U2, Michael Jackson and Madonna: the undisputed Rock Gods of our time?

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bizkitgto

bizkitgto

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When I say Gods of Rock, I mean the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Elvis. You can't argue this.

For our time, it's: U2, Michael Jackson and Madonna....Undisputed! Does everyone agree, remember this is the 'Gods' - not your favorite band.
 
How strict are you being with the "rock" label? Because I wouldn't consider Michael Jackson or Madonna rock.

Also, I don't think Michael Jackson has been the king of anything but the Crazies since maybe the early 90s, regardless of how popular he might still be elsewhere in the world.

Also, Madonna's still a big name in her own right, but you can't compare her status in the music world to what it was back in the 80s and 90s.
 
Substitute Prince for Michael Jackson.

And agreed with Cori--"our" time is subjective. If you're talking about the 80's and 90's, these acts make sense. But in the new millennium, I don't think there are any, to be honest. Everything has become much more specific to different fan bases, and there's no one who really covers such a wide demographic with such a hold on the popular culture at large.
 
lazarus said:
And agreed with Cori--"our" time is subjective. If you're talking about the 80's and 90's, these acts make sense. But in the new millennium, I don't think there are any, to be honest. Everything has become much more specific to different fan bases, and there's no one who really covers such a wide demographic with such a hold on the popular culture at large.
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The Strokes were supposed to be our future. And then we all found out they sucked. If that's not representative of Generation Y, I don't know what is.
 
By our time, I mean they are still around making music, they aren't nearly as big today as in the past, but I assume they have God status as that doesn't go away. I don't think the 2000's had any rock Gods, you need to have multiple albums of solid gold material and anthems that will stand up to the test of time (U2/Madonna/Michael Jackson). The pop crap music of the 2000's didn't pump out the music it used to, maybe the 2010 decade will change that.
 
corianderstem said:
How strict are you being with the "rock" label? Because I wouldn't consider Michael Jackson or Madonna rock.

Also, I don't think Michael Jackson has been the king of anything but the Crazies since maybe the early 90s, regardless of how popular he might still be elsewhere in the world.

Also, Madonna's still a big name in her own right, but you can't compare her status in the music world to what it was back in the 80s and 90s.
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:up:
 
Michael Jackson and Madonna aren't rock.

When all is said and done I do think U2 will go down in history as one of the greats, and possibly THE greatest band to remain together for so long and continue making amazing music...
 
Scary thing about Michael, Madonna and Prince is that they're all about the same age. In the 50-51 range. Michael was kicking ass for a long time until he first got questioned for sleeping with little boys circa 1993. Since then, he's been persona non grata on the pop charts and more importantly, life. And yes, I'm aware he did have some songs on the radio since that time, but his career took a major nosedive. Then when the second go round happened circa 2002/3, that's when the party really was over for Mike.

Madonna has been kicking ass since 1983. A pretty damn good 26 year run. She has no equal. She is the best. Madonna has probably "reinvented" herself 6 times since Mike's problems started in 1993. She continues to deliver the goods regardless of all the personal bullshit she goes through.

Prince had a good run, but when he changed his name to that symbol circa 1992/93, he too saw his career start to nosedive. His last hit was The Most Beautiful Girl in the World back in 1994. He did see a resurgence in 2004 with his Musicology album, but no one's cared since then. Plus, Prince is almost as nutty as Jackson, but Prince likes to sleep with women, not little boys.


As for U2, they have their own separate category. Several notches higher than even Madonna.
 
MrPryck2U said:
Prince had a good run, but when he changed his name to that symbol circa 1992/93, he too saw his career start to nosedive. His last hit was The Most Beautiful Girl in the World back in 1994. He did see a resurgence in 2004 with his Musicology album, but no one's cared since then.
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Nobody cares? 3121 (which came out after Musicology) was his first album to debut at #1 (and wound up getting Gold certified), and the next two albums debuted at #3 and #2, respectively, and this is without major label-type promotion, mind you.

Madonna's sales aren't high anymore, either. Her last album failed to go Platinum.
 
lazarus said:
Nobody cares? 3121 (which came out after Musicology) was his first album to debut at #1 (and wound up getting Gold certified), and the next two albums debuted at #3 and #2, respectively, and this is without major label-type promotion, mind you.

Madonna's sales aren't high anymore, either. Her last album failed to go Platinum.
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Alright, so maybe some people care. Considering today's market, going gold nowadays is pretty good if you're over 50. Prince could have a major label, but he likes to do things his way. More power to him for that, but his albums won't go platinum. Not saying Madonna's will either, but her numbers are usually pretty consistent. I think she sold 700,000 plus units for Hard Candy.
 
Right, but Planet Earth selling 300,000 impresses me even more. Madonna had a huge tour and a big single, it's insane that she couldn't get Platinum with that.

But of course, in the download era, that these veteran artists can even put up those numbers may be all you can hope for.
 
Michael Jackson is the king of pop, rock, and soul. He's a mixture of everything.

Madonna just makes strictly pop music, and her music is kind of boring (plus, she can't really sing.)

U2 is the only artist there that's strictly rock, because...well, they're a rock band.

I agree that Prince is more rock than Michael Jackson. :yes:
 
If you have to ask if everyone agrees, then I don't think you can use the word "undisputed."
 
ShipOfFools said:
Michael Jackson is the king of pop, rock, and soul. He's a mixture of everything.

Madonna just makes strictly pop music, and her music is kind of boring (plus, she can't really sing.)

