TrevorAyer said:

paulludvig said:

Has anyone claimed that Josh WROTE the tracks? And we don't really know which tracks he's talking about. I don't think Time is one of them.

prince says josh completely wrote the music on some of the tracks .. i am guessing the more electronic songs are josh and the ones with more instruments are prince .. basically breakfast is prince u know is josh

I didn't get that from the quote. Say Prince wrote a piece of music complete with lyrics and melody, plays it to Josh on the piano and has Josh program some beats and synths for the song. I would say Prince wrote the song and Josh produced the song.

2freaky4church1 said:

Boy, Bart is right, Prince just lies. He hated Warners at one time. He plays Purple Rain to death in concert but wants to look forward, is he fucking kidding?

I'd look forward too when my new music is so shitty.

Don't think that Prince necessarily lies, but as the great Guardian-reviewer puts it, he's lacking focus. He's changing his mind constantly which might be a result of him not having been in line with himself for two or more decades. Psychoanalyse might be of help to him.

funksterr said:

Joshua Welton, a young producer who is married to drummer Hanna Ford Welton of 3RDEYEGIRL (Donna Grantis and Ida Nielsen round out the trio), is one of the fresh new talents Prince marvels at; he refers to him as a "Steve Jobs" and marvels not only at his musical might, but his spiritual strength.

His faith in Welton is so strong that he shares productions with him on the album, and says for the first time, there are tracks where Prince doesn't even play an instrument, leaving it to Welton.

That article definitely explains a lot. And I called this waay back when that awful new Extraloveable track came out. I like the idea of Prince working with a producer, but there is no point in working with JOE AVERAGE, just because he is religious. You need someone on a higher level than that, religious beliefs aside. Josh is Levi and Tony M rolled into one. Besides Prince is so conservative these days there is no point in him making a pop album anymore.

Oh yeah and in classic Prince fashion, he has set JOSH up to take the fall when this album fucking tanks! 'Afterall, Prince places his faith in Josh. Prince doesn't even play on the tracks', lol. I see ya Prince!

[Edited 9/29/14 6:18am]

I agree. This sounds like Prince giving Welton the opportunity and risk. It also sheds light on what feels like some odd moments on the CD. The "tricky" voice at the end of Gold Standard doesn't quite sound like Prince, and I'm not sure what the banter is supposed to be about. It's more meandering than suggestive.

It's also strange to think of Prince allowing his music to be produced like some sort of commodity. ICK.

I've read at least a million (okay, maybe just dozens...) of stories about Prince and his personality, and he always just seemed shy and socially awkward/mistrustful, but a nice guy. And his interviews he seemed very cool, the 85 Rolling Stone, 90 Rolling Stone, 86 "I Need Love", etc, etc...

.

Recently, in all his interviews he quite frankly comes across as a complete douche and negative whiner who only bitches. Maroon 5 fucked up Kiss, Madonna was more successful than me, new music sucks but I emulate it, internet, YouTube, rights, etc..

.

The guy has nothing better to do than fucking whine all the time. I really want to read an interview where he's happy and chilling and talking about his new work, instead of one where he's criticizing others (ironically, people who really fucking respect him and are vocal about it). Sheesh.

...

?

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/memorable-moments-paisley-park-25828395

What we learned during a seven-hour odyssey at Paisley Park:

— Prince is a mean pingpong player: A pingpong table is the centerpiece of the rehearsal space outside of the studio at Paisley Park, and it gets plenty of use. Prince shows he's a pretty deft player — he hits from wide angles and it's a wild sight, his white shoes with acrylic heels lighting up blue with every move. Alas, he loses his game by a few points.

— Prince goes to YouTube for music, too: Some Prince fans who want to go to YouTube to pull up their favorite track or performance have long complained that Prince is overly aggressive in removing that music on copyright infringement grounds. So they might be surprised that he uses it to look up music and old performances of others. When the point is underscored as he watches an old James Brown clip, he says: "James Brown has an estate — so do I," then adds: "People need to stop tripping."

