For the first time in almost four years, I've decided to change my avatar from my usual lion's head tattoo design. I realize this is not one of the most earth-shattering expressions ever dared in the history of human dissent, but what the hell do you people WANT from me on a Monday?


I fully support Ben and his partners in the PFU project. (Clever acronym, by the way. Subtle, guys. Real subtle.) I feel disgusted, disillusioned, disoriented and...just plain DISSED...by Prince's latest round of legal bullying. It feels as if he peels away a layer of trust and communication within the fan community and just before we have a chance to fully accept the latest compromise, he and his winged monkeys begin peeling away the next layer of what we can and cannot do when referring to His Royal Royaltyness.


For a while, I will admit: I thought Prince had a point. I thought he was being an anal retentive schmuck, but I also had to admit that he had a good argument for his schmuckiness.


Today, I think the man has lost the plot and his behavior is just plain MEAN.


I'm sure if he wanted, he could send in his team of legal stormtroopers and have them mandate that we are no longer allowed to use the word "purple" on unofficial Prince fan sites because the color has become a trademark of his pop culture persona and fans are compromising his marketability, blah blah blah. We all know this is absurd. Prince HAS to know this is absurd. Powerful lawyers know this is absurd...but the messed-up thing is, Prince can afford to let his legal team play every trick in the book until the resources of us mere mortals (read: not filthy rich pop stars) are completely tapped and we have to cry a collective "UNCLE!", et voila: no more using the word "purple" on the Org.


That was just a hypothetical situation, folks. But is it THAT unrealistic?


Freedom of expression is such a tricky thing. We want to wear it as an armor, but the armor has holes. Big holes. And just because you have armor protecting you doesn't mean that you want slings and arrows aimed at you, regardless of what is protecting you.


But we know what is right and we know when we have been pushed too far. Many of us feel that this is one of those times, and we're finally ready to push back.


Already the voice is loud. How long is this thread now? Ten, eleven pages? I started this thread not even four hours ago, I think. The PFU has already made it to Perez Hilton's gossip site. Associated Press and Yahoo News won't be far behind. Even if it's a bunch of people using keyboards to lob verbal bricks through Windows2007 in the privacy of their homes, Earth to Major Nelson: there's a riot goin' on.


All of this to state ONE IMPORTANT POINT I'd like to make about my support and participation in this so-called "revolt", and it's a point I direct to The Man Himself:


Prince. Dude. C'mere.


What's this all about? What's going on here?


Wait, don't answer that. We all know you're in "no comment" mode, so you wouldn't anyway.


I do miss your dialogs with the fans, though. I just gotta be honest. When you made some particularly crackety-ass demand of fans, it was a lot easier to accept when you talked about it personally on television or in a magazine interview, or even better, on your web site or in a web chat. I still may not have agreed with you, but at least I could respect the accountability you took for some of your wackier demands .


(which reminds me: I'm STILL not going to mail my import Prince CDs to Ohio, FYI - I don't even care that you'll send me a NPS baseball cap in appreciation).


Now, Prince, now...I think you've lost touch. I think a few snarky "fams" got a little too critical when you were extending yourself to the masses via NPGMC, you didn't have a thick enough skin to deflect it, and you began building walls between you and your fanbase. Then you dug a moat. Then you installed evil robot alligators in the moat. Now you're having the alligators run around the entire damn kingdom and zap us in the butts whenever we dare to take your name in vain.


PRINCE, STOP IT. YOU'RE FREAKING US OUT.


If you think what you're doing is so righteous, talk to us. We don't have a stake in your failure, and if you think you're creating an example for a more ethical or well-conducted information superhighway, well then DAMN - clue us in a little, willya? Shoot us a manifesto or have Mel B. interview you about it or whatever makes you comfortable enough to just TALK TO US.


Otherwise, a whole bunch of people who otherwise love you are going to be turning against you, and lemme tell you - as someone who's loved your music for over half a lifetime, that feeling really sucks nasty rotten eggs.


Which brings me to what I *really* want to say, not only to Prince, but to everyone involved in the fan community, whether pro/anti/don't-give-a-damn:


I am expressing dissent in this situation because I am a fan and I love Prince.


