Michael Jackson’s Thriller: The Haunting of Pop Music

Michael Jackson’s Thriller did more than dominate the charts. It turned a pop song into horror cinema, transformed the music video into a cultural event, and gave Vincent Price one of the most recognizable spoken performances in music history.This episode explores the 1982 album, the 1983 short film, the choreography, practical makeup, MTV spectacle, Halloween afterlife, and the extraordinary cultural moment that made Thriller almost impossible to escape.Support Buried by Time at:https://buymeacoffee.com/whythankyouWatch the official Thriller short film:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaAResearch and sourcesLibrary of Congress, National Film Registry:https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/descriptions-and-essays/Library of Congress, National Recording Registry, 2007:https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/registry-by-induction-years/2007/Recording Academy, “Michael Jackson’s Grammy Night: 30 Years Later”:https://www.grammy.com/news/30-years-later-michael-jacksons-thrilling-grammy-night/Recording Academy, “Michael Jackson’s Thriller: For the Record”:https://www.grammy.com/news/michael-jacksons-thriller-record-1/Vanity Fair, “The Thriller Diaries”:https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/07/michael-jackson-thriller-201007Billboard, chart history for Thriller:https://www.billboard.com/lists/most-weeks-at-no-1-billboard-200-taylor-swift-the-beatles/