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New York Daily News Top 10 Culture Icons Of The Past 50 Years

Travis

Travis

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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS TOP 10 POP CULTURE ICONS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS


June 16th, 2010

10. Paul Newman

9. Princess Diana

8. The Beatles

7. Oprah Winfrey

6. Muhammad Ali

5. Michael Jackson, the Thriller's gone



You may have heard Michael Jackson’s been in the news lately. When an album sells 500,000 units it goes gold - an impressive feat to be sure; at 1 million units it's platinum - very impressive. At 10 million it's certified diamond, which makes "Thriller," at roughly 75 million sold worldwide, well, the mother lode of records.

"Beat It," "Billie Jean," "Pretty Young Thing," "Human Nature," "The Girl Is Mine," "Wanna Be Startin' Something" and "Thriller" - songs that could define a career, all from just a single album.

Michael Jackson. What more needs to be said? A singer. A dancer. An entertainer. Those descriptions fail miserably in defining the man who created the moonwalk and made the wearing of a single glove a fashion statement. There will never be another.

Perhaps in time he may deserve to be even higher on the list, but some perspective is probably needed to judge his true impact. For now, being in the middle of the top 10 seems right.

4. Marilyn Monroe
3. Frank Sinatra

2. Madonna, the Material Girl who ruled the world


M-cone-bra1.bmp


During an appearance on “American Bandstand” in 1983, Dick Clark asked an up-and-coming young singer what her career aspirations were. With a smile, she matter-of-factly said, “I want to rule the world.”

All hail Queen Madonna!

Twenty-five years, 12 Billboard No. 1 songs, worldwide album sales totaling hundreds of millions and a Golden Globe later, she has ruled with a velvet fist.

Besides her numerous accolades, Madonna has influenced fashion, dance and pop culture for an entire generation. Not bad for a girl from Bay City, Mich.

1. Elvis

Source: New York Daily News

 
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Paul Newman- I dunno about this one...

The rest are acceptable...

Frank Sinatra should be behind the Beatles... I think..

Is Oprah an icon? I guess...
 
it's so easy to put Michael at number 1, because the media led travesties against him, are unparallelled. yet, he still retains great cultural impact. anytime the media puts these lists up, they are suspect, because of that same media's treatment of Michael.
 
Michael's winning by far.
My country is a little isolated from the popular culture of USA, england, etc, but i've always thought that Michael was more and icon than a lot of people better ranked than him.
 
I voted. I think Michael should be number 1 and the Beatles should be number 2. Elvis, probably, the third and Madonna the fourth. And then the rest of them.
 
JMie said:
I voted. I think Michael should be number 1 and the Beatles should be number 2. Elvis, probably, the third and Madonna the fourth. And then the rest of them.
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i dont like elvis because he used to stole other people's material and didnt gave them credit...or thats what I heard/read. and madonna its a little arrogant i think, but with Michael and the beatles in number 1 and 2 im okay :p
 
Applehead_Ale said:
i dont like elvis because he used to stole other people's material and didnt gave them credit...or thats what I heard/read. and madonna its a little arrogant i think, but with Michael and the beatles in number 1 and 2 im okay :p
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I don't really know much about Elvis' life or the way he did business... I just like some of his songs and think he had a really great voice :) Madonna was a bit too much sometimes, I agree, still she is the biggest female singer in the world, there's no one else like her... that's my opinion, of course, you can disagree :)
 
You can't actually vote on who the paper picks as the top 10 or what number. That voting pole is separate from TNYDN article. What I showed you is indeed the correct numbering.

MJ came in at #5.
 
Travis said:
You can't actually vote on who the paper picks as the top 10 or what number. That voting pole is separate from TNYDN article. What I showed you is indeed the correct numbering.

MJ came in at #5.
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According to the polls it people think it should be.

1. Michael Jackson
2. Elvis
3. Madonna
4. The Beatles
5. Frank Sinatra
 
So basically this is a "look everyone Madonna ranked higher than MJ on some bitch ass list even though he is undisputedly a bigger icon than Madonna" thread.
 
Grand Master S said:
So basically this is a "look everyone Madonna ranked higher than MJ on some bitch ass list even though he is undisputedly a bigger icon than Madonna" thread.
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No. Not at all. Why, is that what you want it to be? I was posting it because my two favorite artists ranked in the top 5. If you stepped outside your little box for one second maybe you'd realize that but for some reason MJ fans have a hard time with someone being a fan of anyone besides MJ or Janet.
 
So basically this is a "look everyone Madonna ranked higher than MJ on some bitch ass list even though he is undisputedly a bigger icon than Madonna" thread.

