Who was the biggest phenomenon (the ultimate showdown)

Discussion in 'Players & Legends' started by Jaweirdo, May 21, 2016.

  1. Jaweirdo

    Jaweirdo Member+

    Aug 19, 2011
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    #1 Jaweirdo, May 21, 2016
    Last edited: May 21, 2016
    ~~~~~~~~THE ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN~~~~~~~~~

    Rank these people in terms of who had the most magic (or who was the rarest talent). An argument for your ranking would be appreciated, but not mandatory. Thanks fam.

    In random order:
    Michelangelo, Michael Jordan, Picasso, The Beatles, Mozart, Beethoven, Michael Jackson, Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, Pele, Maradona, Messi, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela.

    Now rank them!

    @PuckVanHeel @lessthanjake @greatstriker11 @Bada Bing @carlito86 @comme @Pipiolo @Once
     
  2. Jaweirdo

    Jaweirdo Member+

    Aug 19, 2011
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    1. Einstein
    2. Picasso
    3. Mozart
    4. Sir Isaac Newton
    5. Beethoven
    6. The Beatles
    7. Nelson Mandela
    8. Michael Jackson
    9. Ghandi
    10. Pele
    11. Michael Jordan
    12. Maradona
    13. Messi
     
  3. Jaweirdo

    Jaweirdo Member+

    Aug 19, 2011
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    I'd place Prince above Michael Jackson
     
  4. Pipiolo

    Pipiolo Member+

    Jul 19, 2008
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    How is Mandela or Gandhi a phenomenon? Not my definition of "talent".

    Michaelangelo
    Shakespeare
    Einstein
    Maradona
    Picasso
    The Beatles
    Newton
    Pele
    Michael Jackson
    Beethoven
    Mozart
    Jordan
    Messi
     
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  5. Pipiolo

    Pipiolo Member+

    Jul 19, 2008
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    Me too
     
  6. PuckVanHeel

    PuckVanHeel BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Oct 4, 2011
    Club:
    Feyenoord
    You don't see Cruijff as a rare 'talent'? (I know, many 'underrate' his technique and passing skills)

    Among mentioned athletes I'd say:

    1) Michael Jordan
    2) Pelé
    3) Messi
    4) Maradona

    Jordan: eye test, statistical dominance (not only scoring), financial success, transcending sport, cinderella story etc.

    Artists:

    1) Mozart
    2) Picasso
    3) The Beatles
    4) Michelangelo
    5) Beethoven
    6) Michael Jackson (and no, I don't rank Prince over him as a cultural 'phenomenon')

    I'm insecure about Picasso vs Michelangelo though. I'm not an art expert but the volume of work and his distinctive trademark stands out for me.

    Beethoven and Michelangelo might be swapped around.

    Lunatic and cheat Michael Jackson at the bottom.

    Scientists:

    1) Einstein
    2) Newton

    This is a no-brainer imho

    Politicians:

    1) Gandhi
    2) Mandela

    I think Gandhi was the more important and significant figure. At the time it was still tougher to resist the British Empire. Then I also take into account what happened after the transition.
     
  7. Jaweirdo

    Jaweirdo Member+

    Aug 19, 2011
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Picasso is most definitely above Michelangelo. Both were prolific artists, but Picasso even more prolific. What really ranks him above Michelangelo however is that he broke the shackles of 600+ years tradition of "how art should look" even when he was already trained to paint traditionally where as Michelangelo just perfected an existing technique but didnt introduce any new concepts. That takes a great deal of courage.
     
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  8. PuckVanHeel

    PuckVanHeel BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Oct 4, 2011
    Club:
    Feyenoord
    Yes, my thought went basically along those lines. Although I was under the impression that the conventions were already radically changing in the last part of the 19th century (e.g. the French artists, Cezanne).

    Maybe I say something dumb now but: Matisse and Picasso were friends/acquaintances. They shared works and ideas. Matisse in turn knew Van Gogh very well (his work). His biographer John Richardson (four volumes about Picasso) wrote that "Van Gogh meant more to Picasso than any other artist in his later years".

    Although I did think that Picasso 'refined' and popularized it like no other. With also the artist being a piece of art, as they said.

    edit: I'm pretty sure about how I'd rank the politicians and the scientists. I'm also pretty sure that I'd rank Michael Jackson at the bottom among the artists.
     
  9. giles varley

    giles varley Member+

    Oct 8, 2013
    nottingham uk
    Club:
    Leeds United AFC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    What a bizarre thread for a football forum!! But i like it ...
    Although i love the Beatles at their best ,i also think they wrote lots of absolute rubbish...sacred cows - but theres no doubt they were a phenomenon
     
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  10. PuckVanHeel

    PuckVanHeel BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Oct 4, 2011
    Club:
    Feyenoord
    Journalists often like to compare footballers/athletes to figures as De Niro, Bowie, Lennon etc. though...
     
