alright all U purple people. i just walked in2 my house back from the video shoot of Prince's newest music video, "musicology". i will leave all the other minor/major details 2 the other people that were there. this here is the "treatment" that is given 2 all the key characters straight from the director, the artist n the production people. so, this will give U some idea on what 2 Xpect in the video. (nobody did'nt say i could not say anything about it N i did'nt sign any waiver, so there:nana:)
MUSICOLOGY
This video will bring real music, real dancing N real band performance smack in2 the living rooms of the everyday masses. We R really gonna get down. It is about having a great time. Letting go N just having fun. In this processed N un-organic music media world, Musicolgy will B like a reminder N wake up call 2 all. A reminder & enlightenment 2 the zoned out viewers N a WAKE UP CALL 2 our fellow artists out there. Hello?!? Is anybody listening?

Back in the day, people actually dressed when they went out. Clothes were pressed, buttons weren't missing. Zippers were zipped up. folks wore real hats N fly overcoasts. Maybe even a dope scarf 2 match. Precision. Nothing sloppy. We R going 2 bring all that back. Inspired by the 60s Doo-wop fly style, we R going 2 hold a news event/TV show where Prince N the NPG will perform MUSICOLOGY. A cross between the old school Soul Train(I mean the very first season in the 60s) N old school American Bandstand, we will create our own event. It will B classic. Actual news crews will B there; cameras filming, photos flashing. Media mayhem.

Very opening: Dee's Record Shop in the mid 1960-'s...The small boy is going 2 the record store 2 buy a CONCERT ticket...N the sign reads...Musicology 45 FREE...with every Concert Ticket!! a close-up of a small hand slapping ONE DOLLAR on the counter N getting in return-a concert Ticket N the new 45 by the artist PRINCE "MUSICOLOGY". The little boy runs out of the shop as fast as he can, those same small hands pick up his green 5 speed bicycle (with the banana seat, naturally) N slams the 45 on2 the handlebars and pedals like mad 2 the most cherished of all his toys: HIS RECORD PLAYER! Closeup of the needle dropping on this new joint. This starts our song. The little boy cranks his record player and fantasizes about being on T.V. Singing in2 the vacuum cleaner handle, he pantomimes the words. This boy is tearing it up in his room. Meanwhile, his dad, Steve Harvey, is trying 2 kick it in his living room N even catch a quick nap. All of a sudden Steve hears loud thumps up in his son's room. A close up of Steve's face looking up 2 the ceiling 2wards his son's room, registers the "I hope it ain't playing one of my records!!" vibe. Steve gets up N heads up 2 his son's room. At one point during the song, we hear the line "These R my records". Steve Harvey, who plays the kid's father, pops his head in 2 see if indeed he is playing his records. He looks at his sweaty son N sees that in the corner of the room, his son has "borrowed" his records without his permission. We will stop the music N go live here. This is where Steve can improvise. He walks N grabs his records N storms out. The kid resumes the Musicology song. We will cut back N 4th between the young kid N the real-time Prince N the NPG.

At the very beginning of the song, I thought it would B dope 2 start off on different close-ups of Prince, the NPG N the various instruments. Mystery. We tease the audience by slowly revealing the location. Per musical hit, each image will light up. We will rig the lights so that it starts off in complete silhouette yet when each musical note is played, different parts of the stage will light up on beat. We finally reveal Prince N the NPG playing live at this event N looking fly as ever. An amazing dancer is on a platform behind them doing her thing. She is no joke.

We will have a truly fashionable looking audience, stylized 2 a T. During the first verse we will show various dancers, audience members, couples entering this event. We will showcase their clothes, their walk, the way they carry themselves. Think the Lauryn Hill "That Thing" video. The fly people get in no problem. We will have a scene where one dude shows up in a disjointed "athletic" gear look. He has sweatband on his forearm, cocked 2 the side like he is making some political statement. The doorman looks at him N gives the camera a look. He then shakes his head 2 the athletic cat like "We don't play that". Right then we have Steve Harvey (looking sharp as ever) walk in with his son. And of course they glide right past the doorman.

