At this juncture, I wouldn't care if he bundled copies of Plectrum Electrum with boxes of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, and it sold 500 copies. I'm just plain tired of the multiple delays concerning the new album.

Identity said:

At this juncture, I wouldn't care if he bundled copies of Plectrum Electrum with boxes of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, and it sold 500 copies. I'm just plain tired of the multiple delays concerning the new album.

At least majority of the fans would have access to it on their own.

MotownSubdivision said:

lagantest said:

MotownSubdivision said:

I've read through several threads on here and habe seen many say that Prince should be topping charts or telling what he needs to do in order for that to happen/ why he should be. My question is why? Why isn't Stevie Wonder, EWF, Diana Ross, Janet Jackaon, Chaka Khan, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Phil Collins, Huey Lewis, Kool and the Gang, Van Halen or any other of my favorite stars from the 60s-80s topping the charts now? The answer? Because they already have... a long time ago. These artists including Prince have hit their commercial peaks already and whether or not they produce new material, they are nostalgia acts in this day and age. They are legends/ icons that have long since left their marks on music and have nothing more to prove in that regard other than maybe showing that they can do live. Chart-topping songs though? That should be the last thing they worry about since they've each done it countless times before each in their own ways, broke countless records, and sold millions and millions of albums which have received critical acclaim and have set the standard for what today's music is on a grand scale. Prince is included in this count of excellence so why are their those that believe him having chart topping songs 30 years afters his commercial peak as an artist when his resume is already extremely decorated and one that these so called "stars" of today would die for (assuming they care about their music in the first place)? And why should P even stoop to the absurdly low level of today's music scene just to be scoring hits alongside today's crop of artists? On rare ocasions, certain acts from the past will score a hit or to in the present day (i.e. Lionel Richie, Daft Punk, Weird Al, Madonna). It makes no sense and I honestly want to know why people are so adamant about someone who was a star mainly in the 80s having mainstream hits as though this were the decade he was most relevant in. Prince is touring and making beaucoup bucks selling out arenas worldwide, the ultimate fanservice. Would him having another hit really matter? I do not think so.

I'd temper ur remark about today's music scene by saying "the absurdly low level of today's music mainstream scene", because overall there are still hundreds of delightful records being released every year, the main difference between 2014 and 1984 being that nowadays you'll never hear any of those new talented artists on a mainstream radio station, nor see their music videos on TV, while at the time major record companies would invest a lot of money in promoting very talented and creative artists (alongside crap as well, though, crap's always been there, but now it's all they're willing to invest in).

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As for your question I honestly have no fucking clue as to why would anyone care about his favorite artist being a top-seller, unless u're 16 years old and eager to prove your social value by defining yourself as a person mainly as being a fan of an artist and in need of other people to like said artist so they will automatically like you as well. The main issue being that most of the orgers u speak about are waaaaay past their high school years.

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Most of the artists I listen to are acts that no one save hardcore music afficionados have ever heard of and so what? Actually if we're talking social value I find it much more rewarding to be the hipster kind music fan who will make people discover rare, precious gems by underground artists all the time, but honestly I'm getting a little bit too old for this to be a daily preoccupation of mine anyway.

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Apart from the "if they love him they'll love me because I love him too" theory, the only other idea I have about this is that many of those people are actually clueless when it comes to music, and have been brainwashed by the media with the "success = quality / lack of success = mediocrity" equation to such an extent that they feel that the fact that isn't in the Top 10 is yet another proof of his alleged current artistic mediocrity, an alleged mediocrity many fans here obviously resent him for. While I respect people not enjoying 's recent output (it's a matter of taste after all), I fail to see how they could take this particular element as being a proof of it when, in the world we now live in, being in the Top 10 is actually proof of an artist's mediocrity in 99% of the cases, while 99% of the good ones now remain underground things. But once again when u've been through 30 or 40 years of TV and radios repeating over and over that the crap they feed you with is the good stuff and that the vacuum cleaner sellers they feature every day are the most talented musicians in the world, I guess u end-up believing it. I've met quite a number of people in my life who genuinely believed that, who accepted the likes of Stock, Aitken and Waterman or Céline Dion as being the most talented people and violently rejected anything that wasn't a 3 minutes-long verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/verse/chorus pop song as being mediocre, pseudo-intellectual, elitist, ununderstable bullshit. I've read such things here too as well.

