lezama said:

What makes something "great" as opposed to just "good"? In twenty years will people consider the catalogue of the Nicki Minaj or the Black Eyed Peas great music?? Probably not, but it sold a shit load, so a lot of people thought it was good. They're not likely to leave behind a musical legacy though (meaning there won't be masses of artists in 2020 talking about how Will.I.Am and Nikki Minaj were their greatest influences as you do the Beatles or Prince).

Bruce is a great musician but you dont hear many younger musicians that become popular saying they're greatly influenced by his music. The most oten cited influences in music were all people that presented something new that blew people away: Bowie, Zeppelin, Sex Pistols, Velvet Underground, Hendrix, Kraftwork, Beatles, Dylan, Prince, Brown, Cooke, etc. So my comment wasnt just that she's pushing her own boundaries of artistic self-expression but that she's doing it AND is still just as talented as she was from day 1. When artists pull this off they become not only liked but respected in their field as "artists".

Where did I say I thought Nicki Minaj and Black Eyed Peas were great music? I can't stand either of those. All of the examples you gave of great music just go to prove my point. All of them except for maybe Prince have a pretty specific sound that people associate with them and remember them for. They don't make radical changes in what they do. They work and expand on their sound that works for them and that they created.

dupe thread.

See http://prince.org/msg/8/379965 that was posted earlier.