nuttynutmeg said:

In contrast, you can easily name any Stevie Wonder's songs that would sound good stripped down. We can go all day long.

Go on then...

Again, this comes down to songwriting skills. Remove the fancy arrangements and funky instrumentations, if the song still hold up well on a guitar or a piano, then you'll know how good a songwriter is. Most Prince's songs sound suck stripped down.

How would you know?

Sincerly folks

Averett said:

Sincerly folks

You are right

But we can turn this thread into a free flow of information how many Prince songs CAN be played 'stripped down'., perfectly well!

The OP is just a hater that gives us the opportunity to prove how great Prince's music really is. And he knows it. That's why he hates it.



.

[Edited 2/19/15 15:05pm]

dandan said:

nuttynutmeg said:

The point is simple: Name Prince songs that would still hold up well and sound good stripped down to their barebones, on a guitar or a piano. Of course songs like HCUDCMA would sound rubbish on a fairlight or on a farfisa, for that matter. And songs like Movie Star would sound silly on a guitar or a piano.

I'm not saying that Prince songs are not inherently or intrinsically good because they don't translate to different instruments and arrangements. Most of my favorite Prince songs would sound terrible on a guitar or a piano, and I hate most of his ballads, which in some cases hold up quite well stripped down. But I do believe that one of the characteristics of a great song, and in turn a great songwriter, is its adaptability to different instruments and arrangements. Take Stevie's songs for example, you can still feel its impact no matter what the medium of presentation is: acapella, piano, guitar, or orchestration. I wish I could say the same about most of Prince's songs. Is that a good or bad thing? Well, that depends. But the fact remains that very few of his songs would have the same impact stripped down.

Prince is a great producer/arranger/performer, but not that great of a songwriter. Maybe it's time for him to call Diane Warren for his next album.

Fusk put it perfectly. Who cares if Prince's songs translate to acoustic guitar? It's definitely not a sign of a good song just becuase you can play it acoustically. The fact that If I was Your Girlfriend, When Doves Cry, Sign O The Times wouldn't translate to piano makes them lesser songs?

I disagree that Stevie's song translate to acoustic. I sure as hell don't want to hear Superstition, Sir Duke, Do I Do etc, etc on one instrument. They just sound bland. You're basically asking which Prince songs are made up of simple chord progressions. Not many, because that would be boring.

[Edited 2/19/15 9:31am]

The thread is about naming any Prince's songs that would still sound good stripped down, not about "are Prince's songs any good?"

You pointed out and seem to agree that songs like If, WDC, SOTT wouldn't translate well to piano and Stevie's songs translate to acoustic. Fact. So now in reverse, all I'm asking is can anyone name any Prince songs that would translate well to to piano or acoustic guitar-- stripped down to their barebones?

Yes, many great songs are made up of simple chord progressions, but not necessarily so. Kiss is basically a 12-bar blues, simple, and any kid starting to learn guitar can play that song easily on a guitar, but the song essentially sucks (but Rivkin and then Prince salvaged it with a funky arrangement and embellishments). McCartney's Yesterday on the other hand, is not that simple and easy to play, but it's one of the greatest songs ever written, and a very successful classic. And to prove my point, the song is written and performed on an acoustic guitar. So, you can't equate great songs (many of which would translate really well across acoustic instruments and hold up well stripped down) with "simple chord progressions." A good song is a good song (simple or not), and a bad song is a bad song (simple or not). In most cases, however, a bad song usually rears its ugly head when stripped down to their barebones-- it's a good indicator.

Going back to the main question, can you name any Prince song that would still sound good stripped down?

It's cute to see how Prince fanboys (generally speaking, not referring to you) are incapable of serious discussions and would get butthurt and cry like a bunch of little girls over penetrating questions such as these . Coz in their fanboys' fragile little heart even the sound of Prince's fart is heaven-sent.

nuttynutmeg said:

dandan said:

Fusk put it perfectly. Who cares if Prince's songs translate to acoustic guitar? It's definitely not a sign of a good song just becuase you can play it acoustically. The fact that If I was Your Girlfriend, When Doves Cry, Sign O The Times wouldn't translate to piano makes them lesser songs?

I disagree that Stevie's song translate to acoustic. I sure as hell don't want to hear Superstition, Sir Duke, Do I Do etc, etc on one instrument. They just sound bland. You're basically asking which Prince songs are made up of simple chord progressions. Not many, because that would be boring.

[Edited 2/19/15 9:31am]

The thread is about naming any Prince's songs that would still sound good stripped down, not about "are Prince's songs any good?"

You pointed out and seem to agree that songs like If, WDC, SOTT wouldn't translate well to piano and Stevie's songs translate to acoustic. Fact. So now in reverse, all I'm asking is can anyone name any Prince songs that would translate well to to piano or acoustic guitar-- stripped down to their barebones?

