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Your thought on Thriller as a song

analogue

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Forget about the short film, the dance and the iconic red jacket, and just focus on Thriller as a song only. What are your thoughts on it? The general public will say that's one of his best (if not his best) songs ever. Whenever someone mentions Michael, someone usually starts singing ''Thriiiiiiilllllerrr'' while doing part of the dance.

But when I take away all the hype that surrounds the song (The short film, the dance, and the red jacket) I don't think the song is one of his best. For me, it wouldn't make it into my top 40 favourite MJ songs, and I actually think it's the weakest song from the Thriller album. Yes, even more so than The Girl Is Mine (But that's just my opinion). That's not to say I don't like the song. I still enjoy it, but I sometimes think that the hype that surrounds the song is more popular than the song itself.
 
It's not among my top favourites either, but I also think fans sometimes underrate it (the Thriller album in general actually, and OTW to a lesser degree too) exactly because it receives so much attention.

Judged on its own I think it is a very good track. Great bassline and rhythm guitar pushing the groove, very nice synth textures. The only thing that I get bit tired of after giving it so many spins are the horror sound effects throughout the song, but of course they are also part of its appeal.
 
Yeah imo it's not his strongest song. My fav part of the song is actually the bridge, "Night creatures crawl in the dance floor to walk in the masquerade" I get goosebumps every time i hear that part. Lush harmonies, strong vocals. It's not a bad song but not his strongest.
 
The reasons why love Thriller are because of the short film and Vincent Price monologue, Vincent is my favorite classic horror movie star. If it wasn't for those elements that really helped enhancing the song, that mere track does little for me. Invincible and Thriller are the weakest tittle tracks for his solo records, just my opinion.
 
It's a wonderful song - I have many great memories with that song.

But not the best he has done. - Even on Thriller there are many better songs.
 
I agree with pretty much everything in this thread. It's certainly produced and mixed well. I always perk up and listen just because the production value is so good. A lot of what appeals to me are the little tiny enhancements, the white noise, the suspense that builds up.

The way Thriller compares to all the other songs on the album is more or less equal. They are all very different. I also agree that it's not his best, but by no means is it his worst effort. It's hard to escape the cultural part though, all the branding. Often when people talk about Thriller I think that it's the whole package that excites them so much.

It's not one of my ultimate favorites, but I do of course love it.
 
The production... Mind blowing! So much stuff going on, so much diversity in terms of arrangement and complexity, at the same time it's exciting to listen to. Michaels background vocals are off the wall. So yeah, love the song as a whole.
 
^^^^

Agree with everything IMWhizzle said.

Great song, great production. - But still not the best song from Thriller IMO. - And by far not my personal favorite top 5.
 
SoCav;4090560 said:
Judged on its own I think it is a very good track. Great bassline and rhythm guitar pushing the groove, very nice synth textures.
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reibish;4090597 said:
It's certainly produced and mixed well. I always perk up and listen just because the production value is so good. A lot of what appeals to me are the little tiny enhancements, the white noise, the suspense that builds up.
Click to expand...

IMWhizzle;4090621 said:
The production... Mind blowing! So much stuff going on, so much diversity in terms of arrangement and complexity, at the same time it's exciting to listen to. Michaels background vocals are off the wall. So yeah, love the song as a whole.
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Thanks!

“Thriller” (the song) attained perfection in terms of production but there are people who are still unable to see that…
 
Sheer genius.

People seem inclined to credit the appeal of the song to the video and iconography surrounding it. But push all that away this is perfectly crafted pop music.
 
I've always found it fascinating that this was the foundation for Thriller:

 
I find it rather hard to distinguish this song from the short film to be honest. That's just how powerful the short film was, both as a piece of art in itself as well as it's impact culturally.

But yes, it is a wonderfully produced pop song isn't it! I've always wanted to hear a version without Vincent Price, not as a disrespect to the man himself (because his rap is incredible) but just so I can hear that sweet sweet instrumental beneath :p
 
dewey said:
I've always found it fascinating that this was the foundation for Thriller:

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The interesting thing about that to me is that from a songwriting perspective the track was already fully developed before it became Thriller and thus features the same dark undertones: the intro that sounds like impending doom, the menacing bass line, the creepy keyboard motifs, Michael's vocal delivery in the verses that suggests something bad is about to happen, etc.

The big shift is in the lyrics. Where Thriller focuses on typical horror elements, Starlight's sketchy lyrics seem to be more about Michael convincing a girl to be his because their love might brighten up their lives and give them a new beginning in the dark and messed up world they live in ("Across the nation there's always people trying to pull you down," "We need some starlight"). Thriller has a slight element of Mike appealing to a girl in the last verse and chorus ("Now is the time for you and I to cuddle close together, all through the night, I'll save you from the terrors on the screen," "Cause I can thrill you more than any ghost would ever dare try"), but overall is clearly dominated by the horror imagery.

The funny thing is that thematically Starlight actually seems to fit better with other tracks on the album that have that same sense of paranoia about them (Billie Jean and parts of WBSS).
 
HIStoric;4090691 said:
I've always wanted to hear a version without Vincent Price, not as a disrespect to the man himself (because his rap is incredible) but just so I can hear that sweet sweet instrumental beneath :p
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It is available on the 7’’ single edition.
 
You're right. But it's one of those songs which never age; the beat, the bass line, the keyboard, the vocals and the catchy chorus keep it alive to this day. I'll admit though that the bass line + keyboard is 80-ish, but it doesn't get in the way at all.
Having said that, I still don't think it's his best song ever! To me his best songs are from around 1987-1997 - other than Billie Jean and Human nature of course!
 
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