why does everyone always compare MJ and Prince? they are both fanastic entertainers and thats all that matters, they are both there own person

ReggaeQueen said:

ridiculous isn't it? Next thing you know Prince fans are gonna start claiming that "Purple Rain" is the biggest selling album of all time .

But seriously I can see exactly where this thread is headed. Just another stupid endless debate about how Michael is nothing compared to Prince 'cause he can't play instruments and how Prince is God basically. Same bulls*it over and over. I'm bored with these comparisons already though which is why I usually try to stay out of Prince v. MJ threads.

Cinnamon234 said:

Perhaps if you had actually comprehended what the thread was saying, you wouldn't have posted such misguided rubbish!! No-one was implying that Prince was the biggest in terms of sales and the only people that ever do go on about the "biggest selling this and that" are MJ fans, cos its all they have to go on.

Cinnamon234 said:

Perhaps if you had actually comprehended what the thread was saying, you wouldn't have posted such misguided rubbish!! No-one was implying that Prince was the biggest in terms of sales and the only people that ever do go on about the "biggest selling this and that" are MJ fans, cos its all they have to go on.

skywalker said:

Actually, its quite easy to define and a bit more difficult to quantify. To me (and, I would hazard a guess to the author of this thread), it means who was the most musically talented and proficient, who had the most impact, who did the most with music. It is none of those subjects you stated above (in fact, you seem to have deliberately picked subjects that are far removed from the subject of music!), moreover who had the more complete understanding of music and the talent to convey it. Whilst MJ and Madonna were massive pop stars, great entertainers and very, very popular, neither of them delved as far in to music as Prince. Madonna, in particular, never broke any new ground musically - yes, she was controversial, she was progressive with her image, but nobody would credit her with being a musical maverick. Ask any musician which of those 3 artist commands the most respect musically, and they will all, without exception, say Prince. Prince stretched himself MUSICALLY and, as a consequence, broke new ground with music. The depth Prince had, the risks he took and the impact he had on music as a whole (he defined the era and his influence is heard everywhere today, far more than the other 2), is what is being put forward here.

And, the reason it is being stated is because for anyone that is actually interested in music it is the most valid criteria by which a musician should be judged. A prime example would be motivation - sure, Prince wanted the fame that went with it, but his primary focus was always music - experimenting and crossing boundaries. What was MJ's driving force? "I want to be the biggest selling artist of all time"!!! That to me, as a musician myself, is not a musical aspiration. It doesn't mean that MJ was crap - far from it and he likely wouldn't have had the biggest selling album were it not any good.

The argument comes from the fact that people have far too much of a personal interest in their "hero" - MJ fans, in general, are extreme in this and won't tolerate any criticism of him whatsoever (and, its even harder for them, given that their idol doesn't make it easy to defend him!). He was the biggest star on the planet, he was a great entertainer, but is no more. He also wasn't as "musically" talented as Prince, just nowhere near as proficient and they know this deep down. Its why they always have to rely on him being the "biggest" and the "best-selling" - but, when it comes to subjects such as this, that is entirely irrelevant. Its the same with many of the great artists - David Bowie, Miles Davis...pick any genre and the best in that field was hardly ever the most popular or biggest seller.
[Edited 1/8/08 8:37am]
[Edited 1/8/08 8:40am]

3232 said:

Exactly as this poster said!! Earth to MJ fans - just because he sold the most, doesn't mean he was "musically" the best. The more you go on about how much MJ sold and was "everywhere", the more you distract from his music and, consequently, support the point that perhaps MJ wasn't really about music at all!

lets be real when u think 80's first thing pops to your mind is michael!

mirrorbestfriend said:

Only in YOUR fucking dreams, pal.
That's like saying when you think of the 90's the first thing that pops into your mind is the Spice Girls...
Fuck off with that shit!

lets be real when u think 80's first thing pops to your mind is michael!

This is my view of the topic. In the 80's, NO ONE sounded like Prince. It was like there was everyone out there and then there was Prince. No one had that drumbeat that was on 1999. No one had a song that even sounded a little bit like When Doves Cry. Kiss, Raspberry Beret, Alphabet St., no one else was doing songs like that at all. Even when they tried, it always came back to Prince. What makes it even more amazing is that Prince was doing all of this stuff by himself. Prince wasn't my #1 in the 80's but even I knew that his music was unique and I was a kid then. Today, you have many producers still trying to duplicate that Minneapolis Sound, like Timbaland with Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds. That's why I agree with komputerbleu and the title of this thread.

purplecam said:

I agree with everything you said, except he was my # 1.

why does everyone always compare MJ and Prince? they are both fanastic entertainers and thats all that matters, they are both there own person

SunsetDriver said:

I agree with you on that! Actually, to compare the two is not possible, Prince was Rock & Funk, MJ was pure pop. Prince plays live instruments, MJ does not. Prince sleeps with women, MJ, well we're not sure. I've seen both of'em live and you can't hold a candle to either experience.

Lyrically, musically, fashionably they are two completely seperate Musical Legends!

