keslie70 said:

I'm hoping you do a hardcover run of the books, maybe I'm just too "old school" but I prefer having the physical book in my hands when I read it

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You can always print it yourself.

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Still, Alex could look into the many services that offer "print on demand". Or perhaps a Kickstarter. Can't see a "real" publisher being interested in printing a multi-volume bio of Prince, TBH.

muleFunk said:

I wouldn't read this book if I got it for free.

Hahn is an ambulance chasing lawyer that wants to cash in on Prince's death.

If Per Nielsen writes one then fine but this joker......

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Oh look, yet more of the "people making mountains of money by writing Prince bios" nonsense.

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Pur-lease. Go look at any thread on the Org which discusses P books: you'll find a half a dozen participants and the threads disappear quite fast. Hell, there was some stupid thread about Prince's astrological signs recently that had more pages than the thread discussing Alan Light's Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain.

babynoz said:

OperatingThetan said:

I'll withold my final judgement until the book is released and I read the final results, but 'Possessed' was very critical with some aspects that read like a tabloid. And now after Prince's death, Alex appears again having been absent from the community for many years, to publicise another book? Hmmm...

I'm also wondering how come this thread gets featured when he isn't the first or last person to write a Prince screed......erm, book.

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Hey, I've said over and over again that Alan Light's book deserved some promotion. But even making it a sticky was apparently not happening, IIRC. Guess PP objected to it...

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Other than that, what other books are there in the pipeline? Duane Tudahl's, sure, but I don't think he's started a thread here announcing its release (though judging from his Facebook group it does seem to be slated for a release later this year).

williamb610 said:

I just did a 180 and bought a Prince book on a whim. I had Per Nielson's book on Prince, previously, but it's lost at my parent's house. I'll probably get it again because it had so much info on Prince tracks, heard and unheard.

I got Matt Thorne's book on Prince(the Man and his Music) after getting excited about reading about some of the unheard tracks that he mentions; the previously unheard tracks are the things the get me riled up.

We'll see, if this new book, can hold a candle to either of them.

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Matt Thorne's is mediocre at best.

AlexHahn said:

databank said:

Wow! This went farther than u originally considered it seems! Cool news, looking forward to reading it! As I always said the first decade is well documented but what came next is in deep need for more research, I hope ur books can do the job

It sure did!

The later years remain a puzzle, and I do hope more information emerges.

Right now, we arere digging back into the very early years. There is a lot of stuff that needs correcting . There is a lot of myth that has been passed from book to book somewhat credulously -- and I'll plead a little guilty for all my past and future crimes -- and new interpretations are warranted as well. I am anxious to create as accurate as possible a record, something that can be consulted for a long time to come.

I hope this book is going to have balance. We are finding out so many good things that he did and was involved in. Your previous book was short on the good things.

Can you just not assume this time every album from Lovesexy to N.E.W.S is shit, ok?

BartVanHemelen said:

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Matt Thorne's is mediocre at best.

yeah i was wondering why it ran some 500 pgs. i can't remember a single remarkable tidbit or insight.

wavesofbliss said:

BartVanHemelen said:

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Matt Thorne's is mediocre at best.

yeah i was wondering why it ran some 500 pgs. i can't remember a single remarkable tidbit or insight.

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Skimmed over much of the 1980s, had excruciatingly detailed reports on all 21 Nights gigs. Only interesting bit in the book was the interview with HM Buff.

BartVanHemelen said:

wavesofbliss said:

yeah i was wondering why it ran some 500 pgs. i can't remember a single remarkable tidbit or insight.

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Skimmed over much of the 1980s, had excruciatingly detailed reports on all 21 Nights gigs. Only interesting bit in the book was the interview with HM Buff.

that's the bit about 'emancipation' right? the german guy. kirk's programming still sucks,imo. plastic, unimaginative- meh. buff and sharpe seemed more forgiving.

Great to read this! The first book was great.

BartVanHemelen said:

babynoz said:

I'm also wondering how come this thread gets featured when he isn't the first or last person to write a Prince screed......erm, book.