— He's still a Jehovah's Witness: Introduced to the religion by musician Larry Graham, Prince made sure to note that he still follows the doctrine, but adds that he is a student of the world and notes that he's been spending time reading, particularly African history.

— Yes, he thought Michael Jackson was pretty awesome, too: Though the two were often pitted against each other in the media during the height of their respective careers, he has utmost respect for the late legend. During one conversation, he marvels at the brilliance of then 10-year-old Jackson's vocals on classics like "Who's Loving You" and "I Want You Back," and while watching an old James Brown clip, he notes that both he and Jackson were watching Brown as children: "Michael got the dance, I got the music."

— He is an unfailingly polite host: During our visit, he gets concerned about whether we've eaten and an assistant picks up a soup at Houlihan's. Once it arrives, it won't do to eat it with disposable plastic utensils; he takes us to the kitchen area (bigger than most New York City apartments) and hands us proper silverware, and then, afterward, throws away the mess.

— You have to wow Prince to musically impress him: While it's not without fun, it's serious business: "The level of expectation is incredibly high; it's always to play something perfectly and with a ... wicked feel," says 3RDEYEGIRL guitarist Donna Grantis.

— He's a fan of today's talent: While he dismisses some of today's music — don't expect a collaboration with artists Katy Perry and Iggy Azalea — that doesn't mean there aren't contemporary artists who wow him. He raved about Luke James' voice; was mesmerized by FKA Twigs; talked about the potential of Rita Ora (who recorded at Paisley Park).

— He likes candles: in almost every room, candles are burning.

— Prince is still cooler than you: He's the only person who can pull off wearing a shirt with his image — and look epic doing it.

Polo1026 said:

BartVanHemelen said:

Gotta love the numerous lies.

.

.

Oh yes, the big record company abusing the poor little artist.

Let's ignore that Prince had several options, and that he's renewed that contract several times as an adult.

Let's also ignore that when he signed the $100 million deal he did so against the recommendations of his advisers and entourage.

Let's also ignore that REM had already gained control of their back catalogue at that same time, and that their new contract also had them gain control of their future master recordings.

.

The simple fact that once again Prince is spreading lies says plenty.

.

Also: crap work by that reporter. How about INVESTIGATING things instead of just parrotting what someone tells you?

So you're saying Prince had 100 percent control of his music or his publishing in the 90's? Please clarify because Publishing rights and ownership of actual sound recordings are two separate entities. If he owned his music, how could warners put out greatest hits albums without his approval? Under your theory that prince owned his music, Prince would have had to issue the sound recordings to Warners to release those records.

If we are talking about publishing, Prince did not own his own 100% of his publishing. He may have owned 60% but not all of it, especially while under a recording contracts because publishing is where the money is really made. No one is putting an album on anyone without have a piece of the publishing for that record or for a period of time. I'm trying to figure out what you're trying to say Prince lied about and have it make sense because if Prince owned ALL his sound recordings AND his publishing by 2000. Then Warners released the very best of prince while having no copyright of the music and no piece of the publishing? WTF?

Having a company MANAGE your publishing rights, e.g. I pay you a salary to monitor and collect money for songs played in any forum, has absolutely zilch to do with ownership of your publishing. I can leave BMI and go to any other company but that doesn't change a damn thing written in a contract.

And yes big labels have a history of abusing little artists. Debateable as it pertains to Prince but factual.

The fact that Prince renegotiated his contracts several times is known and was addressed even on oprah in 1996 or 97 and in several articles during that 'slave' era. That doesn't mean you can't have a problem with the contract when you discover a term in that deal you don't like. It happens everyday in every business in the world. Are you going to pretend that every BUSINESS ENTITY keeps their word because they signed a contract? Had Prince met the absurd terms of his contract, warners would have bought his ass out so fast just to stop the bleeding. The fact is Warners signed Prince to that deal because they knew the terms could never be met to pay him hundreds of millions.

