25 years ago Michael Jackson released his album Bad as a reaction against the whole “Wacko Jacko” mystique that had grown up around him.
Journalist Joseph Vogel, writing for The Atlantic, tells the story of this album and why Jackson created it. Highly recommend.
Also recommended is a special episode of Brian Ibbott’s Coverville podcast that is a (most of) album cover of Jackson’s Bad. Highly recommended listening.
Video of Jackson’s “Leave Me Alone” from Bad: