This is some bullshit if you ask me! And I am asking me! So self; What the Fuck happened? You were on a roll, had folks writing in, reading the blog and then blaaaaaaah. Nada. Weak sauce LTME, weak, weak sauce.
Well there have been some distractions as of late. Namely a need to focus on other areas of my life, why my Bulldogs aren’t the team they are supposed to be etc. None of it really worthy of the complete collapse this amazing blog suffered of late. A true disrespect to both of my readers and most importantly I’ve been without my ‘self loathing excuse’ to write about my opinion on things to myself, my biggest critic. It’s a bit of an incestuous thing going on here at LTME, but I am still in love with LTME and LTME is willing to take me back.
So without further ado, I’ll give you the finish to the MJ vs. Prince story next week.
I’m messing with you (use: Will Ferrell from Old School voice)
The Man in the Purple don’t need to look at the Man in the mirror.
Well, it goes like this, according to me, written by me, for me. (Me doesn’t always abide by proper grammar.)
Prince is the spawn of a different source. He was raised to a different beat and that beat is funky as all get out. Prince is a true instrumentalist. He can sing, he can wail and I do mean wail on the electric guitar. He can make his way around a piano and understands the bass better than most hip-hop producers. When push comes to shove, well yeah, the man can dance as well.
Well a lot of folks fall into that realm, why is he so important?
Because Prince can turn himself on and off. He can force himself back into your lives and restate why he is so powerful. Just when you forget about Prince he shows up at your house with a purple cream pie and SMACK, you remember why you love that crazy SOB.
Prince made a movie about himself, starring himself an entire era before that was acceptable. He released one of the most successful soundtracks ever to go along with that film. He was Purple Rain and the hits came rolling in and Prince became the dominant sound of dance/pop music. Then he pulled away.
He picked up his guitar and starting writing some of the most sexually charged music ever produced and released on a major label. It wasn’t a fresh start for Prince, quite the opposite. Prince became IT, felt comfortable with how he went about doing that and realize he could do it again when he was ready.
Prince is the most consistent pop artist of all time. When I say consistent in reference to Prince, I don’t mean he does the same thing over and over again, I mean that he finds a way to stay in the public consciousness and does so at his own will.
Prince has a slew of successful albums. He also has some of the most recognizable pop songs of all time (Raspberry Beret, Little Red Corvette, When Does Cry etc.). He has reinvented himself, successfully mind you numerous times. He was a symbol. A freakin symbol. Who pulls that off? He is the backbone to the Jack Nicholson character in Batman (1989), even had hits songs from that film. He has his own club in Vegas. He released the most successful pop album launches of all time in England? What? How? He gave a free copy of his album to every person that bought his album. He didn’t make the charts for this stunt as it violates the ratings system guidelines, so what does he do? He rams through a 7 night run in London, selling out every night! Can’t think of many folks that could play the same venue, seven nights in a row and sell out every night. The man has staying power. When was the last time you heard a Michael Jackson song on the radio? When was the last time you heard about Michael Jackson? Prince, well he headlined one of the biggest music festivals in the world this year and forced record sales for tix (Coachella) and you might remember he played the Super Bowl in ’07.
Prince is truly the more balanced, complete artist, he is a league of the likes of Bowie and Talking Heads, Police etc. Jackson is in the league with Madonna.
But, does that mean Prince is the KING of pop? No.
The King has a different grasp. Did Elvis shred the guitar and headline festivals, make controversial albums? No, but he is the King of Rock. Why? Because he and Jackson went beyond music. They became something bigger than they could even understand. They became a reason. They became part of our culture, our history, our lives.
Jackson, as one reader put it, made people loose control. Legions of fans around the world would trample one another for a look at him. A child in war torn sub Sahara Africa knows of Michael Jackson and likely not Prince.
Prince, to me and LTME, is the better, more important artist. Jackson, will always reign as KING however.
So what does that make Prince in the rankings of pop?
Just that.
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