A new series on VH1 will begin airing this monday called True Spin. The show seems to explore the inspiration behind various songs. In the commercial they show some clips of a Prince being interviewed.

The VH1 site mentions that Prince will be on the first episode, for his song 1999.

"What did Prince really mean when he said "We're gonna party like it's 1999?" Is there really a shack in the middle of the woods where people are coverd in glitter and make love? And why would we "freak out" for the super-hit by Chic, "Le Freak?"

All these questions and more will be answered for you when you watch this first episode of True Spin. We'll examine these three songs and give you the low down on what the artist was really trying to convey when he was writing the song.

As we go through each song, we'll tell you what each myth was and then tell you which one was correct. Watch the show and find out what these songs really meant. And find out all the other fun theories too."

http://www.vh1.com/shows/...bout.jhtml

Tom said:

If my memory seves me correct during this rare interview Prince stated that the song was ok but it began to sound much better when Prince, Wendy & Lisa as well as "The Revolution" was given a verse or so to sing. (he loves to share)Prince also said that the word "elevator" was used because he couldn't use the word "Devil". And "if the elevator tries to bring us down, go crazy". This was also during the time of the scare of Y2K. Prince has always been ahead of his time, as time permits. He has layed the ground work and broken ground for Artists to follow. His music is not that bad either. Just my the rest is free. Peace.

Thanks for this still makes me yearn for Storytellers

Does anyone have the scoop on why there has never been a VH-1 BEHIND THE MUSIC special on Prince??

DredScott said:

Because Prince would have to participate in that, and apparently, he can't come to grips with the fact he's a has been.

This is kinda right, I read somewhere that the originally all the parts were sung in harmony by Prince, Lisa and Dez Dickerson, then in the studio Prince messed around with it and decided to strip off parts of the layering so some parts were sung solo.



Well, this is true, but it is about 'Let's Go Crazy' not '1999'.




Well, I don't think back in '82 they knew much about 'Y2K' that only really came to public knowledge 5 or so years before the end of the millenium, so I don't think Prince was inspired by that.

What this program is going to unearth about 1999 I can't imagine, the lyrics are pretty self-explanatory, it's New Years Eve 1999, there's war and destruction all around but still everyone parties because there's not much else you can do.

I thought 'he was gonna party like it's 1999' was because that was when his contract with Warner brothers was up???

col said:

no thats not till 2006

WOULDNT YOU JUST LOVE TO EAT MAYTE'S HOT PUERTO RICAN PUSSY?











MMM... FOR GOOD!!!

That should be a really cool show. Gee, can you remember the clothes that were worn back then - hehehehe

And what a funky work out 1999 (the album) was - Try to stand still to LPWM, or DMSR, or Lady Cab Driver (still one of my favourites).

Memories...

There is a book called "The Lyrics of Prince Rogers Nelson: A Literary Look at a Creative, Musical Poet, Philosopher & Storyteller" it goes through in detail the meaning behind many of Prince's songs. You will learn that most of his music has references to GOD. A good book for those really interested in his music!
[This message was edited Wed Oct 15 8:16:51 PDT 2003 by LoveSexyS]

LoveSexyS said:

Where can I find this book?

I found it on Amazon.com, but have seen it on E-bay. Also check Half.com and Borders.

LoveSexyS said:

Thanks

>Prince also said that the word "elevator" was used because >he couldn't use the word "Devil".

If thats the interview theyre using then I guess theyre jsut rehashing the Chris Rock Vh-1 2 One interview with
from 1996 then,shame,silly old me though we might be talking a new interview here.
[This message was edited Wed Oct 15 9:27:11 PDT 2003 by moonshine]

moonshine said:

That was "Let's Go Crazy" NOT "1999"

shortnsweet said:

And it's "De-elevator" - not "the elevator"...as in the Devil attempts 2 de-elevate people from transcendence. Get the lyrics right! Also, wasn't the meaning of "1999" 2 party as much as possible since it was thought the world would End when 2000 hit?

That's a Wrap!

Underthecherrymoon said:

yes, now back to the topic


topic edit
[This message was edited Wed Oct 15 10:11:59 PDT 2003 by righteous1]

I'm fully aware of the lyrics to 1999 and lets go crazy thanx very much ,but if theyre going to be using the footage of talking about the devil and the de-elevator as some sort of analysis then theyre using the footage from the Chris Rock interview , unless of course you can think of some televised interview where he talked about 1999 specifically,(it was mentioned in the Larry King Live interview a bit also).The suject matters of 1999 and Lets Go Crazy are very similar you see,I know that because I'm very aware of the lyrics,both songs are about living your life and not worrying about dying , making use of the time youre on this earth .Some of you seem to think theres some confusion between the songs for some of us,theres not,we just know they're both about the same thing and if this programme is about looking at Prince's song lyrics then its very savvy of them to compare the 2.

aaahhh freak out .. le freak .. c'est chic ... aaahhh freak out ...


(sorry couldn't resist )

Moonshine, what are you talking about?Lets go crazy and 1999 do not have the same meanings. the devil reference was for lets go crazy,just admit ur wrong and move on.and chill with that intellectual crap.

JustANoNameReporter said:

Actually, you might want a reshoot.

You don't need to "punch a higher floor" when you're not on an elevator.

hehe,so because 1999 doesnt have a devil reference it means it cant be about the same premise as lets go crazy , lol

Does anyone know if this is being shown on VH1 in the UK?

shortnsweet said:

FYI - I performed an MSN search for the book simply using "PRINCE ROGERS NELSON" and within seconds the book on lyrics was found.

A little update for ya'll. I just checked the VH1 site to remind myself when the show is on, but now they do not mention that 1999 will be discussed. It does say that Love Shack, Born in the USA, and She Bop will be discussed.

This is now what it says:
Is there really a shack in the middle of the woods where people are coverd in glitter and make love? And who wouldn't be excited by such a 'patriotic' song as "Born In The U.S.A.?"

All these questions and more will be answered for you when you watch this first episode of True Spin. We'll examine these three songs and give you the low down on what the artist was really trying to convey when he was writing the song.

As we go through each song, we'll tell you what each myth was and then tell you which one was correct. Watch the show and find out what these songs really meant. And find out all the other fun theories too.


Any idea if this has officially changed and any theories why? I was looking forward to it...

Hi! Yeah, I can't find anything about Prince on VH1's True Spin website either. Did it change or did someone get wrong information? Someone started a message board topic about it there too http://www.vh1.com/shows/...ries.jhtml
but no replies yet. Too bad.