This is a good way to put it. I guess it depends on your personal definition of "coolness," though.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
At their absolute peak who was cooler between Michael Jackson and Prince?
- Thread starter bionic77
- Start date
This is a good way to put it. I guess it depends on your personal definition of "coolness," though.
soundscream
Member
LOL
Ninja Scooter
Member
Montell Jordan?
for me MJ by alot. He was THE man. I respect Prince alot musically but to me he was never someone everyone from 7 to 77 dressed like, wanted to dance like etc.
None of MJ's music or even his appearances were an afterthought in peoples mind (talking general public). It was always an event you just had to see/listen etc.
None of MJ's music or even his appearances were an afterthought in peoples mind (talking general public). It was always an event you just had to see/listen etc.
Basketball
Member
MJ by far
I would try to imitate the dances , wanted to buy the jacket.
Prince while cool looked like a short little freak with a big head.
I would try to imitate the dances , wanted to buy the jacket.
Prince while cool looked like a short little freak with a big head.
Soapbox Killer
Grand Nagus
At first I thought it was Prince but...
Moonwalker was some cool stuff. (both the movie and the game)
SONIC 3
The "moonwalk" is the coolest dance move of all time
Hard push for me...
Moonwalker was some cool stuff. (both the movie and the game)
SONIC 3
The "moonwalk" is the coolest dance move of all time
Hard push for me...
The Strokes
Banned
RustyNails
Member
MJ.
The hat, the gloves, the moonwalk, the moves.
Prince had a royal flair about him that only very, very few people could pull off without coming off as making fun of him. Just look at Chappelle's skits. With MJ any kid can don a hat and start dancing and look cool.
The hat, the gloves, the moonwalk, the moves.
Prince had a royal flair about him that only very, very few people could pull off without coming off as making fun of him. Just look at Chappelle's skits. With MJ any kid can don a hat and start dancing and look cool.
BibiMaghoo
Member
My first exposure to Prince was the 'artist formally known as' shite, which never left a good impression of cool, quite the opposite. To this day I've never really bothered to check out his library, and so for me the answer is MJ easily.
If millions of people are trying to copy the shit you do, then you are surely cool as it comes.
If millions of people are trying to copy the shit you do, then you are surely cool as it comes.
To Far Away Times
Member
Honestly, I never thought Prince was all that cool. But he was probably "cooler" in the traditional sense.
MJ was cool in that everyone liked him and everything he did was an event. Until he got weird anyway.
MJ was cool in that everyone liked him and everything he did was an event. Until he got weird anyway.
Soapbox Killer
Grand Nagus
Never mind, its Prince.
Purple Rain at the Superbowl in high heels in the rain is the coolest thing I have ever seen so yeah.
Purple Rain at the Superbowl in high heels in the rain is the coolest thing I have ever seen so yeah.
you should look into why he changed his name, might change your mind
he was basically giving Warner Brothers the finger
Prince's legacy in regards to artists' rights is quite cool actually, especially in this day and age with young artists still being exploited by suits, streaming services and the value of music, ownership issues, etc.
UnObtainium17
Member
Cooler? Prince. By a mile. He's like swag personified. MJ is too grotesque to be considered as cool as prince.. but being cool doesn't mean a greater artist.
Discography wise? It's a totally different and a complete opposite.
Discography wise? It's a totally different and a complete opposite.
forgeforsaken
Member
Bowie is up there.
not to get into a list war but are you suggesting that MJ has a better catalog than Prince?
because that'd be nuts
i'm not the guy you quoted, but no doubt about it.
cloud_sleep
Member
MJ was like a child's idea of cool. Prince was actually cool.
UnObtainium17
Member
Yes.
No it's not. MJ > Prince in terms of music is probably a lot more common sentiment than Price > MJ.
But anyway I agree with 1st page reply that the stratosphere of coolness MJ reached is every bit as high as Prince. Thriller MJ was a beast. You could argue MJs coolness peak was higher than Prince. It's just Prince coolness never fluctuated or waivered through decades.
