80’s Flashback

80’s Flashback
By William Walker

Hello everyone, here we are, about to take a look back into the 80’s. Why? Well, for one
reason, the person writing this article was born in the 80’s. Another reason is to share some of
the things that made it enjoyable for anybody who grew up in that particular decade.
With Halloween just a week away, what a nice way to start things off with a familiar song:
Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

Michael Jackson has had several songs that are still hits now, from “Billie Jean” to “Black or
White;” “Beat It” to his song for charity, “We Are the World.” There are so many songs of his
that will always transcend throughout generations. Despite all of his hits, chances are that if
somebody were to bring up Michael Jackson, one of the first songs to come to mind would be
“Thriller:” a song that chills you into doing the dance from the famous music video.
Released in 1982, both the song and the album, have broken a few records and also created a few
in the process—one being the record for world’s best-selling album, over 66 million copies sold,
and another record being the first album to reach 30x platinum. You will not find one bad thing
said about this song.
The beat of the music, as well as the tone Michael Jackson uses when he sings, makes it hard for
the body not respond to it—like some kind of hypnotic effect, where your chills are going along
with the beat of the drums. The narration of Vincent Price provides the perfect touch to it,
considering the fact that he is a legend when it comes to classic horror movies.
But what really gives the music its personality is the music video that came out in 1983, over a
year after the release of the song. While the original version of the song is almost six minutes
long, the video is over twice that, close to fourteen minutes. In this video, you see Michael

Jackson wearing his famous red suit, dancing with the zombies that rise from the graves.
Starting off with what is revealed to be a date to a scary movie, (Jackson’s date being played by
Ola Ray), it shows the pair leave the theater, after the girl has had enough of watching the
frightening movie. When they leave, Vincent Price can be heard overhead, building up towards
the big moment: the moment that Jackson begins doing his little dance with the zombies risen
from the grave. This particular dance has become a dance party favorite.
If you’re itching to know what goes on in the rest of this music video, you can find it just about
anywhere.
So, any time you hear this song and feel yourself wanting to do the dance, or maybe even a nice
friendly flash mob, find a nice open spot such as in the Student Center, and dance to the Thriller!
You just might get a thrill out of it.