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LailaDawn t1_iybz6zo wrote

When the video for Thriller debuted on Mtv it was a huge deal. They teased it for days. The day it was to be debuted my parents hooked up the stereo to the tv so we could get good sound and they dimmed the lights. I was about 8 and I was so enthralled and scared! It's one of the best family memories I have. It's one of the best Mtv memories I have. It was once in a lifetime experience.

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Crayfish707 t1_iyb1iko wrote

Believe it’s still the best selling album of all time

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han-lotion t1_iycytgf wrote

Yes and it will never ever be beat either!

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giantgorillaballs t1_iyd7kor wrote

Didn’t The Eagles have it beat at one time? Obviously not anymore though

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lobeyou t1_iydevop wrote

Eagles Greatest Hits is slowly catching up, and I think overtook Thriller.

But that is based off of the fact that Hotel California gets streamed at a very high rate compared to anything on Thriller, so that really feels like it shouldn't count, but according to the RIAA, X number of streams of a song count as an album sale.

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han-lotion t1_iydaf40 wrote

I think that was only in the United States but I could be wrong

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MDNBLUES t1_iydtl8s wrote

The Eagles beat Thriller according to Google but ONLY in the US. Thriller is still the best selling of all time worldwide.

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jivewhiteboy t1_iyb767n wrote

Human Nature was written by Toto.

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3allz t1_iyex1ul wrote

The guys from Toto had a huge part in MJs solo career. Wasn’t just human nature. Steve Lukather played the main riff on beat it and the drums were sampled by Jeff Porcaro. Those guys plus Steve Porcaro also did most of the music for “Stranger in Moscow” too and countless other songs on numerous albums. They’re so underrated and musically brilliant.

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Yasashii_Akuma156 t1_iyb4ytl wrote

An awesome album! I remember buying the vinyl at K-Mart the week it was released, and dubbing it to cassette to listen to on my Walkman. I was 10 and it was one of the first music purchases I'd make with my allowance. Everyone was talking about it at school.

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KING_KAMAL_7 t1_iybcwkc wrote

In another 40 years thriller will still be around

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ZweitenMal t1_iybqgvo wrote

It was so, so fun. I’ll never forget we memorized the dance and dressed up in weird clothes and put on a show for the parents. I was 8.

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musicpye t1_iyaqchc wrote

Wow. 40 years? 👌 MJ s gone. But his music lives on. ❤️

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kindDan93 t1_iyb7wrs wrote

Except the one ft. Paul McCartney. Freakin really uncomfortable song lmao

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brywalkerx t1_iybfbag wrote

The worst part is that McCartney got to release Say Say Say which is the FAR superior song.

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sightlab t1_iydkwcs wrote

On the video shoot for that, McCartney told Michael Jackson about buying back-catalogues of music rights. Jackson said “Maybe I’ll own your songs some day”. And then he outbid McCartney on his own back catalogue.

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whatevayoosay t1_iyb8xtg wrote

I just turned 40 years old earlier this year. I'm in great company. Michael Jackson's "Thriller," Prince's "1999," so many great albums came out in 1982... But then of course a lot of shockers came out as well, LOL!

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phiafii t1_iybof6o wrote

TIL Thriller is exactly 5 years older than me.

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Heisenbread77 t1_iyemzf6 wrote

Happy real cake day! I was five when this came out and my mom played it so much I know it very well.

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phiafii t1_iyeyvrs wrote

Thank you!!! I seen the music video when I was a kid, scared the shit out of me. But I loved it.

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DMMMOM t1_iyc434l wrote

I was stunned when this came out, how could something be so good? I listened to it several times a week for at least 2 years. Still sounds as fresh as a daisy.

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BloodyCuts t1_iyccqqn wrote

I’ve gotten into music production over the past couple of years, and have a much greater appreciation for mixing and mastering now, as well as many facets that were completely unknown to me. Listening to Thriller again gives me a whole new appreciation of just how well put together that album is. The choice of instrumentation and the level of producing is absolute next-level. It’s impeccable, and holds up against anything these days, despite how much technology has evolved.

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Supergamera t1_iycmw5q wrote

If it doesn’t auto-win “most iconic 80s album by a male vocalist”, it is a very strong contender.

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ImUrFrand t1_iycnj0r wrote

the earth has spun around the sun 40 times.

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Mikimao t1_iycvhdy wrote

TIL I lived 20 entire days without Thriller

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Sea-Amoeba-3388 t1_iyd0qa2 wrote

Gary Glitter's Rock and Roll, Parts 1 and 2 were 50 years old this year. Not as big as Thriller obviously, but still a noteworthy half-centenary. You don't hear much about Glitter these days, I guess people struggle to separate the artist from the music.

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mistermalc t1_iyd1swp wrote

I associate thriller with Halloween. Was it not really indented to be a Halloween song given its release date?

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[deleted] OP t1_iyd2isb wrote

[deleted]

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mistermalc t1_iyd8sag wrote

I see. So the song thriller was probably released earlier then the entirety of the album later. Gotcha!

