as eric clapton said once in an interview....their seems to be no middle ground with prince...people either love him or they hate him...i am always surprised by people reactions when you mention prince .....i have seen soo many people pull a face like you have just done a shit on their carpet when i mention him...i can maybe understand it if they are ignorant to his talent or anything other than the main hits...but it does surprise me when people who have heard some of his music still cant stand him... ...

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is his music that much of an aquired taste ?...because i dont get it.....i believe that prince has written music that almost everyone can enjoy.....you mention others like madonna or springsteen or jackson and you dont get the face that you get when prince comes up..

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[img:$uid]http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae100/blackboab2004/WTFface.jpg[/img:$uid]

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Prince is out there stylistically, he pushed the visual boundaries much more so than the likes of Madonna and MJ. I'm talking sexually of course. It makes people who are homophobic on any level, extremely uncomfortable. The stylistic look of "Dirty Mind" and of course the "Lovesexy" cover spring to mind.

But ya know what..... those people are stupid. If you're a serious fan of music you cannot help but be awed by Prince's talent. Damn near everyone I've met that claims to not like Prince is musically illiterate. It's really that simple.

I'm pretty sure I would get stranger looks if I said I was an MJ fan. The last 10 years have been kind to Prince from a media standpoint - Oprah, Ellen, Leno, Superbowl - all with some style.

The last 10 years for MJ were not good. Losing money, his many changing faces, strong pedophile rumors, etc.

I'm with Militant on the homophobic angle. But at least with Prince, people may think 'he's gay' - but with Madonna or MJ they'll think 'you're gay'

Militant said:

Damn near everyone I've met that claims to not like Prince is musically illiterate. It's really that simple.

If they hate Prince, what kind of music do they listen to?

I don't understand why some people hate a musician music because of their behaviour.

Because behaviour parallels mentality and birds of a feather flock together. People who are either yes music illiterate or closed minded. Earlier Prince didn't quite fit into your conventional standard of a music star. Interesting thread, I will re-visit later.

vman4639 said:

I'm pretty sure I would get stranger looks if I said I was an MJ fan. The last 10 years have been kind to Prince from a media standpoint - Oprah, Ellen, Leno, Superbowl - all with some style.

The last 10 years for MJ were not good. Losing money, his many changing faces, strong pedophile rumors, etc.

I'm with Militant on the homophobic angle. But at least with Prince, people may think 'he's gay' - but with Madonna or MJ they'll think 'you're gay'

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i would say that if i mentioned michael jackson's name then mentioned prince's name to a group of people...prince would still get more of a negative reaction....even after all the child abuse claims against mj during the the last decade of his life.....which is really saying something....but thats what i think would happen...

blackbob said:

vman4639 said:

I'm pretty sure I would get stranger looks if I said I was an MJ fan. The last 10 years have been kind to Prince from a media standpoint - Oprah, Ellen, Leno, Superbowl - all with some style.

The last 10 years for MJ were not good. Losing money, his many changing faces, strong pedophile rumors, etc.

I'm with Militant on the homophobic angle. But at least with Prince, people may think 'he's gay' - but with Madonna or MJ they'll think 'you're gay'

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i would say that if i mentioned michael jackson's name then mentioned prince's name to a group of people...prince would still get more of a negative reaction....even after all the child abuse claims against mj during the the last decade of his life.....which is really saying something....but thats what i think would happen...

I think it's the combination of racism and homophobia. Michael Jackson was never threatening in the way that Prince could be seen as threatening. After all, Michael Jackson was that cute little black boy in the Jackson 5 who grew up and made it.

strmn said:

blackbob said:

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i would say that if i mentioned michael jackson's name then mentioned prince's name to a group of people...prince would still get more of a negative reaction....even after all the child abuse claims against mj during the the last decade of his life.....which is really saying something....but thats what i think would happen...

I think it's the combination of racism and homophobia. Michael Jackson was never threatening in the way that Prince could be seen as threatening. After all, Michael Jackson was that cute little black boy in the Jackson 5 who grew up and made it.

I don't think racism has a single thing to do with it. Also, I'd say 98% of the people on here are musically illiterate and, (judging from the level of spelling and grammar on this board) functionally illiterate, too. With all idiotic theories freshly laid to waste, the mystery continues...

steakfinger said:

strmn said:

I think it's the combination of racism and homophobia. Michael Jackson was never threatening in the way that Prince could be seen as threatening. After all, Michael Jackson was that cute little black boy in the Jackson 5 who grew up and made it.

I don't think racism has a single thing to do with it. Also, I'd say 98% of the people on here are musically illiterate and, (judging from the level of spelling and grammar on this board) functionally illiterate, too. With all idiotic theories freshly laid to waste, the mystery continues...

You should have said:

I think racism does not have a single thing to do with it.

Militant said:

Damn near everyone I've met that claims to not like Prince is musically illiterate. It's really that simple.

Slam-dunk.

