MJ and MC have stood the test of time, whereas BS is light entertainment for the moment. The audience of the former two has been maintained beyond their peak and death.
Anyway, we're discussing popular music. Coming from a family with a mother as amateur classical singer, I have grown to find opera pompous and uninspiring. Rage as opera lovers might, this is a popular opinion of the performance of opera (even if the technical talent of the singers and composers is brilliant), which is why opera will never enjoy the appeal of, say, MJ. Remember, popular music is about the /whole experience/, not a demonstration of technical ability.
I cannot speak intelligently about all opera, so you may have a valid point. Mind you though, one of the most popular movies in the 80s was Amadeus, who brought Mozart's music to a whole different audience (like myself when I was a kid): children in various countries were mimicing Tom Hulce's laughter. Also, Die Zauberflote has been reworked (I believe) five times in the past three decades. Bergman's version ranks high in IMDB. I don't think opera is that impopular and, although opera is often used as an omnibus definition, there is a whole range of different operas, ranging from the opera seria to the opera buffa (and probably a lot more, but as said: I cannot speak intelligently about opera). I think the popularity will also depend on the kind of opera you're refering to.
It would be odd to defend Prince's qualities by discussing his performing "with the likes of" musicians you do not enjoy. But, true, you never made a separate assertion that you liked his music.
Why the stream of appeal to authority? As Bierce defines `advice': "the smallest current coin". Which makes a professional critic...?
I cannot see what 'advice' has got to do with this issue, but their first-hand experience with Prince would make a good case. Their factual knowledge about musical ability would be up there as well. Very few little people would deny the musical abilities of Elton John, U2 (who were stunned by Prince's performance in London, March 1995), Miles Davis (who believed that the only person to take music further would be Prince: there's also a wonderful performence of Miles and Prince jamming together, you can look it up at videogoogle), Alicia Keys, and so on. I trust these opinions a whole lot more than those from the average man in the street.
Let me just add two vids:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLmZKsWRL9E
Prince on guitar, blowing the likes of Tom Petty and others away. You can just see the expectation and joy from George Harrison's son at 3m27 as Prince comes on stage. This is an epic performance by any measure. And it has to be said: there are dozens of performances from Prince like this. Try to get your hands on 'Just my imagination', played by Prince in The Hague, 1988.
The second one is the Prince-Miles Davis vid: it's a bit long and over 200Mb+ but worth to watch:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1257821802261658318
So the same thing will happen when Prince dies, right? or not? I mean, I had a loved one die quite recently, and I don't recall any significant global reaction. Why is this?
My condolences.
But this comparison is a bit flawed. People die all the time and no significant global reaction follows. The two that come to my mind for comparison are the death of Princess Diana and the death of Ayrton Senna. They touched the lives of millions around the globe as well, something MJ did too (and yes, I am not denying that).
But this is not the focal point of my discussion. I feel that MJ has been overrated the past 25 years. To be very honest, I like MJ's music a lot, but not the music he made after Thriller. In fact, I'm rather disappointed to see a talent go to waste after 1984-1985. He may, and perhaps even should, have given us better stuff than he did since then.
And I'm not the only one: This is what I read in NY Times yesterday
even in his best work, Mr. Jackson relied too often on known stunts. Watch Mr. Jackson live at the Superbowl halftime show in 1993, wearing his trademark dark glasses and ponytail with loose locks falling forward over the brow, starting out in quasi-military uniform, and you see he does everything the audience wants with skill, energy, but almost no spontaneity. Even the anger seems synthetic now.
But to watch 'Don't stop till you get enough' is to be amazed at just how much charm he had and the charm gets more infectious as the dancing proceeds.
The kind of drama he puts onto the screen isn't always rescued by his skill as a performer. But the gifts were sensational, and the way he honed them at first was superb
Also, I don't know what will happen if Prince dies and I tend not to get involved in discussions about things that may have come. We'll see that when it happens (which I hope won't be happening any time soon)
If you "trust" the opinion of talented musicians more than the audience when judging the performance of a popular artist, you are completely misunderstanding the very word "popular". I don't go to the streets for a critique of the latest maths paper that crosses my desk, and I don't go to my university's art department for a critical review of the Spice Girls.
Hence my earlier comment about marketing and MJ. Marketing can make disgusting McDonald's food popular.
