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Michael Jackson Remembered: Patrick Stump on Busting Boundaires

July 9, 2009 1:10 PM ET

Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump

Thriller is two years older than I am, but it was omnipresent when I was a kid. "Billie Jean" was a huge thing — legend has it that there were 80 layers of snare drums on that snare drum. Being a drum-obsessed kid, that was a big deal for me. The great thing about Michael Jackson is that he never gave a shit about his music being categorized: "Beat It" has a straight rock riff. It wasn't incongruous for my pop-punk band to cover it. It's the only song we've ever played that everyone knows all the words to, worldwide, guaranteed.

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