"Once upon a time there wa a man named Prince . . " you say to the crowd of your grandchildren and their friends gather around. Your granddaughter is dressed like a boy and your grandson is dressed like a girl, there's a femiine flair from the boys and the last shred of masculinity is of the faux variety exhibited by girls. One the girls notices you're telling a story and takes out her headphones and you can hear a Rihanna song about sex . . another girl chimes in "Rihanna is so old . . I can't believe you listen to her. She's like 60 now!". You continue . . "Prince was one of the greatest musicians of all-time, his songs were unlike any other". One of the kids scrolls through their holographic phone to search YouTube . . the only results that come up are videos of rich princes in the middle east and an old artist from the 2010s named Prince Royce.

"Is this him" the kid pulls up his phone. "No no" you say. "I can't believe you kids don't know about Prince". Another kid searches Spotify - "nothing is coming up, are you pulling our leg grandpa". You begin to explain who Prince was.

You "Prince was a man who defied gender lines"

Kid: "so . . gender is so 2020"

You: "He would wear purple!" which falls on death ears as most of the young boys are wearing effeminate colors and some make-up

You: "He would make music about sex!" thinking you'll catch their attention

"So, Rihanna's been doing that for so long. What's special about that"

You respond - "He did it when nobody else did. He defied convention!"

The kids still aren't really impressed

"Alright, let me get some of his music" you go up stairs and come back with some CDs. "What are those?" of the kids exclaims

"These are CDs, this is how music was played back in my day". You dust off the CD player and put in Around the World in a Day

"He kinda sounds like The 1975 . . or Bruno Mars . . . what's so special about that?"

Thizz said:

laurarichardson said:

Thizz said:

"Once upon a time there wa a man named Prince . . " you say to the crowd of your grandchildren and their friends gather around. Your granddaughter is dressed like a boy and your grandson is dressed like a girl, there's a femiine flair from the boys and the last shred of masculinity is of the faux variety exhibited by girls. One the girls notices you're telling a story and takes out her headphones and you can hear a Rihanna song about sex . . another girl chimes in "Rihanna is so old . . I can't believe you listen to her. She's like 60 now!". You continue . . "Prince was one of the greatest musicians of all-time, his songs were unlike any other". One of the kids scrolls through their holographic phone to search YouTube . . the only results that come up are videos of rich princes in the middle east and an old artist from the 2010s named Prince Royce.

"Is this him" the kid pulls up his phone. "No no" you say. "I can't believe you kids don't know about Prince". Another kid searches Spotify - "nothing is coming up, are you pulling our leg grandpa". You begin to explain who Prince was.

You "Prince was a man who defied gender lines"

Kid: "so . . gender is so 2020"

You: "He would wear purple!" which falls on death ears as most of the young boys are wearing effeminate colors and some make-up

You: "He would make music about sex!" thinking you'll catch their attention

"So, Rihanna's been doing that for so long. What's special about that"

You respond - "He did it when nobody else did. He defied convention!"

The kids still aren't really impressed

"Alright, let me get some of his music" you go up stairs and come back with some CDs. "What are those?" of the kids exclaims

"These are CDs, this is how music was played back in my day". You dust off the CD player and put in Around the World in a Day

"He kinda sounds like The 1975 . . or Bruno Mars . . . what's so special about that?"

--- Stop smoking crack and step away from the computer.

LOLZ!

Once upon a time... there will be a statue of Prince like I have of Beethoven on my piano.

Bohemian67 said:

Once upon a time... there will be a statue of Prince like I have of Beethoven on my piano.

Nice!

thedoorkeeper said:

Wow - even after Prince has passed on he will still keep his videos from being broadcast He is amazing!!!

He sure is!

I think there's an interesting point here about just what Prince's legacy will be on the Internet far in the future. The tight control he tries to keep over what's out there limits the amount of material a casual observer will stumble over. At the same time, the people, like us, who have the motivation to curate his legacy slowly fade away. He may not disappear completely, but he's in danger of becoming an irrelevance.

I suppose it can be argued that none of this really matters. Pretty much everything we experience will be of little meaning in the far future. I've never listened to Prince because of whatever importance he may have or how meaningful his legacy will be. I've only ever listened because his music and performances have the power to do something to me in the moment. And yet, I can't help but feel some sadness to see what was once everything to me become a memory of a few.

