fourletterwords said:

TrivialPursuit said:

I don't think he was hurting post-1999, despite the loss of the children. It is sorta very Prince that he ignores the problem by immersing himself into something else to distract him. This time, it was the JW faith. Larry saw an opportunity and swooped right in to get another tither to the Kingdom Hall.

I remember his anti-gay comment around the 3121 time (I think), and he got a lot of backlash for that. Enough to the point that he clarified his comments, and (to me) glazed over it. Despite Prince talking about gay folks in his music earlier on, and playing with sexuality - at some point I felt like "I'm a Prince fan, and I'm a gay man. But I'm not a gay Prince fan." Again, the Rave/TRC era started that with the disconnect.

Again, he was a dog with a new bone, and he wanted everyone to know it.

The 2006 comments were also super-troubling. Wendy was quoting as saying "he used to like the gay element in his band" when he had verbally attacked her sexuality in/around the early 00's... I believe P always astutely knew a hint of mysterious orientation was a big seller in the post Bowie/Stones music world and played it to the hilt to get on the map. That is not to say there wasn't some grain of truth to it all (if so, later completely disavowed)... I am constantly reminded of the 2010 BET award speech. He was so emotional and resigned-seeming, speaking of wild younger years and past mistakes ... it of course remains unclear exactly to what he was referring. That for me was the first public crack in the armor.

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Prince openly admitted to doing things early in his career that he was not proud of. I respect him for saying that. That shows maturity. He liked to push things as far as he could go, but some of it seems tame, when compared to some of the artists we have today.

cloveringold85 said:

Prince openly admitted to doing things early in his career that he was not proud of. I respect him for saying that. That shows maturity. He liked to push things as far as he could go, but some of it seems tame, when compared to some of the artists we have today.

Like being inclusive of LGBTQ people? Like not being a religious zealot? People washed his brain with religion, and forgot people's humanity in the process - at least for a while.

Then again, does it make him a hypocrite for then trying to work with W&L in 1999, or play with Wendy on Tavis, or have W&L play w/ him on the Brit awards that time (which was, by far, one of his best live TV sets ever)? In the end, Prince pontificated when it suited him.

One could speculate (probably incorrectly though) that he thought the whole JW world was going to be his new fan base after TRC, and he could oust the rest of us, then he backed off that.

soladeo1 said:

For me, Exhibit A is... And the lead single from Prince's 3 album release Emancipation is...!!!!!! Betcha By Golly Wow????? Defu...??

true dat! so many great tracks then.... ??

TrivialPursuit said:

fourletterwords said:

Stauros. Totally insane. Really tested me.

OMG, Let me tell you that whole TRC period with the preaching, dictatorial dogma, "theocratic order" chants, and overall know-it-all-ism in his interviews and his lyrics - it had me boiling. I really felt a disconnect from a man and a musical hero that I'd connected to from very early on. I just didn't know him anymore. I remember him on the Today show at some point (I forget the era or period), and he talked about entropy, like he'd just learned a new word. It was like a kid who learned French in an ELO song, and they go around trying to impress everyone with their newfound vocabulary. It was just so odd.

The Graham Effect was strong with this one and the stauros bullshit. No one going to Paisley Park to watch a show wants to hear about an upright stake or pole, or that you only had one birthday or anything else he spouted.

It wasn't as much of a WTF moment for me, as it was "Who da fuq is this asshole?!" Now whether I was referencing Graham or Prince is up for you to decide. You may or may not be right on either guess. I was more mad at what he was saying, not who he was as a musician.

the white towel era..

TrivialPursuit said:

cloveringold85 said:

Prince openly admitted to doing things early in his career that he was not proud of. I respect him for saying that. That shows maturity. He liked to push things as far as he could go, but some of it seems tame, when compared to some of the artists we have today.

Like being inclusive of LGBTQ people? Like not being a religious zealot? People washed his brain with religion, and forgot people's humanity in the process - at least for a while.

Then again, does it make him a hypocrite for then trying to work with W&L in 1999, or play with Wendy on Tavis, or have W&L play w/ him on the Brit awards that time (which was, by far, one of his best live TV sets ever)? In the end, Prince pontificated when it suited him.

One could speculate (probably incorrectly though) that he thought the whole JW world was going to be his new fan base after TRC, and he could oust the rest of us, then he backed off that.

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I think he was referring to his bad behavior and on-stage antics. He said "don't do what I've done". I'm sure he had regrets and paid the price. It was so nice to see him mellow out in his 30s & 40s.

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I don't get that whole JW thing. Kinda weird if you ask me. I think he turned more to faith after the loss of his Son, but it seems as if he was trying to have his cake and eat it too. He was Pastor Nelson by day and then he was Prince by night, LOL

clover: Pastor Nelson Oh, man, that church would be a prollem, son.

For me, it was the emoticon/number thing he used when he wrote. Oh, man, that crap was annoying. I always felt like I was reading the diary of a really young girl, even when I was a fairly young girl myself. Shortening words here and there, cool; I do it myself. But EVERYTHING? You need to cut it. It's just lazy, and doesn't make you look smart, it makes you look like you're too lazy to write like a normal person. And when other people started doing it, I wanted to start breaking out lighters and burning the written word all the time.

TheEnglishGent said:

The name change is a clear winner I should think. Just think about hearing the announcement without any of the context or explanations. What was our initial reaction?

Everyone around back then had context.

Passing away, and finding out that it was drug related.

TrivialPursuit said:

MMJas said:

His "bare" buttocks on the live show must have been quite a WTF moment for some viewers. lol

Except they weren't bare at all. The designer recently stated how it was flesh colored translucent fabric that covered his butt. People thought they saw his ass, but they didn't.

And where are those pants on display at Paisley?! Where is the damn Diamonds and Pearls room?! LOL Pulll them muthuafukkas out.

By the way, y'all think he farted when he was on MTV and turned around like that? Like, I wonder if he had some beans & rice before hand, with a nice spinach salad, and got all robust and gassy, then just cracked one off during "Gett Off".

Tracee Ellis Ross told a great story about that night on a talk show - Ellen I think. She was 12 yrs old and backstage with her mom, Diana Ross. Prince came over after the performance and met her. Then he turned around and she saw the butt and freaked. She told her mom it was awful and Diana said -no it's cool.