Yes, many great songs are made up of simple chord progressions, but not necessarily so. Kiss is basically a 12-bar blues, simple, and any kid starting to learn guitar can play that song easily on a guitar, but the song essentially sucks (but Rivkin and then Prince salvaged it with a funky arrangement and embellishments). McCartney's Yesterday on the other hand, is not that simple and easy to play, but it's one of the greatest songs ever written, and a very successful classic. And to prove my point, the song is written and performed on an acoustic guitar. So, you can't equate great songs (many of which would translate really well across acoustic instruments and hold up well stripped down) with "simple chord progressions." A good song is a good song (simple or not), and a bad song is a bad song (simple or not). In most cases, however, a bad song usually rears its ugly head when stripped down to their barebones-- it's a good indicator.

Going back to the main question, can you name any Prince song that would still sound good stripped down?

It's cute to see how Prince fanboys (generally speaking, not referring to you) are incapable of serious discussions and would get butthurt and cry like a bunch of little girls over penetrating questions such as these . Coz in their fanboys' fragile little heart even the sound of Prince's fart is heaven-sent.

The problem with this thread and some of the others you have started is that people give you plenty of examples of what you're loooking for, but you refuse to accept those answers.

Funny how some nutsacks still mention that other CONCLUDED thread. I don't even bother reading it anymore The case is already closed

nuttynutmeg said:

Honestly, I'd say all of them. Prince can do no wrong when it's just him and a guitar or piano.

nuttynutmeg said:

I'm not saying that Prince songs are not inherently or intrinsically good because they don't translate to different instruments and arrangements. [...] But I do believe that one of the characteristics of a great song, and in turn a great songwriter, is its adaptability to different instruments and arrangements.

.

i don't understand.

.

I dunno man, all i can do is reiterate that your idea of what good music is is different from mine. Like, you say Kiss is 12 bar blues and would be dull if it weren't for all that funk. Yeah, I agree. And anyone who plays blues agrees with you too. Blues guys understand that from a harmony perspective, they're playing the same 'dull' song over and over, yet they continue playing the blues because they're paying attention to all the other stuff that makes those chords interesting.

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So are people who are into blues just paying attention to the wrong thing? I doubt it.

.

Or like electronic music... harmony and melody wise, a lot of dance music is totally uninteresting. But think about what that music achieves because it doesn't try to shoehorn in an academically interesting chord progression. Here's an example:

.

.

I firmly believe that a version of that song with any chord progression at all would be much worse. Try reversing things - try to do a version of Yesterday in the style of the track above. You'll find that all that chord progression actually detracts from the goal of the song, which is to build a lot of tension. It just doesn't work.

.

What I'm saying is that having pop harmonies as well crafted as Yesterday is not the goal of a lot of people making music, and that's totally fine. Those songs aren't missing any key ingredient necessary for a 'truly great song', they are literally doing something different. That's it.

[Edited 2/19/15 21:43pm]

nuttynutmeg said:

The thread is about naming any Prince's songs that would still sound good stripped down, not about "are Prince's songs any good?"

You pointed out and seem to agree that songs like If, WDC, SOTT wouldn't translate well to piano and Stevie's songs translate to acoustic. Fact. So now in reverse, all I'm asking is can anyone name any Prince songs that would translate well to to piano or acoustic guitar-- stripped down to their barebones?

Yes, many great songs are made up of simple chord progressions, but not necessarily so. Kiss is basically a 12-bar blues, simple, and any kid starting to learn guitar can play that song easily on a guitar, but the song essentially sucks (but Rivkin and then Prince salvaged it with a funky arrangement and embellishments). McCartney's Yesterday on the other hand, is not that simple and easy to play, but it's one of the greatest songs ever written, and a very successful classic. And to prove my point, the song is written and performed on an acoustic guitar. So, you can't equate great songs (many of which would translate really well across acoustic instruments and hold up well stripped down) with "simple chord progressions." A good song is a good song (simple or not), and a bad song is a bad song (simple or not). In most cases, however, a bad song usually rears its ugly head when stripped down to their barebones-- it's a good indicator.

Going back to the main question, can you name any Prince song that would still sound good stripped down?

It's cute to see how Prince fanboys (generally speaking, not referring to you) are incapable of serious discussions and would get butthurt and cry like a bunch of little girls over penetrating questions such as these . Coz in their fanboys' fragile little heart even the sound of Prince's fart is heaven-sent.

Most Steview tracks definitely don't sound good acoustic I don't know were you're getting that from. Sure there a few that do, but then there are Prince songs that sound good acoustic. Just as an example I have played all of these live (guitar+voice) and they sound good.

