smoothcriminal12 said:

mjscarousal said:

Michael is my baby lol I obviously am not talking about MJ and Madonna. I was referring to those artists today that were used as examples.

Ooh - oops! Thought you were talking about Madonna and Jackson. My bad.

You good, Michael is my favorite singer... never that

[Edited 7/11/11 11:52am]

mjscarousal said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

Producing an album on your own is different than producing a good album on your own. I wouldn't really say he's in a league of his own. He's still a pop-star.

That may be true but the FACT is NONE of those artists have the talent and musical capacity to produce an ENTIRE album on their own unlike Prince... period.

They probably do, ive seen all of the above produce songs on their own that were good. Its just that they can't play all the instruments, which doesnt really make them worse, just makes it all less convienent.

smoothcriminal12 said:

Michael Jackson was a fantastic songwriter, singer, dancer/entertainer. Madonna was an amazing businesswoman. Prince was a multi-instrumentalist who could write fantastic pop songs that followed all the rules of standard pop while breaking them at the same time. Do not bring down the others just to make Prince seem like a god, which he isn't. Each of them are unique in different ways.

And that's why you can't compare them.

How did Michael "write" songs if he doesn't play an instrument? Or does he? And if so, why has he never shown this talent live on stage? Did he ever play an instrument live on stage? And if not, why are you comparing him to prince?

[Edited 7/11/11 11:57am]

ludwig said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

How did Michael "write" songs if he doesntplay an instrument? Or does he? And if so, why has he never shown this talent live on stage? Did he ever play an instrument live on stage? And if not, why are you comparing him to prince?

[Edited 7/11/11 11:55am]

You dont have to play an instrument to write songs lol, you need to create a melody.

Yes MJ didnt play instruments on stage, but its more like "You shouldnt compare Prince to Michael" not the other way around. MJs stage work outshines Prince easily, EVEN though he didnt play a guitar . Not saying Prince aint great on stage, he is.

ludwig said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

Michael Jackson was a fantastic songwriter, singer, dancer/entertainer. Madonna was an amazing businesswoman. Prince was a multi-instrumentalist who could write fantastic pop songs that followed all the rules of standard pop while breaking them at the same time. Do not bring down the others just to make Prince seem like a god, which he isn't. Each of them are unique in different ways.

And that's why you can't compare them.

How did Michael "write" songs if he doesn't play an instrument? Or does he? And if so, why has he never shown this talent live on stage? Did he ever play an instrument live on stage? And if not, why are you comparing him to prince?

[Edited 7/11/11 11:57am]

Oh no, the ole Prince vs. MJ thang again!

ludwig said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

How did Michael "write" songs if he doesntplay an instrument? Or does he? And if so, why has he never shown this talent live on stage? Did he ever play an instrument live on stage? And if not, why are you comparing him to prince?

It's very simple to write songs without an instrument. Have you ever written a song without an instrument?

Michael would sing the songs into a tape recorder and then hum all the parts he wanted played to the musicians during studio sessions. Go to the Michael Jackson threads on gearslutz for more info.

I don't know if he plays instruments. Does it matter? No.

Suddenly because Prince plays an instrument anybody else that doesn't isn't in Prince's league? That's as silly as someone saying that because Prince couldn't dance that he's not in Michael Jackson's, James Brown's or Fred Astaire's league. You're just picking attributes that the others couldn't do and using it to justify why Prince is better. At the end of the day, if Prince can play the guitar well it's fine and dandy but it doesn't give him anything over the other guys. I know a 10 year-old who can play the keyboard - does that make him way out of James Brown's or Michael Jackson's league? No.

I mention her all the time.

purplethunder3121 said:

ludwig said:

And that's why you can't compare them.

How did Michael "write" songs if he doesn't play an instrument? Or does he? And if so, why has he never shown this talent live on stage? Did he ever play an instrument live on stage? And if not, why are you comparing him to prince?

[Edited 7/11/11 11:57am]

Oh no, the ole Prince vs. MJ thang again!

This will NOT happen.

RKJCNE said:

Here is an interesting article explaining why!

ManlyMoose said:

ludwig said:

[Edited 7/11/11 11:55am]

You dont have to play an instrument to write songs lol, you need to create a melody.

Yes MJ didnt play instruments on stage, but its more like "You shouldnt compare Prince to Michael" not the other way around. MJs stage work outshines Prince easily, EVEN though he didnt play a guitar . Not saying Prince aint great on stage, he is.

You better run and fast.

All four of the artists this thread is about are talented and in their own league. There is no point in comaping them.

And in the original context of the thread I think NDRU and Lazycrockett covered it all.

NDRU said:

you're right they share some qualities, they are all huge 80's pop stars

But Whitney gets lumped in with the pop/R&B balladeers and the other three are the more visually striking singer/dancers

Lazycrockett said:

I think cause Whitney just sung and didnt try to act like she was an "artist" that wrote or produced.

ludwig said:

He produced SEVERAL fantastic albums on his own. If you want to compare him with someone else, then do it with real musicians, songwriters and producers, but none of these acts.

