Michael Jackson turns 50

Whatever you think of Jackson, "Thriller" was pretty extraordinary. "Billie Jean" remains one of my favorite songs of all time, and I still like hearing "Beat It." Certainly beats some of the other songs of that year, such as "Maniac" by Michael Sembello and "Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners. (OK, I admit that I liked that second song back in '83, but I was 11 years old. And it's been played so many times now that I'm sick of it.)
So back to MJ. His album was amazing, but I never really did like the song "Thriller." I don't know why, but it never did anything for me. I think maybe it's because I had to sit through the "Making of the Thriller Video" three or four times in elementary school.
Either I had lazy teachers or this was considered to be very instrumental in our education. I just thought Michael Jackson looked a little weird with all the makeup on. Of course, compared to his look now, he looked unbelievably normal. Even human.
So Happy Birthday MJ. I can't believe you're 50. At least parts of you, anyway.