_____

So what is the actual title to this song? Can we get a clarification once and for all from someone in-the-know?

Though long assumed to be called In A Large Room With No Light (this has been stated in an interview with Eric Leeds), ASCAP lists Prince as the writer of Welcome 2 The Rat Race, and there are no references on ASCAP (that I can find) to In A Large Room With No Light.

http://www.ascap.com/ace/...10&start=1



*These names correspond to a cover of the song on the following album (titled: Welcome To The Rat Race)Listen to it here: http://cdbaby.com/cd/wilkey2


So, is the song erroneously titled Welcome 2 The Rat Race on ASCAP because it has only been released under the wrong name by Wil Key? Oddball songs by other artists containing samples are listed under Prince's ASCAP list for obvious reasons, but this is a straight up cover.

People need to know the truth. Let's end this conspiracy.

Who knows something?




Semi-Off-Topic discussion originally started here: http://prince.org/msg/7/3...sg_6750397

My initial thought.

The question in my mind is whether permission has been given to record this song. If it has, I would have expected Prince's publishing company vehicle to have been named. If it hasn't, then I begin to wonder whether the performer has based this recording on a bootleg, which might have resulted in the song title provided.

this reminds me of that cover of "old friends 4 sale" by some group
(i can't remember the name right now) that is on their official cd.
somehow these things must either slip below prince's radar or he's
out of his mind to let people make bad covers of these two priceless
songs that he should have released himself by now.

squirrelgrease said:

Don't I get ANY credit for having raised the question?

Prince himself stated that it's "In A Large Room With No Light", also noting that people had incorrectly called it "Welcome 2 The Rat Race".

i remember reading that eric leeds said the actual title is life is like looking for a penny in a large room with no light
[Edited 7/6/09 13:55pm]

langebleu said:

I assumed that this is most likely the case, but it never hurts to check. Considering the cover in question is on CDbaby, it's probably one of those under-the-radar type deals. Funny that it's been registered with ASCAP at all.

wasitgood4u said:

I put the original thread link on there for just that purpose, but... yes, you opened up this can o' worms.

ernestsewell said:

Do you know which interview he said that?

punkofthemonth said:

Yes. That is true. Eric did call it that. It just seems a little wordy to be a Prince title.

squirrelgrease said:

He said it on the Q&A on L4OA and/or NPGMC year 1. I almost have a feeling he said it in an interview on TV somewhere after that (in more recent years).

squirrelgrease said:

i think this is as close we've got to the true title

jstar69 said:

I'm sticking with that Prince said.

ernestsewell said:

Gotcha.

It wasn't mentioned in the Q & A: 'Ask The Artist' on love4oneanother.com in 1998.

langebleu said:

I think it was just one of those 'updates' saying something about the problem with unreleased tracks being on the internet, and people calling the track 'Welcome 2 the Ratrace' when the actual title is 'In A Large Room With No Light.'

But I remember it, too.
And I believe it was when Love4oneather.com was still there.

Actually, since Prince never released this, this is probably an unauthorized cover and infringes on Prince's copyright.

The songwriter always has the right to pick who gets to do his song first. Once its released, however, anyone can do a cover version without permission but still must pay the mechanical royalties.

BriaVelveeta said:

I couldn't find it on the archives.

squirrelgrease said:

Sorry.

I know I didn't make it up, so it may have been at NPGMC, but it was one of those sites.
One of those barely decipherable 'deep' things with a lot of U's and 2's and 4's and the like.

emesem said:

There was an album of Prince covers by Dump (bassist for Yo La Tango) that contained a version of the yet unreleased An Honest Man. The CD was called "That Skinny Motherfucker With The High Voice?". It got a bit of positive press attention. I don't know how it works with royalties for unreleased music.

BriaVelveeta said:

I believe you. It's very possible that it didn't get archived - or I overlooked it. I haven't figured out an easy way of searching the Wayback Machine, it's kind of a pain in the ass.

Love love looooove this song

when this one's sorted out/agreed on, what about "Moon beam levels"/"A better place 2 die" !!

squirrelgrease said:

Maybe it was more along the lines of the trouble withh bootleggers or bootlegs, not file sharing.
Don't know if that will help, but maybe if there's a key word search?

alexandernevermind1999 said:

BriaVelveeta said:

The only way I seem to get anywhere is to do do a browser "find" in each separate dated link, which is very time consuming.

http://web.archive.org/we...ewfunk.com

http://web.archive.org/we...ineltd.com

http://web.archive.org/we...icclub.com

squirrelgrease said:

Thanks for all the input. Interesting. I used to check L4OA.com quite a lot but wasn't a member of NPGMC. I might've missed it but I'm guessing it was at the latter.

This is a favorite of mine. I love it. Wish he's release the original track,but he'll probably do like he did with Old Friends 4 Sale and totally screw it up.

asdfjkl said:

If that song was released and edited I wouldn't even want it

A lot of that 1980's music released & unreleased music is just timeless

Tick Tick Bang is another, the loss of the electric New Wave sound, the speed and the falsetto heavy breathing is what made that song, to remix it with a hip hop vide is just desecration

From listening to it, In A Large Room With No Light is said a lot, Welcome to the Rat Race isn't(only once?)

The chorus usually holds the title


Lana drew a picture in school 2day
One that made her mother cry
A picture of a woman with a drink in her hand
Standing by a child with no eyes
Washington reaction based upon revenge
Babies blown 2 kingdom come
Damn the logic
Cartoon characters look better when they're on the run
Danny dropped the dime on his girlfriend
He said he didn't wanna go 2 jail alone
The seed lives in the same mind
With the thought that says we all should be stoned
And people lookin' 4 angels in the sky
Whenever they're broken-hearted
Love is grown, seeds are sown
A fire don't burn unless it's started

Did U ever feel that life was like lookin' 4 a penny
In a large room with no light?
A sophisticated man reduced 2 company in no-win situations
That aren't right

Every time U wake up there's a little motherfucker
Talkin' big stuff in your face (Are U happy?)
U only get the kind of people that open their mouth just 2 swap feet
Welcome 2 the rat race

Did U ever feel that life was like lookin' 4 a penny
In a large room with no light?
A sophisticated man reduced 2 company in no-win situations
That aren't right

Oh, if U could just pass your history class
Maybe life would be alright
Until then U'll be lookin' 4 a penny
In a large room with no light







But he has done songs that have no chorus like Old Friends 4 Sale and that title is only said 1 time