THRILLER POLL

we know, Shakey in SFC

oh no way

xp to djp

here's a really great/underrated vocal performance from young mj (doing stevie): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ3Gm3DORaM

regardless of which one it is, it's pretty impressive how low they get on the last phrase, which is like Russian bass territory

coming of age in the Bad/Dangerous era makes me kind of jealous of people who got to be ridiculously overexposed to Thriller instead

this is a remarkably good headphones album

there are a lot of neat panning tricks and production details I've never noticed before, esp. with dropped-in percussion enhancements and small background asides in either the background vocals or instruments

Might vote "Beat It" - his singing is phenomenal on that.

the "oh no" after the "eyes looked like mine" line low in the right ear on "Billie Jean"... wau

love "beat it." "they'll kick you then they beat you and they tell you it's fair" always makes me sad these days.

coming of age in the Bad/Dangerous era makes me kind of jealous of people who got to be ridiculously overexposed to Thriller instead

As a stubborn fourth-grader, I held back for so long. I was a Men at Work man, fan of Billy Joel and the Police. Not really into this dance music.

I finally relented and I remember riding home from Wal-Mart, looking at the cassette and thinking, Okay, we'll give it a chance.

Then I opened it up and went, Ooh! A tiger!

The least likely song I'd vote for is "Lady in My Life."

i could choose either Gonna Be, PYT, Billie Jean or Beat It and live with the decision. choosing between them is impossible

also the least like song you'd write (xpost)

I would write "The Girl is Mine," however.

"The Girl Is Mine" is the only song I would for sure never ever vote for. Usually I toss a vote to "Baby Be Mine" for its gloss.

Yeah, I've heard it all before, Michael. She told me I was her forever lover.

shit idk -- PYP

lol PYT

this is impossible

I wanna love you, my Pleasant Young Plains

voted "Human Nature", one of my favorite songs in the universe as I've probably blabbed about elsewhere on ILM; obv the singing is incredible but that closing keyboard riff, with the little "cha cha" (is that a drum machine or is that Michael scatting?) is unearthly. plus the vibe of the song never fails to disorient me; even as an eight-year old I found the "I like living this way / I like loving this way" liberating & couldn't figure out if Michael meant it or not, & that's part of its attraction to me still.

This poll is harder than fuck. The palm muted guitar on "Wanna Be..."!!! The synth trumpet on "Billie Jean"!!! Everything about "Beat It"!!! The total cocoon-womb of "Human Nature"!!!

i lent this to a family friend when i was little and he drew stubble and a moustache on MJ in ballpoint pen - i have seriously never forgiven him for that

ugly young thing!

The guitar playing on this whole record is fucking awesome tbqh...

All credit to Toto and (on "Beat It") Eddie Van Halen.

Yeah, well! Toto, when employed in the service of good, can be an amazing thing.

Billie Jean for me please!

just putting this here, in case you may be a fan of Thriller yet have perhaps never heard it. often referred to by MJ fans as being the beginning of that whole 'hiccup'y vocal era referenced upthread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yt-bKGeeP8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2zx9uukY-s

always liked this demo

also a good documentary on how it was recorded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8if4LV_SzE

i never heard "Heartbreak Hotel" before he died but it's been a staple of posthumous radio tributes i've listened to, both in '09 and earlier this week, awesome song.

"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." Hate "Beat It," got tired of "Billie Jean" long ago. I like "Human Nature," love SWV's "Right Here."

sophie's choice.

human nature v. beat it

And Though You Fight To Stay Alive
Your Body Starts To Shiver
For No Mere Mortal Can Resist
The Evil Of The THRILLER

voted "human nature." really wish thriller had gotten this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLEhh_XpJ-0
and pipes of peace got "the girl is mine"

otm "say say say" is so much better

We all agree!

"The Girl is Mine" vs "Say Say Say"

"The Girl is Mine" is the sound of noticing you have erectile dysfunction syndrome for the first time while sitting in lukewarm water.