I'm not doing this because I think Prince is a big smelly [insert profanity here] or because I hate everything about him. In fact, I wish people would think twice before they started posting that kind of adolescent venom, because it makes the rest of us look really base and stupid, kthx.


The reason I "take sides" is because I love Prince's art, and I love other people who love Prince's art, and I love the idea of new eyes and ears opening their minds to Prince's art. It's a beautiful thing, talking about it - sharing it - enjoying it.


I think about all the artists in the world - perhaps a few whose talent might even make Prince look like a second rate hack, but those who we may never know due to the fickle finger of fate - who would ADORE having the attention and dialog surrounding their work that Prince generates.


I think about all the artists who DO have Prince's level of success, and how graciously and affably they interact with their fan bases.


Perhaps most notably, I think about what's really important in all this mess: duh. THE MUSIC.


I can't blame all this on THE MUSIC. It's pure and beautiful and genius and without it, we wouldn't be here talking about him and he wouldn't have mountains of money with which to make us stop talking about him.


THE MUSIC is the nucleus of all this, good and bad, and it's innocent and pure. When I put "Lovesexy" in the stereo, the music doesn't punish me for singing along off-key or in a silly voice. When I watch my "Gett Off" videocassette, the tape doesn't scold me for making fun of Prince's bathing suit in the "Gangsta Glam" video. The end product is the end product and it's there for us to purchase and enjoy in our own way.


Prince can't ever take that away from us, and we as fans can never cheapen that enjoyment for other people. THE MUSIC is impervious to all this racket. It's above the business of being a celebrity or the indignation of fans on the internet. Food doesn't care how you eat it, cuz it's going to nourish you the same no matter if you cut it up or eat it whole.


As long as Prince continues to create music that even a FRACTION of his fans enjoy, he's still going to be giving away a part of himself for people to own, and that bit of his soul will belong to the fans with every lyric, every solo, every melody we memorize. Will he and his lawyers decide to come after THAT someday, too? I wish they would. I wanna SEE that.


So yeah. I don't hate Prince. I certainly will not be giving up my Prince collection, hanging up my Mod hat or deleting my Org account anytime soon. If anything, it makes me even prouder to be part of this fan community, because...well...LOOK at all you people!


Prince needs every single bitchy crabby grouchy potty-mouthed irritated angry hurt disgusted annoyed PISSED OFF one of us as much as we've needed his music at one point or another throughout our lives...don't let him or his monkeytroopers tell you any differently!, and if he had one ounce of sense in his head (yeah, I know, but let's pray) he would realize that he needs to AT THE VERY LEAST reach out and explain why all this is necessary.


Cuz till then, a lot of us are going to be very vocal and very angry and we're going to educate ourselves and we're going to FIGHT.


We love ya Prince, but you gotta work this one out with us before we can even DREAM of coming around to your way of thinking, if indeed your way of thinking is even worth coming around to.


These aren't words of disrespect, but words of intervention. A message in a bottle. A valentine with a razor tip. Be careful where you touch, but know it's the thought that counts.


That's about it.


Banzai, Godspeed and all that other good stuff to EVERYONE,

Anx

Anxiety said:

sorry don't get your point - what I see on this thread is a lot of vitriole from so-called fans who have already gone off Prince's music anyway - perhaps he will just weed them out of his fan-base and be left with people who actually like to listen to his music and go to his performances without all the carping and criticism and instructions

ritaw said:

ritaw said:

Really? Who's suing who here? Hang in there baby. You'll (hopefully) get to fuck him one day.

Anx, I love you even though you make me angry with your holier than thou Leo lectures. (jk) I'd even probably want to get naked with you if you were of that persuasion, but that's beside the point.

What you call "adolescent venom" is simply expressing my anger in a short and sweet way. I don't have the patience to write some long winded diatribe, so I just say FUCK HIM.

But this is why I'm so angry. If I want to say the word fuck, I'm going to, and I don't give a damn who cares about it. Prince seems to think that he's going to shut me up, and he's not. In fact, he never will. I simply won't ever allow it.

