Am I wrong to want to be blown away and listen to his music all day and all night(like none other on the radio at this time) and brag to my friends about how no one can do the things he does on his album? I know not to expect the same sound as in the 80's or even the 90's but,its been a long time that I felt that he has put out the best album than anyone on the planet..

I hate to say it but those days are gone..

Do you think that Im wrong or am I missing something totally here??

[Edited 8/27/14 11:54am]

[Edited 8/27/14 11:55am]

earl01 said:

Am I wrong to want to be blown away and listen to his music all day and all night(like none other on the radio at this time) and brag to my friends about how no one can do the things he does on his album? I know not to expect the same sound as in the 80's or even the 90's but,its been a long time that I felt that he has put out the best album than anyone on the planet..

I hate to say it but those days are gone..

Do you think that Im wrong or am I missing something totally here??

[Edited 8/27/14 11:54am]

[Edited 8/27/14 11:55am]

What you are missing is perspective. Everyone and everything changes. Do marry someone at 21 and keep comparing them to that when they are 50?

I love prince and have followed him from the beginning, but I never feel the need to compare one song to the next. They are all individual experinces. Love them or hate them for what they are not for what you want them to be.

Yes Its wrong to compare. What is worse is to expect much or willfully overhype any of the new stuff. Dude is 55. Did we expect anything great from Bowie or Mccartney 10 years ago? No. most are just happy they are still around and put out a few new songs and once and while have a cool tour. To sit here and say that this new music is anywhere near close to the old stuff or so much better than anything contempoary is really disrespecting his past brilliance.

All I want is for Prince to make music that he himself likes. What upsets me most are the times that he seems to take a cynical approach and may try to make songs he (wrongfully) thinks people want to here or worst just not put much effort into it. Maybe I'm wrong but you cant really tell me that he really thinks something like "Breakfast Can Wait" or Pretzllogic is really worth his time.

emesem said:

Yes Its wrong to compare. What is worse is to expect much or willfully overhype any of the new stuff. Dude is 55. Did we expect anything great from Bowie or Mccartney 10 years ago? No. most are just happy they are still around and put out a few new songs and once and while have a cool tour. To sit here and say that this new music is anywhere near close to the old stuff or so much better than anything contempoary is really disrespecting his past brilliance.

All I want is for Prince to make music that he himself likes. What upsets me most are the times that he seems to take a cynical approach and may try to make songs he (wrongfully) thinks people want to here or worst just not put much effort into it. Maybe I'm wrong but you cant really tell me that he really thinks something like "Breakfast Can Wait" or Pretzllogic is really worth his time.

+1

tricky99 said:

earl01 said:

Am I wrong to want to be blown away and listen to his music all day and all night(like none other on the radio at this time) and brag to my friends about how no one can do the things he does on his album? I know not to expect the same sound as in the 80's or even the 90's but,its been a long time that I felt that he has put out the best album than anyone on the planet..

I hate to say it but those days are gone..

Do you think that Im wrong or am I missing something totally here??

[Edited 8/27/14 11:54am]

[Edited 8/27/14 11:55am]

What you are missing is perspective. Everyone and everything changes. Do marry someone at 21 and keep comparing them to that when they are 50?

I love prince and have followed him from the beginning, but I never feel the need to compare one song to the next. They are all individual experinces. Love them or hate them for what they are not for what you want them to be.

Agreed.

"Prince, what the fuck happened to you, man? Shit, your ass used to be beautiful!"

Prince used to not suck. His music is total shit now. It would be total shit even if you didn't compare it to anything. You could compare it to silence and it would still be shit.

But compared to his earlier non-shit stuff, it makes it seem even worse. This is clearly the reason the 30th Anniversary Purple Rain box seems to have vanished. Even Prince must realize on some level how devestating it would be for an earlier work of genius to come out at the same time as the crap he peddles now. Critics and fans would have the old and the new side-by-side and it would be emabarrassing.

The new song Clouds is a good illustration. It used to rain purple, now all we have are clouds.

(I wouldn't care, or be so brutally honest if Prince himself hadn't become such a jerk.)

earl01 said:

LeGrinde said:

Prince used to not suck. His music is total shit now. It would be total shit even if you didn't compare it to anything. You could compare it to silence and it would still be shit.

But compared to his earlier non-shit stuff, it makes it seem even worse. This is clearly the reason the 30th Anniversary Purple Rain box seems to have vanished. Even Prince must realize on some level how devestating it would be for an earlier work of genius to come out at the same time as the crap he peddles now. Critics and fans would have the old and the new side-by-side and it would be emabarrassing.

