Thriller 25

Dancing with the Stars Thriller Tribute:

Omarion Thriller 25 tribute - Performance begins at 2:40

YouTube - DWTS Result Show - Week 9 - Thriller Tribute

VERSAGT! :lol

Thrills and spills

Mark Ellen
Published 22 May 2008

The Michael Jackson phenomenon represented a golden age - the peak of the music industry. The only way was down

At four o'clock on 8 December 1982, Michael Jackson did one of his last print interviews with me for the pop magazine Smash Hits. Shortly afterwards, his album Thriller became such a huge hit that he disappeared into a cocoon of management and PR people, only resurfacing in 1999 to refute child-abuse allegations. I remember sitting at midnight in the Smash Hits office, trying to make sense of his high-pitched, disembodied voice and his strange blend of sharp business sense and childlike wonder.

Jackson's rehabilitation is now well under way, with the second single from the 25th-anniversary reissue of Thriller, a remix of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" featuring the singer Akon, due out in June. But will it ever be possible for him to reclaim his former place in the pop firmament? It is easy to forget how ubiquitous the sound of Thriller once was, and how widespread the Jackson mania. In March 1983, performing "Billie Jean" live for a celebration of 25 years of Motown that was later televised, Jackson stole the show and introduced a key component of his multi-pronged assault on popular culture: his signature dance, the moonwalk. Small children - many sporting a single glove - sashayed across kitchen floors at every party in my street while their parents comically failed to imitate them. Like all colossal success stories, the album had an element apparently decodable only by children.

Very little I have ever owned has had its value change as fast as the tape of my Michael Jackson interview. Bowing to ever-mounting pressure, I eventually made a copy and gave it to my neighbours' daughters, after which it was bootlegged to buggery. Everywhere I went, 12-year-olds I had never met would shriek their sing-song Jackson impersonations at me from passing cars (on Lionel Bart's Oliver!: "Ooooh it's terrific . . . it's unreal, it's incredible, it's magic!"; on the Hammer Horror classics of Vincent Price: "I looooove all movies, but I don't like watching scary movies. I can't sleep after watching one!"). Most of the teenage population of Chiswick could recite one whole section verbatim, the bit about the Disneyland display of Pirates of the Caribbean privately installed at his ranch in California: "The faces move, the figures move, the eyebrows move, and their eyes and their bodies . . . and they shoot! When you step in this room there's a whole war going on!"

They were right to remember it: it was a very telling revelation. It pointed up an extraordinary gulf between Jackson's professional capabilities and his personal life. He showed a pin-sharp judgement for stage clothes, choreography, marketing and sound and video production and, with the producer Quincy Jones, had clearly developed a sixth sense about songs that might electrify a dance floor. One of the tracks considered for Thriller, he told me, was sent in by Stevie Wonder. What kind of supernatural confidence would it take to turn down a custom-built floor-filler from the man who had released Songs in the Key of Life only six years earlier?

A faintly eerie picture began to emerge of Jackson's life outside the music industry. Whenever I asked about it, everything he said pointed to a brittle, friendless isolation, a person suspended, not in adolescence, but in a permanent state of childhood. Not one single thing this 24-year-old said to me had a sexual dimension to it. His best "friends" appeared to be fellow celebrities whose predicaments he could relate to and whom he only ever seemed to meet on the phone: Elton John, the new pop sensation Adam Ant, the former child-star Mark Lester. But mostly they were icons from the illusory world of cinema. He had bought Steven Spielberg a priceless book about the life of Walt Disney ("We read it together on an aeroplane"). Barbra Streisand might be duetting with him soon, he told me. Katharine Hepburn had just been to one of his concerts.

Expeditions to the outside world could be hazardous. "If you get trapped," he said, "it's not fun. They start kissing you and tearing your clothes and tearing the hair out of your head." In Europe recently, a girl had opened her wallet to reveal "a piece of my hair. 'Look, I took this out of your head two years ago!'" Was it any wonder that he retreated to his castle, with its library, exercise room and 35-seater private cinema where he watched ET on a loop?

