Note: This post is part of a series where I listen to an album each day in December. Past posts can be found on my substack. All hyperlinked songs go to Spotify links, Youtube links can be found at the end of the post.
Trigger Warning: This piece mentions sexual assault
It’s almost 10 pm and I still haven’t finished listening to an entire album. Today was a difficult day, and honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to making commentary on anything. I got halfway through two other albums but abandoned ship because I couldn’t think of an angle. My main motivation for this exercise is to become a better listener and better writer, but when the clock is ticking there are only so many challenges I can handle. I needed another softball today, and I’m sure you’re thinking, how is Thriller a softball? Well, dear reader, Michael Jackson has been on my mind non-stop for the last four months after listening to a Wondry Podcast called Think Twice: Michael Jackson. Listening to the series has completely changed my perspective on the man we know as the King of Pop, and my choice to listen to Thriller today gives me both joy and the ability to talk about one of the greatest podcasts I’ve ever heard.
Thriller, released in 1982, was Michael Jackson’s sixth studio album. In another collaboration with the ingenious Quincey Jones, the duo produced the best-selling album of all time with 51.2 million copies sold. The lore surrounding this album’s production and this era of Jackson’s career is far too vast to address here, but if you’re unfamiliar with the details I suggest you get hip.
Musically, Jackson shows his undeniable talent through an incredibly sophisticated pop record that doesn’t have a single skip. With Jones as a sage guide, they craft intricate tracks with catchy melodies and moving rhythms. The album would give Jackson an unprecedented level of fame for a Black artist in the mainstream. Tracks like “The Girl is Mine (with Paul McCartney)” and “Beat It” helped him crossover into the white pop demographic and break formally impenetrable fortresses like that of MTV. Jackson was the first Black artist to have a video in heavy rotation on MTV, but not without a serious fight. Think Twice: Michael Jackson gets into the racist nitty gritty that was MTV’s programming. The team at Epic Records essentially had to threaten to pull all videos from their other artists to ensure that Jackson would get airtime, and when he did the video was “Billie Jean,” not the more Rock and Roll influenced “Beat It” the station wanted. Unbeknownst to them, Michael Jackson would create the modern music video and raise the bar for all other artists on MTV, and when he died in 2009, MTV and other music-based stations would play his videos on a 24/7 loop.
For those around to watch Thriller dominate the mainstream, it seems redundant to say the album changed everything, but as a fan of Michael Jackson who only sees him through a carefully crafted posthumous image, it’s important to understand just how influential the album was. This is where the podcast I mentioned before becomes essential. Episode 6 “Michael on High” gets into the specifics of Thriller and its effects on culture and Jackson, but the entire show is a demonstration of how to engage with a problematic artist, whose work is inescapable and often tide to extremely significant moments in our lives.
The tidbit I always share to get prospective listeners engaged has to do with Jackson’s Super Bowl halftime performance in 1993. His booking was a way to ensure viewers wouldn’t change the channel away from the game, as many did the year before when the sketch comedy show In Living Color siphoned off much of the audience. Michael Jackson was an act that would keep viewers locked in, but for the artist himself, it was also an opportunity to further curate his persona. His appearance on stage to a long thunderous applause has become more than iconic. He stands still as a statue and the crowd goes wild, but what if I told you the clapping was fake? A sound effect pumped in to give the illusion of superstardom? Well it was, and if you look closely at the audience you can see the faces of confusion. Take a look for yourself.
The entire podcast works to unearth the truth about Jackson’s reality and the one he carefully curated along the way for us to consume. It deals with the discomfort that comes with addressing him and the number of allegations against him for grooming and assaulting children. The hosts of the show Jay Smooth and Leon Neyfakh weave in details about Jackson’s upbringing, religious life as a Jehovas Witness, and bizarre facts that are too hard to believe. They also managed to interview a plethora of people who gave not only personal insight into Jackson’s life but also the world he was navigating as a Black artist. The show doesn’t shy away from the uncomfortable reality of Jackson’s image either. They discuss the 1993 sexual abuse allegations with great care and offer listeners the tools to critique their relationship with Jackson. The last line of the show sticks with me “Maybe that’s what makes Michael Jackson ‘uncancelable,’ even if he haunts you, you don’t want to talk about it because then you’re the crazy person who sees ghosts” I think this is so incredibly true. Even in selecting Thriller as my listen for today, I considered the dividing nature inherent in Jackson’s legacy. Should I take the space to acknowledge this person and his work, or is it more appropriate to enjoy on a less public platform, to keep his music a guilty pleasure? I concluded that I should discuss the work and bring with it a resource that can help us all investigate our relationship with Jackson and his life. No matter if you listen to Jackson’s music consistently or only in public places where he seemingly is always broadcast, I would urge you to listen to Think Twice: Michael Jackson as a way to understand the bizarre, impactful, and upsetting story that is the life of MJ. If you feel like you don’t care about him enough, listen to the show for its strong journalism, audio storytelling, and thoughtfulness.
Until Tomorrow,
Emily
Listen to Thriller on YouTube
Listen to Think Twice: Michael Jackson wherever you get your podcasts