We will also shoot the coolest dancers doing their funkiest moves. We will get a choreographer (like Fatima Robinson) who will bring back old school dances from back in the day. We can even do a lineup. We R talking about original dances that will make the viewers get off the couch N jump up N down.

Prince N the NPG R really holding it down on stage. The whole show is staged in concert like the Beatles or Elvis complete with RIOT POLICE. The cameras will cover their performance with cool framings N funky angles. We will even cut 2 the POV of the news cameras; documentary-style. The audience is going bananas. The mania has begun. The joint gets more N more packed as kids R starting 2 push N try 2 get on stage. Security has 2 call in back up.We will have actual cops come in through the side entrances. This does not faze Prince N the NPG cuz this is how they do it! The cops eventually have 2 get on stage with their backs 2 the camera holding back the mob. By the end of the song, there is near riot on stage! Kids R running around dancing like crazy. They R everywhere! The cops eventually have 2 hustle Prince N the NPG off stage. We show an overhead shot of them getting hauled off stage. We also show the footage the newscasters R capturing. It's all good, cuz THAT was a PARTY!!!

At some point we show that the little boy is in the audience...perhaps a security guard can see him dancing so good, he puts him up onstage...Of course- he TEARS it UP! The crowd goes crazy...little boy goes in2 a split N when he comes up, PRINCE lifts him up N hands him 2 a security guard...They smile at one another. PRECIOUS.

Meanwhile, we have been integrating our kid back in the bedroom through out the piece. In a way it seems like maybe the kid is imagining what he will or would do once he went 2 the conert. The more pandemonium on stage, the more chaos is occuring in our little boy's room. He is swinging the vacuum around N really getting in2 some moves he has made up. I thought it would B cool 2 have the kid's mama come at the very end and open the door: "What is going on in here?!!!?".We cut 2 the kid with his eyes cloesed smiling like a rock star, his hands up in the air like he is thanking his imaginary audience and is VICTORIOUS.

Love,


Sanaa Hamri

now we all know with editing the whole video may not turn out this way.


PEACE N B WiLD!!!
[This message was edited Mon Oct 13 8:58:50 PDT 2003 by 4jamiestarr]

This sounds fun.

Cool!>> But How sounds like the SONG ??

Sounds a little similar to Outkast / Andre 3000's "Hey Ya" video in parts

Sounds c o o l !!

If this is true, it might be great.
I hope this will be released this year, but we'll see.

I couldn't be bothered to read it all.

GOOD POST. well done, that sounds like a PROPER promo video...

i just pray they don't let Prince near the editing suite.

Yeah, but who will PLAY the video???
MTV? maybe once...

Revolution said:

If he's going through Universal, it'll get played.

2 hell with the video, How does the song sound?Is it like anything in his past?

His videos are nearly always shit with the exception of a few. . lets just pray that the song is top notch and saves the day and a lot of arguments about how crap Prince has become.

Song is cool. Video will be cool.

More info on www.thebumpsquad.com later 2day.

For what Prince looked like last night and what he wore, peep the picture on:

www.thebumpsquad.com
[This message was edited Sun Oct 12 7:48:35 PDT 2003 by jseven]

the song is REAL COOL. in fact the paid dancers in the video that R not "real Prince" fans(more in2 hiphop) they were telling me that they dug the song. they were saying the song was tight. they were liking the drum beat. but if U ask me, I would have 2 say it was ALL GOOD! I wish I had it now.


PEACE N B WiLD!!!

the video sounds cool, but what does the music sound like,anything like the Outcast video, I loved that video, I look forward to the video, and hearing more,thanks

4jamiestarr said:

Well the video actually sound really good, as in well produced, which is very bizarre for Skipper!