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Hey, I've said over and over again that Alan Light's book deserved some promotion. But even making it a sticky was apparently not happening, IIRC. Guess PP objected to it...

.

Other than that, what other books are there in the pipeline? Duane Tudahl's, sure, but I don't think he's started a thread here announcing its release (though judging from his Facebook group it does seem to be slated for a release later this year).

Thanks for the props Bart. I am hoping to get my book about Prince's studio sessions (1983/84) out this fall. It is finished and I'm talking to some publishers about it right now. I agree that Alan Light's book was very worthy of your time. It is a well researched book. Alex's upcoming book sounds pretty amazing too. Alex and I have known each other for years (I helped with a little of the research for his first book) and from what he's told me, this sounds like a worthy successor. I hope he does well with it. Good guy and someone who does some research, which so many authors don't bother doing.

I'm looking forward to reading Alex's latest work.

BartVanHemelen said:

keslie70 said:

I'm hoping you do a hardcover run of the books, maybe I'm just too "old school" but I prefer having the physical book in my hands when I read it

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You can always print it yourself.

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Still, Alex could look into the many services that offer "print on demand". Or perhaps a Kickstarter. Can't see a "real" publisher being interested in printing a multi-volume bio of Prince, TBH.

The kickstarter option definitely interests me. As far as Matt Thorne and Ronin Ro go, they seem reasonably well researched, but don't have enough narrative flow for my liking.

[Edited 7/20/16 17:30pm]

fortuneandserendipity said:

Can you just not assume this time every album from Lovesexy to N.E.W.S is shit, ok?

Fair enough. I'm more interested in telling a story than critiquing records this time out. But I am actually digging certain of the later stuff. Exhibit A: "Black Muse."

AlexHahn said:

fortuneandserendipity said:

Can you just not assume this time every album from Lovesexy to N.E.W.S is shit, ok?

Fair enough. I'm more interested in telling a story than critiquing records this time out. But I am actually digging certain of the later stuff. Exhibit A: "Black Muse."

What about the earlier stuff with The Time, Vanity 6 and Jill Jones? that is what I'm interested in.

Why is Possessed $345 on Amazon? thats not even cool

nursev said:

Why is Possessed $345 on Amazon? thats not even cool

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Oh for crying out loud: demand and supply.

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More extreme: http://www.digitaltrends....-textbook/

AlexHahn said:

Thanks to everybody for the supportive comments. We are more than open to suggestions and ideas, such as the great ones made so far.

I am hearing the message loud and clear concerning a physical edition. I am probably not interested in working with a traditional publisher, but we are exploring ways to make a physical edition happen.

I think many people understand that something like this is a labor of love rather than a money-making venture. I won't belabor that point other to say that the amount of money I received in total for Possessed amounted to a salary of about $2 per hour. The amount of time I have spent on this project since my 50th birthday (April 21) is placing profound demands on my professional life and my family life. Needless to say, my law practice, which is to some extent on hold to work on this book, would be a far better way to "cash in."

In the last several months, I have lost my mother and my grandmother, and I can tell you that one of the reasons I am doing this is in honor of my mother's work ethic and commitment as a writer. I am happy I will be able to dedicate the book to her, which is far more important than ever receiving a dollar.

Your birthday is April 21st? ......wow

AlexHahn said:

BartVanHemelen said:

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You can always print it yourself.

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Still, Alex could look into the many services that offer "print on demand". Or perhaps a Kickstarter. Can't see a "real" publisher being interested in printing a multi-volume bio of Prince, TBH.

The kickstarter option definitely interests me. As far as Matt Thorne and Ronin Ro go, they seem reasonably well researched, but don't have enough narrative flow for my liking.

[Edited 7/20/16 17:30pm]

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Ronin's was hor-ri-ble. Dude just didn't seem to have any interest in the subject. He claimed Prince was working on TBA in December 1987 -- and no, that wasn't a typo.