The fact is Warners gave prince his masters only to negotiate a term to use those recordings and profit off of them, which matter to them NOW because the copyrights were about to revert back to Prince anyway. This fact means that Prince could not possibly have owned his music nor 100% of the publishing rights to the music created under his warners contract. Warners waited Prince out until it came time for Purple Rain to revert and came to the table. It has zilch to do with REM or anyone else who has their masters. As it pertains to Prince, he got his masters when it made business sense for Warners to give them to him as a negotiating tool.

Its no use in explaining anything to a KILLJOY!

"What's happening now is the position that 've always wanted 2 b N," says . " was just trying 2 get here."

CharismaDove said:

I've read at least a million (okay, maybe just dozens...) of stories about Prince and his personality, and he always just seemed shy and socially awkward/mistrustful, but a nice guy. And his interviews he seemed very cool, the 85 Rolling Stone, 90 Rolling Stone, 86 "I Need Love", etc, etc...

.

Recently, in all his interviews he quite frankly comes across as a complete douche and negative whiner who only bitches. Maroon 5 fucked up Kiss, Madonna was more successful than me, new music sucks but I emulate it, internet, YouTube, rights, etc..

.

The guy has nothing better to do than fucking whine all the time. I really want to read an interview where he's happy and chilling and talking about his new work, instead of one where he's criticizing others (ironically, people who really fucking respect him and are vocal about it). Sheesh.

What do you see him "whining" about here? I feel he comes across pretty level headed tbh. And I agree with his perspective of the Apple deal. And I believe he's wise to not focus on charts. Chasing numbers at this stage in his career would be a losing miserable game.

Pentacle said:

Yes, and isn't it great that Prince can watch all those great artists on YouTube...?

I think Prince is trolling us.

He did that just so we'd go nuts. He's hilarious.

That article is nonsense.

Prince isn't the first to achieve control. He simply is the first to stupidly sign a contract depsite advise to the contrary, then make such a fuss about it.

I find it odd that he's being made out to be such a pioneer. I mean shit--the guy just signed a CON-tract, as he would have put it just 10 years ago.

He's such a doofus.

^^ oops. Bart has already broken it down.

Askani said:

Every sentence he utters is a contradiction.

And, often just a bunch of lies.

lezama said:

CharismaDove said:

I've read at least a million (okay, maybe just dozens...) of stories about Prince and his personality, and he always just seemed shy and socially awkward/mistrustful, but a nice guy. And his interviews he seemed very cool, the 85 Rolling Stone, 90 Rolling Stone, 86 "I Need Love", etc, etc...

.

Recently, in all his interviews he quite frankly comes across as a complete douche and negative whiner who only bitches. Maroon 5 fucked up Kiss, Madonna was more successful than me, new music sucks but I emulate it, internet, YouTube, rights, etc..

.

The guy has nothing better to do than fucking whine all the time. I really want to read an interview where he's happy and chilling and talking about his new work, instead of one where he's criticizing others (ironically, people who really fucking respect him and are vocal about it). Sheesh.

What do you see him "whining" about here? I feel he comes across pretty level headed tbh. And I agree with his perspective of the Apple deal. And I believe he's wise to not focus on charts. Chasing numbers at this stage in his career would be a losing miserable game.

.

"Con"tracts and how evil they are, iTunes and how mean they are.

The same old bullshit repeated again and again for years. He needs to get the f over it.

's lawyer, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, calls it his "fight 4 justice" and an enormous game-changer 4 the industry.............

....

XSX said:

And on page 3:

He's working on a re-release of the epic "Purple Rain" album for its 30th anniversary, but when asked if he's excited about it, he flatly says no.

"Same album, just state-of-the-art sound," he says. "It's nice that it sounds better for the fans but I live in the now. I don't have to go backwards to celebrate."

