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At their absolute peak who was cooler between Michael Jackson and Prince?

S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
bionic77 said:
This is the words of a young.

MJ was definitely not seen as a weirdo when Thriller came out. Everyone I knew wanted to be able to dance like MJ and we all tried to pull off the moon walk. Everyone I knew watched Thriller a billion times (it must have been like 30% of MTVs entire content from like 83-86). I don't even know how to describe how famous and popular he was during that time.

I am not talking about how this ended. In the end no one is going to argue that MJ won, but at his peak I don't think anyone could touch him.
Click to expand...


Bubbles and the rest of it started between Thriller and BAD and that was the dawn of weird.
 
D

darscot

Member
In hindsight this is laughable, but when Thriller broke MJ was King. Prince was a little too flamboyant and weird. Purple rain was a little too what is up with this guy and his puffy shirt and sleeves. MJ was like dating Brooke Shields and his videos were cooler and he had this like theatrical tough guy thing in his videos. Everyone danced like him. It didn't last but at the time MJ was cooler and Prince was too Liberace to openly admit you liked him. Considering this now is ridiculous but that is how it was at the time.
 
Duane Cunningham

Duane Cunningham

Member
V_Arnold said:
Nope, this is brand new to me. Thanks, it does sound more unique than I imagined.
Click to expand...

Well, enjoy these next, these are other Prince songs that could easily go in that slot instead:

Let's Go Crazy
1999
Little Red Corvette
Raspberry Beret
Kiss

The album cut of Purple Rain doesn't seem to be on YouTube, but here he is singing it at the Super Bowl ten years ago, still the coolest man in the entire stadium of 74 thousand people at age 47, in the most iconic Super Bowl performance of all time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iAisyQzw8c
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
V_Arnold said:
Point me towards some stuff, GAF.

I am 31 years old and have never heard of one single Prince song, like...ever.

I remember my childhood and watching MTV, I remember plenty of MJ songs, but not a single Prince song, ever. His attitude ever since has turned me off so strongly, I did not even bother looking for his work anywhere.

Where does one start?
Click to expand...

Idontbelieveyou.gif


But you can start with Purple Rain.


darscot said:
In hindsight this is laughable, but when Thriller broke MJ was King. Prince was a little too flamboyant and weird. Purple rain was a little too what is up with this guy and his puffy shirt and sleeves. MJ was like dating Brooke Shields and his videos were cooler and he had this like theatrical tough guy thing in his videos. Everyone danced like him. It didn't last but at the time MJ was cooler and Prince was too Liberace to openly admit you liked him. Considering this now is ridiculous but that is how it was at the time.
Click to expand...

Yes! This. They traded weirdness places!
 
S

SeanC

Member
Prince. More taboo and naughty, sexual, smooth, cool.

MJ was pop, nothing wrong with that, and he was cool and shit in his own way especially when it came to dance choreography, just not "Prince" cool of laid back, "Ima jus chill" cool in his own skin.
 
A

atr0cious

Member
What does cool mean? Prince had that chill attitude, but MJ was a literal cultural and fashion icon. They're going for completely different styles and I feel Prince was the music snob choice, but MJ was the 80s.
 
entremet

entremet

Member
Stinkles said:
Bubbles and the rest of it started between Thriller and BAD and that was the dawn of weird.
Click to expand...

I just saw it as the ostentation of mega rich dude. Never felt weird to me. Honestly, the weirdo stuff didn't come to fruition until his dubious issues with hosting young boys in his home. At least for me.

Exotic animals as pets was a big in the 80s.
 
Goro Majima

Goro Majima

Kitty Genovese Member
Michael Jackson felt like the biggest thing since the Beatles or Elvis so I don't know how you'd compare the two.

In terms of pop in the 80s, I'd rank Prince below Madonna also.
 
V

Viewt

Member
MJ was cool, but it was a safe, super mainstream kind of cool. Which was fine - when you're arguably the greatest and most popular pop musician of all time, you're kind of going to be mainstream by default. But Prince was intimidating while being 5'3", wearing heels and a purple suit. He oozed cool. He couldn't help but be cool.

There's just a little bit of danger with Prince.
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
entremet said:
I just saw it as the ostentation of mega rich dude. Never felt weird to me. Honestly, the weirdo stuff didn't come to fruition until his dubious issues with hosting young boys in his home. At least for me.
Click to expand...


The headlines literally began with "Wacko Jacko" and were widespread. And they had no idea how right they were.


wienke said:
Michael Jackson felt like the biggest thing since the Beatles or Elvis so I don't know how you'd compare the two.

In terms of pop in the 80s, I'd rank Prince below Madonna also.
Click to expand...


Nobody asked about "bigger"


True story I listen to the new wave eighties station just to avoid Madonna
 
T

The Albatross

Member
V_Arnold said:
Point me towards some stuff, GAF.

I am 31 years old and have never heard of one single Prince song, like...ever.

I remember my childhood and watching MTV, I remember plenty of MJ songs, but not a single Prince song, ever. His attitude ever since has turned me off so strongly, I did not even bother looking for his work anywhere.

Where does one start?
Click to expand...

Prince is awesome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iAisyQzw8c

Until his Super Bowl performance that year I honestly never knew that Prince played guitar, I thought he was just a vocalist or maybe also lightly played the piano.