And the song, does it sound all retro-Sly like the uptempo tracks on TRC, or is he going for something new?

What people fell to realize is that Prince's Music Videos of late don't get much play because he didnt have the major backing to pay out money for airplay...Prince is with a major label now that will back him and pay the right amounts of money to get heavy rotation...Mtv will play his videos if they see money...just like every other video played its all about money and Prince isn't willing to pay tons and tons of money for a music video out of his own pocket, he'd probably go broke.

So with Universal backing him, he will have a hit music video and they will pay for the song to spin on radio also.

So Mtv will most likely make a big deal of this video.
Stupid comments about Mtv playing his video once is ridiculous, its not because Prince hates MTV, that they won't show his videos, its because it takes money these days to show an artist video...they don't show crap videos by Pink and Britney, because they like them, its all because of dollar signs!

They showed 'Greatest Romance' 5 times a day and so did vh1...because arista payed them too.

I have everytime Mtv played that video recorded and it was a good amount of times...but due to the problems at arista with clive, that deal sinked!

Some of that video actually sounds like John L. and Prince. Like the kid getting put up on stage like when John put Prince on stage at a James Brown show. And John was ALWAYS dressed pretty sharp. And other parts sounds like the My Name is Prince video. Let's just hope the song is hot.

NPD313 said:

-
Thanks, I have been posting the exact same thing on this site for years but, some people just do not believe that it takes money to get your music on the radio and videos on MTV. If Prince had paid radio stations to play his NPG stuff he would have gone broke a long time ago. He was wise to sit it out and wait for the right deal.

Commercial comeback anyone?

MattyJam said:

I think I would actually prefer if Prince's music was our little secret. It would be lame if the whole world got into him all of a sudden. I've been buying his shit since day one. Well more like day two, but you get the picture.

So, for the people who were there at the shooting...

how is the song?

What does it sound like?

Does it sound like a Prince and the NPG effort or just Prince in the studio? (since TRC probably not so clear anymore)

Was the band there? Which members?... Horns, the new keyboard players?...

INFO guys, you've all slept enough already!

antoon said:

O.K., I was there with alot of my friends from the BUMPSQUAD. the song is tuff. it is R&B, Hip Hop with Prince & the NPG style.(just trying 2 break it down as simple as possible.) mind U this song was done sometime ago with a complete different band than that who he is getting ready 2 tour with. however his new asian flavor keyboardist girl, RaD(sheila e. former keyboardist) is in this video. again, overall, the song is tuff.

PEACE N B WiLD!!!
[This message was edited Sun Oct 12 13:35:21 PDT 2003 by 4jamiestarr]

EverlastingNow said:

I agree. during the filming and reading the treatment it reminded me of reading N hearing stories of Prince getting 2 see James Brown when he was very young and be put on2 the stage 2 dance. the little kid in the video is a cute kid. i can't wait 2 see this video. but I have always been a fan of all Prince's videos. i just dig the brotha's music N style.


PEACE N B WiLD!!!

4jamiestarr said:

Thanks for the review 4jamiestarr. It looks like shaping up to become sth to look forward to...

How about Prince's style? did he have the same kind of outfit as those he wore during the ona tour or is it different?
oh new stuff, new excitment!

dnaplaya said:

I wuz thinkin' the same thing. . .

AM I the only one who thinks this video will suck ass?

NPD313 said:

How about you getting a clue and realising that MTV had a great amount of support for Prince in 1995, playing plenty of the videos for his independent projects. Like "Dolphin": used to launch VH-1 in Europe. Or the TWO SPECIALS in January 1996. Etc.

BartVanHemelen said:

Actually, NPD313 is correct. MTV only show great amounts of support in exchange for great amounts of money. You can be sure somebody was paying for the support Prince received in 95/96. If you find this hard to believe give them a call (they don't bite!) and they'll tell you the same - you don't get as much as one second of airplay on MTV without $$$.