He had no hesitation about working with Warner Bros again (after entering what his lawyer called an "amazing deal"): "I don't deal in history nor should they," he says. "It's not the entity that's the problem."

Oh please I hate when he says absurd stuff like this

KingSausage said:

I wish he could at least fake excitement for the reissues given that his fans are mostly excited for them, and they could help connect him with new generations of fans. Other artists understand the importance of reissues like this. Also, I find it odd (but not unexpected) that he sounds so upset, petulant, and full of complaints when he admits that he's exactly where he wants to be. What is he complaining about? It's like he's addicted to whining.

Exactly! In all of his recent interviews,all he does is WHINE,bitch and complain.If he really is so happy and content in his life,why all the complaining? You got your master recordings back,so what's the problem now?!

....

[Edited 9/29/14 20:32pm]

I wonder how many artists besides Prince has control of their masters.

CharismaDove said:

lezama said:

What do you see him "whining" about here? I feel he comes across pretty level headed tbh. And I agree with his perspective of the Apple deal. And I believe he's wise to not focus on charts. Chasing numbers at this stage in his career would be a losing miserable game.

.

"Con"tracts and how evil they are, iTunes and how mean they are.

The same old bullshit repeated again and again for years. He needs to get the f over it.

Perhaps your projecting. He's not villainizing them here. The adjectives your using are nowhere in this interview. He's seems to be saying they're not for him. Some people are perfectly fine with bad contract terms. I work with international contracts and negotiations and people who just want to get the documents signed and don't care if the terms are fair are not are my best friends. But professional negotiators would always call that person a fool behind their backs because they're not looking out for their own interests.

Beautifulstarr123 said:

I wonder how many artists besides Prince has control of their masters.

Yes, I'd be curious to know which major artists do and don't...

That said, I think a lot more nowadays than in the past. I think Prince and some of the other early independent artists like Ani DiFranco, Frank Zappa etc. have played a major role in that.

Pretty much everything he said in this interview, my reaction was "pfff... yeah right!"

Beautifulstarr123 said:

I wonder how many artists besides Prince has control of their masters.

.

REM have had control of their (WEA) masters since the early 1990s.
Metallica also control their masters, and they're also on a WEA label.

.

Just to name two bands who have sold way more than Prince, and both were/are on WEA labels (WEA = Warner Elektra Atlantic).

lezama said:

CharismaDove said:

.

"Con"tracts and how evil they are, iTunes and how mean they are.

The same old bullshit repeated again and again for years. He needs to get the f over it.

Perhaps your projecting. He's not villainizing them here. The adjectives your using are nowhere in this interview. He's seems to be saying they're not for him.

.

Then don't talk about them. He doesn't care about the remasters? Fine, then don't talk about them and actually get out of the way and let Warners do their thing, just like with The Hits. He don't care about iTunes et al? Why then talk about this?

.

Note how he, after TWENTY YEARS, still hasn't managed to come up with a solution. Yet here he spends so much time in this interview bitching and whining and lying etc. I don't see a happy man, I see a frustrated man who can't be arsed to promote his new record.

.

Look at how he is talking about new songs; for fuck's sake, TALK ABOUT YOUR CURRENT RELEASE. First he bitches for weeks about things taking too long, then he gets his wish and WB release TWO new albums and then he still whines and bitches. How about he FOCUSES on AOA and PE? And if that's too much trouble, don't fucking do an interview!

BartVanHemelen said:

lezama said:

Perhaps your projecting. He's not villainizing them here. The adjectives your using are nowhere in this interview. He's seems to be saying they're not for him.

.

Then don't talk about them. He doesn't care about the remasters? Fine, then don't talk about them and actually get out of the way and let Warners do their thing, just like with The Hits. He don't care about iTunes et al? Why then talk about this?

.

