52 here. I liked the Jackson 5, I saw them on American Bandstand when I was a kid. Later I lumped them in with other sunny R&B bands. When Thriller came out, it took over my then current favorite way to digest music, MTV. So I got REALLY sick of Billie Jean and Beat It. Also I was a bit pissed that Thriller seemed to be the catalyst for abandoning the early MTV formula, which was more varied- they broadcast a lot of live concerts in their entirety, for instance. I think Thriller was probably the first huge thing on MTV and since it attracted attention and advertising dollars, the non-stop video parade really fired up.

in the early 80s my favorite bands were The Clash, Joy Division and R.E.M. I wasn't into pop or R&B, so while the planet was conquered, I mostly didn't care except as I said before, constant exposure was an annoyance.

I also thought his crossover attempts were serviceable, but lame. The sounds he incorporated were the epitome of rock as a commercial vehicle. boring.