Imogen Heap “Thriller (Michael Jackson Cover)”
Just in time for last week’s obsession with all things Halloween-related (we know, we’re a little late here, but…so what), Imogen Heap (better known these days as the best part about Jason DeRulo’s otherwise forgettable current-hit “Whatcha Say”) performed a cover version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” for a radio event, and in the context of a haunting piano ballad with Heap’s breathy yelps attaching a bone-chilling sense of tension to every single syllable of the song’s spook-filled lyric, it registered as a surprisingly amazing rendition of something that would seem un-cover-able.
Incidentally, it was when listening to her version, that we discovered an intriguing, and oft-overlooked, aspect to the original that had never once caught our attention in the billions of time it had met our eardrums over the years.
Now, we get that when one thinks of “Thriller”, it’s quite difficult to try to disassociate it away from being the musical foundation behind one of the greatest music videos (and choreography breaks) of all time, but has anyone ever really just listened to the song? We mean, like, REALLY LISTENED to it?
It’s an actual song about monsters that are killing people, yes, but has anyone ever noticed the cleverly pimp-ish way MJ sneaks in lines about how he’ll be the one to save you from the horrors of ghouls and goblins if you just cuddle with him, before dishing “I can thrill you more than any ghost would ever dare try/…So let me hold you tight and share a…thriller with me tonight”.
Past all the sheer (but oh-so-brilliant) absurdity of Halloween-time frights and a Vincent Price “rap” clothed in a post-disco R&B/ funk boogie, “Thriller” was also all about MJ trying to get in some girl’s drawls!!! (Instead of “Thriller night”, think “Thrill-her night” and it’ll all make sense).
If nothing else, this new revelation only re-reminds us of the pop genius that MJ was, especially considering the fact that if one of today’s big-named pop or R&B male artists had attempted something like this first, you just know that in an effort to not appear so corny, the monster shtick would have been greatly toned down with the sex element hyped the hell up (with a likely far less memorable, and expensive, video clip to accompany it).
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