TylerHippie said:

Timmy84 said:

I don't know, I think it's too much of a generalization to think all people who listen to other forms of music would only know songs from a certain period in an otherwise popular performer's catalog.

All I know is the Purple Rain album gets more play than any other Prince album.

That's because it sold more. More people know it. More people own the album and, thus, have exposed it to others. More people have incidentally seen Purple Rain on TV than they have heard "Jack U Off" on the radio.

TylerHippie said:

Timmy84 said:

I don't know, I think it's too much of a generalization to think all people who listen to other forms of music would only know songs from a certain period in an otherwise popular performer's catalog.

All I know is the Purple Rain album gets more play than any other Prince album.

Yeah, and it's the one all the jack-off posers mention first when people bring up Prince. "Oh, I love Purple Rain!" ask them about the rest of his catalog and they either have no fucking clue, or they'll make a face and tell you they think it's too 'weird'.

UltraLash said:

Admittedly, I didn't read all 8 pages of this thread before commenting because... well... it's 8 pages.

People throw the word "mainstream" around in music A LOT. If you're saying that Prince "sold out" and went with a mainstream sound just to build his fanbase, then you're wrong. When Doves Cry, Computer Blue, Darling Nikki and Let's Go Crazy are way too strange to be considered sure-fire pop hits before they were released. And Purple Rain itself is 9 minutes long.

Did Prince hope that by crafting the album with the most immediate, hook-friendly music that his unique sound could possibly deliver that he'd strike a chord in audiences looking for something fresh and exciting? Yes. Did his music become mainstream as a result? Yes. Do you ignore Purple Rain because of this? Sounds like it. Is this a shame? Yeah, pretty much.

I'm hoping by "mainstream," you really mean "overplayed." Cuz THAT I understand.

Depends on how you define mainstream. I mean, that much seems to be evident from this thread.

Also, yes. Purple Rain was a bid for mainstream success. There is no continuity between mainstream success and artistic integrity. Some amazing artists sell a lot. Some terrible wannabes sell a lot. The same chart that awarded Prince his platinums gave Milli Vanilli, Rebecca Black, and other clowns real estate there as well.

Spinlight said:

Spinlight said:

TylerHippie said:

Timmy84 said: All I know is the Purple Rain album gets more play than any other Prince album.

That's because it sold more. More people know it. More people own the album and, thus, have exposed it to others. More people have incidentally seen Purple Rain on TV than they have heard "Jack U Off" on the radio.

Exactly. Plus why would "Jack U Off" be on the radio? Even now, I don't think radio censors would play it today!

TylerHippie said:

Spinlight said:

That's because it sold more. More people know it. More people own the album and, thus, have exposed it to others. More people have incidentally seen Purple Rain on TV than they have heard "Jack U Off" on the radio.

I'm pretty sure "Jack U Off" never got radio play ahaha

It wouldn't have anyway, it was controversial then, it's controversial now.

Timmy84 said:

Spinlight said:

That's because it sold more. More people know it. More people own the album and, thus, have exposed it to others. More people have incidentally seen Purple Rain on TV than they have heard "Jack U Off" on the radio.

Exactly. Plus why would "Jack U Off" be on the radio? Even now, I don't think radio censors would play it today!

That song is so icky.

smoothcriminal12 said:

Timmy84 said:

Exactly. Plus why would "Jack U Off" be on the radio? Even now, I don't think radio censors would play it today!

That song is so icky.

Prince at one of his most horniest lmao

Timmy84 said:

TylerHippie said:

Spinlight said: I'm pretty sure "Jack U Off" never got radio play ahaha

It wouldn't have anyway, it was controversial then, it's controversial now.

I dont' think that has anything to do with it, especially when radio played "Erotic City" when it came out, and stll does from time to time; or how when they air "Purple Rain", they don't omit "Darling Nikki".

Timmy84 said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

That song is so icky.

Prince at one of his most horniest lmao

....someone I'd NEVER like to run into.

armpit said:

Timmy84 said:

It wouldn't have anyway, it was controversial then, it's controversial now.

I dont' think that has anything to do with it, especially when radio played "Erotic City" when it came out, and stll does from time to time; or how when they air "Purple Rain", they don't omit "Darling Nikki".

Depends on what hour they played it.

