So, MJ is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Thriller with a remixed re-release featuring some of the biggest names in today's music (including Kanye West, Akon and...Fergie?!?) revamping the classic nine-track pop opus. It would be great if we got new material from the icon instead, but whatever, we'll take what we can get.

Originally a chummy Paul McCartney duet (and arguably the weakest moment on the album) that had the two legends at odds over a shared girl, "The Girl Is Mine 2008" etches out the Beatle altogether as producer will.i.am replaces the adult contemporary slickness with a hard-hitting mix of '80's hip hop boom and rock bombast (looks like the Black Eyed Pea was as much a fan of "Umbrella" as everyone else).

Always finding new ways to be annoying, Will constantly interjects Mike's feathery praise of his #1 hottie (Boy, can the man carry one of the smoothest male voices in R&B at times!!), forcing himself into the mix with needless hype-man heaves ("She mine!/ She mine!/ She like the way I rock/ THE--WAY--I ROCK!!") and corny raps not even the most amateur of emcees would dare commit to wax ("I call her 'Mommy' and she call me 'Papa'/ I'm sorry Mike but she loves the way I rock-a").

It all makes for a well-meaning, but slightly ridiculous and entirely inconsequential remix that doesn't bode well for what the rest of the project might offer. Fingers crossed that Kanye triumphs on his reported re-working of "Billie Jean", though. (UPDATE: He didn't.)



DL: "The Girl Is Mine 2008" (Sorry, LQ!) (YFH)