It might have single handedly ruined the 90s

OK...he used this nonsense since 1988...("Welcome to the New Power Generation....the reason why my voice is so clear....")and worked fine on that album. Little did we know it would provide the basis for most of the decade.

We then get the song "New Power Generation" which was a new jack cheesefest...I mean was Prince trying to get a Pepsi ad?

Then the guy names his band the NPG and its all over....we get not one but two tracks called "New Power Soul" or "Newpower Soul" and album called "Newpower Soul" Three albums release under the NPG name (and only 2 or 3 good tracks between them). Countless "new power"/"NPG" ad libs/chants.

When I hear "NPG" or "New Power" I just think cheesy, wanna be, faux, hip-hop, Tony M, Sonny T, Larry Graham, Doug E Fresh...just bad memories, man....

[Edited 8/12/10 13:59pm]

i think the funky weapon mix of New Power Generation is GREAT. And he did mean the generation or creation of power, I think, not a certain group of people born in a certain interval.

I disagree. Whatever. No problem.

But never, NEVER - you listenin'? NEVER - mention the holy name of Sonny T in a negative sentense. 'kay?

We are the New Power Generation,

We want to change the world,

the only thing that's in our way is U.

I always liked this, but always had a felling that before he discovered JW, that he was setting up his next big earner....starting a religion. Great money to be made at that!

[Edited 8/12/10 14:53pm]

It is really tacky. It felt like he was trying to lead some kind of revolution that never took off. It was fine as a band name, but when he tried to pack it into everything, it started to sound like a 40 year old trying to be hip with the rebellious young people.

First, I love "New Power Generation"! It's a fun song.

I dig the concept of NPG too, and the early-mid 90s band was good.

The name New Power Generation is stupid.

smoothcriminal12 said:

The name New Power Generation is stupid.

Says smoothcriminal12. I kid. I kid.

skywalker said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

The name New Power Generation is stupid.

Says smoothcriminal12. I kid. I kid.

And the funky weapon fetish was not that great either, just saying.

skywalker said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

The name New Power Generation is stupid.

Says smoothcriminal12. I kid. I kid.

But think about it.

The Revolution

The New Power Generation

i actually wish he would change the name of the band. The NPG disbanded in 96.

i liked it, i thought it was a great idea and i totally believed him.

maybe he had a vision of something wonderful and wanted to share it, i dunno

if it was just an ego power trip on his behalf then hey whatever

i'm glad he chose those words and made those songs, they were very inspiring

Logically speaking, it's only fitting that a new generation spawn after the conclusion of a revolution. In the cycled history of man, this should occur....but Prince has proven this should NEVER occur in music

Yeah the phrase 'NPG' has always been corny as hell, and really just an alt. way of saying 'Revolution' in a way, same kind of ethos.

Could be worse, but it IS cheesy/sappy. (That's Prince though, right )

soulfunky said:

Logically speaking, it's only fitting that a new generation spawn after the conclusion of a revolution. In the cycled history of man, this should occur....but Prince has proven this should NEVER occur in music

i disagree. the opposite is true for me. plato once said "changes in government are brought about by changes in music". i agree with him.

music shapes our cultures, either very directly and/or indirectly. its the only artform which is also a spiritual force.

whether prince delivered 100% on his idea or not is almost irrelevant. i think he did a great job in his time of putting forward a concept that was new to a lot of people.

I wasn't digging it. I thought that whole NPG thing was tres corny. But he was losing it (and me) at around that time anyway.

robinhood said:

soulfunky said:

Logically speaking, it's only fitting that a new generation spawn after the conclusion of a revolution. In the cycled history of man, this should occur....but Prince has proven this should NEVER occur in music

i disagree. the opposite is true for me. plato once said "changes in government are brought about by changes in music". i agree with him.

music shapes our cultures, either very directly and/or indirectly. its the only artform which is also a spiritual force.

whether prince delivered 100% on his idea or not is almost irrelevant. i think he did a great job in his time of putting forward a concept that was new to a lot of people.

He did overuse the concept. I agree it worked fine on Lovesexy, and I actually don't mind the song "New Power Generation"

But it's a dumb name for a group, and New Power Soul was ironically titled since - apart from a couple exceptions - it was slick, soulless throwaway material.