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DaddyJBird t1_iyd49ye wrote

I remember the first time watching it. I was 9 and at a friends house The while family waited and we watched. Then headed off to Chuck-e-Cheese.

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Volcano_Tequila t1_iye2vi4 wrote

It was a critical and popular success at first, no question, but I truly believe that by intersecting with the rise of MTV by breaking the color barrier there, and then using Hollywood studio quality video as a platform to visualize and showcase Jackson's particular genius with irresistible fare like Billie Jean and Beat It, the album crossed over like no album ever did. Jackson's potent fame from the previous Off the Wall and earlier Jackson Five went into another level, and then his appearance at the Motown anniversary special nailed it. It is like everything came together perfectly.

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GypsyEyes69 t1_iye5exn wrote

Listening to Beat It getting car fixed and just mention the 40th over the radio in the lobby while seeing this - weird. Eddie V’s solo and MJ doesn’t sound outdated at all.

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[deleted] OP t1_iyejkjl wrote

It was a sleeper album for a month or two then BANG.

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Shoganx t1_iyax8u4 wrote

It has never left the top 200 charts in 40 years since its release.

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Universe_Zen t1_iyblnee wrote

Crazy to think there was a time when people would listen to the actual Thriller track outside of Halloween lol

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gc9958 t1_iybreo3 wrote

You don’t listen to it except during halloween? I occasionally have a MJ phase multiple times a year and thriller is always on the rotation

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Universe_Zen t1_iybrr0n wrote

I'll listen to MJ whenever. It's just the actual Thriller single has become soooooo associated with Halloween that the only time you'd ever hear it on a radio is during that time anymore. Back in the 80s I remember stations playing it throughout the year

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EMPulseKC t1_iyc0cnm wrote

It's still in regular rotation year-round on the retro radio stations in my local market.

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Universe_Zen t1_iyc17ur wrote

Your local markets are way cooler than any in Colorado. The only stores that seem to play Thriller here anymore (I'm talking the song Thriller btw, not the album and it's other tracks) are Spirit Halloween stores in October. Be hard pressed to hear it in the month of May at a grocery store here. Billie Jean, Beat It, Wanna Be Starting Something...all the time.

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[deleted] OP t1_iyb5x7j wrote

[deleted]

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ccrider92 t1_iybb8xe wrote

Read into any famous person and you’ll discover that none of them are saints.

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ariesdiver323 t1_iyb6ag9 wrote

How many children was he raping while I listened to this album in my bedroom as a 9 year old?? I can't listen anymore. It's too gross

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EMPulseKC t1_iyc060y wrote

Except nothing that you said about him has ever been proven to have happened.

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Papa___Smacks t1_iycpc0p wrote

Idk man the HBO documentary was pretty persuasive to me. The best case scenario is still that Michael Jackson used his celebrity to have little boys sleep in his bed which is still super weird and inappropriate. If you believe any of the alleged victims, it’s much much worse than that.

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EMPulseKC t1_iydee8j wrote

Wasn't that HBO documentary criticized for being extremely one-sided by promoting untrue allegations of sexual abuse from two accusers as fact, even though they walked them back later after the allegations were exposed as false?

Was MJ's behavior weird and inappropriate? Definitely. Do I believe he was aware at the time that it would be considered to be what we now refer to as "grooming?" No. Do I think that it extended to inappropriate sexual contact? No, nor is there any proof to corroborate accusations that it did.

For as much as the public saw Michael Jackson as an adult, in many ways, he seemed to still be mentally focused on being a "kid" and exploring the childhood he never had due to abuse and being groomed by people in showbiz himself. That's why he identified so strongly with Peter Pan and why his mansion was a big playhouse with an amusement park, and why his behavior extended to palling around with children much, much younger than him, often with their parents' knowledge and consent. And I don't think the sense of any of it being wrong entered his mind until the allegations and court battles started, at which point he suddenly pivoted into trying to prove himself as an adult -- getting married, having kids, etc.

MJ had major mental, emotional, and interpersonal issues that weren't treated with the level of appropriate therapy and intervention that they deserved. He was enabled by those around him and vulnerable to people taking advantage of his trust, and all of that contributed to his early death, and it's really easy to make jokes about the dead and accuse them of crimes when they're no longer around to push back. And that's exactly what that documentary tried to do.

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Papa___Smacks t1_iydhryb wrote

The documentary was not exposed as fake lol

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EMPulseKC t1_iydhxiq wrote

The documentary was not fake.

The accusations of sexual misconduct were.

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Papa___Smacks t1_iydp5rq wrote

I’m not sure anyone admitted to that. I understand thag Jackson was abused, but honestly I just don’t find it hard to believe that he did perpetuate that abuse. I think some people like Michale Jackson and Kobe Bryant actually benefited from dying with regards to their sexual abuse allegations. Neither really had to answer for it during me too, and because they’ve passed tragically it’s considered in poor taste to discuss. I think it ultimately comes down to a personal opinion, and I think reasonable people can disagree.

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brywalkerx t1_iybfhi5 wrote

Literally the greatest record ever recorded.

I’m willing to make that sacrifice.

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