But think about it, you think a radio station in 1984 would play something that sounded homoerotic? Especially in the post-disco craze of the '80s? Unless it was like real late? I doubt anyone knew of the song unless they bought the album after being exposed to Prince via the Purple Rain movie.

Matter of fact, all the past albums except for For You either went platinum or gold AFTER Purple Rain because people wanted to know of his catalog lol

smoothcriminal12 said:

Timmy84 said:

Prince at one of his most horniest lmao

....someone I'd NEVER like to run into.

I can't imagine anyone asking me to let them jack me off. I'd be like "hell naw with your nasty ass." Unless of course it was on mutual masturbation teen shit lol and I was a teen lol

Timmy84 said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

....someone I'd NEVER like to run into.

I can't imagine anyone asking me to let them jack me off. I'd be like "hell naw with your nasty ass." Unless of course it was on mutual masturbation teen shit lol and I was a teen lol

I won't even lie, I'd be getting that mofo into the nearest bathroom a la George Michael.

smoothcriminal12 said:

Timmy84 said:

I can't imagine anyone asking me to let them jack me off. I'd be like "hell naw with your nasty ass." Unless of course it was on mutual masturbation teen shit lol and I was a teen lol

I won't even lie, I'd be getting that mofo into the nearest bathroom a la George Michael.

Timmy84 said:

armpit said:

I dont' think that has anything to do with it, especially when radio played "Erotic City" when it came out, and stll does from time to time; or how when they air "Purple Rain", they don't omit "Darling Nikki".

Depends on what hour they played it.

But think about it, you think a radio station in 1984 would play something that sounded homoerotic? Especially in the post-disco craze of the '80s? Unless it was like real late? I doubt anyone knew of the song unless they bought the album after being exposed to Prince via the Purple Rain movie.

Matter of fact, all the past albums except for For You either went platinum or gold AFTER Purple Rain because people wanted to know of his catalog lol

I wasn't speaking on the homoerotic aspect, I'm talking about sexual content in general - and the last time I remember hearing "Erotic City" on the radio, it was literally in the middle of the day, not to mention all the more recent sexually-explicit stuff that gets played on the radio on a regular basis. So I'm pretty certain that "Jack U Off" being sexual in nature, wasn't the issue for the stations.

And yeah, I absolutely believe that after "Purple Rain", people flocked to his music, probably expecting more of that "Purple Rain" sound and were surprised and/or disappointed when they didn't get it. Similar to how, again, with the release of ATWIAD, his sales took a nose-dive.

And...another obvious thing that no one has mentioned that really proves TylerHippie's point...put on any of Prince's discs other than "Purple Rain" at a a party, let it play in its entirety, and watch how people react...five bucks says you'll get a lot of 'what the fuck?' looks from most of the people and it'll essentially kill the party. Completely different response than what you'd get if you put on the PR soundtrack and let it play. Even dj's know this, which is why when they want to play Prince for a crowd and not lose them, first thing they do is whip out "Purple Rain". The rest of Prince's discography is a lot less accessible.

[Edited 8/15/11 18:12pm]

armpit said:

Timmy84 said:

Depends on what hour they played it.

But think about it, you think a radio station in 1984 would play something that sounded homoerotic? Especially in the post-disco craze of the '80s? Unless it was like real late? I doubt anyone knew of the song unless they bought the album after being exposed to Prince via the Purple Rain movie.

Matter of fact, all the past albums except for For You either went platinum or gold AFTER Purple Rain because people wanted to know of his catalog lol

I wasn't speaking on the homoerotic aspect, I'm talking about sexual content in general - and the last time I remember hearing "Erotic City" on the radio, it was literally in the middle of the day, not to mention all the more recent sexually-explicit stuff that gets played on the radio on a regular basis. So I'm pretty certain that "Jack U Off" being sexual in nature, wasn't the issue for the stations.

And yeah, I absolutely believe that after "Purple Rain", people flocked to his music, probably expecting more of that "Purple Rain" sound and were surprised and/or disappointed when they didn't get it. Similar to how, again, with the release of ATWIAD, his sales took a nose-dive.

