Not Michael Jackson. Michael Jordan. Back in the day, the thing to do was make a judgment on one's musical tastes by asking whom they preferred, Michael Jackson or Prince. The wannabes would wanna be starting something with Michael. The people who prided themselves on knowing irreverent and dangerous music chose Prince.
But, I now see we were comparing Prince to the wrong Michael. We should have been gauging him against Michael Jordan, indubitably one of the best ever at his profession. I don't know if Prince is the M.J. of modern popular music, but I do know these things:
- He appeared at halftime of Super Bowl XLI and was the best part of the whole damned thing;
- He was reportedly paid $5 million to appear at Coachella;
- He's so prolific he's still writing and performing new music, even though he allegedly has a vault of songs voluminous enough to keep us entertained long after he's gone;
- He's not just a point in the pop music continuum,
- He's a distinguished element of it, with the same crossover love bestowed upon The Beatles and Hendrix; and, he wrote "Darling Nikki."
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