Note how he, after TWENTY YEARS, still hasn't managed to come up with a solution. Yet here he spends so much time in this interview bitching and whining and lying etc. I don't see a happy man, I see a frustrated man who can't be arsed to promote his new record.

.

Look at how he is talking about new songs; for fuck's sake, TALK ABOUT YOUR CURRENT RELEASE. First he bitches for weeks about things taking too long, then he gets his wish and WB release TWO new albums and then he still whines and bitches. How about he FOCUSES on AOA and PE? And if that's too much trouble, don't fucking do an interview!

I understand your point but in this instance he was asked about them (the remasters and U2/Apple), he didn't bring them up.

And again, I must be reading a different interview than the rest of you because I don't see bitching and whining, I see a person talking about the current state of his position in the music business. His personality is naturally one of being slightly defiant, putting independence/equity/parity above comfort, and from day one. I would agree with your statement/assessment if he was suddenly concerned with these things after spending 30 happily obeying those that control the industry he works in. Interviewers ask him these things because he's spent the last 20 years being concerned with them, and because controversy sells. How many comments would this thread or views would the page have if it were solely about AOA and PE? My guess is about 75% less.

lezama said:

BartVanHemelen said:

.

Then don't talk about them. He doesn't care about the remasters? Fine, then don't talk about them and actually get out of the way and let Warners do their thing, just like with The Hits. He don't care about iTunes et al? Why then talk about this?

.

Note how he, after TWENTY YEARS, still hasn't managed to come up with a solution. Yet here he spends so much time in this interview bitching and whining and lying etc. I don't see a happy man, I see a frustrated man who can't be arsed to promote his new record.

.

Look at how he is talking about new songs; for fuck's sake, TALK ABOUT YOUR CURRENT RELEASE. First he bitches for weeks about things taking too long, then he gets his wish and WB release TWO new albums and then he still whines and bitches. How about he FOCUSES on AOA and PE? And if that's too much trouble, don't fucking do an interview!

I understand your point but in this instance he was asked about them (the remasters and U2/Apple), he didn't bring them up.

And again, I must be reading a different interview than the rest of you because I don't see bitching and whining, I see a person talking about the current state of his position in the music business. His personality is naturally one of being slightly defiant, putting independence/equity/parity above comfort, and from day one. I would agree with your statement/assessment if he was suddenly concerned with these things after spending 30 happily obeying those that control the industry he works in. Interviewers ask him these things because he's spent the last 20 years being concerned with them, and because controversy sells. How many comments would this thread or views would the page have if it were solely about AOA and PE? My guess is about 75% less.

I didn't think there was any "bitching and whining" when I read the article. Must've been a different interview indeed.

KingSausage said:

I love AOA. I'm not a "hater" or naysayer. But that interview is full of Prince bitching and moaning, and general negativity. He should be glowing about his new releases and the fact that he's where he wanted to be. Bart is totally right: support the remasters or get out of WB's way. Let them do the work if you're not going to support the effort. Many fans are looking forward to these remasters. Don't piss on their excitement. Oh, wait. I guess he's used to pissing on fans. Shit, now I'm all negative.

.

agreed. That's the most annoying part. Dude's just released 2 studio albums that have recieved a shit ton of promotion from WB ("Why Prince is a fashion icon" was in the top stories on yahoo today..hmm, I wonder why?) and this is supposed to be a happy and exciting time. But he ruins it with more and more complaining and moaning. This isn't the first time, either. Literally every P interview in the 21st century alludes to contracts, and (later on), iTunes and blah blah.

.

Sick and tired of hearing this shit again...and again....and AGAIN.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

's lawyer, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, calls it his "fight 4 justice" and an enormous game-changer 4 the industry.............

....

Omg, a Prince type woman lawyer...... does Prince just not like men, other than himself?