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Apart from those 2 theories I can't see what else it could be, and honestly not a single one of those guys have been able to give me a decent explaination about their wish to see be in the Top 10 again, so I guess there's no other...

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And this is the sorry state of the world we live in

lagantest said:

MotownSubdivision said:

I've read through several threads on here and habe seen many say that Prince should be topping charts or telling what he needs to do in order for that to happen/ why he should be. My question is why? Why isn't Stevie Wonder, EWF, Diana Ross, Janet Jackaon, Chaka Khan, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Phil Collins, Huey Lewis, Kool and the Gang, Van Halen or any other of my favorite stars from the 60s-80s topping the charts now? The answer? Because they already have... a long time ago. These artists including Prince have hit their commercial peaks already and whether or not they produce new material, they are nostalgia acts in this day and age. They are legends/ icons that have long since left their marks on music and have nothing more to prove in that regard other than maybe showing that they can do live. Chart-topping songs though? That should be the last thing they worry about since they've each done it countless times before each in their own ways, broke countless records, and sold millions and millions of albums which have received critical acclaim and have set the standard for what today's music is on a grand scale. Prince is included in this count of excellence so why are their those that believe him having chart topping songs 30 years afters his commercial peak as an artist when his resume is already extremely decorated and one that these so called "stars" of today would die for (assuming they care about their music in the first place)? And why should P even stoop to the absurdly low level of today's music scene just to be scoring hits alongside today's crop of artists? On rare ocasions, certain acts from the past will score a hit or to in the present day (i.e. Lionel Richie, Daft Punk, Weird Al, Madonna). It makes no sense and I honestly want to know why people are so adamant about someone who was a star mainly in the 80s having mainstream hits as though this were the decade he was most relevant in. Prince is touring and making beaucoup bucks selling out arenas worldwide, the ultimate fanservice. Would him having another hit really matter? I do not think so.

so david bowies last album hit number 1 and the two before were top 10 albums?

So it was number 1 it must of been absolutely brilliant then (sarcasm). It is below average i have it.

databank said:

Prince should have, because unlike the other artists you mentioned, he actually could do it. He has the ability to still be on top of current trends and actually do them better. For example, "Black Sweat" was him doing the "Neptunes" sound better than The Neptunes themselves.

Most of the other artists you mentioned aren't artists who evolved their sound over the years. Janet and Madonna could still have #1 hits with the right material and right push, and of course, Michael is still having #1 songs posthumously, and would be if he was alive too.

With the right song, the right video and the right label push, there's absolutely no reason why he couldn't. Don't forget, Carlos Santana had a #1 at the age of 52 with "Smooth". It was #1 for 12 weeks. And, Debbie Harry was 54 when Blondie released "Maria" which was #1, at least here in the UK, and a huge hit.

Prince is a global pop icon, it's a fallacy and a complete disservice to him to refer to him as a "nostalgia" act. Is Paul McCartney "a nostalgia act", is Michael Jackson "a nostalgia act"? The Rolling Stones? U2?

Gaga is one of the biggest pop icons in the business, her new album is an album of duets with Tony Bennett, who is 88 years old. It'll sell like hot cakes. Wouldn't be surprised if a single from it hits #1.

Because neither Prince nor the other artists you mentioned will lower themselves to produce the kind of "music" that tops the charts these days.

Militant said:

The old Prince is "too old" to have mainstream commercial success argument is back. That theory has been around since Prince turned 30!! It wasn't true then and t isn't true now. Make some hot music, properly promote it and release it on a major and it will sell. Prince's problem is that he is a pop star releasing bland, self-indulgent, snooty material. Of course that ain't gonna sell well.

funksterr said:

To be honest, until Prince actually does have a hit again, his potential to have a hit doesn't amount to much more than wishful thinking.

Essentially I find the term "nostalgia act" to be condescending and dismissive, it reads as if Prince can't have a hit. I believe that he can.

jaawwnn said:

Militant said:

Things like Idols, X Factor and The Voice have decimated what was already a crappy music scene. Napster was also critical in ensuring the bottom fell out of the industry, followed very closely by iTunes. Its all about quick success these days. Win a talent competition, cut a single, get it on iTunes, milk it for what its worth, move on.

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Prince and many of the acts mentioned here work differently. Prince especially, avoids all of the mainstream outlets like iTunes and because none of these artists are on TV every night competing with other artists for a record deal, they are not easily noticed by the public. Why would a record company (or radio station) push an artist not in the public eye when they can push one that millions voted for on a talent show?

