Mick and the PhatMan Talking Music
Join Mick and Jeff as they talk about artists, albums and music genres with passion that comes from personal connection. They’ve seen artists in concert at venues that don’t even exist today, bought albums when they were released on vinyl and, in some cases, met the artists.
Sometimes they love the artist or music they're talking about. Sometimes they don’t. But, without fail, you'll always hear something you didn’t know.
Mick and the PhatMan Talking Music
How Michael Jackson's "Thriller" changed all the rules
Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” – one of the biggest hit albums of all time - also marks a quantum change in how rock music was marketed and sold.
Brought up as part of The Jackson 5, Michael saw himself as an entertainer crossing musical genres and categories. He almost single-handedly made music videos into a serious art form.
In those days, with typical video budgets around $50k, the video for “Thriller” had a budget of $1m and a top Hollywood director in John Landis. Total recording budget for the entire album was $750k!
Our “Album you must hear Before you Die” is “So”, Peter Gabriel’s 1986 blockbuster, produced by Daniel Lanois, an Eno disciple who’d just produced U2’s “The Unforgettable Fire”. The hit single from this album, “Sledgehammer” also had a dynamite film clip featuring state-of-the art stop-motion photography.
In Jeff’s Rant, he is surprisingly gentle to Justin Bieber. Who’d have thought it possible?
There’s lots in this episode to enjoy. We hope you do!
References: Justin Bieber, Ricky Gervais, Peter Gabriel, Daniel Lanois, So, world music, Manu Katché, Youssou N’Dour, Sledgehammer, Redeye Records, Don't Give Up, Kate Bush, Big Time, Tony Levin, In Your Eyes, Red Rain, Jerry Marotta, Number Ones, Tom Breihan, Billie Jean, I want you Back, The Wiz, Off The Wall, Quincy Jones, Beat It, biggest-selling album of all time, Singing in the Rain, John Landis, An American Werewolf in London, Moonwalk, Vincent Price, Welcome to my Nightmare, The Black Widow, Steve Lukather, Toto, Eddie Van Halen, Bad, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Phil Collins, George Michael, Weird Al Yankovich