Sitting on the couch next to Michael Jackson, you quickly lose sight of the mysterious idol glow and the almost transparent skin, and then realize that this black American legend is not so superficial. Not just an entertainer, not just a singer and dancer, this adult father of three is a confident, restrained, mature man with great creativity in his body. Michael Joseph Jackson (listening to the song) shook the world in January 1982, when he detonated the entire pop music scene with the Thriller album. This informative, rhythmic, and infectious album gave many whites a glimpse into the genius that black people have idolized for decades and broke nearly every industry record on the planet. This historic music project is also a new beginning for a career as a musical genius, although the superstar was already famous with his brother when he was 6 years old at the time of 18 years ago.
It was the first major interview he had given to an American magazine in ten years to mark the 25th anniversary of the release of The Thriller album. Jackson sat down with a reporter from Sandalwood magazine for a rare and intimate glimpse of The Thriller, its 25th anniversary performance, its experience as a father, and his vision of the state of the music industry today and the fountains behind his creativity.
Cover of Jackson's debut solo album Thriller
This is Michael Jackson, he has something to say...
Q: How did it all start?
A: Motown Records was preparing to make a movie called The New Wizard of Oz... And Quincy Jones (listening to the song) happens to be the one who made the music for the film. At that time, I had long admired Quincy's great name. When I was a kid in Indiana, my father used to buy jazz records, so I knew he was a jazz musician.
So after that, we worked on that film — we got very close when we were making the film; he helped me understand some of the lines, and he was really like a father — and I called him after the film, out of complete sincerity — because I was a shy person, especially then, I was embarrassed to look at them even when people were talking to me, and I wasn't joking,—— so I said to him at the time, "I'm going to make an album." What do you think,...... Can you recommend someone who is interested in making it for me or working with me? He paused and said, "Why don't you let me do this?" I said to myself to myself, "I don't know why I didn't think of this. "Maybe because I think he's more like my father, and he's mainly jazz music." So when he said that, I said, "Oh! That's great! "Working with Quincy, the best part is that he'll let you do what you want to do. He's not going to get in the way.
So the first time I got him there was from our first album, Madness, Rod Temperton, who also came to the studio, and he brought a lethal piece — he's a German guy from Worms , Germany — and he brought this... "doop dakka dakka doop, dakka dakka dakka doop," "Rock With You." ) throughout the melody and chorus. I said, wow! So when I heard that, I said, "Okay, I really have to start working now," so every time Lord came up with something, I would come up with something, and he and I were in healthy competition. I like to work that way. I used to read a lot about how Walt Disney worked, and if they were doing Bambi or doing an animation show, they would put a model of the deer in the middle of the floor and have the animators compete to draw various styles of styling. Whoever creates Walter's favorite effect, he chooses that one. They will compete in this way, it will be friendly, but it will be competition. Because this leads to better creation. So whenever Lord comes up with something, I'll take something, and then he'll take something, and I'll keep coming up with something else. In the end, we created a wonderful work.
Q: So, after Madness, in the spring of 1982, you went back to the studio and started making Thriller?
A: After "Madness," we had a lot of hits,—— from "Until Satisfied" to "Dance with You" to "She's Out Of My Life" to "Workin' Day and Night" — and we were also nominated for a Grammy Award, but I wasn't so happy with the whole thing because I wanted to do more, present more, put more of my soul and heart into it.
Q: Is that a transitional phase for you?
A: It's a complete transition phase. Since I was a little boy, I have been learning to compose music. Tchaikovsky influenced me the most. If you get an album like The Nutcracker, every track is lethal, every one! So I said to myself, "Why can't there be a pop album that allows everyone... People often make an album with only one good song and the rest are second-rate songs that are only suitable for the B side of the tape. They'll call them "album songs" — and I'll say to myself, "Why can't every song be a bestseller?" Why can't every song be wonderful? Even if you release a single, people are willing to pay for it? "So I'm always working on it. That's the purpose of my next album. That's my whole idea. I wanted to publish everything we wanted. I work hard for that.
Q: So, in the process of creation, do you need to think carefully, or just rely on natural nature and feel it?
A: No, I'm definitely going to think about it. Although everything comes from the stream of consciousness, the creation of the universe, as long as I happen to catch this chemical reaction in the room, magic will be born. It has to be that way. It's like putting an element into a brain hemisphere, and it creates magic in another hemisphere. It's scientific. It's really nice to get there with some great people.
Quincy gave me the nickname "Smelly." The nickname "A stink" comes from... Even Spielberg called me that. At that time, especially then,—— now I would say something dirty – but especially then, you would never have made me swear. So I would say, "That's a 'stinky' song," meaning, "This song is amazing, you'll be completely attracted." So he would call me "A stink."
But yeah, working with Quincy is a wonderful thing. He'll let you experiment and do what you're supposed to do. He was a genius enough to never stand in the way of music. If there is an element that needs to be added, he will add it. He could still hear small things. For example, in Billy Jean (Billy Jean is now more translated as "Proportion Jane" in China), I have written the bass segment, the melody, and the whole work. But when he heard it, he would add a small piece of cute music.
We'd work on a tune and then meet at his house, play what we're making, and then he'd say, "Stink, let it talk to you." I'd say, "Okay. He would say, "If this song needs anything else, it will tell you." Let it speak to you. "I've learned to do it this way. The key to being a great creator is not to deliberately create. Give God some space and let Him walk in. When I write down any piece of music that I think is satisfactory, I get down on my knees and say thank you. Thank you, Jehovah!
Jackson live performance Billy Jean's dance is a classic
Q: When did you finally feel this way?
A: Oh, that's recent. I've been creating. When you know it's right, sometimes you feel like something is coming, it's a pregnancy process, like pregnancy. You'll get emotional and you'll start to feel the pregnancy reaction, as well as magic, right there! Then something so beautiful bursts out and you say, wow! That's it. That's how it was born through you. This is a beautiful thing. This is the universe you can go to, with those 12 notes...
(He's now listening to an early version of Billie Joan playing on an iPhone...)
...... When I'm writing, I start by making a rough and humble version, just to hear the chorus, just to see how much I like it. If I liked it when it was still a rough version, I knew it could be... Listen, that's at home. Jenny, Randy and I... Jenny and I would sing "Whoo, Whoo... Whoo, whoo..." I would sing like this, every song. It's the melody, and the melody is the most important thing. If the melody appeals to me, if I like this rough version, then I'll take the next step. If it sounds good in my head, I'll do it well. It's the process of translating your ideas into tape.
When you get a song like Billie Joan, the bass is the main and most important part, the protagonist of the song, the main driving passage you hear, and it takes a lot of time to come up with the qualities of this paragraph and do it the way you want. Listen, you'll hear that there are four bass divisions, each playing out their character, giving themselves traits. It takes a lot of work.