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  11. Jaweirdo

    Jaweirdo Member+

    Aug 19, 2011
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Yeah, artists always build off of what came before them, and things did start to change with the impressionists, but the changes Picasso made were so major that there is a "before Picasso" and "after Picasso" period in art. The same could be said for Andy Warhol and Marcel Duchamp, but Picasso was more prolific and also more of a household name which would make more sense for this thread. Matisse was brilliant and went neck and neck with Picasso his entire career exchanging (stealing) ideas from one another, but Matisse started to paint at age 30 where Picasso already had a huge body of work by then. Picasso also introduced collage, installation art, found objects, and maybe an argument can be made for ready-made art.
     
  12. Jaweirdo

    Jaweirdo Member+

    Aug 19, 2011
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Yes I dont really listen to The Beatles, I prefer heavier music like Black Sabbath, Burzum, Funk music, as well as soul, and even hip hop but for the sake of this thread I left them out merely due to how well they are known. Same reason I left out Prince who is undoubtedly better than Michael Jackson.
     
  13. Gregoriak

    Gregoriak BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 27, 2002
    Munich

    I'd rather spent a weekend listening to nothing else than the Beatles' worst songs than spending one hour in a museum looking at Picasso's best works.
     
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  14. Gregoriak

    Gregoriak BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 27, 2002
    Munich
    I would replace Michael Jackson with Bob Dylan.
     
  15. giles varley

    giles varley Member+

    Oct 8, 2013
    nottingham uk
    Club:
    Leeds United AFC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    I dont mind a bit of the heavy stuff either..I dont know if i agree about prince.. i prefer jacksons songs to prince's.. I don't rate prince much ! Although he was undeniably a great musician he was never my cup of tea but each to their own.
    As for Gandhi - an overrated human being - a bigoted racist who became known as some kind of saint !!
     
  16. PuckVanHeel

    PuckVanHeel BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Oct 4, 2011
    Club:
    Feyenoord
    #16 PuckVanHeel, May 22, 2016
    Last edited: May 22, 2016
    In terms of musicality (playing instruments), cerebral/creative qualities, songwriting and artistic 'influence' I'd agree with that, who was arguably not as dependent on a renowned producer for achieving success (question mark?). Michael Jackson is/was however for his videoclips, MTV, dance moves and concert tours the greater worldwide cultural phenomenon. I know for a fact that the likes of The Rolling Stones, U2 have looked very well at his concerts, 'show' and "world tours" (be it with MJ or his entourage as driving force - that's always tough to say).

    Same for Stevie Wonder, whose musical talent and ability is probably also higher.

    Just my superficial impression. Kids on a schoolyard and playground copied MJ, not Prince (and he wasn't exactly a Justin Bieber either).
     
  17. Pipiolo

    Pipiolo Member+

    Jul 19, 2008
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    LOL, no
     
  18. Gregoriak

    Gregoriak BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 27, 2002
    Munich
    If we transfer the bolded reasoning to music then perhaps Arnold Schönberg should be added to this list as he basically did the same with classical music.
     
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  19. Gregoriak

    Gregoriak BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 27, 2002
    Munich
    I expected some protest at my suggestion because probably most people think of Dylan as a 1960s writer of protest songs who can't sing and is no showman with fancy stage moves. I suggest a repeated listening to his 1974 album "Blood on the Tracks" which many consider a lyrical and musical masterpiece coupled with superb vocal interpretation by Dylan. That LP to me is an artistic statement on a level that very few popular musicians have been able to match before or since.
     
  20. Pipiolo

    Pipiolo Member+

    Jul 19, 2008
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    Eastern music, Indian specifically, were using atonality much before any classical composer. And @Jaweirdo 's statement is not accurate in respect to Michelangelo, who himself broke a 10,000 year old tradition by placing the human as sole protagonist.
     
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  21. PuckVanHeel

    PuckVanHeel BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Oct 4, 2011
    Club:
    Feyenoord
    What do you think about replacing Jackson with Elvis Presley?

    Complete entertainment package (for their time), dance moves, even more successful (in record sales). 'Leaning' on managers and producers as well.

    Arguably just as, if not more, influential. There's a link with McCartney and especially Lennon.

    With some exaggeration you can say that popular music - pop music as a genre - did not exist before Elvis Presley his time, in particular combined with the 'entertainment' side of things.

    https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley#Quotes_about_Presley
     
  22. Gregoriak

    Gregoriak BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 27, 2002
    Munich
    That is correct and that is why I referred to classical music, not all music.
     
  23. Jaweirdo

    Jaweirdo Member+

    Aug 19, 2011
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Yes thats probably a better person to use
     
  24. Jaweirdo

    Jaweirdo Member+

    Aug 19, 2011
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Would you like to take a stab at ranking people in the list?
     
  25. giles varley

    giles varley Member+

    Oct 8, 2013
    nottingham uk
    Club:
    Leeds United AFC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    My favourite Dylan album is 'desire'...
     

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