My cousin, nephew and I were quizzing each other on some Weird Al songs and lyrics last night and it all started with a reference to "Fat" during dinner. If mimicry is flattery, than parody is flattery + amiable jest. Occasionally a parody is meant to be more of an insult but I believe in Weird Al's case he genuinely appreciates all the songs he parodies.
For those of you who now need to contrast with the King of Pop's original, "Bad", here is Micheal Jackson:
With the passing of the late and great Michael Jackson, I couldn't help but poke around my collection of Michael Jackson albums and songs. I put on the album Thriller, and there I heard it: The reason why he is referred to as "The King of Pop". The beat. The energy. The singing. The conviction. Just watch the "Beat It" video and you'll see what I mean.
The album released with hit after hit after hit at a time when most albums had one, maybe two… er… still do, I guess. 5 of the 9 songs hit #1 on the charts in the US. In retrospect, I think the album contrasts greatly with the Post-Punk and New Wave that was becoming dominant on the radio in the 80s, and may have granted an outlet for those who craved a different sound. There was the MTV boost too. The Thriller video helped catapult the still infant MTV and MTV helped catapult Thriller. Sure Michael paved the way for a lot of bad and lesser pop, but I think maybe it set the bar high for what Pop should be and was hard for even Michael himself to follow up.
It is the best selling album of all time, with over 100 million copies sold. (Number 2 and 3 being AC/DC – "Back In Black" and Pink Floyd – "Dark Side of the Moon" respectively, and both around the 45 million mark.) With that said, and with his passing being so recent, it is easy for me to say you should want, listen to and love this album (100 million of you already do), but I am going to say it anyway. I believe it to be true and this is my own little 'tip of my hat' to Michael.
(Pick up #2 and #3 while you're at it. Apparently I am more of a popular music slut than I thought. However, #4 is Meat Loaf – "Bat Out Of Hell" with 43 million? Really? I would not have guessed that! Now I have to go listen to it.)
Oh and the Thriller video! So cool. With the story line, and the dance, and even Vincent Price with the spoken word and all. You know that scene in "13 Going On 30", when Jenna (Jennifer Garner) gets the whole room doing the Thriller dance… you KNOW I wished I knew the moves so I could dance along in my living room when I saw it. Excuse me well I go to my mirror and yell "freak" at it or try out the moves. Both perhaps.
Here are my 5 favorites from the album, with "Thriller" being my favorite.
