Going Off On Tanjints Vol.5: The Real King Of Pop

[Tanjential]

In the past I have thought of Dr.Dre and Michael Jackson as the king of pop (different ones for different times) but now I can't see it as anyone but Paul McCartney.

Contemporary pop songwriting as we know it would simply not exist in its current form (or any such form in the last 30 years) if not for Paul McCartney. You could even trace it back to Bob Dylan's groundwork but McCartney was the one to master that formula of tight structured 3 minute and 30 second long songs with devastatingly catchy melodies and clever lyrics. Not to mention impeccable production and instrumentation.

       Dr.Dre is a monarch of pop of sorts in the last 15-20 years yeah, and MJ 20-25 but both of them are just descendants of McCartney.

Dre's glib song lengths and popping catchy basslines as well as Michael's syrupy ballads and perfect production would not exist anything near their known forms if not for Paul Mccartney putting in work not only as a Beatles member but as a bassist, singer, and songwriter.

I can't think of anyon else in the last 50 years to be so catchy, succesful and effective who wrote so many number ones and whose work is still a huge influence today as exemplified from every one from Christina Aguilera to Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, to Dre and MJ themselves.

 Only reason I bring this up is cause a friend and I were discussing Paul's composition versus John's i the Beatles yesterday and Paul's is so musical and catchy in a way that's still so relevant that my friend called Paul the 'king of pop' in our discussion. Initially this hit my ears discordantly, cause I'm a big MJ fan but upon really thinking about it, I think Paul McCartney has more of a right to the title than Michael Jackson.

-T

[everlast1986]

I'm more of a fan of John Lennon and George Harrisons songwriting than Paul McCartneys but yeah hes more deserving to be called "king of pop" than Michael Jackson. Not very many can fuck with the first 20 years of his writing catalogue and how many hits he as written.

[Tanjential]

exactly.

-T

[Shallow]

What about Smokey Robinson? He's had a good number of solid hits over the years and was a key influence on the Beatles.


There is no king of pop because there is no king or pop really. What's pop really? Why doesn't Cole Porter count or Mozart. Who knows what would hace come out if there were recording devices and studios in the time of Mozart.


MJ doesn't have the catalogue to compete in my opinion.

[Tanjential]

I think McCartney has a huge role in shaping what we currently know as popular music. From punk to funk, really. R and B, modern rock, hip hop, singer songwriters...you name it...if it's popular today, McCartney probably laid a huge part of the foundation.

additional to that, he has complete mastery over the formula of writing catchy effective, tightly constructed pop tunes.

I think his role in pop is 'kingly' not only in his catalogue but in his craft and influence.

-T

[Tanjential]

and i do admit, 'pop' and 'king of pop' are vague terms so this is not absolute.....just me saying that mccartney is more deserving of the title than MJ

-T

[M Dogg™]

This is arguable, but if you are talking pop music in a whole sense, then McCartney will have to take it. MJ depends on producers such as Quincy Jones or Teddy Riley to get him some hits. He wanted to turn to Dr. Dre, but that would have been horrible in my opinion. Dr. Dre I've never really thought of as King of Pop. Maybe King of Hip-Pop, or Hip-Hop production royality, but Justin Timberlake I think has him beat in terms of Pop right now. Timberland also is doing his thing putting Hip-Hop into pop music, were as Dre put pop into Hip-Hop music.

Back to the point, I agree, McCartney might just be the King of Pop. Though Pop is determaned by sales, and so that would put MJ over the former Beatle. If anything else, McCartney might have more artistic influence than anyone in pop music (which I think you already said... lol).

[white Boy]

even tho im a lennon guy, he was too 'counterculture' for 'pop', but i agree, mccartney is the epitomee of writing pop songs, stuff like silly love songs, and i will, classic shit

[Tanjential]

I'm more of a Lennon guy but yeah I'm talking pop.

and I think Timberlake has no stripes in this discussion because to me a big part of what would make someone king of pop is their influence on the genre and even on the way people create/structure songs. Timberlake's had some success, but he was not the brain behind...anything.

-T

[Shallow]

I'll still take Smokey as a pop writer over Paul. I think Paul was great at writing it and producing it. I never thought that highly of him as a performer. His voice lacked soul and his playing was nothing to die for. That makes me want to break it into categories.



pop writer- Smokey

pop producer - Phil Spector, Brian Wilson comes close. (Dre isn't even on the radar)


pop singer - Elvis, though I loved Freddie Mercury too.

[LyRiCaL_G]

i think this is very debatable....i mean dr dre? king of hiphop possibly but pop?...

to me imma say that title is hugely subjective but i would say and this may be slightly controversial but whoever u mention it will be because of the other greats but as far as a king of pop....i dont think there really is one...but i think overall the greatest entertainer ever...that crown goes to michael jackson to this day imo....

[Tanjential]

i'm not talking about skill as a performer or entertainer (though I think McCartney is amazing as both) but rather influence and creation of the craft.

Popular music of the last several decades is more influenced by and has more of its foundations in Paul mcCartney than I think anyone else mentioned in the thread.

-T

[M Dogg™]

Influence though is very artsy. With pop, it's straight sales. So if McCartney influenced Michael, but Michael took that and sold more, than Michael is better because pop is just that, popular music. All the artist credibility is thrown out. Black artist influenced Elvis, Elvis is still king, George Clinton and Quincy Jones influenced Dr. Dre, but you'd never mistake either for the king of Hip-Hop, Timberland is producing pop hit after pop hit, but his main influence is Dre, so pop is very strange and hard to judge. Performance, song writing, singing, production, it all goes in, and in the end sales are the bottomline.

[Tanjential]

yeah, and I think mccartney has the most impressive well rounded selection of all of those things, including sales

-T