# Michael Jackson throw down: Thriller vs Beat It **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [March 15, 2024, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892 "2024-03-15T22:25:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/1 "2024-03-15T22:25:38Z")
Judging the two songs on vocal quality, musicianship, lyrics, and video, which one is the winner? Vocal quality: Both are peak adult MJ. Tie. Musicianship: I prefer the harder beat and guitar work of Thriller. Lyrics: Thriller teaches us to run away when faced with an ass-whooping. I think that’s better than a song about watching a scary movie on TV. Video: Although the Beat It video was ground breaking, featured rival gangs, and MJ danced like nobody’s business, the Thriller video set a bar so high that nothing could touch it. IIRC, it was the most expensive video ever at the time. So I score it 2.5 to 1.5 with Beat It on top. How do you score them? ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/2 "2024-03-15T22:48:53Z")
Sorry, every time I hear the music for _Beat It_ I subconsciously sing the words to Wierd Al’s _Eat It!_. ♫ _Have a banana, have a whole bunch… It doesn’t matter what you had for lunch…♪ Just eat it!_ ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/3 "2024-03-15T23:08:44Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Lyrics: Thriller teaches us to run away when faced with an ass-whooping. Did you mean “Beat It”? For me, “Beat It” wins because it endendered Weird Al’s song and video “Eat It.” ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/4 "2024-03-15T23:13:35Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > > [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > > > Lyrics: Thriller teaches us to run away when faced with an ass-whooping. > > Did you mean “Beat It”? > > For me, “Beat It” wins because it endendered Weird Al’s song and video “Eat It.”. D’Oh! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/5 "2024-03-15T23:18:34Z")
I don’t bother listening to either of them anymore, UNLESS Thriller is up to the Vincent Price part, because Vincent was The Man. However, Beat It is likely the better song. Check Eddie and that guitar solo! ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/6 "2024-03-15T23:26:04Z")
My vote is for “Thriller.” I don’t think it is Jackson’s best song but it is better than “Beat it.” “Billie Jean” is probably his best. Maybe “Smooth Criminal” or “Man in the Mirror.” ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/7 "2024-03-15T23:35:56Z")
_Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/7))_ ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/8 "2024-03-15T23:39:10Z")
I remember sitting in a P/X in Munich, Germany on pizza night and someone selected Weird Al’s “Eat It” on the jukebox in what must have been 1984. Good times. A lot of younger people just don’t realize how big Michael Jackson really was back then and what a great album Thriller was. There is only one really bad one was “The Girl is Mine,” his duet with Paul McCartney. If I had to choose, I’m going to go with Beat It. Thriller is almost a novelty song I only hear in October these days. But if anyone chooses Thriller I’m not going to argue with them. It’s like when someone tells me they prefer Aliens to Alien. I get it. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/9 "2024-03-15T23:43:17Z")
The run time of the **Thriller** video is 14 minutes. **Beat It** is less than 5. So **Thriller** has more than twice as much Michael Jackson goodness. It’s simple math. ---
**Author:** ![theater\_in\_a\_crowded\_fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@theater\_in\_a\_crowded\_fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theater_in_a_crowded_fire)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/10 "2024-03-16T00:24:44Z")
Both are classics but Beat It has Eddie Van Halen, so that tips the scales for me every time. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/11 "2024-03-16T00:27:25Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > what a great album Thriller was. There is only one really bad one was “The Girl is Mine,” his duet with Paul McCartney. It was only decades later that I finally listened to the whole album. I found it a disappointing experience, because I was already thoroughly familiar with all but two of the songs from when they were all over the radio in the album’s heyday, and those two new-to-me songs did nothing for me. Although it’s possible I didn’t give them a fair chance. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/12 "2024-03-16T00:54:26Z")
Beat It is the better song. Thriller is the better video. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/13 "2024-03-16T01:06:49Z")
Beat it and it’s not even close. Eddie Van Halen did the solo and also changed the arrangement. And he did it for free with no formal credit. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/14 "2024-03-16T01:19:54Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > It was only decades later that I finally listened to the whole album. I found it a disappointing experience, because I was already thoroughly familiar with all but two of the songs from when they were all over the radio in the album’s heyday, and those two new-to-me songs did nothing for me. Although it’s possible I didn’t give them a fair chance. I don’t understand how you could be disappointed. Out of nine songs, there are six I still hear fairly regularly on the radio. The three I don’t hear includes “The Girl is Mine,” “Baby Be Mine,” and “The Lady in My Life.” Yes, I had to look up those other two, but I’m listening to Baby Be Mine right now and it’s fine. It’s no PYT but it still good. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/15 "2024-03-16T01:25:00Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > Sorry, every time I hear the music for _Beat It_ I subconsciously sing the words to Wierd Al’s _Eat It!_. > > ♫ _Have a banana, have a whole bunch… > It doesn’t matter what you had for lunch…♪ > Just eat it!_ - Don’t forget that at the end of _Eat It_, Weird Al revealed that _he_ is the beast from _Thriller_. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/16 "2024-03-16T01:35:05Z")
I prefer the opening to Thriller, especially the bass line. And the video is brilliant. Beat it has more energy, but overall Thriller wins 2-1 ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/17 "2024-03-16T01:58:09Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Beat it and it’s not even close. Eddie Van Halen did the solo and also changed the arrangement. And he did it for free with no formal credit. Eddie inadvertently messed up the tracks. He did the solo at his studio and spliced the tape, which cut the SMPTE code on the tape. The tape had Michael’s final vocals on it as well. [Quincy ended up calling Steve Lukather and Jeff Porcaro to fix it.](https://youtu.be/14YP9481DMI?feature=shared&t=228) They cut the bass, rhythm guitar and drum tracks, hearing nothing but Michael’s vocals and Eddie’s solo. You sure can’t tell from hearing it though. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/18 "2024-03-16T04:25:30Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > However, Beat It is likely the better song. Check Eddie and that guitar solo! > [@theater\_in\_a\_crowded\_fire](#): > > Both are classics but Beat It has Eddie Van Halen, so that tips the scales for me every time. > [@Loach](#): > > Beat it and it’s not even close. Eddie Van Halen did the solo There you have it! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/19 "2024-03-16T08:15:26Z")
My guitar teacher mentioned Van Halen once and I remarked that I didn’t like many of their songs. He said that neither did he but you had to listen to them anyway if you wanted to hear Eddie play, So,_Beat It_. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892/20 "2024-03-16T16:53:07Z")
I like Steve Martin’s version of the Beat It video so much it overrides the real version. Hilarious. Thriller just sounds like it’s describing a movie trailer. So Beat It. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-throw-down-thriller-vs-beat-it/998892.md?page=2)