And...another obvious thing that no one has mentioned that really proves TylerHippie's point...put on any of Prince's discs other than "Purple Rain" at a a party, let it play in its entirety, and watch how people react...five bucks says you'll get a lot of 'what the fuck?' looks from most of the people and it'll essentially kill the party. Completely different response than what you'd get if you put on the PR soundtrack and let it play. Even dj's know this, which is why when they want to play Prince for a crowd and not lose them, first thing they do is whip out "Purple Rain". The rest of Prince's discography is a lot less accessible.

[Edited 8/15/11 18:12pm]

What? You think I don't know that? Prince was on his own planet. For a soundtrack and for purposes of getting popular following the success of 1999, you think Prince was gonna actually keep doing what he had done in previous albums? No he was going for the sound he had with 1999 and push it further and he did it with the movie. Lemme ask you something, had he not done the movie and just release Purple Rain by itself, would it have sold as many copies as it eventually did? Think about it for a second.

Plus songs like "Darling Nikki" wasn't made for an accesible pop audience that were looking for singles. Prince knew a song like that wouldn't be successful, hell look at the reaction of Tipper Gore! I don't know I'm just getting a negative vibe from people saying Purple Rain was too mainstream, almost as if it didn't exist. Just from Tyler's posts.

armpit said:

Timmy84 said:

Depends on what hour they played it.

But think about it, you think a radio station in 1984 would play something that sounded homoerotic? Especially in the post-disco craze of the '80s? Unless it was like real late? I doubt anyone knew of the song unless they bought the album after being exposed to Prince via the Purple Rain movie.

Matter of fact, all the past albums except for For You either went platinum or gold AFTER Purple Rain because people wanted to know of his catalog lol

I wasn't speaking on the homoerotic aspect, I'm talking about sexual content in general - and the last time I remember hearing "Erotic City" on the radio, it was literally in the middle of the day, not to mention all the more recent sexually-explicit stuff that gets played on the radio on a regular basis. So I'm pretty certain that "Jack U Off" being sexual in nature, wasn't the issue for the stations.

And yeah, I absolutely believe that after "Purple Rain", people flocked to his music, probably expecting more of that "Purple Rain" sound and were surprised and/or disappointed when they didn't get it. Similar to how, again, with the release of ATWIAD, his sales took a nose-dive.

And...another obvious thing that no one has mentioned that really proves TylerHippie's point...put on any of Prince's discs other than "Purple Rain" at a a party, let it play in its entirety, and watch how people react...five bucks says you'll get a lot of 'what the fuck?' looks from most of the people and it'll essentially kill the party. Completely different response than what you'd get if you put on the PR soundtrack and let it play. Even dj's know this, which is why when they want to play Prince for a crowd and not lose them, first thing they do is whip out "Purple Rain". The rest of Prince's discography is a lot less accessible.

[Edited 8/15/11 18:12pm]

i once played little red corvette or lets go crazy, i cant remember, and it actaully did kill a party. it was in a college town where you pretty much hopped from house to house though so it might not have 100% been the music

uuhson said:

armpit said:

I wasn't speaking on the homoerotic aspect, I'm talking about sexual content in general - and the last time I remember hearing "Erotic City" on the radio, it was literally in the middle of the day, not to mention all the more recent sexually-explicit stuff that gets played on the radio on a regular basis. So I'm pretty certain that "Jack U Off" being sexual in nature, wasn't the issue for the stations.

And yeah, I absolutely believe that after "Purple Rain", people flocked to his music, probably expecting more of that "Purple Rain" sound and were surprised and/or disappointed when they didn't get it. Similar to how, again, with the release of ATWIAD, his sales took a nose-dive.

And...another obvious thing that no one has mentioned that really proves TylerHippie's point...put on any of Prince's discs other than "Purple Rain" at a a party, let it play in its entirety, and watch how people react...five bucks says you'll get a lot of 'what the fuck?' looks from most of the people and it'll essentially kill the party. Completely different response than what you'd get if you put on the PR soundtrack and let it play. Even dj's know this, which is why when they want to play Prince for a crowd and not lose them, first thing they do is whip out "Purple Rain". The rest of Prince's discography is a lot less accessible.

[Edited 8/15/11 18:12pm]

i once played little red corvette or lets go crazy, i cant remember, and it actaully did kill a party. it was in a college town where you pretty much hopped from house to house though so it might not have 100% been the music

Had to be because of Prince himself lol people even when PR was popular were like "you listen to him?"