But there were tons of great songs released in the 90s under the Prince & the NPG name, so... i can put up with it.

With Prince, there are things you just gotta put up with. That's part of the deal.

I remember when somebody begged Prince to reform the Revoluiton, there was a tacky message saying "Revolutions only Happen once." I, and many other orgers at the time noted that "Power Generations," can't be new 4ever.

The song NPG is pretty nice, but the Circus Big Top Music mid section is way cheeseball. He should kill the name though. Prince and the Daily Mirrors? Anyone?

robinhood said:

soulfunky said:

Logically speaking, it's only fitting that a new generation spawn after the conclusion of a revolution. In the cycled history of man, this should occur....but Prince has proven this should NEVER occur in music

i disagree. the opposite is true for me. plato once said "changes in government are brought about by changes in music". i agree with him.

music shapes our cultures, either very directly and/or indirectly. its the only artform which is also a spiritual force.

whether prince delivered 100% on his idea or not is almost irrelevant. i think he did a great job in his time of putting forward a concept that was new to a lot of people.

mmm...you're too smart for me dude. I stand corrected. I now see your point that it must take a 'great" or "new'' movement within a generation to create a Revolution. I also concur that music can be a great inspiration for that change. But what it does not change sir, is that the NPG was less consistent at creating quality music than the revolution...in P's case. Which is really what my first post was all about anyway. Good Day!

I was and still am stunned and honered cuz I felt like I was in that number and maybe I never was and still aint but lines like

Why dont you just be happy baby

Go on and get up offa my rock uh

Get up off my block cuz

Love is there

thats pretty much my heart

[Edited 8/12/10 18:36pm]

soulfunky said:

robinhood said:

i disagree. the opposite is true for me. plato once said "changes in government are brought about by changes in music". i agree with him.

music shapes our cultures, either very directly and/or indirectly. its the only artform which is also a spiritual force.

whether prince delivered 100% on his idea or not is almost irrelevant. i think he did a great job in his time of putting forward a concept that was new to a lot of people.

mmm...you're too smart for me dude. I stand corrected. I now see your point that it must take a 'great" or "new'' movement within a generation to create a Revolution. I also concur that music can be a great inspiration for that change. But what it does not change sir, is that the NPG was less consistent at creating quality music than the revolution...in P's case. Which is really what my first post was all about anyway. Good Day!

might be fair to say that our tastes regarding Prince's music at any point in his career are entirely subjective

i really enjoyed the NPG music, i saw it as a natural progression, and i'm not sure its fair to compare the past to the present or the revolution to the npg

change has been the only consistent thing in Prince's music, he doesnt reverse or attempt to replicate

i do totally respect if you dont think the NPG were as good though, but like i said i think that boils down to personal taste more than anything

p.s. i'm not smarter than you at all

No it wasn't. They had some great moments. I loved the original NPG also but all of its formations were tight to me.

NPG is hardcore

I think this was a cool concept that worked well during the Lovesexy era,but I think it soon got played out.I didn't like the song "New Power Generation" and it wasn't a really cool name for his band,either.

Smells like the period of time when it was conceived.

Many actually thought it was a cool band name at the time.

jfrost said:

We are the New Power Generation,

We want to change the world,

the only thing that's in our way is U.

I always liked this, but always had a felling that before he discovered JW, that he was setting up his next big earner....starting a religion. Great money to be made at that!

[Edited 8/12/10 14:53pm]

yes....

me too - I love "New Power Generation" the song...... better than anything on Musicology, 3121, Planet Earth, 20TEN...

thedance said:

jfrost said:

We are the New Power Generation,

We want to change the world,

the only thing that's in our way is U.

I always liked this, but always had a felling that before he discovered JW, that he was setting up his next big earner....starting a religion. Great money to be made at that!

[Edited 8/12/10 14:53pm]

yes....

me too - I love "New Power Generation" the song...... better than anything on Musicology, 3121, Planet Earth, 20TEN...

omg, you must really really dislike those albums then

garganta said:

thedance said:

yes....

me too - I love "New Power Generation" the song...... better than anything on Musicology, 3121, Planet Earth, 20TEN...

omg, you must really really dislike those albums then

^ yeah those are very average albums, 5 or 6/10, or 7/10 at best for 20TEN

I have always loved the Prince songs on Graffiti Bridge 8/10. Sweet memories...