RodeoSchro said:

Not sure what you mean, but...

Howard is a huge fan of Prince's music (and Prince sent Howard alone a pre-Super Bowl recording of that medley he did with "Best of You"). Even before slamming the weekend performance, he prefaced it by saying that he loves Prince's work.

Was Howard overly critical of the lighting? Who knows? But the real point of his screed was that Prince is an incredibly self-indulgent, spoiled, nutty prick.

I know how this'll go over with the Kool-Aid-drinkers here, but can't say I disagree.

Anxiety said:

Exactly, I think he feels his presence was not specifically acknowledged by Prince and probably felt, as a celebrity he should have been up front, only to find he was just one in the bunch among the crowd.

Anxiety said:

[Edited 10/13/08 17:08pm]

riverdean7 said:

Not at all, Howy is lame because it's clear that this was his first Prince event and didn't know what to expect. He left out of a great party without giving it a chance. Hell, if all the freakin lights were out do you think anyone would have stayed? I know I'm not going to party with no one in a pitch black room with all the dam lights out! I would be the first one out that joint.

i know the man still has a healthy fan base, but howard stern hasn't been relevant to popular culture since he put on a "fartman" costume for the MTV awards, and how long ago was that? he needs to be grateful that he was even invited in.[/quote]

Really, Anx? The man single-handedly made an entire new technology relevant. Satellite radio would be history without the Stern channels. In fact, Sirius went from 500,000 subscribers before Howard signed on, to 12 Million since he began. I listened to the show today, and, while I feel that Howard was out of line, you can't really dismiss his success. And besides...SO many people argue that Prince hasn't been "relevant" since the Mid-80's.

jackmitz said:

Really, Anx? The man single-handedly made an entire new technology relevant. Satellite radio would be history without the Stern channels. In fact, Sirius went from 500,000 subscribers before Howard signed on, to 12 Million since he began. I listened to the show today, and, while I feel that Howard was out of line, you can't really dismiss his success. And besides...SO many people argue that Prince hasn't been "relevant" since the Mid-80's.[/quote]

i'm not saying he hasn't been successful, but he hasn't been as omnipresent as a media presence since going the sirius route, and i think that decision impacted his mainstream appeal. to the average joe, howard stern doesn't matter like he did in the 90s. most folks probably don't even know what he's doing these days.

and sure, the same could be said about prince, though at least in the past few years he's had some high profile moments like his superbowl performance, the grammy performance, the RNRHOF performance, that have refreshed him in the collective consciousness of the mainstream public, and while his every move may not be received hungrily by the masses, i'd say it wouldn't be a stretch to bet that prince is more on people's radar these days than stern.

I don't think Howard would make that up at all. He seemed really upset about it . Howard always wanted to see prince live. Howard has always called prince a genious. Was it dark in there or not? I could see prince pulling that frustration game with his fans.

rusty1 said:

Look at the pictures. It was not dark. You could totally see everyone on the stage. I don't know what the back of the room looked like, but if he is complaining that he couldn't see Prince and the band, he is lying.

I never liked Howard Stern.

ddsummer said:

He became famous farting and having naked fake lesbians on his lap. Big whoop. I used to listen to his show in the 90's and it was so repetitive.... Naked lesbians every day.

myloveis4ever said:

Ace said:

I'm with Ace.

funkteer said:

I didn't like it when he made fun of or rather exploited the mentally challenged people. But I always cracked up when he said he was hung like a pimple cuz I just know that shit is true. Hung like a pimple and brain the size of a pine nut!

DiminutiveRocker said:

About the lighting... I'll trust the perceptions of the people I personally know who were there. If they say it was fine.. I believe it was fine.

As far as being a "self-indulgent, spoiled, nutty prick."... that sure does describe him to a tee. Stern that is.

Stern has always been one of the most arrogant degrading assholes in the radio industry. Never liked him. While I've heard him say positives about Prince in the past... it still doesn't change that fact.

And that Robin chick.... talking about Prince playing pre-recorded music...? Hard to take a woman who shoves coffee up her ass seriously.

oh man! I love howard but come on man! Howard YOU sound like the asshole here.
"I wanna sit" "I wanna see better" me me me! fuck you howard...you know I love you but YOU my dear are an asshole so I guess it takes one to know one.
danm, I had high hopes that Prince woulda kicked howards ass (musically) and howard woulda raved and raved about it and perhaps had Prince on his show. damn!