The new song Clouds is a good illustration. It used to rain purple, now all we have are clouds.

(I wouldn't care, or be so brutally honest if Prince himself hadn't become such a jerk.)

This reply is perfect.

TrevorAyer said:

NO you are not wrong! This crap about comparing your 21 year old wife to her now when she is 50 is garbage too. When a woman is 50 it doesn't mean she can turn into a 250 lb pimple faced drunken idiot. She should be smarter, more graceful, more beautiful than ever, wiser. Prince new records arent about wrinkles and stretch marks. A musician should improve not get worse. There is absolutely NO excuse for a musician to get worse. They know more, been exposed to more, played longer, had more experience, are wiser. Now if prince had arthritis and could not play his guitar as well that would be one thing. But that is not the case. No one is saying prince should do the splits. But writing a song should only get better and if its not its because he has let himself go. turned his brain to mush with booze pills cheap women and too much money. NOT BECAUSE HE IS OLDER!!! GARBAGE EXCUSE JUST UTTER SHIT .. PRINCE SHOULD BE NOTHING BUT BETTER

.

I dont expect my wife to be the same as she was 30 years ago, but if what she churns out in the kitchen isn't fit enough for a pig, then I have every right to compare AND complain!!

.

it might not be fair,but I think every artists' new work will always be compared to their earlier,more successful work.

SoulAlive said:

it might not be fair,but I think every artists' new work will always be compared to their earlier,more successful work.

Thats why artists like Kanye hang around a bit longer than they should.

Their shit is only slightly better than the other shit they've previosuly released.

'What am I missing? Am I wrong to compare 2014 prince's music to the 80's Prince?'

Yes

emesem said:

Maybe I'm wrong but you cant really tell me that he really thinks something like "Breakfast Can Wait" or Pretzllogic is really worth his time.

I believe he absolutely does think they're worth his time. His legacy is secure. He doesn't need to release anything from here on out in order for his "pop culture icon" status to remain as it is. I, for one, am therefore left to believe that if he's releasing something, it's because he deems it worthy of release.

I'm sure the fact that the fans dislike much of it is not lost on him. But that's very different from him not liking and releasing it anyway...which doesn't make sense to me.

[Edited 8/27/14 22:30pm]

emesem said:

Yes Its wrong to compare. What is worse is to expect much or willfully overhype any of the new stuff. Dude is 55.

56

hopefularranger said:

emesem said:

Maybe I'm wrong but you cant really tell me that he really thinks something like "Breakfast Can Wait" or Pretzllogic is really worth his time.

I believe he absolutely does think they're worth his time. His legacy is secure. He doesn't need to release anything from here on out in order for his "pop culture icon" status to remain as it is. I, for one, am therefore left to believe that if he's releasing something, it's because he deems it worthy of release.

I'm sure the fact that the fans dislike much of it is not lost on him. But that's very different from him not liking and releasing it anyway...which doesn't make sense to me.

[Edited 8/27/14 22:30pm]

Dude obviously still has the drive to write and produce new music, an outlet for his creativity. He has been doing this for so long, he might not even really know what else to do with his time. Fact is when you are an artist and create stuff you would like to share it with the world. I agree that Prince still feels his new creations are worth sharing with the general public. Otherwise why would he take the effort to write and release new songs?

earl01 said:

Am I wrong to want to be blown away and listen to his music all day and all night(like none other on the radio at this time) and brag to my friends about how no one can do the things he does on his album? I know not to expect the same sound as in the 80's or even the 90's but,its been a long time that I felt that he has put out the best album than anyone on the planet..

I hate to say it but those days are gone..

Do you think that Im wrong or am I missing something totally here??

[Edited 8/27/14 11:54am]

[Edited 8/27/14 11:55am]

This is the second time in 2 weeks that the weekly "Prince is over and done" thread comes under a more intellectually honest "is Prince over and done?" question form so, like last time, I'm gonna encourage this change by replying your post.

.

I'd say yes you are wrong (whatever this means) because there are 2 things to take into consideration:

- He is older.

- You are older, too.

.