Anyway, since everyone here and everyone on the face of the planet who breathes air and drinks water is agreed that Madonna isn't even in MJ's league as an icon, I'm gonna add that if this list takes global iconic status into consideration then Michael should rank higher than Elvis too.

But of course it doesn't particularly matter because this list is retarded. And yes, I say that based on MJ's ridiculously low ranking and the ridiculous reasoning they provided for it.

"LOL we have to let it settle for awhile because we don't know yet how big he is or isn't LOL"
 
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Grand Master S said:
So basically this is a "look everyone Madonna ranked higher than MJ on some bitch ass list even though he is undisputedly a bigger icon than Madonna" thread.

Anyway, since everyone here and everyone on the face of the planet who breathes air and drinks water is agreed that Madonna isn't even in MJ's league as an icon, I'm gonna add that if this list takes global iconic status into consideration then Michael should rank higher than Elvis too.

But of course it doesn't particularly matter because this list is retarded. And yes, I say that based on MJ's ridiculously low ranking and the ridiculous reasoning they provided for it.

"LOL we have to let it settle for awhile because we don't know yet how big he is or isn't LOL"
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There's no need to be rude to me. Madonna IS huge in her own right as an icon. She's certainly not in MJ's league as a musician but she's definitely within vicinity of his league as a worldwide icon. No one said she's bigger than MJ. I certainly didn't and I never will.

Whatever. :smilerolleyes:
 
Michael's a bigger worldwide icon than everyone on that list. I don't care if i'm being biased or not but it's true. He should have been #1.

I think it should have been:

1)MJ
2)Elvis
3)The Beatles
4)Madonna
 
Well, obviously, Michael should be #1 on any list. That's a given.
 
Is that embittered sarcasm I detect? If so then well done.

I have no problem with Elvis in the #1 position, though, especially since this is probably just American based at which point it becomes debatable who the biggest icon really is. The other people who have ranked above MJ, though? Well, Monroe and Sinatra are way way way before my time so I can't really comment, but the fact that they wedged Madonna in there as one of the people above Michael in his underwhelming (by his standards) #5 position makes me just think this is someones opinion. 'Cause seriously, I cannot stress enough that Madonna is not is not is not is not is not as big as Michael or even in the same... ballpark. She's just not. In the realm of the music industry, The Beatles/Michael Jackson/Elvis Presley are the biggest, most successful, most iconic names and everyone else is significantly beneath them from that standpoint. The idea that Madonna fits into that category needs to die. They have absolutely nothing of significance to stand on when they make claims like this other than "MADONNA HAS STILL BEEN PUTTING OUT MUSIC ALL THIS TIME." So what? How does that make her a bigger icon in any way shape or form? All you're basically doing when you point that out is complimenting her as an artist.

I don't mean to sound like a dick (yes I do) because the most important thing about death is the death itself, but that being said Madonna's death wouldn't be as big of a deal as Michael's. It'd be a big deal but it wouldn't make the fucking world stop like MJ, because SHE IS NOT ANYWHERE NEAR AS BIG OF AN ICON AS HIM. When I hear people say that The Beatles or Elvis are bigger than MJ, I really don't care. But MADONNA? For real??? I'm ranting about this and letting it all hang out here because I usually ignore this subject. It mind boggles the shit out of me every time these "music experts" rank her higher on things like this, and it doesn't come from "insecurity" because Michael is so much more successful than her that it's ridiculous. It honest to God just makes me scratch my head. I honestly do not know how the hell such a large sect of Madonna's fans (not you necessarily) can truly believe in their hearts that she is up there Elvis and The Beatles and Michael Jackson. I have seen so many of them on various boards claim that she has a legitimate claim for the #1 spot amongst these legends.

And once again, it's not really his number that annoys me so much as that uber retarded reasoning they provided. I probably wouldn't be writing all this right now if it wasn't for this:

Perhaps in time he may deserve to be even higher on the list, but some perspective is probably needed to judge his true impact. For now, being in the middle of the top 10 seems right.
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What the? Someone justify this to me. Am I to believe that we do not right now have a pretty comprehensive idea of how important Michael Jackson was as a musical icon so we therefore need to let him simmer in "the middle" for another decade or so until we can truly determine if he really was that big of a deal? Madonna isn't even dead yet and she's #2. Where's the "perspective" there?

It's a good thing she's been continuing to make new music with a bunch of hip-hop and techno and shit, because the music from the peak of her popularity is not timeless.
 
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I can't say or do anything right around here because of my avatar and siggy. Yes, I'm a Madonna. Enough already! Why can't I love and celebrate both? Stop trying to put words in my mouth. Enough with the misconstruing of my intentions. I didn't say that MJ should always be at the top of a list out of sarcasm. I said it because I meant it. Not that you'll be believe that, since I get written off by so many for my Madonna fandom.