Shorty said:

I think Howard wanted to turn the party into a Howard Stern show rather than what it was. He's just seeking attention. There was nothing wrong with the lighting. You could see just fine.
The lights in question are flood lights used by photogs, but there weren't any photogs in the room so I am a bit confused why they were there.
Also the lights were very very bright and distracting that is why Prince had them turned off. For a Prince fan, he sure was a party poop. Prince does not have to change his lighting to suit one asshole.

rusty1 said:

Stern is hilarious...But yeah, he overplayed it...In a huge way..

Anyone that was there will tell u that Prince wasn't playing in the dark...

Stern is right. For people who paid to see the guy perform, they should be able to SEE him. Prince should have made sure the lighting worked. He does crap like this all the time & people usually laugh at him: when he played The Today Show to promote C&D in 1996, he wanted to play with screens set up so the people who had waited out overnight couldn't see him. When he played Good Morning America a couple of summers ago, he kept a screen up blocking the view of thousands of people who had waited out overnight from seeing the soundcheck. No one else pulls that crap.

And yet people here think it's acceptable?

Love Stern or hate him, he has a much larger audience than Prince.

viewaskew said:

Wow that's depressing. Prince got fan issues maybe? i'd still rather see Prince in the dark than Howard in the light

murph said:

Stern wasn't at the NY concert - he was at a private party in a hotel suite.

DiminutiveRocker said:

huh? Stern was at a private party in a hotel suite but it was in NY and it was the same gig everyone is talking about.

i don't understand why some people are still defending stern's complaint when plenty of other people were at that show and they didn't experience what he's describing.

although, i guess this is as good a time as any for me to say that i thought it was in really poor taste for prince to set that big basket of kittens on fire at the end of "u got the look". i was going to keep my mouth shut about it because i didn't want prince's camp to be upset with the org for being too negative and critical, but i can't help it. i'm an animal lover and i think prince is evil for setting an enormous wicker basket full of kittens on fire during last friday night's show.

and i know what some of you people are going to say. "you weren't there, how would you know" and "i was there and he didn't set any kittens on fire."

you know what? your precious "eyewitness reports" are only FACTS. where i come from, facts are for the weak. making things up to support my opinion is what real men do. so stick that pie in your hat and smoke it.

Anxiety said:

aw geez!! i want my kitty back!!

I was there.. and it WAS dark. There was no spot on Prince... and barely any lights at all, actually. In fact, I was jammed up against a post and had one foot up on a little metal base of some sort... and then I realized it was the sole light that was shining on the (stage) right side of the stage.

It was a minimal set up. Appropriate, since the room was tiny. But I remember thinking, "Even if they allowed photos they wouldn't be any good, as it's too dark to see Prince".

I mean, you could see him, but it was dark.

viewaskew said:

You are so right. It was pitch black. Why it was so black you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Thank god you people who weren't at either show have the courage to speak out about it. It's an outrage! And what you don't know is that Prince also refused to use a microphone, speakers, an amp--in fact, no electricity at all, and everyone in the room had to put earplugs in as well. No one could hear a thing. We all bumped around like Helen Keller in there. You're really on to something here. Don't listen to all those people who actually went to the concert and enjoyed it. They don't know what they're talking about. You know the truth!

briant said:

okej . dark or what????? i want the truth....

Efan said:

What in the world is going on here? I bet if Stern said lions and tigers were allowed to run through the room, and the ringmaster came running after them with a whip, then some elephants decided to come on through, I bet those who swear by Stern's word would believe him...
[Edited 10/14/08 16:23pm]

Efan said:

So it was pitch black. How fun.!!!

Anxiety said:

P iz evel !!!! How can he do that 2 all them kittys?

viewaskew said:

All this would be right...if it were true...lol

I was there...Prince was not playing in the dark...Was there a huge spotlight on dude? NO...Could u see Prince? Yeah..

In other words, Stern was just being Stern on this one...
[Edited 10/14/08 18:25pm]