Unfortunately Prince will not be held in the same esteem as Michael Jackson

https://www.datalounge.com/thread/16947594-unfortunately-prince-will-not-be-held-in-the-same-esteem-as-michael-jackson

For one reason: marketing.

Prince is the superior musical talent. But he won't be remembered that way.

I don't think people under 30 realize how taboo, from the the mid-90s until his death, that Michael Jackson was. He was a faux-infantile victim of child abuse turned abuser. A straight-up sex pest and cautionary tale. His fans were considered to be actually insane. Not to mention his sound was very unfashionable in the post-grunge, indie rock, house music and golden age of hip-hop. His shows were mere spectacle and reviews savage.

I know people liked his music - his albums had a big jump in the charts during his court case. Off The Wall was still a legit party album. But no one would ever admit to even hearing You Rock My World and Stranger In Moscow.

But his reputation was made after his death because due to his fucked up family, he appointed two entertainment lawyers as executors. They cleaned up his debt, stage managed a superb public memorial service that reaffirmed his allegiance to the African-American community (actually the only white faces present were Brooke Shields and John Mayer) and spun his catalog into profit in a couple of years. Also, he was killed by his doctor. The victim narrative is written, and like Taylor Swift, the Rolling Stones and Beyonce, the brows are on fleek and the dollars roll in.

Prince? Won't happen. He mistrusted every facet of the industry, turned to religion after the death of his child and became addicted to painkillers. That stuff isn't that uncommon. He didn't have a pathological relationship with his family to the horrifying extent of the Jacksons but he was too controlling to let anyone else in. His family banned his exes from his funeral and his musical memorial was not public.

The money will, pending DNA tests, be split numerous ways and without a impersonal executor, a Priscilla or a Yoko to manage things, Paisley Park will not be kept as a northern Graceland. And although the idea of them would turn is stomach, there will be no West End dance productions or Cirque de Soleil Vegas shows.

Goodnight, sweet Prince. You don't deserve second place to a beatified MJ. But the music speaks for itself, and you can't take it with you.

—Anonymous (347 views)

36 replies 34 05/21/2016