These are not my words:

Ive been a die hard P fan (NOT FAM) since I heard the entire SOTT album back in 1987 while driving to take my college SAT`s. I look back at that day as somewhat of a turning point. I remember how I was listening to the album and saying to myself that it was a masterpiece. Since then I have stuck with P. thru the highs and numerous lows. I always been the butt of jokes because my friends and coworkers knew I was a P fan. However thru all the jokes and puns my faith in the man never waivered. I was deep into his music and to me that was the bottom line. I remember the glory days of P. when one would rush to the "wrecka-sto" on the morning of a P. release just so I could buy it on both CD and cass. I remember setting my VCR to record BET in themiddle of the night because they were showing a Prince block of videos. But above all else I use to respect the man. These days the respect has gone and the faith (along with the music) has died. P has been on a steady decline since his parting with WB and that is a fact. The music has been sub-par at best (there are a few exceptations to speak of) and the NPGMC hasn`t been the outlet of new music that the fans (NOT FAMS) were lead to believe. His embracement of JW`s now overshadows the creative musical spark which all P. fans (not FAMS) remembered.

It shocks me how P. fails to respect the majority of his die hard fan (NOT FAM) base with some of the stunts he pulls. P`s recent actions against FAN based sites just goes to validate my point. P. and his legal team do not have the time, resources (IE $$$), or backbone to go after those who make the bootleg recordings (IE Moonraker, Sabatoge, or Brave DVD) so instead he takes his frustration out on the fan sites who do not have the money to fight back. I liken it to the schoolyard bully who picks on the little kids and takes their lunch money; but is too afraid to pick on the kids bigger than him. Lets look reality in its ugly face here for a second; what harm did Guide2Prince.com do? NONE. The reality is that P. didn`t like it and he wanted it gone. Some of you guys out there are thinking that his legal team did this; thats not true. Ones lawyer only does what his or her`s clients tell them to do. Lets look reality in the face again; why do you think the Guide2Prince thread was locked??? Because PP didn`t like the responses that were being put up on the tread. A majority of the posts were unhappy with P.s actions and they let their voices be heard. One sided censorship here at NPGMC runs amuck doesn`t it?

The bottom line is that P can`t stop the boots reguardless of what he does. FANS (not FAMS) like me will always buy them and the internet makes is that much easier. You just point and click a few times and they are on their way to your door via UPS. From time to time I look back at that warm spring day where I became a devoted P. FAN (not FAM). Ignorance is bliss they say.

That's a downer.

Anxiety said:

Naw, Anx. What's a downer is the responses he's been getting.

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

I'm sure you're right - I'm loathe to even check it out, but I think it's cool that you posted the person's thoughts over here so it wasn't a complete waste of their time for them to share their thoughts before the post was unceremoniously deleted by the purple thought police.

i have 2 admit he has made a good point. there was some awesome boots that came out during the time prince was signed to WB. now, i just sit and wait 4 that emale from npgmc 2 let me know i got something new cumming. ahhh, how i miss those days going down 2 mayhem in santa monica and picking up some new boots...


PEACE N B WiLD!!!

i can hear the keys jinglin over there right now...pity too, cuz that's a good testimonial/declaration.

What forum was this posted in? I did a quick search and couldn't find it. Probably locked or deleted.


That was an incredibly heartfelt and well spoken post and I know many of us can empathise with its author. So sad but true. While I haven't gone out to buy boots, I do understand and appreciate the need for these unreleased songs. If Prince isn't giving us the quality music, we have to go seek it out.

Too sad.

319

319 said:

It was in the U Tell Us forum. I saw PP9 lurking so it may be gone already.

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

damn, damn, damn!

Anxiety said:

Anx,

Don't bother. They've put up a thread now saying not to discuss boots or the closure of sites as it's "divisive". I felt like posting a "Let's not talk about religion because it's divisive" topic.

I've also posted a couple of replies in the last couple of days relating to boots, and felt like I was banging my head against a brick wall in there. So have decided I'm only ever going in there again when some new music becomes available. The forums and chat just wind me up
[This message was edited Tue Jan 20 15:27:14 PST 2004 by Rico]

Rico said:

I know whatcha mean - I went over there and posted a few days ago after a long period of not getting involved in any NPGMC foolishness, and I just wound up angry at all the rabid weirdness going on. If I ever experienced true "unity" over there, I'd probably have a heart attack.

Let me explain something.. As a musician I depend on my albums to make a living. Album sales put money in my pocket from years of hard work and labor practicing my skill on instruments, singing, recording and mixing. When I finish an album or single on my small record label it may have taken me hundreds of hours to complete it. Now dig this.. This is what I cannot stand!...


WHEN SOMEONE WHO HAD ABSOLOUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH MY CREATIVE PROCESS, TIME, AND EFFORT MAKES MONEY OFF OF MY CRAFT WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!


There is nothing that disturbs me the most. Sure people may want unreleased Prince tracks but if he didn't release them that means that he obviously is unhappy with them! It is sort of like listening to new Tupac or Jeff Buckley tracks when these artist are deceased. I "know" that these artist had not intended the music to sound as it does but greedy record labels "remix" studio outtakes for greed and profit.

That is all it is! How do you feel when you purchase an album that was "burned" rather than brought?? The artist never makes a penny from that "burned" cd. The person who makes the money is the silly dude who "burned" the album! It is ill-legal and a slap in the face of the artist. I find it funny that people will critique an album after they just purchased it from a bootlegger! If that artist knew you purchased it that way trust me, they would certainly tell you of their displeasure.

jojofran said:

i totally agree.


now let's persuade him to officially release madhouse16. my favorite number is 16 i'm curious

You know, I used to be in a band for a couple of years. We were pretty well received on a local basis, though we all went our own ways before we ever took it to the next level. But we played a LOT. And people liked supporting us, because they knew we needed the support. They bought our music because they knew we needed the money. They bought tickets instead of weaseling their way in because they knew we wouldn't be getting much of anything for playing.

That said, whenever I would run into someone who had a dubbed copy of our music, I thought it was cool - someone was listening to us, and someone liked us enough to make a copy for their buddy. When people told me they taped one of our shows, I thought it was WAY cool - I loved it that they were into our stuff enough to tape it and to offer it to us.

Now, was music how I was supporting myself during this time? No. I was doing so much stuff around that time, I have no idea how I crammed all my activity into the hours of a day, and being in a band was just part of the pie, albeit a very demanding part of the pie.

But we did release a record, and we did put a song on a compilation album, and yeah, we had our share of broke-ass college students who couldn't fork out the five bucks we were asking for our record, but I never recalled any of us giving those folks any shade or treating them any differently than those who had bought our "official product".

Our heads were so up the ass of making music, of our love for writing and performing music, I honestly believe we didn't think about such things. Maybe that's why we didn't last very long, I dunno - but all I can say is that for those two years, being in a band was one of the most joyous experiences I will ever know, and when someone said they appreciated a song I wrote, it was worth all the profits and royalties and monetary compensation in the world.

Maybe the mere words of appreciation get old after a while - if so, I'm glad I didn't stick around long enough to get that jaded.

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

that is truth!

Rico said:

U really SHOULD have said that
(about religion being 'divisive' - it is! As can be plainly seen of late!)

HYPOCRITES.

I know, I have an idea...why dont we call boots 'shoes' from now on? It's kinda Gay too - so, hey:
DOUBLE FUCKIN TROUBLE!

PS: IVY - I LOVE U GIRL!
[This message was edited Thu Jan 22 16:43:51 PST 2004 by bananacologne]