Does everything in his life have to revolve around his type of woman? It doesn't matter if she's talented or not, can or can't sing, dance, whatever, just as long as she's his type of woman. I love Prince, but sometimes the guy comes off as narcissistic as Kim Kardashian!

lezama said:

funksterr said:

Don't be naive. This is Hollywood. Artist's give interviews with an agenda. It's telling, imo, that Prince decides to reveal that he played a minimal role in AOA. Because he has played a minimal role on tracks from time to time, during his career, but not owned up to it, until now. I don't think he is a big believer in the new sound. It's OK. Morris Day didn't have full faith and cofidence in 'Condensate' either and it's a fantastic album. It can be hard to ask someone, playing the frontman role, of a project to try a radical change to what they do. Prince, to his credit, chose his man and let him do his job. However, Prince is seperating himself from the project a bit by saying well 'Josh plays all the instruments' and 'we are a collective, best idea wins'. In a sales climate where JLo, Mariah Carey, and Maroon 5 have all seen there new albums tank, I think Prince, being the veteran, and ultimate survivor, bought himself a lifeline the day before his album drops, by putting it all on the kids should he suffer a similar cold shudder from the marketplace. Go 'head Prince!

I rarely see someone read so much into a scattering of comments as you did, I thought I was reading Bart for a second. Prince gives a kid props and you interpret that giving himself some lifeline should his album not reach multi platinum. Thats the stupidest thing I've read in a long time considering he almost half of what the man released in the 90's didn't sell well and little of what was released on the 00's sold well either. Why the hell would he suddenly assume an albums that's not really been promoted all that heavily and with zero air play would somehow be a big seller? Bullshite.. your comments seem to be directed to a strawman.

And with respect to your second and third sentences, artists give interviews with an agenda when they're working with their PR teams and are being managed. Prince if you havent noticed, says whats on his mind very often without overarching rhyme or reason and he doesn't have anyone looking over his shoulder telling what he should and shouldnt say. So to say he went in to any interview with some agenda and actually follows through with any agenda is reaching... heavily. If he did his interviews would have much different results than they consistently do.

You just don't get it. You are naive on so many points I can't help you. Prince only talks to the media when he has an agenda, period. It's very telling what was actually said. "Who would have thought that I'd let a 22 year old kid produce me?"... Yeah, I'm sure Prince is quite chagrined about that. I'm sure Prince never thought it. But he realized this is what the industry wanted and so he went about it the most FAIL way he possibly could. If it flops it's on Josh and WB, not Prince, because WB wanted him to work with up and coming producers.. That's why he made sure he put it out there and likely made sure it was in the final version of the article, which is the most extensively distributed of all the interviews he's done so far. The day before the album drops, Prince reveals that some of these tracks are FAKE Prince tracks!?!?! SHEEEIT! Prince is a survivor and he knows how the game is played.

paulludvig said:

funksterr said:

Don't be naive. This is Hollywood. Artist's give interviews with an agenda. It's telling, imo, that Prince decides to reveal that he played a minimal role in AOA. Because he has played a minimal role on tracks from time to time, during his career, but not owned up to it, until now. I don't think he is a big believer in the new sound. It's OK. Morris Day didn't have full faith and cofidence in 'Condensate' either and it's a fantastic album. It can be hard to ask someone, playing the frontman role, of a project to try a radical change to what they do. Prince, to his credit, chose his man and let him do his job. However, Prince is seperating himself from the project a bit by saying well 'Josh plays all the instruments' and 'we are a collective, best idea wins'. In a sales climate where JLo, Mariah Carey, and Maroon 5 have all seen there new albums tank, I think Prince, being the veteran, and ultimate survivor, bought himself a lifeline the day before his album drops, by putting it all on the kids should he suffer a similar cold shudder from the marketplace. Go 'head Prince!

He didn't say that he played a minimal role on the entire album. And what tracks from the pasr are you talking about?

Kiss comes to mind, for one. He didn't announce the day before Kiss came out, 'oh David Z, did like 90% of this track'.