RenHoek said:

prince will always look up to michael

and dont forget:

Bruce Springsteen
U2
Lionel Ritchie
The Cure
The Smiths
Whitney Housten
Duran Duran
Billy Idol
David Bowie
Van Halen
Dire Straits
ZZ Top


and that is just to mention a few, but Prince stole the show

The 80´s would have been a musical void without him

ReggaeQueen said:

No doubt that Michael Jackson was the "Biggest"(most popular)thing then ...BUT,Prince was the baddest,coolest,most creative & versatile & he didnt take the easy route by being too commercial(MJ).& he was the most hated & not PG like all the others(ruling out a massive potential fanbase).He was up against all odds!!!He took chances,defied conventional wisdom,gambled,challenged himself and kicked ass in the process."kiss"no bassline! "If i was your girlfriend"who else would've touched that song? "when doves cry"a song with only 3 instruments playing but funky like a septic tank! Who else on earth does rock,funk,gospel,r&b...play all instruments in each style better than many artiste who master just one???? Now tell something about MJ other than marketing !

ReggaeQueen said:

I assume you like Micheal Jackson then

Like him or not, at least he can spell M-i-c-h-a-el.




PS not sure about the reggae thing with MJ though

skywalker said:

Actually, its quite easy to define and a bit more difficult to quantify. To me (and, I would hazard a guess to the author of this thread), it means who was the most musically talented and proficient, who had the most impact, who did the most with music. It is none of those subjects you stated above (in fact, you seem to have deliberately picked subjects that are far removed from the subject of music!), moreover who had the more complete understanding of music and the talent to convey it. Whilst MJ and Madonna were massive pop stars, great entertainers and very, very popular, neither of them delved as far in to music as Prince. Madonna, in particular, never broke any new ground musically - yes, she was controversial, she was progressive with her image, but nobody would credit her with being a musical maverick. Ask any musician which of those 3 artist commands the most respect musically, and they will all, without exception, say Prince. Prince stretched himself MUSICALLY and, as a consequence, broke new ground with music. The depth Prince had, the risks he took and the impact he had on music as a whole (he defined the era and his influence is heard everywhere today, far more than the other 2), is what is being put forward here.

And, the reason it is being stated is because for anyone that is actually interested in music it is the most valid criteria by which a musician should be judged. A prime example would be motivation - sure, Prince wanted the fame that went with it, but his primary focus was always music - experimenting and crossing boundaries. What was MJ's driving force? "I want to be the biggest selling artist of all time"!!! That to me, as a musician myself, is not a musical aspiration. It doesn't mean that MJ was crap - far from it and he likely wouldn't have had the biggest selling album were it not any good.

The argument comes from the fact that people have far too much of a personal interest in their "hero" - MJ fans, in general, are extreme in this and won't tolerate any criticism of him whatsoever (and, its even harder for them, given that their idol doesn't make it easy to defend him!). He was the biggest star on the planet, he was a great entertainer, but is no more. He also wasn't as "musically" talented as Prince, just nowhere near as proficient and they know this deep down. Its why they always have to rely on him being the "biggest" and the "best-selling" - but, when it comes to subjects such as this, that is entirely irrelevant. Its the same with many of the great artists - David Bowie, Miles Davis...pick any genre and the best in that field was hardly ever the most popular or biggest seller.
[Edited 1/8/08 8:37am]
[Edited 1/8/08 8:40am]

Mindflux said:

I realize that you were a former Michael Jackson fan. Makes sense since I see you in ALMOST EVERY single Michael Jackson-related thread in this forum.

And yes it is wrong for a number of his fans (sometimes me as well) to stress his achievements in sales so much.

But please keep in mind that for most of us it is his music and performance that matter the most. Along with the fame and the controversies and the sales figures, there is the music and performance which made him so famous in the first place and throughout the '60s, '70s, '80s and the first couple of years of the '90s. The fact that he has SO MANY YOUNG FANS (under the age of 25) speaks volumes about the appeal of his music even right now.

Also, on a final note you would be surprised by how a number of classically-trained musicians respect Michael Jackson as a popular musician and entertainer. Leonard Bernstein once called him a "creative genius" if that counts for anything. Take a course on the history of modern popular music at an art and music institution, and you would be surprised at the prominence of Michael Jackson musically and not just performance-wise in the classroom discussions. And no, we do not take the black and white position that it was all Quincy Jones like a number of Prince fans.

I am exiting this thread, because, of course, Prince fans will bombard me with the usual "He released one album per year; he plays dozens of instruments..."
[Edited 1/8/08 18:52pm]
[Edited 1/8/08 18:53pm]

lets be real when u think 80's first thing pops to your mind is michael!

3232 said:

i'll tell ya..dressing up a chimp, hanging with the kiddies emmaneul lewis, cory feldman, bitching about his childhood, numerous nose jobs, coming out with album every 3 years and trying 2 follow in prince's footsteps ..oh and last but not least, getting on the jock of every "hot" producer at the time instead of coming up with a style of his own

mirrorbestfriend said:

no the 1st thing i think about is that this was last decade where real music was made. and when it was fun 2 race home 2 watch mtv cause u could c and hear all types of music.

L4OATheOriginal said:

copying james brown,sly stone...wow how original