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Anyway, I actually wish Prince would stop trying to write what he thinks would be a hit and start pushing the envelope again. Create something new and never-before-heard and create for the love of creating, whatever that creation be.

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At the end of the day, once all of the big selling artists of today that predate Napster and Idols (Beyonce comes to mind) also become nostalgia acts, we will end up with a music industry completely dictated by public phone-ins on talent shows. Labels know the surest way to make a buck from an artist is to sign one that is already in the public eye because the promotion has already been done. No need to promote an unknown artist from the start, just let the talent shows do it and sign them at the end.

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Prince should not be trying to be part of that. And as Databank said, indie artists and the real talent will still be there for us to find if we want. We just have to look for it and not expect an advert or radio station to point us in the right direction. Outlets for real music will gain in popularity the more the industry ignores that talent. It is inevitable. Prince should be trying to pioneer that side of the industry instead of trying to break back into the mainstream. NPGMC was ground breaking at the time, he should have stuck with it and expanded upon it. THATS what annoys me about Prince. Not his lack of hits but his lack of sustaining an innovative idea.

Lockwood88 said:

lagantest said:

MotownSubdivision said: so david bowies last album hit number 1 and the two before were top 10 albums?

So it was number 1 it must of been absolutely brilliant then (sarcasm). It is below average i have it.

Bowies album - THE NEXT DAY was great. Great songs, interesting melodies etc and great lyrics. No way below average. What about Heathen? Number 5 i believe that got to. WHat a grand magnum opus that album is. I want an experimental album from prince, showing off his skills, i dont care about chart positions. I am just saying that vetrens can pull it out of the bag if they are not so self absorbed. quite like your response i guess.

Delusion.

lagantest said:

Lockwood88 said:

So it was number 1 it must of been absolutely brilliant then (sarcasm). It is below average i have it.

Bowies album - THE NEXT DAY was great. Great songs, interesting melodies etc and great lyrics. No way below average. What about Heathen? Number 5 i believe that got to. WHat a grand magnum opus that album is. I want an experimental album from prince, showing off his skills, i dont care about chart positions. I am just saying that vetrens can pull it out of the bag if they are not so self absorbed. quite like your response i guess.

Bowie's new album just don't do it for me , sorry , you right am wrong, its totally boring to me , chart success means shit nowadays. To me that is. Chart success don't mean it is brilliant , sorry. And i see you can't have your own personal opinion on this forum about anything that some don't agree with. Am wrong everybody else is right , ok ok.

[Edited 8/22/14 6:48am]

[Edited 8/22/14 6:58am]

Lockwood88 said:

lagantest said:

Bowies album - THE NEXT DAY was great. Great songs, interesting melodies etc and great lyrics. No way below average. What about Heathen? Number 5 i believe that got to. WHat a grand magnum opus that album is. I want an experimental album from prince, showing off his skills, i dont care about chart positions. I am just saying that vetrens can pull it out of the bag if they are not so self absorbed. quite like your response i guess.

Bowie's new album just don't do it for me , sorry , you right am wrong, its totally boring to me , chart success means shit nowadays. To me that is. Chart success don't mean it is brilliant , sorry. And i see you can't have your own personal opinion on this forum about anything that some don't agree with. Am wrong everybody else is right , ok ok.

[Edited 8/22/14 6:48am]

[Edited 8/22/14 6:58am]

nah you are good to have an opinion that is why music is created. its art. art is there to be made into your own thoughts and opinions. I think the album is great and i am still listening to it 18 months after release. when did you last say that about a prince album?

lagantest said:

Lockwood88 said:

Bowie's new album just don't do it for me , sorry , you right am wrong, its totally boring to me , chart success means shit nowadays. To me that is. Chart success don't mean it is brilliant , sorry. And i see you can't have your own personal opinion on this forum about anything that some don't agree with. Am wrong everybody else is right , ok ok.

[Edited 8/22/14 6:48am]

[Edited 8/22/14 6:58am]

nah you are good to have an opinion that is why music is created. its art. art is there to be made into your own thoughts and opinions. I think the album is great and i am still listening to it 18 months after release. when did you last say that about a prince album?

Np, i think 1988 was the last time i could say a Prince album was brilliant and i still love it to this day, i did like some of D&P and Musicology. I await the creative juices of Prince to hopefully come alive again.