THere's a good documentary segment from NFL films on this too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NN3gsSf-Ys
 
O

Omadahl

Banned
Prince by a long shot. The only other artist to reach that level of fame and ooze absolutely cool sexuality was Bowie. I think that part of this is the perception that they were 100% confident in themselves. I also think they were more musically gifted. MJ could dance and sing, but Bowie and Prince could record an album solo; especially Prince.
 
Bumblebeetuna

Bumblebeetuna

Gold Member
MJ was a weird, bizarre, but monstrously talented pedophile with cool dance moves. Meanwhile everything about Prince was cool.
 
N

Ninja Scooter

Member
Prince might be the coolest human being to ever live.

MJ at his peak was more wholesome than cool. Then he became more weird than cool.
 
L

LionPride

Banned
From everything I have been told, the answer gotta be Prince in terms of cool. Not popularity, but coolness.

Nigga could be better dressed than ya girl and still take her from you and you couldn't do a thing because a nigga in a blouse just wrecked ya shit
 
D

DeaconKnowledge

Member
V_Arnold said:
Point me towards some stuff, GAF.

I am 31 years old and have never heard of one single Prince song, like...ever.

I remember my childhood and watching MTV, I remember plenty of MJ songs, but not a single Prince song, ever. His attitude ever since has turned me off so strongly, I did not even bother looking for his work anywhere.

Where does one start?
Click to expand...

It's hard to do a catalog fro Prince since he never wanted his stuff on Youtube and the like but my favorite song of his is "It's gonna be Lonely" from his album titled Prince. Great song. I was actually playing it when I first clicked on this thread.
 
A

Air

Banned
I think at his peak Michael was cooler-he was just a juggernaut. Thriller, smooth criminal, bad, black and white - even you rock my world were all really cool.

Prince was very cool too, but it was way harder to relate to him I think and I don't feel you could really appreciate just how cool he was until you respected him as an artist first, whereas MJ had that immediate vibe.

Prince is the definition of sexuality though and I don't think any artist before or since has embodied that feeling more than he has
 
A

ArjanN

Member
darscot said:
In hindsight this is laughable, but when Thriller broke MJ was King. Prince was a little too flamboyant and weird. Purple rain was a little too what is up with this guy and his puffy shirt and sleeves. MJ was like dating Brooke Shields and his videos were cooler and he had this like theatrical tough guy thing in his videos. Everyone danced like him. It didn't last but at the time MJ was cooler and Prince was too Liberace to openly admit you liked him. Considering this now is ridiculous but that is how it was at the time.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's a pretty good observation. MJ was clearly the bigger celebrity, Prince was edgier but also came off a bit weird and tryhard at the time IMO.

And yeah, obviously this changed over time as MJ went more off the deep end.
 
J

Jumeira

Banned
MJ, those buckles man.

Prince was more mysterious then cool. He always seemed somewhat warped to me. Not fully there.

MJ turned into a car and flew off into space.
 
L

low-G

Member
Cooler as in every kid, mom, dad, everywhere: MJ.

Prince was probably cooler with older people, who probably considered MJ cute and later possibly obnoxious as they would have seen him perform as a kid.
 
Pagusas

Pagusas

Elden Member
Prince is the cool kid in class but almost too cool for anyone to really call him their friend. He's unapproachable.

MJ is the most popular kid in class, everyone thought he was awesome and talented and iconic. He was kinda creepy at times though, but no one mentioned that because he's just so damn well loved.

Madonna was the kid everyone said was popular but talked shit behind her back and really thought she was prostituting herself out in the restroom.
 
K

karmaforgotme

Member
I was 11 years old when the video of Thriller was released (end of 1983?), and even at that time I never thought MJ was that cool. Yes his videos were cool, but him as an individual nope. That said Prince was cool from the first time I saw one of his videos (1999), and when Purple Rain came out no one on the Earth was cooler.

Still in the overall court of public opinion they found MJ was cooler, but that even made Prince cooler to the rest of us (cool is always the one that comes across as the most rebellious). Also Prince had more talent than MJ (better musician and song writer), but MJ is one of the most influential artist since the Beatles?
 
R

Renji_11

Member
Wasn't everybody wearing one glove and the thriller jacket in the 80's? As a kid I thought smooth criminal was the coolest thing ever. Prince was the one who seemed weird to me. Now that I am older I see how cool Prince was but I honestly didn't see any kids talk about Prince in the 80's.
 
F

Flo_Evans

Member
I remember buying MJ zipper pants when I was a kid, never attempted to rock any prince looks.

I think MJ had higher peaks and lower lows, price has always just kind of been cool.
 
N

Ninja Scooter

Member
Renji_11 said:
Wasn't everybody wearing one glove and the thriller jacket in the 80's? As a kid I thought smooth criminal was the coolest thing ever. Prince was the one who seemed weird to me. Now that I am older I see how cool Prince was but I honestly didn't see any kids talk about Prince in the 80's.
Click to expand...

MJ was "your kids want to dress like him" cool.

Prince was "your wife wants to have sex with him" cool.
 
N

NEO0MJ

Member
LionPride said:
From everything I have been told, the answer gotta be Prince in terms of cool. Not popularity, but coolness.

Nigga could be better dressed than ya girl and still take her from you and you couldn't do a thing because a nigga in a blouse just wrecked ya shit
Click to expand...

tumblr_o5sai9CnJK1vn80fzo1_250.gif

giphy.gif
 
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