It is his position, as it was on the NPGMC, that we weren't allowed to say anything negative about him. I got sick of that noise and didn't go back to that site. He wants to do the same here, and I will fight back. I mean, shiiiiit, if I went around trying to police everyone who's said something bad about me, I'd be forever on a quest to silence what can't be silenced.

THAT is base and stupid, saying fuck isn't.

Anxiety said:

sorry don't get your point - what I see on this thread is a lot of vitriole from so-called fans who have already gone off Prince's music anyway - perhaps he will just weed them out of his fan-base and be left with people who actually like to listen to his music and go to his performances without all the carping and criticism and instructions

herb4 said:

more charm

where's that old love4oneanother.com spoof .gif with the hand logo re-designed to be giving the middle finger with a dollar sign in the palm?


THAT'S what i want to change my avatar to. but i can't find it anywhere. either online or on disk.

Raze said:

DevotedPuppy said:

That's good as I think many people would have a hard time letting go of their money. Delete away people, delete away! You're gonna be ok if you don't get Prince news from his camp on a regular basis. I know it's probably hard from some people to give that up, but I swear, you'll survive without it.

gemini13 said:

I'm fixing to bake a tin of pumpkin muffins this week, I strongly suggest you have one with a big flavorful cup of Sanka decaf with a dollop of hazelnut creamer. Why? Because the shit's tasty, that's why.

I wasn't riffing on you in particular when I was talking about some of the verbally diarrheiac numbscullery I've seen lately. (and yes, i know diarrheiac isn't a word, but i couldn't think of a better one that actually exists.)

I was mainly referring to simple name-calling and schoolyard taunts that really don't contribute anything but the most cliched internet varietal of lowest-common-denominator hostility, when in fact, we are ALL a lot damn smarter than to sit around thinking up new ways to refer to prince as a woman's genitals (and really, what did a vagina ever do that was so bad? I've never been sued by pudenda!).

I think you should express yourself however you like. If it goes against site rules, we'll letcha know. Meanwhile, if dropping the F bomb like it's a box of firecrackers gets your zen glowing, then by all means....F away!

ritaw said:

Shhhhh

If you get it, could you explain what the hell your signature means?

I just read it, and I thinks it sounds hollow and made up, especially in light of what he is doing to his fanbase.

BSK3478 said:

gemini13 said:

NO - you have to work it out for yourself

If you've got resources to defend this . . . let him file suit.

Then NOTICE HIS DEPOSITION.

Put him in a conference room, with a court reporter, swear him in, and make him answer your questions. He'll hate that.

This will be the most popular thread this forum has ever had

Who puts this much energy into a tizzy fit they have absolutely no stake whatsoever in? Not to take this personally anyway. If you think you do have a stake in this, and its really about you, then shut the sites down and watch him continue to play music and do very well at it. The collective meltdown that so many folx seem to be having has nothing to do w/ Prince and everything to do w/ your priorities. Get em in order for petes sake. Collectively, we have more problems in the White House than we ever will in Paisley Park. So whatsamatter w/ your life?

After reading all of this nonsense. . I am scared! I too love Prince! I feel like he is an old and very dear friend. I don't always agree with him or his positions. .but I have always had NOTHING but RESPECT for the man. I was very disappointed when he made Housequake take down the video forum. I LOVED that!
What I want to know is. . how can YouTube get away with posting videos and such but HQ can't??? Just because HQ is about Prince???? Is it because he doesn't make $$ from it??
The reason that this new developement scares me is that it seems as though he is treading into MJ weirdness. Prince. . please. . listen to your fans! We love you! We RESPECT you. . don't do this to us!!?? Have we (the fams) done something to make you angry?? If so. . what??
Talk to us. . .WHAT is this all about?? What, we can't even TALK about you anymore. . .come on!! How rediculous is THAT!!!???

PLEASE. .come back to us! Don't go down that path of total wierdness and ecentricness.(Sp??)

Paisleyprk said:

actually, prince has gone after youtube and photobucket as well...he hasn't strictly limited his crusade to the fan sites.
[Edited 11/5/07 18:27pm]

JonnyApplesauce said:

Who says that Pissed off Prince fans aren't engaged with world events?

JonnyApplesauce said:

Who says that Pissed off Prince fans aren't engaged with world events?