Rockandrollclown
lookwhatyou'vedone
Prince's coolness holds up better. At the time though, there was nothing cooler than Thriller era MJ.
this is just straight up lunacy to be blunt
from the late 70's to the 2010's Prince was churning out quality music
MJ's catalog doesn't even hold a candle. how many solo albums did MJ have? like less than 10? and how many were of a high quality? like 3?
yeah it's not even close
compare for yourself
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jackson_albums_discography#Studio_albums
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_albums_discography
maybe you could argue that MJ's best was better than Prince's best. maybe. that's at least subjective and can be rationally backed up even if I still wouldn't agree. but as for their entire catalog I'm am struggling to think how it could be seen as anything less than a total sweep in favor of Prince.
it's like Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad vs. 1999, Purple Rain, Sign o the Times, the Love Symbol Album, The Gold Experience, the fucking Batman soundtrack, Around the World in a Day, the Black Album, the Rainbow Children, Crystal Ball, etc. etc. etc.
that's just what happens when you're a genius and make music consistently for multiple decades, it accumulates
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Peter's doing good work in this thread.
i'm not going to make a list war here, because this is not really the thread for it (we're not debating the music really). But MJ's music, while less in quantity, to me was far better in quality. That's my personal opinion. To each their own. And i'm not saying Prince is bad by any means. MJ's music appeals to me more, thus i rate his catalogue higher
lol GTFO here with that shit
JumpJeff84
Member
I'm old enough to remember first hand when Thriller came out. The 'coolness of MJ at that moment was unlike anything I've seen since
that is an argument I can accept because it's wholly subjective but when comparing an artists' entire catalog that's not really an argument that seems relevant
if artist A has some great albums and artist B has like triple or quadruple the amount of great albums the ones that you personally prefer doesn't seem all that relevant because the point is the catalog as a whole
off the wall, thriller, and bad. what else? seriously asking
it's all for you Uncle Ben
soundscream
Member
Stiler
Member
There's a reason he did that, it wasn't that he thought he was "too cool" to go by Prince anymore.
With Warner Bros he was under contract for six albums , one album per year. He wanted to release more songs/albums and was also tired of WB owning the masters of his albums.
http://www.billboard.com/articles/n...prince-battle-to-control-career-artist-rights
In terms of sheer cultural impact and coolness MJ was probably higher. Watching him perform was like watching a special effect or a superhuman move. It didn't look real half the time.
Prince, however, was a musical genius who turned out incredible music almost daily. His catalog is much stronger than MJ's, taken as a whole. Thriller is what it is, obviously, but in terms of body of work, that's Prince all day long.
Prince, however, was a musical genius who turned out incredible music almost daily. His catalog is much stronger than MJ's, taken as a whole. Thriller is what it is, obviously, but in terms of body of work, that's Prince all day long.
isn't musical taste as a whole subjective? I could easily find people anywhere on the street that think both Prince and MJ's music sucked while listing totally obscure artists as superior. Quantity is only really relevant if you love both artist's output as equal.
You can't really talk MJ without talking Jacksons. So i could list a bunch of those (Destiny and Triumph being the two best.) Also Dangerous and History are also two masterpieces in my opinion, with Invincible being the only one with questionable song choices.
As someone who is not from the U.S, I only learned about Prince when he appeared in the Muppets Tonight show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlLcKQEBF5A
so between the 2 I am going with MJ, but personally, besides Thirller, I am not a fan on their songs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlLcKQEBF5A
so between the 2 I am going with MJ, but personally, besides Thirller, I am not a fan on their songs
Hippopuncher12
Member
Who was cooler? Prince without question. MJ was still the better entertainer though.
Oof. Now that is a hot (shit) take.
Prince is a top 5 guitarist of all time (you could reasonably argue he is the greatest guitarist of all time), an excellent songwriter, vocalist, pianist, dancer, entertainer, and all around musician.
Don't be coming around here with discount MJ bullshit. They are both their own thing and their music isn't really even similar.
Are you from the USA? In many countries that are not the USA he was never even remotely considered a superstar, let alone comparable to Michael Jackson.
He was to Michael Jackson what Rita Ora is to Beyonce.
well yeah of course it is but at a certain point in regards to this specific argument about their respective catalogs I think the subjectivity angle goes out the window because of just how much music Prince has made throughout his career. if we can establish that both MJ and Prince put out quality music then the quantity aspect of the argument basically ends the discussion. if Prince fell off and started putting out trash I wouldn't be banging this gong but he was putting out great music consistently for multiple decades. that's my perspective on this discussion, at least.
ah, for clarification I was only comparing solo MJ stuff to solo Prince stuff
Similar threads
- Poll
- Locked