Michael Jackson: The Man Of The Music Video

06/26/09 1:17pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

Michael Jackson was arguably the world's biggest pop phenomenon since The Beatles, and was a true innovator in every sense.

Not only did he essentially create the modern dance pop music genre, but he was also responsible for the rise of MTV and the music video.

Jackson's videos are as iconic as the man's costumes, white glove, moonwalk, quirky behaviour and voice, and I thought it would be worth paying tribute to Jacko with a series of his greatest videos.

"Don't Stop Til You Get Enough"
This is the single that ignited Jackson mania. The video isn't anything special; it's just Jacko dancing in a clean suit against a badly done backdrop of disco balls and pyramids - at least until the three Jackos show up. Shit, son! The song itself is iconic and melds R&B and disco, which was something no one was doing at the time.

 

 

"Billie Jean" at the Motown 25 concert.
The moonwalk is obviously Jackson's most popular dance innovation, and here's a clip of him performing it live for the first time at the Motown 25 concert in 1983.

"Billie Jean"
If anything, the clip for "Billie Jean" indicated what was to come from Jacko in terms of music video spectacle. It's widely considered the video that broke MTV into the mainstream (mainly because MTV refused to play it at first). It's also the first instance of Jackson changing his image - he sports a Jheri curl in the video and his nose has had some work done. And it tells a story... something few videos did at the time.

 

 

"Beat It"
Of course, this clip is historic, too. It's one of the first examples of a musician speaking out in video form about gang violence and about the struggles of black youths. It's based on West Side Story and it cost a whopping $150,000 to make, which Jackson paid for himself, since his label would not finance it. Jacko also brings out the iconic red jacket for the first time!

 

 

"Thriller"
Thirty years of music videos have been made after "Thriller," but none have equalled it and it's still the greatest music video ever made. There were videos before "Thriller," but music videos were not the same after it. From this point on, the video would become nearly mandatory (which was why there was a huge hoopla when people like Pearl Jam said they wouldn't make videos) and would be more based on spectacle, as opposed to performance. Michael Jackson did not create music videos, but it's safe to say music videos as we know them today exist because of Michael Jackson and because of "Thriller."

 

 

"Bad"
This is a shorter version of the clip for "Bad," which was originally 18 minutes long. Like "Beat It," "Bad" also deals with gangs and a private school boy's fall into violence. Of course, it features more iconic costumes from Jackson, including that infamous belt and black get-up, which both make him look half like some kind of super hero.

 

 

"The Way You Make Me Feel"
This is my favourite MJ song. Jacko spends the whole time chasing after Tatiana Thumbtzen in the video, which also features La Toya Jackson. In comparison to "Beat It," "Billie Jean" and "Thriller," there's really little that's too "special" about it, but it's still noteworthy, nonetheless.

 

 

"Dirty Diana"
This clip, by contrast, is more interesting. It's a mash up of Jackson live performance-based footage with footage of a woman walking through dark streets. Musically, it's similar to "Beat It," since it melds Jacko's pop style with hard rock. Unfortunately, the video features Motley Crue-esque figures on stage with Jacko, which is a bit of a drawback.

 

 

"Smooth Criminal"
Forget that absolutely awful Alien Ant Farm cover of this song because the original is one of MJ's very best songs. Just like "Beat It," "Billie Jean" and "Thriller," there are some new elements and innovations thrown into the mix, including the "anti-gravity lean." It also features familiar Jackson themes of intrigue and murder. Someone really should write a book about how the noir film genre influenced Jackson.

 

 

"Black Or White"
This is my fave MJ video. Everything about it is fantastic, and as a kid of the '90s, it essentially represents everything about that decade: Macaulay Culkin, Michael Jackson, mushroom cuts, terrible shirts (growing up, I had a friend who had the exact same shirt Culkin wears in this video and looked like him, too). This, in my opinion, is the last great song Jackson ever released, unless you count "Scream," which he did with Janet later.