I'm going to do my final project for my Sociology of Love class on Prince's music. Kind of like a mix CD I guess. My professor is really out there. I think she'll dig it. It's a long story.

Anyhow

I wanted to make a mix of songs that show Prince's transition - from infatuation to love to heartbreak or whatever. People are always saying you can track this little road (the height being TMBGITW, so I'm assuming the "road" is with Mayte?) but I can't really see it. Can anyone help me?

The songs don't necessarily have to be ABOUT Mayte. Any will do.

Suggestions and so forth?

(if this thread has already been discussed, please lemme know. thanks )

V tired so cant think of the title but perhaps start off with one from the Prince album (1st one), thats your infatuation, followed by Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother, Wife, the love one and the heartbreak 1? Ummmm....come back to u on that one...

I would view Prince's 'transition' or evolution over the years more in the terms of: his sexual liberation era(1978-1983) -to the mixture of spirituality and sexuality(1985-1995) to a much more spiritual, almost religious approach to his music.

Of course the exact dates aren't as important as what i consider to be Prince's message and belief system thru the last 25 yrs.

In this context: i would say Controversy, where sex is much more part of his belief system and God is almost used as a shock affect, hence the use of the 'Lord's Prayer' with a funky voice---to ATWIAD, where he learned how powerful his words and music could be in the previous Purple Rain era---to somewhere between 0+> and The Gold Exp where he started a new 'crusade' of sorts--that didn't show up until '96 Emancipation--gone were the mixture of God and Sex...either a song was about sex or about God, but not both.

One could say he changes again when TRC came out last year, but i wont see enough evidence of his current change until his next full studio album comes out(i don't think ONAlone is THE next Prince album...likely Xenaphobia, but not sure)

These above eras could parallel his marriage to Mayte, but that might just be coincidence...she was his "love interest" back in 1992 and 0+>, Come, The Gold Exp weren't exactly "Holy". I think Prince would be going in the direction he's in with or without Mayte in the picture.

Hey, I've always thought Prince would become a preacher and give up performing(like when Little Richard did in 1957 to become a preacher, or Mase more recently).

If you do use his marriage to Mayte as timeline and influence, then you should include his relationships like with Suzanna(who surely influenced his work)---but i think that would be way too personal, and it seems better to use his work as a meter of how he's changed over the years than anything else.