And yes, Madonna is a huge cultural icon. The likes of MJ? No. But still, very, very big.
 
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Grand Master S said:
Is that embittered sarcasm I detect? If so then well done.

I have no problem with Elvis in the #1 position, though, especially since this is probably just American based at which point it becomes debatable who the biggest icon really is. The other people who have ranked above MJ, though? Well, Monroe and Sinatra are way way way before my time so I can't really comment, but the fact that they wedged Madonna in there as one of the people above Michael in his underwhelming (by his standards) #5 position makes me just think this is someones opinion. 'Cause seriously, I cannot stress enough that Madonna is not is not is not is not is not as big as Michael or even in the same... ballpark. She's just not. In the realm of the music industry, The Beatles/Michael Jackson/Elvis Presley are the biggest, most successful, most iconic names and everyone else is significantly beneath them from that standpoint. The idea that Madonna fits into that category needs to die. They have absolutely nothing of significance to stand on when they make claims like this other than "MADONNA HAS STILL BEEN PUTTING OUT MUSIC ALL THIS TIME." So what? How does that make her a bigger icon in any way shape or form? All you're basically doing when you point that out is complimenting her as an artist.

I don't mean to sound like a dick (yes I do) because the most important thing about death is the death itself, but that being said Madonna's death wouldn't be as big of a deal as Michael's. It'd be a big deal but it wouldn't make the fucking world stop like MJ, because SHE IS NOT ANYWHERE NEAR AS BIG OF AN ICON AS HIM. When I hear people say that The Beatles or Elvis are bigger than MJ, I really don't care. But MADONNA? For real??? I'm ranting about this and letting it all hang out here because I usually ignore this subject. It mind boggles the shit out of me every time these "music experts" rank her higher on things like this, and it doesn't come from "insecurity" because Michael is so much more successful than her that it's ridiculous. It honest to God just makes me scratch my head. I honestly do not know how the hell such a large sect of Madonna's fans (not you necessarily) can truly believe in their hearts that she is up there Elvis and The Beatles and Michael Jackson. I have seen so many of them on various boards claim that she has a legitimate claim for the #1 spot amongst these legends.

And once again, it's not really his number that annoys me so much as that uber retarded reasoning they provided. I probably wouldn't be writing all this right now if it wasn't for this:

Quote:
Perhaps in time he may deserve to be even higher on the list, but some perspective is probably needed to judge his true impact. For now, being in the middle of the top 10 seems right.
What the? Someone justify this to me. Am I to believe that we do not right now have a pretty comprehensive idea of how important Michael Jackson was as a musical icon so we therefore need to let him simmer in "the middle" for another decade or so until we can truly determine if he really was that big of a deal? Madonna isn't even dead yet and she's #2. Where's the "perspective" there?

It's a good thing she's been continuing to make new music with a bunch of hip-hop and techno and shit, because the music from the peak of her popularity is not timeless.
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That is incredibly offensive. All this over a Top 10 list? Really? :doh:

You can say what you want, think what you want, feel what you want, but it doesn't make you any more right.

For every person there is that thinks Sinatra should be #1, someone thinks Elvis should be, or The Beatles, or Michael Jackson, or yes, even Madonna.

Opinions are like a-holes, everyone's got one.
 
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... did my entire rant get deleted? lmao. If so it'd probably help to delete Travis quoting it too, otherwise it defeats the whole point, durrr.

Anyway, believe it or not, aforementioned rant really had very little to do with you, other than the fact that you posting the list inspired me to type it :). I'm gathering you're frustrated from various arguments spawning from you being both an MJ and Madonna fan, but I really don't care that you like Madonna. I listen to people who are hated far worse than her on here, soo...

But yeah, the point stands. She's not really in his league as an icon. That's my opinion/a-hole.
 
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Grand Master S said:
... did my entire rant get deleted? lmao. If so it'd probably help to delete Travis quoting it too, otherwise it defeats the whole point, durrr.

Anyway, believe it or not, aforementioned rant really had very little to do with you, other than the fact that you posting the list inspired me to type it :). I'm gathering you're frustrated from various arguments spawning from you being both an MJ and Madonna fan, but I really don't care that you like Madonna. I listen to people who are hated far worse than her on here, soo...

But yeah, the point stands. She's not really in his league as an icon. That's my opinion/a-hole.
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We're cool, but yes, I've had a fair share of mud slung at me for my musical tastes.

My favorite acts:

I love all sorts of artists but my tops are probably MJ, Madonna, Janet, Kylie, Scissor Sisters, Carole King, The Carpenters, and Goldfrapp ( Britney too for fun). As you can see, my tastes are very broad.
 
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