From my experience, I have met and spoken with musically literate people who do not enjoy Prince. I have also spoken with those who are musically illiterate and enjoy him greatly. I do think that OP is exaggerating about the complete polarization of opinions about the man though. I just don't think that's true. Never have I gotten into a convo about him that caused some kind of shitstorm unless it was a huge Prince stan and I haven't met a lot, if any in my years on this planet, besides online.

I don't think Prince is that significant of a pop culture figure that he would create such a divide in opinions. Which...may or may not be a good thing...

Unholyalliance said:

From my experience, I have met and spoken with musically literate people who do not enjoy Prince. I have also spoken with those who are musically illiterate and enjoy him greatly. I do think that OP is exaggerating about the complete polarization of opinions about the man though. I just don't think that's true. Never have I gotten into a convo about him that caused some kind of shitstorm unless it was a huge Prince stan and I haven't met a lot, if any in my years on this planet, besides online.

I don't think Prince is that significant of a pop culture figure that he would create such a divide in opinions. Which...may or may not be a good thing...

No, he is not significant in the music world. He is just one of the very last real music legends on earth. That's all. Someone who can turn up in Abu Dhabi, NYC, LA, Paris, London etc and sell tickets away in no time. The non-significant pop figure is going to do a non-significant 21 night stand in a 17000 capacity arena in LA after a non-significant 21 night stand at the O2 in a 23000 capacity arena.

Love him..

Unholyalliance said:

From my experience, I have met and spoken with musically literate people who do not enjoy Prince. I have also spoken with those who are musically illiterate and enjoy him greatly. I do think that OP is exaggerating about the complete polarization of opinions about the man though. I just don't think that's true. Never have I gotten into a convo about him that caused some kind of shitstorm unless it was a huge Prince stan and I haven't met a lot, if any in my years on this planet, besides online.

I don't think Prince is that significant of a pop culture figure that he would create such a divide in opinions. Which...may or may not be a good thing...

Exactly. That's demonstrated here on this site alone. To generalize otherwise is nonsensical.

Interesting topic...you're right about peoples reactions, other than the 'you did a shit on my carpet' face pulling you mentioned, the common reaction i've had is people downright laughing at you.

Last year I went to enroll for youth volunteer intro workshop day in London (I'm 39). As an ice breaker the facilitator asked each person to introduce themselves and say something personal to the group.

(Group of about 40 people = multiracial, even gender ratio, age range from 19 to 40ish, diverse + caring pc crowd).

I said "...and I've been a hardcore Prince fan for 25 years" - and nearly everyone bursts out laughing???

Prince oscialates in a bizarre spectrum between being ultra cool and ultra laughable - I just don't get it.

the "you either love him or you hate him" thing is bullshit, shut up Eric...

there are

a) fans

b) mainstream /casual fans (who probably own 1999, PR, SOTT, Batman, D&P, LoveSybmol, the Hits 1/2, and 3121, )

c) people who only own The Ultimate or The Hits 1/2, and PR

d) people who only own The Very Best of Prince

e) people who don't own anything but know/respect the man

f) people who don't own anything AND despise the man (poor souls)

g) some ignorant brats that don't know him... (Ke$ha, Britney, Bieber fans, etc)

Militant said:

Prince is out there stylistically, he pushed the visual boundaries much more so than the likes of Madonna and MJ. I'm talking sexually of course. It makes people who are homophobic on any level, extremely uncomfortable. The stylistic look of "Dirty Mind" and of course the "Lovesexy" cover spring to mind.

But ya know what..... those people are stupid. If you're a serious fan of music you cannot help but be awed by Prince's talent. Damn near everyone I've met that claims to not like Prince is musically illiterate. It's really that simple.

This is a gross oversimplification. I know a great many people who are very musically literate, and definitely not shocked by the sexuality, who just don't happen to enjoy his music. They may find his voice annoying, dislike the song, the production, etc.

To assume that everyone who does not like the music you like is "dumb" or "illiterate" is rather dumb in and of itself. It's all about personal taste, right?

=0P

blackbob said:

as eric clapton said once in an interview....their seems to be no middle ground with prince...people either love him or they hate him...i am always surprised by people reactions when you mention prince .....i have seen soo many people pull a face like you have just done a shit on their carpet when i mention him...i can maybe understand it if they are ignorant to his talent or anything other than the main hits...but it does surprise me when people who have heard some of his music still cant stand him... ...

.

is his music that much of an aquired taste ?...because i dont get it.....i believe that prince has written music that almost everyone can enjoy.....you mention others like madonna or springsteen or jackson and you dont get the face that you get when prince comes up..

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It's better than saying I love Ozzy Osbourne I think. I don't really know much about him and I'm not trying to disrespect him or his fans but just from personal experience...One of my friends' boyfriend, who's really into hardcore rock and gothic stuff said that once when we were having a group dinner and my friend was like "Oh yeah the guy who ate the head of a pigeon..."

Most of my friends don't even know who Prince is. Some said "Oh yeah he's a singer right?" but most of them don't really know him...I have a friend who's dad is really into Prince but that's about it...