JoeTyler said:

formallypickles said:

Lionel gets no respect.

Its often the creators that get no respect

Imitation is the new creation...lmao

[Edited 8/15/11 16:22pm]

hehe

many times mainstream is the dumbed-down version of a genre that used to be cutting edge

I mean, from Public Enemy to 50Cent, something went wrong...

Mainstream is basically music for dummies.

formallypickles said:

JoeTyler said:

hehe

many times mainstream is the dumbed-down version of a genre that used to be cutting edge

I mean, from Public Enemy to 50Cent, something went wrong...

Mainstream is basically music for dummies.

Nowadays and more so lol

Timmy84 said:

formallypickles said:

Mainstream is basically music for dummies.

Nowadays and more so lol

dummies need love too.

formallypickles said:

Timmy84 said:

Nowadays and more so lol

dummies need love too.

And brains.

Timmy84 said:

Spinlight said:

That's because it sold more. More people know it. More people own the album and, thus, have exposed it to others. More people have incidentally seen Purple Rain on TV than they have heard "Jack U Off" on the radio.

Exactly. Plus why would "Jack U Off" be on the radio? Even now, I don't think radio censors would play it today!

They would've played it if it were released from a mega popular album. What cuts on Purple Rain didn't get a little radio play? I still hear "Darling Nikki" on the radio today and that wasn't even a single (much less a charting, nonsingle like "adore").

But you get my point anyway - Mainstream =/= shit music.

If mainstream = shit music then I listen to lots of shit music on my shit-encrusted shitPod.

Spinlight said:

Timmy84 said:

Exactly. Plus why would "Jack U Off" be on the radio? Even now, I don't think radio censors would play it today!

They would've played it if it were released from a mega popular album. What cuts on Purple Rain didn't get a little radio play? I still hear "Darling Nikki" on the radio today and that wasn't even a single (much less a charting, nonsingle like "adore").

But you get my point anyway - Mainstream =/= shit music.

If mainstream = shit music then I listen to lots of shit music on my shit-encrusted shitPod.

And I wish you could understand our points of view.

Timmy84 said:

TylerHippie said:

I wish you guys could get what I'm trying to say.

Its just slightly insulting that you think all of the people who are disagreeing with you don't "get it". I think we get it. I know I get it. I get every angle you're trying to spin it from. We just don't agree, and we aren't going to. You did phrase it as a question, and we answered. No. No on every point.

Also, I'm as stubborn and hard headed as they come, but there reaches a point in any discussion/debate/argument where even I will stop and process what is being said if the majority (or, ya know, everyone!) is disagreeing with me (unless its discussing Arms of Orion, that song is shit ). There was a lot of imformation from provided for you from people who lived through Prince before, during and after the Purple Rain phenomenon. Most of it, at least the last couple pages that I've been following, was supplied in a very conversational manner, without belittling or insulting your opinion. So maybe its time that you actually take all this information in, consider what everyone is saying and listen to the album with all these thoughts in mind. Its very likely, judging by this thread, that its not going to change your opinion. But I'm quite sure you've hit a wall in your attempt to get people to agree with it.

Cerebus said:

TylerHippie said:

I wish you guys could get what I'm trying to say.

Its just slightly insulting that you think all of the people who are disagreeing with you don't "get it". I think we get it. I know I get it. I get every angle you're trying to spin it from. We just don't agree, and we aren't going to. You did phrase it as a question, and we answered. No. No on every point.

Also, I'm as stubborn and hard headed as they come, but there reaches a point in any discussion/debate/argument where even I will stop and process what is being said if the majority (or, ya know, everyone!) is disagreeing with me (unless its discussing Arms of Orion, that song is shit ). There was a lot of imformation from provided for you from people who lived through Prince before, during and after the Purple Rain phenomenon. Most of it, at least the last couple pages that I've been following, was supplied in a very conversational manner, without belittling or insulting your opinion. So maybe its time that you actually take all this information in, consider what everyone is saying and listen to the album with all these thoughts in mind. Its very likely, judging by this thread, that its not going to change your opinion. But I'm quite sure you've hit a wall in your attempt to get people to agree with it.

If it's a wall, it is a brick wall. I totally got what he was saying but like you said, we just don't agree with it.