Sky Saxon, lead singer with 60s garage punk legends the Seeds, died on the morning of June 25, 2009 (or as his official web site put it, he “passed over to be with YaHoWha”); as it happened, he died the same day as both Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, ensuring that the entertainment press, who might have been expected to treat his passing like a one-line filler item, didn’t even give it that much attention. But Saxon hadn’t been a celebrity in the traditional sense for a very long time. Sky may have been a rock star for about two years on the strength of the singles “Pushin’ Too Hard” and “Can’t Seem To Make You Mine,” but after those twenty-four months as a bargain-basement Mick Jagger, he evolved into Flower Power’s Last Man Standing, a guy who let his freak flag fly with a wild-eyed sincerity that made most of his peers from the Sunset Strip scene look like weekenders, and transformed his story into something far more interesting than the typical two-hit wonder and cult hero.

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Contrary to earlier reports, there will not be a public memorial for Michael Jackson at Neverland Ranch this weekend. According to a family representative, plans for such a memorial have been postponed, but an event for fans to commemorate Jackson are in the works. Other Jackson news: Former Sony Music CEO Tommy Mottola claims that there are hundreds of unreleased tracks by the King of Pop, ranging from unused tracks from the sessions for some of his best-loved albums to collaborations with will.i.am and Akon for Jackson’s long-planned comeback album. [Idolator.com, VH1.com]

Stereogum remembers the late Sky Saxon with a song the Seeds frontman and Billy Corgan recorded together, “Choose to Choose Love.” Look for Allmusic’s Saxon tribute later today. [Stereogum.com]

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Maxwell spent part of the eight years between his third and fourth studio albums walking the earth, attempting to experience a life resembling that of a human. One of neo-soul’s most visible faces, along with Lauryn Hill and D’Angelo, he had been on the music industry’s hamster wheel for most of his twenties and needed some tangible inspiration. At some point he got down to scheming and quite a lot of recording; BLACKsummers’night is the first release of a trilogy, with BlackSUMMERS’night (rooted in gospel, with a twist, apparently) and Blacksummers’NIGHT (promised as a disc of slow jams) to follow. Just as he arrived in 1996, offering an alternate option to the exaggerated masculinity that was dominating contemporary R&B, he returns as the airwaves are stuffed with raging hormones expressed through auto-tune. He has made no concessions to them.

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As was reported yesterday, sales of Michael Jackson’s albums have soared in the wake of his death. Today, Jackson now holds the top nine positions on Billboard’s Top Pop Catalog chart according to Nielsen SoundScan. [MTV.com]

Galaxie 500 has reissued all three of the indie-rock trio’s original albums on vinyl. The albums are also available as digital downloads with added bonus tracks and videos. [Stereogum.com]

U2 kicked off the band’s tour with an extravagant and innovative new stage show yesterday. On the tour, U2 are framed by a large stage set the band and crew have dubbed “The Claw” which features a huge 360 video screen, silk screens and a light show. The band are currently touring in support of their latest album No Line on the Horizon. [Rollingstone.com]

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Today’s pop, rock, and rap stars owe more to William Bunch than they could ever realize. Bunch recognized way back in the 1920s that creating a bad-ass persona would do wonders for record sales, and drawing on a shady character from Black folklore, he re-christened himself Peetie Wheatstraw, claiming (long before Robert Johnson thought of it) that he had sold his soul to the devil down at the crossroads in exchange for success as a musician. It was a great calling card, and success he had, cutting upwards of 170 tracks for the ARC, Bluebird, and Decca labels before his death in 1941, and at his peak in the 1930s, he was the equivalent of a superstar.

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The weekend after Michael Jackson’s death saw the King of Pop take over the Billboard charts. Though the numbers aren’t final yet, it’s estimated that Number Ones, The Essential Michael Jackson and Thriller each sold 100,00 copies last week; the week before, his entire solo catalog sold 10,000 copies total. Jackson may hold six to nine of the slots in the Top 10; the Beatles and AC/DC have both had five albums in the Top 10 at the same time. In other Jackson news, photos from Jackson’s final tour rehearsal taken two days before his death have been released. His body will be returned to Neverland Ranch on Friday for a public viewing. [Billboard.com, PopEater.com, CNN.com]

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Since Michael Jackson’s passing last week, a great deal of nonsense has hit news programs and the Internet. (Here is a case where Google might not be your friend.) From the disgraceful father of the deceased using every opportunity to promote his whatever, to countless ill-informed speculations, to reductions of Jackson’s life to a mere caricature, there has been enough errant garbage to nauseate the most casual fan. As a supplement to our own tribute from Stephen Thomas Erlewine, here is a modest attempt at shining some light on the more insightful and heartfelt writing that has surfaced during the last few days.

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Michael Jackson was honored at Sunday Night’s BET Awards by celebrities and family, including his sister Janet and his father Joe. Said Janet, “My entire family wanted to be here tonight but it was too painful. To you, Michael is an icon. To us, Michael is family. He will forever live in all of our hearts.” Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé, Marlon Wayans, and LeBron James were among the other stars who paid tribute. In other Michael Jackson news, his autopsy revealed no evidence of physical trauma or foul play, but the cause of death cannot be determined until the toxicology report and other tests are complete four to six weeks from now. Jackson’s death also puts the spotlight on his financial troubles: The 750,000 fans who paid upward of $80 per ticket to see the 50 dates Jackson was scheduled to play at London’s O2 Arena must receive refunds; it’s also unclear how much Jackson had borrowed against his 50% stake in Sony ATV Music Publishing, which collects hundreds of millions of dollars per year in songwriting royalties. [PopEater.com, RollingStone.com]

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