Sad though they are, the events that overtook him during the past 25 years didn't come as any great surprise - his unravelling as a human being, the loss of his moral compass, his debts to lawyers and the gradual evaporation of his £350m fortune. The more successful Thriller became, the harder it would be to follow and the less altruistic the advice available. On a professional level, everyone wanted a slice of his money-printing pie; on a personal level, we can only hazard a guess, but there was the odd chink of light in the Martin Bashir interview of 2003, in which Jackson told his interrogator that he had been kept awake, terrified, when touring with the Jackson Five at the age of eight, by the sound of his elder brothers having sex with girls in their communal bedroom.

Nevertheless, Jackson's influence went way beyond his musical achievements. A cautious MTV discovered that a black artist wouldn't threaten the ratings. His pioneering videos opened TV outlets for subsequent stars to sell in territories they had never heard of, without ever having to perform a note of live music. Jackson's biographer claimed the album had reactivated an industry in decline since 1978: "At some point Thriller stopped selling like a leisure item - like a magazine, a toy, tickets to a hit movie - and started selling like a household staple."

Listen to Thriller today and it has dated only very slightly, and principally because the songs have been overexposed for so long. The framework of their sound still seems as nervy and energising: the computer-driven drums, the winding synthesised bass figures, the dry and slightly claustrophobic ring of studio trickery. It's not a record that belongs outdoors, it's for a contained space with low ceilings and strip lights. Everything about it still seems artificial, including the person performing it. There's no real colour or warmth, and no real feelings. Songs are either set in a fantasy world of PG- certificate horror or cast in some social context beyond the singer's capabilities. Almost every lyric is about girls - dreams, hopes, heartbreak, loss, proprietorial fights, stand-offs with rivals - yet never, even at the time, did you imagine that he was singing about his own life.

It simply didn't matter. It was synthetic and superficial, and, to a young audience, completely unthreatening. It was as if he was simply some dazzling singing-dancing actor in an endlessly replayable cinematic musical.

You can hear echoes of Thriller's shuddering rhythms in virtually any form of machine-generated dance music today. You can remember the spectacle of Michael Jackson performing it, the first instance when music seemed to have been constructed for video rather than the other way around. And you're reminded of how emblematic it is - even today - of the great peaks the music industry scaled at the height of its monumental sales boom. But the air up there was perilously thin and there was nowhere left to climb.

Mark Ellen is editor of "The Word" magazine

"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" featuring Akon (Sony BMG) is out on 9 June

New Statesman - Thrills and spills

Zitat von TLC

"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" featuring Akon (Sony BMG) is out on 9 June

New Statesman - Thrills and spills

too bad, isnt it?
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Die Mai Ausgabe des Hombres y Mitos (Mexikanische Zeitschrift) handelt komplett über Thriller 25 (64 seiten!) mit sehr vielen Bildern usw.

quelle: Nil/MJTURKFAN --->mjhideout-->MJLegend

gibts die am kiosk bei uns?

Zitat von badwoman

gibts die am kiosk bei uns?

boa wie gerne ich das hätte -.-

64 seiten pur Michael Jackson ich freue mich ja schon auf das jubiläumsbuch so sehr!!:jump

lol Thriller 25 ist erneut auf Platz 1 der Top Pop Catalog Charts (somit die 13. woche auf Platz 1):top

Billboard- Updated Album Charts from the most Trusted Music Magazine

Anscheinend spielt MTV jetzt ein Montage-Video zu WBSS 2008 feat. Akon:

Zitat

Saw WBSS FT Akon on MTV Hits

Hey guys, I pressed the interated red button to see who was on next ands it said Wbss Michael jackson ft akon. I fount me myself is it me or am i just seeing it. But it was.
i don't think ya going to be please about the vid b/c the vid is like a montage whatever u called it with all the vids that mike has done and concert. Then u have akon in the studio singing like u saw him bk awhile ago singing to WBBS.

Source: Leanne, MJJC

Zitat

MTV BASE has just aired WANNA BE STARTIN SOMETHING video with MJ and Akon.

Did anyone know that there is a video montage to this song? I had no idea until now, when I saw it being aired on MTV BASE few moments ago. Those are old clips of Michael and footage of Akon singing the song.

