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Thread started 07/10/07 7:26am

NWF

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Would you say that Bowie is one of Prince's influences?

I would probably say so. But not so much for the music. No, I think the Thin White Duke has had more of an impact on our hero aesthetically. Maybe there's some songs that Prince created that were inspired by Bowie, but I think musically speaking Prince is more influenced by Bowie's approach to creating music than the songs themselves. But Prince is even more in touch with the way Bowie created his visual style. He's the master of re-invention and boundary-breaking. I totally see that sort of thing in Prince's work. The whole androgyny thing that Prince was about in the beginning totally came from Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" period. Prince picked it up, made us smile and the rest is history.


Plus, Bowie is funky too, especially for a lad from Brixton. wink
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Reply #1 posted 07/10/07 7:42am

Anxiety

Brixton? I'm not great with my British geography, but isn't he from Bromley? Or is it six of one, half a dozen of the other?

I don't think Bowie is a hugely conscious influence on Prince; if he has been, it has been minimal and at most with regards to doing business on the Internet.

I think there is a connection between the two, but it's tenuous and it will probably never be mined for the brilliance such a meeting of the minds could be worth. They'd probably just end up pissing each other off anyway. lol
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Reply #2 posted 07/10/07 7:44am

LittleSmedley

Born Brixton, grew up in Bromley. They're a ten minute train ride from each other.
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Reply #3 posted 07/10/07 7:49am

Anxiety

LittleSmedley said:

Born Brixton, grew up in Bromley. They're a ten minute train ride from each other.


gotcha! smile

i just always hear bowie talk about bromley when he goes into his youth...the brixton thing musta fallen through the cracks of my memory (as do so many things lol )
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Reply #4 posted 07/10/07 7:56am

NWF

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Anxiety said:


I think there is a connection between the two, but it's tenuous and it will probably never be mined for the brilliance such a meeting of the minds could be worth. They'd probably just end up pissing each other off anyway. lol


Yeah. lol Rock stars and their egos, I tell ya.
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Reply #5 posted 07/10/07 7:58am

LittleSmedley

Anxiety said:

LittleSmedley said:

Born Brixton, grew up in Bromley. They're a ten minute train ride from each other.


gotcha! smile

i just always hear bowie talk about bromley when he goes into his youth...the brixton thing musta fallen through the cracks of my memory (as do so many things lol )


U should come to England sometime Anx, make a pilgrimage! Get ur pic taken in Heddon St, where the Ziggy album cover was taken. I did, as a teenager
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Reply #6 posted 07/10/07 8:00am

Anxiety

LittleSmedley said:

Anxiety said:



gotcha! smile

i just always hear bowie talk about bromley when he goes into his youth...the brixton thing musta fallen through the cracks of my memory (as do so many things lol )


U should come to England sometime Anx, make a pilgrimage! Get ur pic taken in Heddon St, where the Ziggy album cover was taken. I did, as a teenager


Endo and I are planning an England trip sometime next year! I think he wants to go to Manchester cuz a lot of his favorite music came from there, so maybe I can beg a trip to the ol' Heddon St. steps... biggrin
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Reply #7 posted 07/10/07 8:00am

Bfunkthe1

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Anxiety said:

Brixton? I'm not great with my British geography, but isn't he from Bromley? Or is it six of one, half a dozen of the other?

I don't think Bowie is a hugely conscious influence on Prince; if he has been, it has been minimal and at most with regards to doing business on the Internet.

I think there is a connection between the two, but it's tenuous and it will probably never be mined for the brilliance such a meeting of the minds could be worth. They'd probably just end up pissing each other off anyway. lol

I tend to agree. Funny though I was playing Young Americans new surround sound version (glorious) and my roomate commented that he thought Prince was influenced by this album. I guess I can kinda see this as it's Bowies "soul" album. But yes if he is one P's influence it's prolly more subconscious on certain levels than anything. Prolly more yes than no.
Fantasy is reality in the world today. But I'll keep hangin in there, that is the only way.
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Reply #8 posted 07/10/07 8:02am

Anxiety

Bfunkthe1 said:

Anxiety said:

Brixton? I'm not great with my British geography, but isn't he from Bromley? Or is it six of one, half a dozen of the other?

I don't think Bowie is a hugely conscious influence on Prince; if he has been, it has been minimal and at most with regards to doing business on the Internet.

