Thriller Minute

‘Thriller‘, the biggest-selling album of all time, is twenty-five years old.

Other things that are twenty-five include:

:: The NES (like a Wii but not as good)
:: Return of the Jedi (like Attack of the Clones but not as good)
:: Fraggle Rock (like Lazytown but not as good)
:: Holly Valance (like a popstar but not as good)

Traditionally, 25th birthdays are celebrated with a weekend away, lots of drugs and, in the UK, a boozy telegram from Prince Harry.

Not so for ‘Thriller’, whose quarter-centenary is being marked in a unique and special way, befitting of such a staggering and culturally-important artefact.

They’ve roped in Fergie.

Yes, to celebrate the landmark, Michael Jackson’s people have dusted him down, wheeled him out, secured any loose bits and propped him up alongside several of today’s biggest stars, on various re-recorded ‘cuts’ from the album.

So, which other musical luminaries will be joining Fergie in commemorating twenty-five years of Jackson ‘n’ Jones’s masterpiece? Let’s have a little look, shall we?

:: will.i.am!
:: Akon!!
:: Curtis ‘Half A Dollar’ Jackson!!!

Truly we are blessed. Never have such visionaries of modern music, such obvious heirs to MJ’s throne of pop prolificacy, been available on one disc. Not since ‘R&B Yearbook 2007’, anyway.

There is also a Kanye West version of ‘Billie Jean’, notable for the audacity shown by its producer in remaking it as a Kanye West song, by Kanye West, for Kanye West and featuring Kanye West. Clearly, that’s how Quincy should have done it in the first place.

The album will be out sometime this year and bits of it are floating around YouTube as we speak. Go and have a listen, if only to witness the embarrassment of Stacy Fergie Ferg The Duchess Fergalicious Ferguson straining her non-too-supple vocal chords all over ‘Beat It’.