Just to say it was exactly 25 years today that Thriller was released, Dec 1 1982.
It still seems like yesterday that I was huming along to the: "Girl is Mine", getting down to "Wannabe Startin Somethin" and thinking that "Billie Jean" was one of the most original songs I had ever heard. I swooned to the "Lady in My Life" and "Human Nature" would sooth me to sleep. I couldn't stand "Beat it" and "Thriller"....until I saw the videos and then the songs became bearable.

This is just my memory of Thriller 25 year ago, when I was a teenager and still at school.

Let the MJ bashing begin.

whatsgoingon said:

I was only 3. I don´t remember it being released, but I do remember Say Say Say being played on czech channels quite often and it was during the communist time when no "western stuff" was allowed.

dag said:

25 years ago, I was in the process of going from embryo to fetus, and then, I was born just the day before motown 25 and some of my first memories a few years later included mj videos
[Edited 12/1/07 8:46am]

Wanna Be Startin Something and Human Nature are 2 of the best songs i have evr heard

alphastreet said:

Xavier23 said:

evah evah? you betcha!!!

I was not alive in 1982. But I do remember watching the music videos for "Thriller," "Beat It," and "Billie Jean" for the first time. I was so scared of "Thriller"! I don't think I saw it in its complete version until I was in middle school.

I was not old enough to remember the album being released, but my earliest memories include the tail-end of Thriller-mania. We have not seen a pop star reach so many walks of life since. Honestly, I think Thriller helped improve race relations (dead serious) for my generation.

Also, I am the same age as Justin Timberlake. I understand how formative it is to have witnessed a star so bright, and the influence Michael has made on my generation.

Cinnie said:

I have to say though I see Michael's influence a lot more than I hear it. I hear Prince's influence directly all over the place, but not Michael's. I just see his influence in the dance routines of kiddie artists like Usher and Chris Brown. I hear it almost nowhere.
[Edited 12/1/07 9:47am]

I never realized until yesterday, how much I appreciate and enjoy the Thriller album.

It has some KILLER tracks

Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
Baby Be Mine
Thriller
Billie Jean
Beat It
Human Nature
P.Y.T.(This version is good but the demo is better.)
The Lady In My Life (Killer slow song..one of the best EVER...especially towards the end.)

The only song on the album I don't care for is "The Girl Is Mine" and that isn't to say, I hate it. It is just, I'm not that into it.

I'm really excited that Thriller is getting this sort of birthday/anniversary treatment. I never REALLY appreciated it until now. I just kind of thought of it as a small album, that didn't deserve to be the biggest thing in Michael's catalog. (I always thought Dangerous should have been Michael's Thriller sales-wise.)

I can see that 2008 is going to be a THRILLING year for Michael's album and his fans. If only, that NEW album was really "just around the corner." Oh well, beggers can't be choosers.

Seriously though, did someone forward my "If I Was Michael Jackson" thread to Raymone yet? LOL

Vanilli said:

"The Girl Is Mine" ranks as one of the weaker tracks on the album. But man, what an album! Billie Jean, Beat It, Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', and Human Nature, The Lady In My Life being my favorites. Thriller, PYT, and Baby Be Mine are solid songs as well.

Hopefully, more people our age will get to appreciate this album with the anniversary celebration!

midnightmover said:

Well, his groundbreaking MTV clips were a big part of his influence! Even though Thriller 25's DVD will not include material that is new to fans, those videos are a HUGE part of the "Thriller documentation".

Rodya24 said:

omg me too!

midnightmover said:

I heard the michael influence in a lot of songs, though also prince. What about songs like Because of You, Makes Me Wonder, Lost Without You, Don't Stop the Music, Good Life, Just Fine, Lovestoned, What Goes Around Comes Around, Deja Vu, Ring the Alarm. Number One and so on?

Vanilli said:

My favourite Michael album isn't Thriller neither. But for those of us who were old enough to remember it when it first came out it deserves the anniversary celebration it is receiving. Thriller is what made Michael a legend. I think you have to be old enough to appreciate how things went down between 1982 and 1984 with this album.

I caught michael around 1985 or 86, wasn't sure how big he was, but everybody old and young knew his name and they were all nuts for him on tv, so I knew that was something special

alphastreet said:

I really found about him in 1995 or 1996 through the Scream music video. I thought he was so cool! But then I became indifferent and a little turned off because of all the tabloid reports. Then I became REALLY into his music a couple of years ago.

But like whatsgoingon said, people who were not alive in 1982-84 have no true grasp of how popular he was. I cannot imagine someone who would be THAT ADORED around the world. Incredible. People in places that were not yet open to the West loved him. My father still loves his Off The Wall album.
[Edited 12/1/07 10:09am]
[Edited 12/1/07 10:11am]

rodya, I remember seeing bad for the first time too at age 4 and wondering what happened to his face, since it was otw & thriller mj i discovered around age 3 or something like that. I remember seeing captain eo, and the premiere of black or white and a bit of oprah, but scream made me rediscover him when I was catching up on videos and songs I'd missed, and discovering his album tracks which made me love him ever more, and it seemed like people my age were also going through that for some time during history, but then the tabloid reports ticked me off for a bit and I went through on and off phases with him since, though all in all, I'm a huge fan and have practically everything he's released, and easily get ticked off if younger people, or even people my age can't realize his influence on music and just resort to childish bashing, even though I now understand he brought a lot of that upon himself
[Edited 12/1/07 10:11am]

alphastreet said:

That is why I am hoping this anniversary celebration will bring the focus back on his music and music and videos!

Rodya24 said:

I think a lot of people already know billie jean, beat it and thriller and this is just going to promote them once again, though it deserves to be celebrated and all. If the remixes are alright, hopefully the younger crowd will like that and come to appreciate the originals. And I hope to god people realize, if they haven't already, that rihanna stole from got to be startin something....oops, that was so wrong of rihanna to say on 106 & park, made me lose some points with her.

alphastreet said:

I don't know the titles of today's songs. I just know them when I hear them. I know Ring The Alarm though and I can't hear any MJ influence in it whatsoever.

midnightmover said:

maybe it's just the passion and edge beyonce has that reminds me of michael, the siren at the beginning of the song is so michaelish, think of something like street walker

Happy Anniversary Thriller!!!!!

midnightmover said:

The beginning of Don't Stop the Music, I think, was inspired by Don't Stop Til' You Get Enough. I have not heard some of the other songs, so I am not sure about them.
[Edited 12/1/07 10:20am]

Rodya24 said:

It was inspired by "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin" actually.

I had the thriller view master slide too, and was scared of it at first, but then loved it, and it made me brave enough to give the video another chance years later

Cinnamon234 said:

Really? Still MJ-inspired then.

Damn. Almost one page through, no MJ bashing. I think this is the first.

alphastreet said:

Indeed. I hear the Michael influence in all those songs as well plus MJ's music has been sampled by artists like SWV, LL Cool J, Tupac and more. I defenitely hear the influence as far as his music goes.
[Edited 12/1/07 10:26am]