― Z S, Tuesday, December 18, 2007 12:17 AM (3 years ago) Bookmark

^otm

and Linda McCartney harmonies are the lukewarm water.

Human Nature is so gorgeous, I never get tired of hearing it. The lyrical imagery is so great.

yeah i relistened to this album and p.y.t. was tempting but def voting human nature

Michael's home demo of "Billie Jean."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E_1eYWx4fM

The palm muted guitar on "Wanna Be..."!!!

And his scatting in unison with it!

Yeah, well! Toto, when employed in the service of good, can be an amazing thing.

― Axolotl with an Atlatl (Jon Lewis), Tuesday, August 30, 2011 6:51 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

As I recall, when they started putting out records, critical consensus was, "How can these guys sound so great on other peoples' records, but sound iredeemably shitty on their own?"

I am no huge fan of "Say Say Say", but it probably would have benefited from Quincy Jones producing instead of George Martin, while "The Girl Is Mine" might have worked with Martin producing.

Btw. I consider "The Man" to be the best of those three songs they did together. :)

Can't hear Human Nature without being transported back to shit teenage house parties, circa 11pm. The vomit is drying on the carpet, one girl is crying on the stairs, the hard kids are ransacking the host's parents' bedroom. Then Human Nature comes on the stereo, and three couples take to the floor to "slow dance" and snog awkwardly while everyone else just wishes their fucking lifts home would arrive.

Jackson could sing low—down to a basso low C

A lot of very famous people (JLennon for instance) had two signatures, one for autographs and one for contracts/cheques/etc.

I think MJackson had two speaking voices, one deeper one for normal business/work/private use, and the high one for fans/interviews/public.

While I was aware of Michael Jackson as a kid in the 80s, I didn't really get round to hearing any of his albums until much much later. I therefore can't help thinking of SWV's excellent Right Here when I hear Human Nature.

I'd love to here some basso MJ singing.

Did Thriller really sell a hundred million copies?

Wyman was decidedly more cynical about Jackson's purported sales figures in the days after Michael's death (on Wyman's now-defunct Hitsville blog):

[Thriller was the best-selling album ever in the U.S.] until Their Greatest Hits by the Eagles supplanted it. Now, you’ll, note, everyone talks about how Thriller is the largest selling album worldwide. It probably is, but it’s a conveniently uncheckable factoid; in some twelve days of almost constant coverage, I’ve yet to hear someone say that Thriller is the second best-selling album in U.S. history.

Nice to know it only took him three and a half years to check the "conveniently uncheckable."

pyt

TLC

Don't get all the hate for Bad; to me, it's his best album.

Wow, this is maybe the most OTM poll result spread ever, except for "Baby Be Mine" beating "The Girl Is Mine" and "bracket slash i bracket" beating "Beat It."

lol

Nah, swap "The Girl Is Mine" with "The Lady in My Life."

^

weird that thriller itself scored so low imo; i mean human nature's nice but fuckin thriller y'all

just read Nelson George's Thriller book on the plane ride from Chicago.

tracer otm. also the girl is mine shouldn't have gotten any votes

now Hungry4Ass we're really not gonna fight about this, ok?

Really wasn't sure whether I wanted to write about this, but in the end I decided better done than not done: http://nobilliards.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/michael-jackson-thriller.html

Aha awesome! I'm glad you did, MC.

(Saves link to Pocket, brews another PG Tips).

guys i just uploaded this for you cause its so dope yw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTBQilmQhjI

this is wayyyyyy better than the released version!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFWmSULkvXU

you're right; that version is much better.

Are the drums on Billie Jean played by a human or a machine?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_%22Ndugu%22_Chancler

thanks. the beat is so solid, I thought it was a machine.
And the sound of that snare is great - instantly recognizable. so crisp.

Yes, for many years I also assumed that the drums were sequenced samples. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that a human being could play with such extraordinary precision.
As to the sound of Chancler's kit, it's apparently down to a special wooden platform constructed in the studio by the engineer on the Thriller sessions, Bruce Swedien.

No, those are definitely acoustic drums, just very well engineered, as you'd expect!