I think there is a connection between the two, but it's tenuous and it will probably never be mined for the brilliance such a meeting of the minds could be worth. They'd probably just end up pissing each other off anyway. lol

I tend to agree. Funny though I was playing Young Americans new surround sound version (glorious) and my roomate commented that he thought Prince was influenced by this album. I guess I can kinda see this as it's Bowies "soul" album. But yes if he is one P's influence it's prolly more subconscious on certain levels than anything. Prolly more yes than no.


If I could choose any Bowie material for Prince to cover, it would most likely be from the Young Americans album. He could knock most of the songs on that album out of the park.
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Reply #9 posted 07/10/07 8:07am

Bfunkthe1

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Fantasy is reality in the world today. But I'll keep hangin in there, that is the only way.
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Reply #10 posted 07/10/07 8:10am

Bfunkthe1

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Anxiety said:

Bfunkthe1 said:


I tend to agree. Funny though I was playing Young Americans new surround sound version (glorious) and my roomate commented that he thought Prince was influenced by this album. I guess I can kinda see this as it's Bowies "soul" album. But yes if he is one P's influence it's prolly more subconscious on certain levels than anything. Prolly more yes than no.


If I could choose any Bowie material for Prince to cover, it would most likely be from the Young Americans album. He could knock most of the songs on that album out of the park.

Sorry.
Agreed. Prolly just a matter of time. I mean he just played The Cars didn't he? lol


U should come to England sometime [quote]

Mine future plan as well. wink
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Reply #11 posted 07/10/07 8:10am

LittleSmedley

"Fashion" and "U Got the Look" have a similar feel, as do (at a push) "Pop Life" and "Ashes to Ashes"
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Reply #12 posted 07/10/07 11:03am

wlcm2thdwn

I think back in the day he defenitly was.
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Reply #13 posted 07/10/07 7:10pm

goku

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Wasn't there a Prince Birthday Party that Bowie attended where
everyone was wearing a Prince mask?
I am a huge Bowie fan, and have always lamented that Prince appears to
have only been marginally influenced by him.
I would love to hear Prince cover 'Suffragette City'.
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Reply #14 posted 07/10/07 9:03pm

emesem

goku said:


I am a huge Bowie fan, and have always lamented that Prince appears to
have only been marginally influenced by him.
I would love to hear Prince cover 'Suffragette City'.


Agreed. I don't think Prince has much respect for "nonmusicians" and while Bowie is a great songwriter its just not in the same sense that, say, Joni is.

Prince could have learned a lot from the way Bowie adapted to changing times without seeming like he was trying to hard to stay hip. I think Madonna may have been more influenced by Bowie in that respect. I've been waiting for Prince to have a "Let's Dance" year for a long time.

THE Bowie cover I would kill for is "Ziggy Stardust."
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Reply #15 posted 07/10/07 9:15pm

toejam

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I don't think there's much direct influence, but indirectly, maybe. Bowie's style may have influenced the New Romantics/New Wavers which then influenced Prince.
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Reply #16 posted 07/10/07 9:43pm

coltrane3

No.
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Reply #17 posted 07/11/07 5:24am

Anxiety

emesem said:


Agreed. I don't think Prince has much respect for "nonmusicians" and while Bowie is a great songwriter its just not in the same sense that, say, Joni is.


i'd beg to differ, and i'd hope prince has enough on the ball to know that not only is bowie a great songwriter, but he's a multi-instrumentalist musician as well. bowie's versatility as a recording artist is criminally underrated.
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Reply #18 posted 07/11/07 8:54am

NWF

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Anxiety said:

emesem said:


Agreed. I don't think Prince has much respect for "nonmusicians" and while Bowie is a great songwriter its just not in the same sense that, say, Joni is.


i'd beg to differ, and i'd hope prince has enough on the ball to know that not only is bowie a great songwriter, but he's a multi-instrumentalist musician as well. bowie's versatility as a recording artist is criminally underrated.


Exactly. Most see the "duke" as just a singer and showman, and that's cool. But I've seen him get down on the guitar and piano. He's also a very underrated sax man. Check out that sax solo in "Absolute Beginners". Or at least I think that was him. confuse
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Reply #19 posted 07/11/07 9:03am

NWF

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OK, so maybe Prince isn't directly influenced by Bowie, at least musically. But there's definitely some parallels: The whole gender-bending, shock rock tactics, musical versatility, image re-invention on every album, groundbreaking classic albums, internet music business savvy, musical peaks and valleys throughout their career.....and of course....


THE FUNK!!! headbang
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Reply #20 posted 07/11/07 11:39am

GangstaFam

Too many threads to keep up with!
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