Thriller was the first album I ever bought, like a lot of kids my age. I was 9 years old, and bought the vinyl LP at a record store in the mall with money I’d saved up from car washes, chores, and birthday cards.

I remember the gatefold cover, and reading all the lyrics to the songs as I listened to it over and over. Billie Jean was probably the first song to blow my mind a little, like many would to come.

Michael was the biggest thing we’d ever seen, the apotheosis of pop, and everyone I knew loved him. It was before everything got cynical, before news about him started making us sad, in ways we couldn’t have imagined: he was just the most beautiful, magical person any of us had ever seen, and he moonwalked on TV and inspired every kid in the world.

People a generation older than me talk about seeing the Beatles the first time around, and how great it was to be a kid then; but I feel lucky we had Michael Jackson. I just wish he could have had a happier time.