Fellow Fans -
Seeking to start email dialogue with 3-5 hardcore fans to discuss/analyze/review Prince's work. I'm hoping to find those that have an in-depth knowledge of his projects (as a writer, performer, collaborator), his proteges (The Time, The Family, Sheila E., Mazarati, Madhouse, Vanity/Apollonia, Jill Jones, Ingrid Chavez, Bria Valente, etc)

I am a big fan of the major pods on Prince (princepodcast.com, peachandblack.com). These groups do great work and offer excellent insight. My goals are broader, I want to create an outlet for a diverse group of respected and educated fans to come together and celebrate the Prince experience from early beginnings to present.

If interested, contact me through my profile and we can get an email introduction started. Depending on responses, I will try my best to get back to everyone quickly. To start, tell me how you got into Prince (what was the one experience/song that solidified you as a fan), and what definitive Prince era (78-81, 82-85, 86-89, 90-97, 98-03, 04-09) is your favorite and why.

I look forward to hearing from some of you.

Your post took me back and reminded me of the good ol' days. I became a fan in the summer of '81 when a girl I was really into turned me on to the Dirty Mind album. I still remember listening to it in her room and being mesmerized. That unique blend of funk and new wave changed my life forever. Shortly after I remember hearing The Time album and noticing the similarities. And then the anticipation of Prince's upcoming album, which would be Controversy. I went through all this in about a 4 month period. I think that was the birth of the Minneapolis Sound as we would come to know it. By the way, The Time is still my fav album of all time.

bigchuck said:

Thanks for sharing bigchuck. You and I have similar paths to Prince. I was introduced to his music by my girlfriend at the time, who had Controversy on the turntable non-stop. The sound was new to me, but the secret sauce was the funk. That sound lead me to the "What Time Is It?" album, which remains an all time favorite going on 30 years later! There have been a lot of highs and lows in his output since then, but it seems consistent that no matter what brought you to Prince, the era of that particular period is what you hang on to. I know a few fans that never heard of Prince until "P-Control" on the Gold Experience. They are die-hard fans today, but hold the opinion that "Dolphin" is some of his best work. I'm polar opposite of that opinion, but we all have celebrated his entire catalog, just varying views on the pinnacle of his creative genius.

kdcole99 said:

WOWWWW!!!!! Dolphin???? I'm amazed at how all of us can hold such strong affections at such different points along the purple timeline. To me it all peaked at Purple Rain. Everything up to then had been radically groundbreaking and dynamic. I'm even talking about both Time albums and Vanity and Appolonia. I can still listen to every album up to that point without having to skip any dud songs. In my opinion the difficulty of trying to meet post Purple Rain expections brought on strains and pressures that derailed the unique flair that got me hooked. I'm very thankful to have been around for the advent of the Minneapolis Sound. I guess the bad side of that is maybe having been exposed to that extreme level of funk it's hard for anything else to fill the void. I'm still appreciative for the gems that shine through now, like The Marrying Kind, and Valentina. But c'mon now....whatcha got that's gonna' move ya' as hard as Lady Cab Driver or Computer Blue?

I enjoy hearing the reasons of how we became Prince fans and what makes our favorite songs and eras so meaningful. Maybe someone can convince me of what I'm missing on the new stuff.

kdcole99 said:

You already have the thread here http://prince.org/msg/7/329286.

This does not belong in this forum