You Should Be Celebrating: Michael Jackson - Thriller

Hee heeee! (Moonwalk)

If you’ve been reading my column this year, you may know that I tend to jump between genres. One week I’m talking about The Doors, and the next week I make a huge left turn to Aphex Twin. In my defense, I enjoy covering and listening to popular music of all kinds, but as a reader I can imagine that it may be disorienting.  Perhaps this is why I’m excited that my final article of 2012 picks up where my previous one about “Saturday Night Fever” left off. That album and this week’s “Thriller” are two gargantuan peaks of pop music that occurred within five years of each other. Both reached multiplatinum status and received rave reviews from critics. But where “Saturday Night Fever” popularized a well-established genre, “Thriller” was the catalyst for a pop revolution that continues to influence many.

Becoming the King of Pop is no easy task, but that’s the title rhythm and blues singer Michael Jackson acquired after releasing “Thriller.” Jackson was likely a household name even before “Thriller,” but the album itself has entered the exclusive club of household albums. To call the album a commercial success is a vast understatement. In the U.S. and many other countries worldwide, it was the best-selling album of 1983 and 1984. Seven of the nine tracks from “Thriller” ended up becoming top-10 U.S. hits. Today, “Thriller” is the highest-selling album of all time, with at least 65 million copies sold worldwide. Factor in the incredible moments surrounding the album — including the Moonwalk on the “Motown 25” TV special, the iconic trio of music videos and becoming the first major black artist on MTV — and it is clear that “Thriller” quickly became a culturally significant document.

If anyone could handle the glare, it was Jackson, who already had seven solo top-10 singles (and seven more with his family R&B group, The Jackson 5) and a platinum album in “Off the Wall” to his name. Years of strict discipline from his father and immense raw talent had made Jackson a superstar, yet he still felt underappreciated. In the early ’80s, black artists couldn’t get on the covers of magazines or air  on MTV no matter how popular they were. Jackson sought not only to break that racial barrier but also to become the biggest musician in the world. He succeeded on both counts, but that success came at a great personal cost. Jackson experienced a deep sense of loneliness during the recording of “Thriller,” and his remaining career was somewhat marred by the pitfalls of fame. Some of the best songs (“Billie Jean,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” and the title track) carry a strong undercurrent of paranoia and fear, whether it’s dealing with an obsessed fan or rumors spread by the media. Yet even in light of his personal tragedy and untimely demise three years ago, “Thriller” has lost none of its luster and never feels burdened by its emotional heft.

Ultimately, the greatest accomplishment of “Thriller” is its singular vision. “Off the Wall” is classic, but it’s a disco album overall. Jackson’s follow-up is funkier, edgier and more vulnerable, playing into the strengths of his more mature and confident voice. Essentially, it’s the sound of pop’s future. Pick any contemporary R&B or pop singer, and you can likely draw a straight line back to “Thriller.” However, there’s a good reason why everyone from Justin Timberlake to Rihanna reads from the album’s blueprint: It is arguably the most expertly crafted pop album you will ever hear. Take “Billie Jean,” where Jackson patiently sets the scene — first the foundational drumbeat, then the propulsive bassline, then finally somber staccato synthesizer before he starts to sing the verse. Jackson’s incredible delivery is then punctuated with all types of accompaniment — funky rhythm guitar, dramatic string lines, moody synthesizers, etc. — that blend seamlessly into the mix and bring out the raw emotion of the song.

Legendary producer Quincy Jones and songwriter Rod Temperton (of the title track, most notably) certainly play a role in the pop expertise of “Thriller,” but considering that Jackson wrote most of the big singles (including “Billie Jean”), it’s clear that he was leading the charge. The surprising diversity of the record, which has gritty rock crossovers (“Beat It”) as well as delicate ballads (“Human Nature”), is equally impressive and ensures that “Thriller” has a broad appeal. There are clear risks that Jackson took, but the attention to detail is so strong that he never sounds like he’s biting off more than he can chew. In short, the album is a masterpiece, one that challenged pop convention and eventually became a driving force in its creation. It’s hard to be more thrilling than that.

John Guest's article was originally published in Drexel University's independent student newspaper The Triangle on December 7th, 2012. Did you hear we had a Facebook? http://www.facebook.com/FrogsOnALog

Classic/Modern Influence Track of the Moment- Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson and D. D. by The Weeknd

So we have an interesting one for you this week, a classic/modern influence track of the moment that was very interesting to think about and write. In one corner you have a well known pop megastar, in the other a complete newcomer. The two persons that I am talking about are none other than Michael Jackson and The Weeknd.

 

Lets start with Michael. I think one of the things that will be starkly different about my comparison between The Weeknd (aka Abel Tasfeye) and Jackson are their upbringings and musical backrounds. Jackson was raised from birth to be a pop star, he was given every single opportunity to succeed and all the encouragement (possibly too much encouragement) that anyone could ever want. To go on to describe the mass amount of talent that Jackson had would just be redundant, the man had talent, watch any one of his music videos and it becomes self evident. Whats interesting though, and why The Weeknd comparison rings so true is that both Abel and Jackson suffered so much. Say what you will about Jacksons child abuse scandal, but never make the mistake of thinking that MJ had it easy. Having been thrown into the limelight at a very young age resulting in your childhood being stolen from you, Jackson undoubtedly lived a strange life that made him distant and at times difficult to understand and relate too. Whats amazing and at the same time tragic about his body of work though is how well he soldiered on with his songs, how well he hid who he truly was and never let down his fans. I song I picked from Jackson is the iconic Smooth Criminal, although frankly any of his songs would have easily could be considered a stand out track.

 

 

And then there is Abel Tasfeye, a man whose story is almost stranger than Jackson’s, and just as mysterious. For those of you who haven’t heard any of his works, do yourself a real favor and head on over to his website. There you can download all three of his albums, House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence. Also you can read my take on House of Balloons, the first of whats being called the balloon trilogy here. The first thing that should be striking about his voice is how much homage it pays to Jacksons. Now in any other case I would probably phrase that sentence like this “The first thing that should be striking about his voice is how much it sounds like Jackson’s.”. But this second sentence isn’t exactly right. It wasn’t until hearing The Weeknd cover Dirty Diana on the third installment of the balloon trilogy Echoes of Silence that I made the Jackson connection, but boy does it make sense, and its not that Abel simply sounds like MJ, although he does, he also perfectly adapts his style of singing missing the loud high pitched shrills. But what makes the two distinctly different is the subject matter of which The Weeknd sings. His songs are dark drug driven ballads that are immediately disheartening and would make your mother blush if she heard it on the radio. Already he has a bright future though, his Wikipedia page says that soon he will be remixing a Lady Gaga song on an upcoming remix album. Whats more he is slated to release a new album this year, which is inconceivable when you consider that he released three albums just last year.