Every subgenre needs its classic, and so Spike Lee's Bad 25 is what amounts to the greatest Behind the Music episode of all time. Frenetically paced, ingeniously constructed and brimming with hilarious anecdotes, the look back on the creation of 1987's Bad (the one that had the enormous task of following Thriller), elevates the rock doc to an art form. At over two hours in length, what could have felt like a bloated obituary is unmistakably alive. Although it's unlikely that it would have been assembled were it not for the death of its primary subject, Bad 25 proves that Jackson's legacy has nearly made him immortal.

A three-disc box set celebrating the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson's first post-Thriller album, Bad, arrived in stores this week. I feel like I've been inundated with Bad25 propaganda via the Internet. There was also a two-hour special on BET last night featuring all nine of the Bad videos and people like Ashanti babbling about how galvanizing "Man in the Mirror" was and how it inspired her to be a better person. She was 7 when it was released.