Source: mjjeyes, MJJC

Ich habe übrigens am Donnerstag zum ersten Mal Werbung für Thriller 25 auf Pro 7 gesehen, ging so 10 Sekunden, aufjedenfall zum ersten Mal

Zitat von MonkeyBusiness

Ich habe übrigens am Donnerstag zum ersten Mal Werbung für Thriller 25 auf Pro 7 gesehen, ging so 10 Sekunden, aufjedenfall zum ersten Mal

cool!

"Thiller" on Bravo's "Step It Up and Dance"

Thriller mania continues on TV, as Bravo reality show Step It Up And Dance will present a special tribute to thriller on May 29th.

Thriller mania continues on TV, as Bravo reality show Step It Up And Dance will present a special tribute to thriller on May 29th. Join the contestants and judge Vincent Patterson (original choreographer) for this special event!

LegacyRecordings.com » News

Source: LeslieMJHu, KOP-Board

Zitat von Korgnex

@ TLC: Ja, es gab schon Ende März im französischen Fernsehen das offizielle Musikvideo (Clipmontage à la "One More Chance" und "Cheater") auf TF1 in Frankreich zu sehen. (dort wurde die Single, die es auf #10 schaffte also auch im Musikfernsehen gezeigt)

mjdatabank lässt grüßen

Cool, danke für den Hinweis.

iTunes Presents: The World of Michael Jackson

das war wieder so klar.
der deutsche itunes store wird ständig benachteiligt.

sei es wegen filmverleih, filmkauf, überteuerte tv-sendungen und jetzt auch noch michael jackson

aber im prinzipi eine super sache

Gott sei Dank, dass ich einen Account im US-Store habe. Wie geil!

"Thriller" Reminds Us of His Greatness

Written by COSME VIVANCO
Sunday, 08 June 2008

It would be hard pressed to contemplate what the 1980’s would’ve sounded like without the release of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. For better or worse, the release and subsequent success of Jackson’s masterpiece ushered a new era in pop music. Once upon a time, the album was a sacred template of artistic expression. An audio painting that stirred every revolutionary impulse known to man. But Thriller changed all that. The album wasn’t sanctified anymore. It became more of a slick marketing ploy that transformed its creator into a larger than life character. Michael Jackson was bigger than the entire decade itself. He was on a stratosphere that not even the Beatles could even be on. As sacrilegious as this might sound, John Lennon was right. The Beatles were more popular than Jesus. But Michael Jackson could claim that he was the only artist in the pop music world that was bigger than the Beatles.

Once upon a time, Michael Jackson was the most important phenomenon on the planet. Thriller arrived at the right possible time. The 1980’s started with two of the most jaw-dropping events that changed the direction of our culture. First, the devastating victory of Ronald Reagan over the incumbent Jimmy Carter signaled a new course in American history, one that would divide Americans into those that were important and those who weren’t. The second event was the shocking murder of John Lennon on December 8, 1980. Signaling a crushing and heartbreaking end to the sixties counterculture dream. The Reagan victory was especially glaring considering that it represented a shift back to the tepid and lackluster era of the 1950’s, which eventually led to a revolution that allowed us to communicate with one another.

The deluxe expanded edition of Thriller shows us why it was such an important album at the right time.

First off, the bonus tracks to the deluxe edition are a hit and miss. Akon’s version of “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” strips the original track to its core, reducing it to a respectable piano ballad. Kanye West’s Billie Jean 2008 is a valiant effort but someone should tell the undisputable champion of Hip-Hop that Billie Jean is best served with its timeless bass line. And Fergie’s attempt at “Beat It” is another example of how the American idol generation has done a wonderful job at bastardizing classic songs.

Notwithstanding the bonus tracks, the original 9 songs are a reminder of why Thriller remains the most popular album in music history.

The new Conservative movement that blanketed our nation might’ve not wanted us to engage in a dialogue but Thriller’s music brought us together.

