Songwriting History and Criticism
18 April 2015
Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”: a Groundbreaking Benchmark for Modern Pop
“Thriller” by the acclaimed king of pop, Michael Jackson, remains one of the most revolutionary singles in the world. The song, released in 1982, was part of the award winning and revolutionary album titled “Thriller.” In fact, the song and album’s significance is evident by the fact that it remains the best-selling album in the United States of America 35 years after it was released. Statistics indicate that the album has sold between 80 and 100 million copies worldwide and is still tremendously popular today. Defining the monumental value of “Thriller” is not limited to the sales figure alone. The song motivated the creation of a music video that revolutionized the music video industry and set a benchmark for other music videos. Since its release, many artists have tried to emulate the video. “Thriller” not only made history as a song, but also helped to build bridges across different cultures and ethnicities. This term paper examines the attributes of the song that made it a distinguished piece of art; namely, its artist, genre, composition, videography, and influence.
Artist
Michael Jackson is the artist renowned for the “Thriller” song and album. The singer’s popularity as a musician was on the rise from the time he was part of “The Jackson 5,” a family run band that consisted of five brothers. Michael Jackson, born in 1958, was the youngest in this group, as well as the favorite because of his distinguished voice and stage performance despite his young age. For this reason, he was the lead singer of the group. Some of the popular hits by this group included “I want you back” and “ABC.” However, Michael Jackson really took off the moment he pursued a solo music career. Jackson’s successful solo career began in 1971 when he was only 13 years old, while he was still part of the Jackson 5. Michael Jackson’s greatest hit was the “Thriller” album released in 1982. This album is historically the best-selling album, holding seven out of the nine tracks on the Billboard’s Top 10 hits list (Martin, 2012). Michael Jackson’s career after the release of the album catapulted the musician to stardom in the music industry and rightfully earned him the title “King of Pop.”
Genre and Composition of “Thriller”
The classification of music genres is difficult in this modern age due to the infusion of several musical instruments and styles. Artists continue to push boundaries in an attempt to redefine styles and influence genres. However, there is always a blueprint followed by a particular music genre. The pop genre is one of the more complex ones to define because it infuses several styles. However, some fundamentals of the genre are outstanding irrespective of the artist. The pop genre is normally produced to appeal to the masses. The main goal is to sell records and not necessarily achieve artistic significance (Takiguchi, 2013). For this reason, the following characteristics are common to the pop genre. First, the song’s melodies and hooks are catchy. Secondly, the song has a verse-chorus structure. Third, the chorus and the verse contrast each other in their melodies and rhythm. Fourth, the song has rhythms that provoke or motivate dancing. Fifth, the song is usually 3 minutes long and studio recording is often preferred in the production of the song over live performances. Sixth, the genre advocates songs that echo the prevalent pop culture in society. In addition, the simplicity of the lyrics makes pop memorable to the target audiences.
An analysis of “Thriller” reveals the attributes mentioned above. For example, the song commences with synth crescendo and an accompaniment of drums after only 40 seconds. The emphasis on melodies is achieved by delaying the bass of the song. Using this strategy enables the listener to perceive a character of the song, which makes the audience want to listen to it more. The introduction of the 1 bar bass is evidently on a repetitive riff that precedes the drums needed to endow the song with an upbeat feel. This upbeat feel encourages the listener to start dancing, and this provocation is enhanced by lyrics that are in a creepy style. The isolation and clarity of the opening line make the listener contextualize the theme of the song immediately. In this case, the line “it’s close to midnight, and something evil is lurking in the dark…” contextualizes the song as a horror song. The introduction of the guitar is as smooth as it gets with clean sound and a repetitive funk that is short. An analysis of the song reveals its propensity to hover around the C# minor. The repetition of each section is achieved using a 1 bar repeating bass. Similarly, the lyrics are given the same rhythm in order to make them catchy and memorable. “Thriller” is exceptional for its complex infusion of technology and a mixture of samples. For example, the vocals in the song have been overdubbed, and the ending of the song features a narrative rap by Vincent Price. Incorporating the voice of Price adds a touch of fear and authority to the song that resonates well with its character. The musical instruments are also carefully combined despite having different bit rates. For example, the instruments include a keyboard, a drum machine, horns, bass, and a guitar. The synchronizing of all these instruments requires expert volume equalization skills and mastery to ensure that each instrument accentuates the mood of the song. There is also the skillful use of crescendos and diminuendos in the transition from one part of the song into another. For example, the narration of Vincent Price at the end of the song is accentuated when the dynamics of the song are suppressed. However, Michael Jackson’s powerful vocals are steadily restored to give continuity to the song.
Comparison with Le-freak by Chic (1978)
The band Chic produced a song titled “le-Freak” four years before the release of “Thriller,” and there are clear differences in the styles used to introduce the two songs. For example, “Thriller” starts with a synth crescendo and an accompaniment of drums before the introduction of vocals. On the contrary, the vocals in “Le-Freak” are introduced immediately after the drum beat. In addition, the drum beats in “le-Freak” are abrupt while the drum beat in “Thriller” assumes a rising synth. The verses in “Le-Freak” can be described as episodic to the extent that they direct the rhythm of the musical instruments. On the other hand, the verses in “Thriller” are continuous and seem to be directed by the rhythm of the musical instruments. The infusion of screams, animal howls, and other soundtrack effects in “Thriller” were novel musical styles especially in the pop genre at that time.