DMSR

Pop Life

If I Was Your Girlfriend

Mountains

I Wanna Be Your Lover

Do Me Baby

Ballad of Dorothy Parker

ICNTTPOYM

Adore

Forever In My Life

Play In The Sunshine

Raspberry Beret

Blue Light

HCUDCMA

Anotherloverholeiyohead

Sometimes It Snows

Little Red Corvette

Sign O The Times

Good Love

Last Heart

and many, many more.

nuttynutmeg said:

I'd say very few. There's a good reason why he never did a real unplugged session, apart from that mini acoustic session on The Art of Musicology. The Truth and ONA bore me to tears.

In contrast, you can easily name any Stevie Wonder's songs that would sound good stripped down. We can go all day long.

Again, this comes down to songwriting skills. Remove the fancy arrangements and funky instrumentations, if the song still hold up well on a guitar or a piano, then you'll know how good a songwriter is. Most Prince's songs sound suck stripped down.

Regardless, here are some of the contenders IMO.

1. Sometimes It Snows in April.

2. How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore.

3. Reflections (very underrated). Sometimes Prince can write good lyrics.

4. ICNTTPOYM (kind of).

5. Diamonds & Pearls. No Scratch that. Sounds silly stripped down.

6. Nothing Compares 2 U.

7. Starfish & Coffee (sort of).

[Edited 2/18/15 20:04pm]

Anyone remember the blues version of Alphabet St. that was circulating for a while?

KingSausage said:

Aerogram said:

nuttynutmeg said:

Funny how some nutsacks still mention that other CONCLUDED thread. I don't even bother reading it anymore The case is already closed

Oh I see that in your world, your word is definitive. Your Grace in His wisdom has deemed it so, peasants need not intrude on His privilege to declare the discussion over as He has stated it is so. Assuming you're right and Prince fans are losers for having a modicum of regard for his work, then you are here boosting your self-esteem talking down to losers. Not sure if you realize how sad and needy that is, perhaps you'd feel bett r by graduating to a Bob Dylan site, where you can explain you're a lover of stripped down songs that matter but are no fan of his.

Good luck living in your convenient little box where everything is black and white, safe and sound. Your fragile little heart gets shattered by a harsh disheartening reality that not everyone thinks Prince or Dylan is some kind of deity?

[Edited 2/20/15 22:08pm]

nuttynutmeg said:

nuttynutmeg said:

Aerogram said:

nuttynutmeg said: Oh I see that in your world, your word is definitive. Your Grace in His wisdom has deemed it so, peasants need not intrude on His privilege to declare the discussion over as He has stated it is so. Assuming you're right and Prince fans are losers for having a modicum of regard for his work, then you are here boosting your self-esteem talking down to losers. Not sure if you realize how sad and needy that is, perhaps you'd feel bett r by graduating to a Bob Dylan site, where you can explain you're a lover of stripped down songs that matter but are no fan of his.

Good luck living in your convenient little box where everything is black and white, safe and sound. Your fragile little heart gets shattered by a harsh disheartening reality that not everyone thinks Prince or Dylan is some kind of deity?

[Edited 2/20/15 22:08pm]

Funny you say that because 99.9999% of people seriously interested in American music would find your opinions on Dylan and Prince laughably clueless and completely lacking in any form of nuance (or historical perspective). They might even say you clearly think much too highly of yourself for someone of such limited analytical skills -- not to mention your inexistent grasp of any of the topics on which you feel the need to post. Some of them might not even be actual fans of Dylan or Prince, they just know -- thanks to a lifetime of musical education you seem to lack -- that these two are absolutely key figures of American music.

threads r supposed to shed light on topics...not confuse even more

nuttynutmeg said:

Funny how some nutsacks still mention that other CONCLUDED thread. I don't even bother reading it anymore The case is already closed

The one where you posted your opinion and everyone laughed at you? It's certainly concluded in that sense.

Back to this thread... are you ever going to post your endless list of Stevie Wonder tracks that work stripped down? Somehow I doubt it.

Not to mention Kiss, Tamborine, 4 The Tears In Your Eyes, New Position, Something In The Water,
all songs that are minimalistic as hell.

All of his acoustic medleys, whether on the guitar (Musicology tour medley) or piano (ONA, Lovesexy, etc.)
speak for themselves.

bonatoc said:

Not another one of these... thought it might be an interesting thread topic until realising it was a topic by Nuttynutmeg.

Let's just give him what he wants: Nuttynutmeg, none of us can compete with your superior music knowledge and taste.

zsasz said:

Not another one of these... thought it might be an interesting thread topic until realising it was a topic by Nuttynutmeg.

Let's just give him what he wants: Nuttynutmeg, none of us can compete with your superior music knowledge and taste.

I sense that Nutty has left the building if you know what I mean...