The hit singles “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” taught music fans to listen each other. It gave us the permission to absorb ourselves in other genres of music that we probably wouldn’t be caught dead listening to. To understand its importance, we look no further than to the moment when Run DMC and Aerosmith joined forces to perform “Walk this Way.” Without the contributions from Jackson’s success in 1983, there is no question that moment when Hip-Hop and Rock came together wouldn’t have taken place. The creepy and sleek bass line of “Billie Jean” and its haunting music video introduced Michael Jackson to the MTV generation. Prior to “Billie Jean” music videos from black artists were pretty nonexistent. But Jackson changed the rules overnight and not only established himself to the new art form of music videos but made it all possible for other groundbreaking African-American artists to express themselves on MTV. Again, without Jackson, there’s no question that Prince wouldn’t have been the major success that he ended up being.

Lost in the shuffle of ”Beat It,” “Billie Jean” and the amazing opening track “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin” is the performance of Jackson’s singing. The greatest strength of Thriller is that voice. The way Jackson interprets each track is like a boxer methodically picking apart his opponent. And when the fighter knows he has his opponent ripe for the picking, he delivers that knockout blow. Jackson’s singing doesn’t miss a beat. Even in the saccharine duet with Paul McCartney, “The Girl Is Mine,” Jackson keeps the listener in the palm of his hand because even though he is syrupy he doesn’t come across as dishonest. “The Lady in my Life” is a better sequel to “She’s Out of My Life”. The closing track gives us a window into a maturing artist who was to get better with each album he released. Michael Jackson was destined to surpass Stevie Wonder’s groundbreaking accomplishments that he made to popular music back in the 1970’s. The decade belonged to Stevie and the 80’s were to belong to Michael Jackson.

However, Thriller is a reminder of the Michael Jackson we know today, paranoid and clearly distracted. “Still they hate you/you’re a vegetable/You’re just a buffet/you’re a vegetable/They eat off of you/you’re a vegetable” are lyrics from “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” that offer us a look at the mindset of Jackson and his battles with the tabloid press. “Billie Jean” was a song about a woman accusing Jackson of fathering one of her fraternal twins.

To look at Michael Jackson today gives me great anger. Not at just the vultures who surround him but the seeming willingness on his part to toss his talent away like it was garbage. Michael Jackson isn’t important anymore. He’s been relegated to punch line status. He was cool but now whenever you mention the name Michael Jackson it’s almost like a swear word these days. Even in my neck of the woods the very idea of having Thriller in your musical collection brings laughter.

As decent his next recordings were, Bad and Dangerous, they don’t measure to the success of Thriller. Thriller will forever haunt Michael Jackson, because as great as he was, he never duplicated the artistic and commercial success of that record. He wasn’t the same Michael Jackson, after Thriller. It’s as if subconsciously he knew that down the road his life would take such a drastic and scary turn but before that detour he wanted to leave us with something that we could all appreciate.

LuminoMagazine.com - "Thriller" Reminds Us of His Greatness

Die weltweiten Top 5 der letzten 3 Jahre (Stand: 20.06.2008)

2008

1. Jack Johnson - 2,4 Mio
2. Michael Jackson - 2,1 Mio
3. Madonna - 2,1 Mio
4. Duffy - 2,1 Mio
5. Mariah Carey - 1,6 Mio

Documento senza titolo

2007

1. High School Musical 2 - 6,1 Mio
2. Linkin Park - 5,9 Mio
3. Alicia Keys - 5,6 Mio
4. Mika - 5,6 Mio
5. Eagles - 5,5 Mio

Documento senza titolo

2006

1. Amy Winehouse - 9,9 Mio
2. Justin Timberlake - 8,9 Mio
3. High School Musical - 8,0 Mio
4. Nelly Furtado - 8,0 Mio
5. Red Hot Chili Peppers - 7,5 Mio

Documento senza titolo

Man sieht deutlich, dass die Verkaufszahlen von Jahr zu Jahr rückläufig sind. Amy Winehouse wird demnächst mit "Back To Black" die 10 Mio-Grenze durchstoßen.
Aber seit 2006 wurde kein Album mehr veröffentlicht, welches ebenfalls über diese Marke hinaus schießen könnte.

Abwarten...Lil Wayne hat grad in der ersten Woche über 1Mio Platten alleine in den Staaten verkauft.