Pink Floyds The Wall might get all the credit for being the seminal 80s concept album Rosetta Stone, but to the millions of teens and pre-teen Jackson fans who grew up listening to Jackson — some of whom went on become musicians — no musical statement could ever be as grand or intimidating as Thriller.Jacksons other major contribution to rock music comes with an exact timestamp: Thriller, side two, at the 2:49 mark, when Eddie Van Halen interrupts "Beat It" with a boiling 31-second guitar solo. Even in the wake of Jimi Hendrix or Sly and the Family Stone, black artists were impossible to find on rock radio in the early 80s, but the clamor for "Beat It" forced even the most stubborn DJs — and well as MTV programmers — to desegregate their playlists. "At that time in my life, I wasnt really a fan of Michaels music," says Cornell, who was living as a teenager in Seattle when he first heard "Beat It." "But [Thriller] had a big impression for me. It opened the door for Prince and Run-DMC to suddenly be in the living rooms of white people across the nation."It also primed listeners for the slew of genre-mingling Top 40 hits that followed: Princes Rosetta Stone V3 "Lets Go Crazy." Run-DMCs "King of Rock." Living Colours "Glamour Boys." Even Jacksons own "Dirty Diana." Most of these songs would have come to prominence without "Beat It," of course, as would the numerous black-rock bands like Fishbone and 24-7 Spyz that would become breakout college-radio acts later on in the decade. But the crossover success of "Beat It" subtly made a point that Jackson would repeat, rather pedantically, nearly 10 years later: It doesnt matter if youre black or white. Not everyone got the message, but those who did discovered an entire new framework for how pop, rock and R B can merge.In the end, Jacksons influence on rock roll will always be more cultural than musical; its not as though you can go to the Warped Tour or turn on Fuse and come across a bunch of Thriller Rosetta Stone Portuguese sound-alikes. Yet for anyone making music now or in the future, Jacksons best moments will always be throbbing somewhere in the background — an undeniable, unavoidable force. "Its impossible to say, musically, where I may have been influenced by Michael Jackson," admits Cornell. "Because I didnt buy his records and listen to em. [But] I think that an artist whose music is on television, and constantly coming out of radios and speakers in peoples cars, and just sort of permeating pop culture, theres no way you could say that you werent in some way influenced by it." Brown turned himself in to police at Los Angeles Wilshire station shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday night with his attorney Mark Geragos and was released on $50,000 bail. He has yet to be officially charged with a crime, and will appear in court Cheap Rosetta Stone V3 on March 5th should the D.A. bring battery or criminal-threats charges.


