It’s Mischief Night on Music Mooooonday!
So what has happened this month on Music Monday? Ray Parker Jr. wasn’t afraid of no ghosts (damn you, double negative!), and the Ramones stipulated in their “living will” (and by living will, I mean song) that they adamantly refused to be buried in a Pet Semetary. Rockwell expressed his fear and paranoia of having somebody always watching him (“I have no privacy!”), and Janet Jackson warned us of black cats, but not for the reason we fear them on Halloween.
So how can we possibly wrap up this month in spooky music?
How about…the sound of the Thriller?
Folks, there isn’t alot that I can possibly say about this song that hasn’t already been said by anyone else. “Thriller” was released as the seventh and final single from the Michael Jackson album that bears its name. The music video clocks in 14 minutes, which is substantially longer than the actual song (5:57 for the album version, 4:02 for the 7″ single edit version). The video, directed by John Landis, premiered on November 14, 1983, first aired on MTV on December 2, 1983, before being released as a single on January 23, 1984. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983-1984, and again in 2013, 2014, and 2015 (at 42, 35, and 45, respectively). The album is certified Platinum in its physical format, and Gold in its digital format.
There’s really nothing else to say except…press play!
Oh, and there is this awesome version from the 2010 video game, The Michael Jackson Experience. This isn’t my dancing, but I did get 10,000-plus points on it one time!
Darkness falls across the land…or is that Mischief Night?
What ever it is, tomorrow is Halloween, and this wraps up your Music Monday salute to “Halloween-Esque” songs.
Come back tomorrow, as Halloween closes in on Allison’s Written Words.
Allison's Written Words