And my friends USED TO give that face about Michael. I told them in early 2009 that I was starting to really like him and my friends would be like "Ugh, why? I mean he's an awesome dancer but he's so freaking weird!!" But interestingly enough most of my non-American friends thought he was cool haha

[Edited 4/11/11 13:43pm]

ohYeeeeeah said:

Unholyalliance said:

From my experience, I have met and spoken with musically literate people who do not enjoy Prince. I have also spoken with those who are musically illiterate and enjoy him greatly. I do think that OP is exaggerating about the complete polarization of opinions about the man though. I just don't think that's true. Never have I gotten into a convo about him that caused some kind of shitstorm unless it was a huge Prince stan and I haven't met a lot, if any in my years on this planet, besides online.

I don't think Prince is that significant of a pop culture figure that he would create such a divide in opinions. Which...may or may not be a good thing...

No, he is not significant in the music world. He is just one of the very last real music legends on earth. That's all. Someone who can turn up in Abu Dhabi, NYC, LA, Paris, London etc and sell tickets away in no time. The non-significant pop figure is going to do a non-significant 21 night stand in a 17000 capacity arena in LA after a non-significant 21 night stand at the O2 in a 23000 capacity arena.

Ahahaha. Unholyalliance, think before you speak.

Live Nation have just released a press release detailing the new 21 Night history making stand...opening line?

"Prince, one of the most prolific and groundbreaking artists of our time whose recorded music, live performances and powerful artistry have affected music and pop culture like no other".

[Edited 4/11/11 15:06pm]

Interesting topic indeed...

I don't have any answer but I rarely mention that I'm a Prince fan to people.

Afraid of "that" reaction I guess...Now that i mention this, I think I already felt guilty to be a fan too.

wow

If someone laughs at you for liking Prince, ask what artists/bands they're into. It's probably crap.

Emancipation89 said:

And my friends USED TO give that face about Michael.

I hate the whole pretend to be a fan because they're dead thing.

I think it's true to some degree.

Prince was about pushing boundaries for a long time; there was no middle road and generally, people are conservative, liberal minded or somewhere in between.

The liberal minded, who loved the artistic freedom, guts and daredevil Prince attitude would have definitely been strongly attracted to Prince. They're probably still fans today.They love him, yes; he's the funky, sexy, talented person, they all want to be. They can relate and they probably listen to a great diversity of music so know that Prince has lots to give.

For the conservative minded back then, he sure didn't fit into their mould of "normal behaviour" so they would have disliked him on principle yet still found it hard to ignore him. That crowd that have grown up and wisened don't hate Prince; they'll probably admit to Prince's talent and musicianship but still find it hard to cross their own boundary of what's acceptable or not. Their first image of him is hard to forget. People don't like being wrong, or feeling like they've lost out on something, somewhere along the line.

The "somewhere in between" folks I think are secret admirers of Prince. They have the hit albums and it belongs to their youthful memories, but it's their culture and fears of "if I'm a big fan people will think ...?..." and that stops them from admitting it openly. They are not the ones who will go and find Prince "new" music, but if they hear it coincidentally somewhere, they'll like it. They might also be the ones who will go and see Prince in concert now for "old time's sake" and even cross over the line into fandom.

802 said:

If someone laughs at you for liking Prince, ask what artists/bands they're into. It's probably crap.

Actually they never laughed at me but some close persons (family) criticized me during my

"listening a loooooooooooooooot of his music" periods . I came to listen to only him during months,

and I think this is really not healthy... It's like a vice;that probably explain the guilt sensation.

I was recovering, but here I am "talking" with other fans...

I don't think that "either you love him or you hate him" thing is as common as it used to be.

When he was still being played on music video channels people were constantly subjected to his antics and those usually stuck out from the rest. Homophobia was always one aspect of it, but Prince's stuff also put a lot of people's listening habits on test. If you haven't heard non-mainstream music, even some of the hits like "When Doves Cry" or "7" may sound somewhat "unmusical" to you. That's not to say Prince's music wouldn't have been pop music for the most part, but I think his records have always had some very unusual qualities to them.

These days, he's just a musical icon from the past decades for most. So the "either / or" -attitude has mellowed down a lot. I used to be cautious when mentioning his name when I was a teenager, today I couldn't give a rat's ass about someone's negative reactions. It's possible that the people who were teenagers during Prince's prime and are now in their 30s and 40s may still relate to him in the same manner. I just doubt many will even remember what they found off-putting about him in the past.

Veej said:

Well, if you're supposed to tell something about yourself and decide to say that you've been a "hardcore fan" of someone "for 25 years", of course it's going to sound funny. For that matter, when one person laughs a lot of other people are going to laugh too. Wasn't it supposed to have been an "icebreaker" type of a situation anyway?

I'd laugh at such a comment in a situation like that too, but obviously not because "I hate Prince". I'm pretty sure they were laughing mostly at the comment itself.

i can understand people not liking his voice, his type of music etc. But its annoying when some people deny that he is a great multi instrumentalist and a great guitarist.

Anyway he usually is considered among the top 30 or so greatest artists of all time so he gets plenty of love in that regard.

novabrkr said: