Some shit I wrote about Michael Jackson and Prince seven years ago

As anyone who wastes too much time on Facebook knows, every day something called "Your Memories" pops up. Facebook reminded me that seven years ago, a fellow FB friend posted an "album face-off" between Michael Jackson's Off the Wall and Prince's Dirty Mind. Here are a few comments I made. I don't know that there's anything earth-shattering in these comments, but I still hold true to what I wrote in 2009. By the way, keep in mind that both Michael Jackson and Prince were still living at this point.

Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall vs. Prince’s Dirty Mind (May 12, 2009)

Both of these albums are near and dear to my heart, as I still have both of them on vinyl. My mom gave me "Off the Wall" for my birthday in March '80. It's hard to conceive of a time when MJ was the coolest person on the planet, but he was at the peak of his powers in '79''80 (and up through "Thriller"). He'd just turned 21, had left Motown for Epic, and was free to do his own thing. "Off the Wall" was great then and still funky as hell 30 years later.

Having said that, I'm going to give a slight nod to "Dirty Mind." When that album came out, it was as if it had landed from another planet. I still remember being mesmerized by the utter strangeness of the "Dirty Mind" video. Odd to think now, but back then Michael Jackson was the nice guy with the pop-friendly tunes your mom might even like, while Prince was the X-rated bad boy whose records you had to sneak through the door. --Ultimately, I think "DM" is slightly better than "OTW." 

More thoughts on Prince:

"Darling Nikki," --oh my!! I recall going to a summer camp at MSU in August '84 and all the kids were a buzz not only about "Purple Rain" but about this song called "Darling Nikki" and its famous line about what she does with the magazine. I had not yet heard the song (or the album) but could hardly wait to get my hands on it (correction: I actually DID own the album, as I'd purchased in in Minneapolis the month before, but hadn't yet had a chance to hear it). The kids spoke of "Darling Nikki" in hushed tones, it was so scandalous! Anytime I even think about what I was into during summer '84, it's Detroit Tigers, Ghostbusters, and Purple Rain! (Wish I could also say that I was digging "Double Nickels on the Dime" and "Zen Arcade" in '84, but I was a nerd from the Thumb and didn't know about those yet!).