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WRT the Kickstarter: don't get your hopes up. The Prince community is cheap as fuck, and despite so many of them bitching about the price of Prince bios, very few of them actually buy and read any of them. Hell, even pointing them to PrinceVault seems to be insulting for a lot of them. I mean, there recently was a thread in which someone complained about Per Nilsen being too negative. Per Nilsen!

BartVanHemelen said:

AlexHahn said:

The kickstarter option definitely interests me. As far as Matt Thorne and Ronin Ro go, they seem reasonably well researched, but don't have enough narrative flow for my liking.

[Edited 7/20/16 17:30pm]

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Ronin's was hor-ri-ble. Dude just didn't seem to have any interest in the subject. He claimed Prince was working on TBA in December 1987 -- and no, that wasn't a typo.

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WRT the Kickstarter: don't get your hopes up. The Prince community is cheap as fuck, and despite so many of them bitching about the price of Prince bios, very few of them actually buy and read any of them. Hell, even pointing them to PrinceVault seems to be insulting for a lot of them. I mean, there recently was a thread in which someone complained about Per Nilsen being too negative. Per Nilsen!

I agree, I felt that both both Thorne and Ro seemed pretty uninterested in the subject. What I would ilke to bring is the passion of a fan, a measure of journalistic focus, and an approach to writing that will make this a story, rather than just a collection of facts.

BartVanHemelen said:

Ronin's was hor-ri-ble. Dude just didn't seem to have any interest in the subject. He claimed Prince was working on TBA in December 1987 -- and no, that wasn't a typo.

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WRT the Kickstarter: don't get your hopes up. The Prince community is cheap as fuck, and despite so many of them bitching about the price of Prince bios, very few of them actually buy and read any of them. Hell, even pointing them to PrinceVault seems to be insulting for a lot of them. I mean, there recently was a thread in which someone complained about Per Nilsen being too negative. Per Nilsen!

I checked out Ronin's book at the library. I returned it in under 24 hours. One of the worst piles of half-ass garbage I'd seen in a while.

I can't believe the folks who have stated Nilsen was negative. His book was quite balanced, and even at times favorable, with Prince and the folks around him. DMSR is a go-to for me when references dates, etc. I've always said a great Prince fan is as much of a lover as a fighter. Critique and truth should come just as easily as praise and awards.

Wow, this sounds awesome--really looking forward to it!

BartVanHemelen said:

technicolouredclimax said:

This sounds fantastic. I bought Possessed about 4-5 years ago just after I had read DMSR. I had to buy it from America (I'm in the UK) on Amazon for about £10. It took about a month to reach me and when it did, it was an old library book which I assume someone didn't return! I really enjoyed it, more than DMSR, which read more like a text book. Then about 6 months later, Amazon emailed me to ask if I wanted to sell it back to them for double what I had paid for it! Of course, I did and that's the end of my little Possessed story. Great to see that new research will be taking place of the later years and I would be willing to pay for a hard copy, totally not interested in a download. Also I think a kickstarter or crowdfunder is a great avenue to explore and I totally disagree that "Prince fans" are cheap and won't cough up. I think, given the opportunity, the vast majority of us would love to purchase and own properly released music, videos, concerts, books and just about any interesting merchandise. Can't wait for this new book.

That's nuts--I paid $10 for a used hardback copy not that many years ago.

Unless it's called 'Purple Reign; nudge nudge, wink wink' and starts with "The pint-sized star, with hits like When Doves Cry and 1999", iiiiii ain't having none of it!

2freaky4church1 said:

selah said:

would rather have read his autobiography

Me too. That's what I was waiting on. Think I'll just wait for the first 20 reviews on Amazon and the Org, then make my decision from there as to whether I want to buy it or not.

Identity said:

Let's be nice. Alex knows his shit.

Ditto. Before anyone consider lighting torches and brandishing pitchforks if Prince isn't elevated to sainthood in future writings, how about we give Alex the benefit of the doubt. He isn't a hit piece author.

Those would be the ones buying candle holders with Prince emblazoned as a saint in robes on the side...