The more interesting point is that in the future depicted here, all kids are fucking idiots who can't do anything except be slaves to their current technology, and have no concept of the lineage of art or culture.... if something isn't on YouTube it doesn't exist?

Gimme a break with that bullshit.

Anyone with half a brain will look beyond the mass media sources for their art and inspiration. I bet the kids in this story never bother to open a book, either. If that truly is the case then I'll be happy for them not to know the secrets of any of the great art from 'our' time... if they're truly that dumb then they deserve to carry the remnants of the human race into extinction.

Where's the one kid in the story above with an actual personality. The one who doesn't use 'like' every other word, the one who is actually interested in the world around him... the one who says to the other kids 'hey dummy, ever thinking about getting off your fat ass and doing some of your own research, and not relying on corporations to force feed you the homogenized, flatulent bullshit they feel like getting rich off of this week?'

Jesus, it's the end of culture.

Or, just a poorly imagined story.

[Edited 3/20/16 9:41am]

^

- no concept of the lineage of art or culture.... if something isn't on YouTube it doesn't exist?

-Anyone with half a brain will look beyond the mass media sources for their art and inspiration.

- never bother to open a book, either-

-The one who doesn't use 'like' every other word (AHA ADJECTIVE BUILDING)

-the one who is actually interested in the world around him...

-doing some of your own research, and not relying on corporations to force feed you the homogenized, flatulent bullshit they feel like getting rich off of this week?'

Couldn't have said it better.

[Edited 3/20/16 10:35am]

This topic is much much much depressing But it's true, everyday I have to remind myself that is nowhere to be found on YT or Spotify and that little kids today can find an MJ song much easier. OH WHY!? If I had been exposed as a child to more than MJ music maybe I wouldn't have been so much of a late fan as I am. I first fell in love with 1999 through an zip file download. I have never turned to MJ again (r.i.p. though), I've had enough of that guy. I'm all about since two-three years ago

[Edited 3/20/16 10:37am]

No Purplethunder. Something like this... because I kissed him.

[Edited 3/20/16 10:40am]

airth said:

I think there's an interesting point here about just what Prince's legacy will be on the Internet far in the future. The tight control he tries to keep over what's out there limits the amount of material a casual observer will stumble over. At the same time, the people, like us, who have the motivation to curate his legacy slowly fade away. He may not disappear completely, but he's in danger of becoming an irrelevance.

I suppose it can be argued that none of this really matters. Pretty much everything we experience will be of little meaning in the far future. I've never listened to Prince because of whatever importance he may have or how meaningful his legacy will be. I've only ever listened because his music and performances have the power to do something to me in the moment. And yet, I can't help but feel some sadness to see what was once everything to me become a memory of a few.

Excellent points. Future generations deserve to see and hear Dirty Mind shows, Controversy tour tours, etc.

Bohemian67 said:

No Purplethunder. Something like this... because I kissed him.

[Edited 3/20/16 10:40am]

purplethunder3121 said:

Bohemian67 said:

Once upon a time... there will be a statue of Prince like I have of Beethoven on my piano.

XxAxX said:

purplethunder3121 said:

teezee said:

This topic is much much much depressing But it's true, everyday I have to remind myself that is nowhere to be found on YT or Spotify and that little kids today can find an MJ song much easier. OH WHY!? If I had been exposed as a child to more than MJ music maybe I wouldn't have been so much of a late fan as I am. I first fell in love with 1999 through an zip file download. I have never turned to MJ again (r.i.p. though), I've had enough of that guy. I'm all about since two-three years ago

[Edited 3/20/16 10:37am]

So true. I think what he was trying to say is that Prince has to find a way to reconcile his feelings about technology and understand that it is the only way to extend his legacy or he is at risk of being diminished in the future. My daughter is 26 and although she loved Michael she had a Prince dad, i've explained to her just what it "is" that sets him apart and she understands just why he and MJ are like apples and oranges. Prince is right when he rants about the paltry pay of streaming services and how technology is forcing artists to tour more as a mode of survival but bringing your kid to see a 57 year old Prince is not exactly sharing the excitement that you felt as a kid. He actually has enough work to have a channel or streaming service of his own but his reluctance to embrace his past makes all of this very difficult. So i guess MJ may have theoretically won after all because he never performed in bikini briefs or ass-less pants so there's alot of his legacy out there to pass on through the generations. At least my adult kids know Prince was and is much much more than explicit lyrics and costumes.

[Edited 3/23/16 11:28am]