 10 lists, please click there on that link.  Talk to you more soon.  Peace and much love.

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Quote of the Day:  "Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation.  Your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are." -John Wooden (great UCLA basketball coach)

Download This:  I have so many songs I want to share with you, but with the subject of this posting, I have to say pick any of the songs from the MJ Top 10 list above.  If you have never heard it, I highly recommend "Stranger in Moscow" by Michael Jackson as a lesser known option.