I can't speak for you or anyone else of course but I can speak about my own experience. I don't listen to as much as I used to, partly because he doesn't release as many albums as he used to, mainly because I listen to many more other things than I used to. I am totally satisfied with his recent output, though, but I am not as mind-blown as I used to by his music because I am not as easily mind-blown as I used to when I was a teen who discovered this brand new musical world. Mplsound was played almost daily for the first months after its release, though, but back in the early 90's I would play the new album all day for the first months. I just can't do this anymore with any record. Back in 1998, aged 21, I was quite impressed by Kamasutra for example. Now that I know loads of contemporary and ambient composers, I realize it was a failed experiment. Overall I have heard so much music in my life that I'm not being impressed so easily. I still love LOTS of things and I still discover wonderful albums, both old and new, every week or so, but I am not often really surprised by anything new I hear, for it'll always remind me of something else I've heard before.

.

, on the other hand, is older. Like most artists he tends to repeat himself and to have a much more polished sound than he used to. Another factor is that his sound isn't anything new, it's been imitated by dozens if not hundreds of other acts and has little to do with whatever innovative trends may be happening in music nowadays. Back in the 80's, was not only more agressive in his songwriting (the energy of youth) but he was also avant-garde, something few acts manage to be past their prime (Bowie's work in the 90's is a good counter example, but almost a unique one, and it didn't last). Other people who have been extremely edgy in their prime, such as Bill Laswell, George Clinton or Ryuichi Sakamoto, ended-up doing more or less the same thing all the time after 30 years of career, and usually it's a same that stabilizes after the 15 first years, so don't expect the sound of the very first albums to ever come back. I don't mind this, for if I liked their artistic directions in the first place, I certainly like this constant reexploration of said directions, and I like to see how those directions grow up with the artist (and myself!).

.

I don't expect 's music to do to me what it did to me back in 1991. For that matter I don't expect anything to do to me the same as it did back in 1991, for I am now grown and a very different person that I used to, and the music scene is also totally different by the way.

.

Another thing is that neither nor any other artist owe me a single fucking thing, let alone pleasing me with their work. I am free to buy their albums or not, to go to their shows or not, and to listen to their music or not. If I am not seduced by their work anymore, I can just move on and listen to something else, the point being that they're doing what they want to do and as long as they can find an audience and manage to make a living by doing so, everyone's happy.

.

So yeah I'd say u are wrong to try and compare 2014 with 80's , and even wronger to try and compare 2014 yourself with 80's yourself. Reminds me of a guy who's been married with a woman for 30 years and who'd complain he doesn't get a boner every single time she gets undressed. Well, she's older, and so are you, and maybe u just spent too much time with each other and forgot that the magic of the first years wasn't supposed to last forever unless u fuel it yourself and give up on the body she had when she was 20 because this body is gone for good. There are still numerous qualities in 's current music, but if u judge it by comparison to what it used to be instead of judging it for what it is in the absolute, u'll surely be disappointed. On the other hand, if u take it for what it is, u may redescover it entirely.

.

The quality of music always reflects on the quality of the listener, and vice versa

^Regarding the husband/wife metaphor for what it's worth (funnily enough I've made it before reading the other replies and once it was posted realized that we'd all done it ) I'd say that while 's music may not have a body as sexy and a behavior as wild as it used to, deep down what made me love it in the first place is still there, in every song, and it has a maturity it lacked back then. The shape has changed, the behavior has changed, but the deep soul of it is the same, and therefore it's not unlike a partner: the shape and behavior change but as long as the deepest elements, the ones that made u love this person in the first place, are still there, then all is fine

tricky99 said:

funkaholic1972 said:

Dude obviously still has the drive to write and produce new music, an outlet for his creativity. He has been doing this for so long, he might not even really know what else to do with his time. Fact is when you are an artist and create stuff you would like to share it with the world. I agree that Prince still feels his new creations are worth sharing with the general public. Otherwise why would he take the effort to write and release new songs?

Yes, he should have taken the time to find other fulfilling hobbies, beside fucking and preening.

And I think releasing mediocre after mediocre album can indeed damage his reputation. I mean, his '78'-95 reputation is secure, but after that it's a Syd Barrett trainwreck. And sometimes that makes it hard to remember that he indeed once was at the top of his/the game...

earl01 said:

Do you think that Im wrong or am I missing something totally here??

Yes.

You changed, you're not 14 anymore.

Prince changed, he's over 50 now.

udo said:

earl01 said:

Do you think that Im wrong or am I missing something totally here??

Yes.

You changed, you're not 14 anymore.

Prince changed, he's over 50 now.

Sure, but crap is still crap.

Pentacle said:

udo said:

Yes.

You changed, you're not 14 anymore.

Prince changed, he's over 50 now.