U2 is the only artist there that's strictly rock, because...well, they're a rock band.

I agree that Prince is more rock than Michael Jackson. :yes:
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Having Eddie Van Halen or Slash play on one of your songs does not make you rock. Also, Jackson's whitebread delivery is about as far from "soul" as I've ever seen in a black singer, aside from the guy in Hootie & the Blowfish. It's arguable that he hasn't had any since Off the Wall, maybe Thriller, if you can find any within the completely over-the-top production.

Claiming that Madonna's music is boring is a bit nonsensical, especially as she's continued to work with vital producers, which makes her music sound a lot more relevant than the watered-down pap that Jackson's been putting out for the last 15 years or so. If you don't like it, you don't like it, but "boring"? And how she's any less "rock" than MJ is beyond me; he doesn't have any more real instruments on his albums. Madonna's vocal ability is certainly not her strongest attribute, but as someone who just saw her last autumn in concert, where she belted out an AMAZING rendition of You Must Love Me, I can personally tell you that sister's got more pipes than most people are giving her credit for.
 
lazarus said:
Having Eddie Van Halen or Slash play on one of your songs does not make you rock. Also, Jackson's whitebread delivery is about as far from "soul" as I've ever seen in a black singer, aside from the guy in Hootie & the Blowfish. It's arguable that he hasn't had any since Off the Wall, maybe Thriller, if you can find any within the completely over-the-top production.

Claiming that Madonna's music is boring is a bit nonsensical, especially as she's continued to work with vital producers, which makes her music sound a lot more relevant than the watered-down pap that Jackson's been putting out for the last 15 years or so. If you don't like it, you don't like it, but "boring"? And how she's any less "rock" than MJ is beyond me; he doesn't have any more real instruments on his albums. Madonna's vocal ability is certainly not her strongest attribute, but as someone who just saw her last autumn in concert, where she belted out an AMAZING rendition of You Must Love Me, I can personally tell you that sister's got more pipes than most people are giving her credit for.
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You've got to be kidding me. Listen to anything from Off The Wall, or The Lady In My Life. Those songs have soul. And a few songs from the following albums do, too.

What do you call Smooth Criminal and Dirty Diana, then? Or 2Bad from the HIStory album? Or Privacy from the Invincible album? I call them rock songs, because they are rock songs.

Whether Madonna is a weak singer is up in the air. All I know is that I particularly don't care for her music.
 
If you had read my post, I singled out Off the Wall as having soul. Since then? Not too much. Pointing out a couple examples just shows how sporadic it is.

As for the rock, Madonna has just as many "guitar" songs as MJ does. Also, when was the last time you saw this at one of his concerts:

YouTube - Madonna - BORDERLINE - Izod Center, NJ - 10/4/08

YouTube - Madonna - Candy Perfume Girl - DWT Paris

I think it's funny you would call him more rock when she's the one who actually knows how to play guitar (she started her musical career in a rock band), and has done so on her last few tours.

Also, if you can find a clip of Britney singing at this level, by all means share:

YouTube - Madonna Sticky and Sweet Tour Berlin You Must Love Me Live

Clearly you have huge bias here, I would never claim Madonna is a great singer but you're reducing her entire output to T&A, which is rather obtuse.
 
ShipOfFools said:
Michael Jackson is the king of pop, rock, and soul. He's a mixture of everything.
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How long has it been since he had an album out? Since he had a string of hit singles? Since he had ANY singles?

There's no way anyone can say he should still wear any sort of popular music crown in 2009 with a straight face.

And you know what? I would gladly take a bet that says this "record breaking" string of shows supposedly coming up in London never even happens. He'll have some sort of mysterious illness pop up, maybe he'll claim some terrorist threat against his poor kids, who knows - I fully expect some excuse to come out of his melting face and the concerts won't happen.
 
HeartlandGirl said:
If you have to ask if everyone agrees, then I don't think you can use the word "undisputed."
Click to expand...

and, I'm not quite sure what is meant by "our time". It wouldn't encompass "my time" because I'm quite sure I may be considerably older and therefore have seen and heard many Rock Gods".
U2 is the only one I still actively follow. Neither Prince, Madonna or MJ even hold a candle to either U2 or many of the 70's, 80's & 90's music I love.
But that's just me.:wink:
 
corianderstem said:
How long has it been since he had an album out? Since he had a string of hit singles? Since he had ANY singles?

There's no way anyone can say he should still wear any sort of popular music crown in 2009 with a straight face.

And you know what? I would gladly take a bet that says this "record breaking" string of shows supposedly coming up in London never even happens. He'll have some sort of mysterious illness pop up, maybe he'll claim some terrorist threat against his poor kids, who knows - I fully expect some excuse to come out of his melting face and the concerts won't happen.
Click to expand...

2001. That's 8 years. Kate Bush took 12 years in between albums, and her last album, "Aerial," was considered one of the greatest albums of her career. He's working on a new album, which should be out in 2009 or 2010.

As far as the shows go, everyone is saying that he'll perform. He's been in rehearsals for six weeks already, and everything is being designed. If he backs out, he'll not only recieve backlash from the fans, but he'll lose a ton of money and be sued right and left from people who are backing this tour. I doubt he's going to back out, there's too much to lose.

Honestly, I don't care what anyone says. Michael Jackson makes great music, and for that I reserve space on my ipod for him. Madonna...meh, I can take her or leave her.
 
Hey, I'm not saying I don't like some of his music - I enjoy the hell out of his hits.

I just think it's a big stretch to consider him relevant in 2009.
 
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