28 years ago today, Michael Jackson unleashedĀ āBadā upon the world. The album was certainly successful: 8 million records sold in the U.S. and millions more internationally. Does it pale by comparison to its predecessorsĀ āThrillerā andĀ āOff The Wallā? Yes, it does. Almost any album would, and thereās no way thatĀ āBadā couldāve possibly exceeded the sky-high expectations of not only the public, but of Michael himself. The King of Popās rumored goal was 100 million records sold. Lofty ambitions, but not necessarily feasible. History is made on purpose, sure; Ā but fate has just as much of a hand in any success. The album holds up better than most popĀ ān b made during the same period, with the exception of, maybe, JanetāsĀ āControlā orĀ āFaithā by George Michael (āSign oā the Timesā is on a wholeĀ ānutha plane, yāall.) Thereās a sense among some of the MJ faithful that it was robbed of an Album Of The Year Grammy, but Iām not in that camp. In terms of importance, U2ā²sĀ āThe Joshua Treeā, the album that _did_ win, arguably surpasses it. In terms of sheer quality, I again refer you to PrinceāsĀ āSign oā the Timesā, which I consider to be the best album made that entire decade.
I havenāt seen the video forĀ āSpeed Demonā (which made its initial appearance in the long-formĀ āMoonwalkerā video in 1989) in 25 years, probably. The clip is better than the actual song. Itās nice to see so many folks from Michaelās inner circle actually appear in the video (like security guards Bill Bray and Miko Brando) or get referenced (Frank In The Box refers to MJās then-manager, Frank DiLeo). If this popped up on YouTube today by a modern-day pop star, the internet would go apeshit.Ā
