There are, of course, stars -- but there are no more true icons on the level of the Beatles, Elvis, Madonna, Michael Jackson or Prince in their respective primes. Is this good for popular culture? Bad? Is it even true? And why do you think so?

at the moment, pop culture needs a serious enema.

mine!!!

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

mf-ing CO=SIGN!

2Pac 1): can't think of anyone who touched so many People on all sides of the fence.He had that Swagger&that Classic Love or Loath Element about Him.Biggie 2):nobody flowed like Him&though He only made a Handful of Albums The Cat struck quite a Chord.Kurt Cobain 3): One Album&One Song Essentially but Damn did it strike a Buzz? 4)Snoop Dogg:The Cat is A Icon in the truest Sense.Number 1&was also on trial for Murder&that was 10 Years ago&here we are still watching Snoop in various things.5)Eminem:Love Him or Hate Him like another certain Person from Michigan Image&Controversy seem to Follow Him whereever He goes.6)Will Smith:America Loves Will Smith&He was the Cat that truly made the Leap from Hip-Hop to Tv&Film&then rolled a Solo Career.7)Dr.Dre:The Quincy Jones of Producer's for His Era is a Icon&the Cat always seems to Be on the Pulse at breaking someone off Big.8)R.Kelly: the Cat is a true Icon in that He Bridged R&B,Hip-Hop&Pop as One&He is All The Rappers Main Cat from Biggie,Jay Z&Fat Joe.Others in Between.doing stuff with Michael Jackson,Quincy Jones,Celine Dion.9)Queen Latifah: She is a True Icon cut from the Will Smith Cloth as well but rougher.Successful Music Career,TV that was "Friends" before Friends.Film Career,Modeling,etc.. 10)Ice Cube:Music,Film,Directing,the Cat has a Winning Formula&Was the First Cat on this List that Coined the Infamous Phrase "Tha N*** Ya Love Ta hate".11)Brittney Spears: because no matter what you think of Her She carrys some Weight in some Circles.

mistermaxxx said:

add Gwen Stefani to that list

lovebizzare said:

!

Oh for cryin' out loud, 2Pac?!!!

lovebizzare said:

Again, I'm not talking merely about huge, very important artists; I'm talking about POP ICONS -- those artists who became household words to both fans and non-fans, teens and elderly priests; those who totally define an era, a genre, and have about them an entire legacy, mythology, etc.

Of those listed, I can actually see arguments for 2PAC, but that's it. Eminem may get there if he manages his career well, but not yet, I don't think.
[This message was edited Sun Mar 23 8:27:29 PST 2003 by Lammastide]

All in all, I guess a good rule of thumb is to think of an artist who might be included in a high school history book in the year 2200.

I agree,the era of the pop icon is dead.Nowadays,music has become so disposable,like fast food.There are "stars" who are hot for a few years,but none of these people could be considered "icons" like Prince,Madonna,and MJ were.

2Pac,Eminem&Kurt Cobain will easily for the past Decade&Change IMHO.

we need a new alice cooper, a new cyndi lauper, a new boy george, a new annie lennox (i'm talkin' old skool orange flattop annie), hell even a new marilyn manson would give folks something to talk about...we don't let performers PERFORM anymore. when did this happen? even ozzy "prince of darkness" osbourne is shown to be a doddering old cuddly fool.