Influence of “Thriller”
The song received positive reviews upon its release. However, its major influence was in motivating the creation of the music video that forever changed the music video industry.
Thriller became the first documentary-styled music video. In other words, it was the first music video to animate the contents of the song by shifting attention away from the artist (Fusilli, 2009). Earlier music videos had focused on the artist and not on the lyrics and theme of the song. “Thriller” became the first music video that focused on the entertainment of the audiences rather than the visual popularization of the artist.
The music video adopted a narrative similar to cinema films. The incorporation of cinema style scenes, such as when Michael Jackson converses with his girlfriend, was not conventional at the time. The employment of this style enabled the music video to offer a narrative of its own. The video style iconography of the music video was unique in terms of the lighting and color, costumes and make-ups, settings and props, facial expressions and body language, and the position of the characters and the objectives in the frames. For example, most of the sceneries in the music video consisted of low-key lighting that gave an aura of mystery in the film. Michael’s Jackson patented red V-shaped jacket subtly portrayed danger, which resonated well with the title “thriller.”
The music video recognized the broad appeal of the pop genre and avoided any content that had strong explicit content or sexual imagery (Fusilli, 2009). For this reason, the music video remains a favorite to audiences of all ages. Another feature of the “Thriller” music video that enabled it to achieve unparalleled success and popularity was its avoidance of complex themes. Normally, most music videos in that era used complicated themes and styles to communicate subtle messages (Delmont, 2010). However, “Thriller” as a music video was simply the depiction of a young man who likes adventure and his girlfriend who wants protection. This simple theme resonated well with many people across races, social classes, and ethnicities. This simplicity was the reason that the music video broke down the racial divide in the music video industry. Michael Jackson’s music video was the first one performed by an Afro-American that was aired on MTV. The 14-minute long “Thriller” music video redefined the manner in which record labels released their blockbuster albums.
After the release of the “Thriller” music video, record companies began to use the same marketing and advertising methods due to its successful reception. For example, seven singles from Bruce Springsteen’s album “Born in the U.S.A” released by Columbia were enlisted in the top 10 tracks of the Hot 100. Similarly, Prince’s “Purple Rain” album released by Warner Bros. was included in the Billboards’ Top 10 of the Top 100 (Hebblethwaite, 2013). The two albums reportedly sold over 10 million copies. The well-choreographed dances in the “Thriller” music video provided more than enough entertainment for audiences who were mesmerized by the perfection of the dancers. In addition, the release of the music video in the VHS format enabled fans to access the music video whenever they wanted (Delmont, 2010). This convenience was a huge contrast to the time when audiences had to time their television schedules to watch music videos of their favorite artists. The “Thriller” music video reminded fans and artists that even music videos could be as fun and creative as films. Evidently, the catchy beats in the Michael Jackson “Thriller” song and the mesmerizing ability of its music video have never faded from history. The “Thriller” song creates the standards on which aspiring pop dancers are judged. People from different races and social classes from all over the world recognize, applaud, and test their proficiency in dancing to the “Thriller” music video. At the same time, the catchy chorus, verses, melodies, and unforgettable narration of Vincent Price in the song still give the song a sense of nostalgia whenever it is played. Even the youngest generation of the 21st century can identify with the “Thriller” music video produced 30 years before their birth. Some of the popular pop songs today that have sampled styles and themes from the “Thriller” album include Kanye West’s “The Good Life,” Nas’s “It Ain’t Hard To Tell,” and Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop The Music,” among others.
Conclusion
Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album is a classic example of how musical ingenuity can revolutionize the whole music and video industry. The “Thriller” album transcended racial, ethnic, and cultural boundaries in America. In addition, the artistic elements of the song and the music video have inspired and continue to inspire great works in music by a generation of musicians that were not alive during the release of the “Thriller” album in 1982.
References
Delmont, M. (2010). Michael Jackson & Television Before Thriller. The Journal of Pan African Studies, 3(7), 64 - 78. Retrieved from http://www.jpanafrican.com/docs/vol3no7/3.7MJ-Television-7.pdf
Fusilli, J. (2009, July 1). How Jackson Did It. The Walk Street Journal. Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124640253445176213
Hebblethwaite, P. (2013, November 21). How Michael Jackson's Thriller changed music videos forever. Phil Hebblethwaite. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/21/michael-jackson-thriller-changed-music-videos
Martin, S. J. (2012). The Roots and Routes of Michael Jackson’ s Global Identity. Sociology, 49, 284–290. Retrieved from http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/12636940/The_Roots_and_Routes_of_Michael_Jacksons_Global_Identity-libre.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ56TQJRTWSMTNPEA&Expires=1427932132&Signature=MxIYCB25MzIRi0XFvaN7tqSUUZM%3D
Takiguchi, A. (2013). Michael Jackson’s Performance of Difference: Dance as Ostracism and Wonderment. Retrieved from http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/download/fedora_content/download/ac:173550/CONTENT/TAKIGUCHI_-_Thesis.pdf