[img:$uid]http://i954.photobucket.com/albums/ae28/Corbun/ohboy.jpg[/img:$uid]

This thread needs to be looked before the purple stans find this.

ManlyMoose said:

This thread needs to be looked before the purple stans find this.

No it doesn't. Actually, if would be much more fun if Michael and Madonna's names weren't even mentioned and if it was simply titled "Prince vs. Shitney Houston" and placed over in the "Prince: Music and More" section.

I don't think that this thread was intended to be a comparison thread.I don't know why some of you are trying to play the comparison game The question was...why isn't Whitney mentioned along with "the big three" of the 80s? Let's stay on topic,folks.

to answer the question....I just think that Prince,Madonna and Michael defined 80s pop music like no other artists did.Not just with their music,they did it with their outfits,their image,their style,their look.Michael ruled 1983,Prince ruled 1984 and Madonna ruled 1985.That's why they're frequently referred to as "the Big Three".

ManlyMoose said:

mjscarousal said:

That may be true but the FACT is NONE of those artists have the talent and musical capacity to produce an ENTIRE album on their own unlike Prince... period.

They probably do, ive seen all of the above produce songs on their own that were good. Its just that they can't play all the instruments, which doesnt really make them worse, just makes it all less convienent.

I realize I wasnt clear with my comments I was NOT talking about Madonna or Michael. I was refering to the currents artists that were used as examples Rihanna and Beyonce.

Subjective answer

-Because she fuckin' sucks and mainstream people only remember the two "The Bodyguard" ballads, and those are early-90's hits...

Objective answer:

-Ugly public scandalS

-She's was a late-80's/early-90's success. Many people don't associate her with the "PurpleRain, Thriller, Like a Virgin" years

-Her singles have not stood the test of time...

She's the female equivalent of Michael Bolton or Rick Astley.

[Edited 7/11/11 14:43pm]

SoulAlive said:

I don't think that this thread was intended to be a comparison thread.I don't know why some of you are trying to play the comparison game The question was...why isn't Whitney mentioned along with "the big three" of the 80s? Let's stay on topic,folks.

to answer the question....I just think that Prince,Madonna and Michael defined 80s pop music like no other artists did.Not just with their music,they did it with their outfits,their image,their style,their look.Michael ruled 1983,Prince ruled 1984 and Madonna ruled 1985.That's why they're frequently referred to as "the Big Three".

Right.

Plus Whitney came AFTER they began asserting their dominance, plus her albums are just boring.

Madonna, MJ and Prince broke the barriers from 1983-1985 on MTV, the charts etc. I think Whitney came out at the tail end of 1985 if I'm not mistaken, and anyways, if those 3 didn't pave the way for her, she wouldn't have sold the amount she did in the 80's. Record sales were dying anyways before those years.

How come Springsteen isn't mentioned on this list?

He was a driving force in the 80's as well

HuMpThAnG said:

How come Springsteen isn't mentioned on this list?

He was a driving force in the 80's as well

Hell, we might as well throw in Milli Vanilli just to be safe.

HuMpThAnG said:

How come Springsteen isn't mentioned on this list?

He was a driving force in the 80's as well

I was just about to post this.

Some of them changed the world. Some didn't.

Well honestly I never heard of this 80's trinity till I joined the org.

[Edited 7/11/11 17:38pm]

I think they are all so different. I never understood why peeps compared Prince, MJ & Mdonna . MJ was at his peak in the 80s, but he didn't start his career in the 80's, he was a child star, therefore that alone puts him a different catergory altogether, it doesn't make him better or worse, it just makes the dynamics of his career different. I think it makes more sense if you compare MJ career to Stevie Wonder's career ;both child stars, both from Motown & then you can compare & contrast their adult careers. Comparing MJ with Madonna or Prince would make more sense if they all started their careers around the same time.

HuMpThAnG said:

How come Springsteen isn't mentioned on this list?

He was a driving force in the 80's as well

Good point lmao

When I think of Prince I alway think Rick James.

Timmy84 said:

SoulAlive said:

I don't think that this thread was intended to be a comparison thread.I don't know why some of you are trying to play the comparison game The question was...why isn't Whitney mentioned along with "the big three" of the 80s? Let's stay on topic,folks.

to answer the question....I just think that Prince,Madonna and Michael defined 80s pop music like no other artists did.Not just with their music,they did it with their outfits,their image,their style,their look.Michael ruled 1983,Prince ruled 1984 and Madonna ruled 1985.That's why they're frequently referred to as "the Big Three".

Right.

Plus Whitney came AFTER they began asserting their dominance, plus her albums are just boring in my opinion.

I fixed it for you. No need for more Drama lol

Honestly George Michael should be mention too.