Sure, but crap is still crap.

That is why you bought all albums.

Definitions change over time, really.

It's hard not to compare Prince now to Prince then (or vice versa), but really it's not a fair comparison. Just a few examples below, there are undoubtedly countless more that would convey the same concept:

.

The Beatles vs. Paul McCartney now.

Stevie Wonder then vs. now

Madonna then vs. now

Even MJ's final efforts while he was alive were not THRILLER.

.

The beauty of recorded music is that you can enjoy whichever era you love the most - over and over. Just disregard the rest if you're not into it.

.

I was 12 years old when Purple Rain came out. That was the summer between 7th and 8th grade, and Purple Rain was my world at that age (I was already hooked with 1999, but PR really did it). Now I am 42, a grown man with a wife, child, home, dog, career. . . I still enjoy Purple Rain as much as I did then, but I'm not expecting Art Official Age to recapture that feeling.

Se7en said:

It's hard not to compare Prince now to Prince then (or vice versa), but really it's not a fair comparison. Just a few examples below, there are undoubtedly countless more that would convey the same concept:

.

The Beatles vs. Paul McCartney now.

Stevie Wonder then vs. now

Madonna then vs. now

Even MJ's final efforts while he was alive were not THRILLER.

.

The beauty of recorded music is that you can enjoy whichever era you love the most - over and over. Just disregard the rest if you're not into it.

.

I was 12 years old when Purple Rain came out. That was the summer between 7th and 8th grade, and Purple Rain was my world at that age (I was already hooked with 1999, but PR really did it). Now I am 42, a grown man with a wife, child, home, dog, career. . . I still enjoy Purple Rain as much as I did then, but I'm not expecting Art Official Age to recapture that feeling.

So... how's hell?

.

(just kidding )

It's fair to be critical if an established artist shows little sign of growth after decades in the business. And I'm not sure Prince often does show growth in terms of his songwriting - there are scant few examples of Prince showing maturity and writing about themes and truths of a man approaching 60 years of age. We hear lots of examples of ignoring this truth - all the "time is an illusion" nonsense (the title of the new album, any one?!) which I guess is one way of writing about his worries of getting older but it's as transparent as building a theme park called Neverland.

.

If Prince feels vulnerable with age, which surely he does as anyone does, then I'd like to hear it truthfully in the music rather than sticking his fingers in his ears. And not just this, it's purely an example - Prince has been through some shit and lived a long life and still living it probably for many decades to come, but he refuses to put it in his music a lot of the time, or at least in a way that resonates the spectrum of human emotion outside his twin writing crutches of bravado and childish crushes.

If you want to do it, you are not wrong to do it.

I would argue, for me, it's pointless. Music is subjective and what the listener brings to it is such a major factor in terms of the experience that the comparison is meaningless.

For example, I rarely hear an album these days that impacts on me in a fraction of the way something like Dirty Mind or Purple Rain did ..... but then again I'm no longer a miserable teenager sitting in my bedroom wondering if I'll ever get laid!

So I suppose I'm arguing that music isn't any better or worse than 30 years ago but my reaction to it has, which means it's for me unfair and fairly pointless to engage in the comparison you're making.

udo said:

Pentacle said:

Sure, but crap is still crap.

That is why you bought all albums.

Definitions change over time, really.

I haven't bought anything atfer Rave.

Although I agree that tastes can change, and that you can learn to appreciate a song you never cared for at first - sometimes crap is crap.

When I read about Auschwitz at 14, I found it absolutely terrible; and I'm sure that at 50 I'll think exactly the same.

Se7en said:

It's hard not to compare Prince now to Prince then (or vice versa), but really it's not a fair comparison. Just a few examples below, there are undoubtedly countless more that would convey the same concept:

.

The Beatles vs. Paul McCartney now.

Stevie Wonder then vs. now

Madonna then vs. now

Even MJ's final efforts while he was alive were not THRILLER.

.

The beauty of recorded music is that you can enjoy whichever era you love the most - over and over. Just disregard the rest if you're not into it.

.

I was 12 years old when Purple Rain came out. That was the summer between 7th and 8th grade, and Purple Rain was my world at that age (I was already hooked with 1999, but PR really did it). Now I am 42, a grown man with a wife, child, home, dog, career. . . I still enjoy Purple Rain as much as I did then, but I'm not expecting Art Official Age to recapture that feeling.

Although there aren't many new McCartney songs that excite me, at least 90% of his output isn't embarrassing. Unlike Prince's....