Michael Jackson is at it again. No, not that. I mean musically. Yesterday, 25 years after the release of Thriller, comes Thriller 25, an expanded anniversary version of the nine-song original that includes seven bonus tracks. Among them: remakes featuring collaborations with Akon, will.i.am and Fergie, and updated vocals and production by Jackson. Kanye West contributes a remix, “Billie Jean 2008.” I guess that’s a match we should have seen coming. The set closes with “For All Time,” a song recorded but not finished during the 1982 Thriller sessions.

I don’t negate the staying power of Thriller, or its groundbreaking spot in musical history. Prior to Michael Jackson’s innovative album and its cutting edge video, fledgling MTV wasn’t even playing videos by black artists. Actually the network itself hadn’t really found its groove until “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” started heating up the airwaves. It’s been said that Michael and MTV rode each other to success. But MTV is the only one of the two still at the top of its game, and some would say that’s questionable.

It’ll be interesting to see how Thriller 25 does in the marketplace, or is perceived by a public almost impervious to shock by this point, certainly to revelations from the Jackson camp. At the least it should get the public conversation off Britney for a day or two, and that alone makes it worthwhile.

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