There are masses of narrow little minds out there.

A lot of what ppl have said on this page sounds accurate as to why he is unpopular to the masses.

I heard him say something in the NPGMC, where he doesnt want to bother with all the things that accompany trying to win over the masses. He just wants to make music. My understanding of what he is saying, is that he desperatly does not want to live a lie - look at where hes at now, & how many ppl think he's weird? I get a sense of enormous relief that he may b feeling, to do exactly what he wants musically. He says he is not concerned with sales. The cynics among us may say 'Yeh... right...!' I dont know. I would like to believe what he is saying. Seems to be fairly truthful - from my own experience, when someone tries to be as congruent as possible, it can sometimes have a bad effect on others. Especially if he WAS playing that pleasing game 2 some extent b4 & is now doing things his own way.

This is what i think.
Until the gold experience he was still adored by the masses.
After the gold experience (agree or not) the albums got worse. Also this slave thing with the recordcompanies did not really bring him anyfurther (artisticcly?).
If he wouldn't have added this bad voiceover at TRC ,TRC would be a hit .Also for the consumers it would be some easier if there would be ANY promotion.
I am a princefan but except for the fans i think nobody knows he brought out another album,TRC>

I can't speak for the public at large, but for me it started to go downhill with Lovesexy.

The music is classic in my opinion, but the single track CD, and the nude cover really tested me. I was 16 or 17 at the time...like I'm going to justify Prince naked on a flower to my friends?

Then there were the weak late 80's protogee's. Three O'Clock? Elisa Fiorillo? Etc. Each time I heard about a new protogee I cringed to hear what it sounded like.

The Batman Soundtrack. I don't care for it because it sounds "stupid"...but strangely enough it was an accurate guage for where the music was headed.

Graffiti Bridge. Billing it as the sequel to Purple Rain was far-fetched. I remember seeing it at a theater in Detroit and people walking out laughing. Ouch.

With each new release, his PR machine would harken back to his last best celling CD as a reference. In the 90's they kept saying "it's as good as SOTT" and stuff. Crying wolf in my opinion.

The name change was hard to follow. So hard to follow, I couldn't be frustrated by it. What was weird about the name change was that just before it happened, he released the song "My Name is Prince". Bad song. Bad idea. Ugh.

Finally...one of the turn-offs about Prince is the weirdness of his "fams" or whatever you want to call it. Most die-hard Prince fans have a Trekkie quality. You definitely know it when you meet one. I knew somebody that lived alone but had a two bedroom apartment and had covered the walls AND the ceiling with posters. This person had stand-up cut outs too.

Prince is not meant to be popular to the masses in the grand scheme of things.

The masses are people who work full time and try to support their families as best they can on their budgets. The masses have a hard time understanding Prince saying he is a "slave " to WB. Of course when people take the time to learn the whole story they would propbably support him. I would guess people read headlines more than a whole confusing, in this case, story.
Now years later, there are lots of artists going up against record companies, but at the time it proved unpopular for Prince.

One thing that has hurt Prince's popularity is his "go-it-alone" strategy.He has burned too many bridges.He fired his managers.He battled Warner Bros.He hates MTV.He has a problem with radio.He dislikes record execs.The truth is,THOSE are all the things you need to be successful.

I think everyone needs to get real - prince isn't cutting edge anymore.

i believe 1985 was THE YEAR OF PRINCE. after that the tensions for a new album were build up so high that no album could satisfied fans/critics completely. and releasing new material year in year out didn't help either; this led to an overkill of prince among the masses. later, with the name change and all it was definitly over. only dedicated fans couldn't and can't get enough.

can you relate?

Coming off as a weird, aloof, man of mystery only works when you're still making good music. Prince stopped making good music & the people stopped buying into his nonsense.

"what (made) prince "unpopular" to the masses"

Do you meen what is causing the masses of people to run around in fear and not pay attention to some truth for once?

WELL...perhaps fear itself in a thing called WORLD heard globally thru the M(EAT)ia (please pro-nounce that). One other additive I would like to add (run on there) is...Prince is not (UN) POP ular...the record companies are just trying to get a grip on how to handle his INDEPENDENCE and are trying to do everything they can to shut him OUT...however U cant CLOSE the DOOR to the KINGDO of GOD no MORE...VICTORY is at hand...throughout the land(s)...and U will C more and more...since shows do sell out whether they are theatrical (which are classy)...or whether WORD OF MOUTH...People are coming from australia, hawaii, UK, London, Spain, Canada, Italy and various other places for the "celebration" of life...so I think that stands for itself...PEOPLE are coming to him...just as Jesus said "follow my ways and you shall do greater things than "i" for the father in heaven "come 2 me". And people who love to love are doing just that...and PALEEZ dont confuse CULT (which is only a word for FEAR) with anything Prince is doing cuz I know some of ya think that.. I SAID SOME not ALL...Prince is Prince and is simply sharing xperiences for all of us to come 2gether 2 have some fun.


Another Spirit as You are one yourselves

SingMia~Arjuna

Thank u.

PS don't blame be due to honesty, just read it and know its a "get along kinda thing".

When you look at Prince's career output as a whole, the real question is, How did Prince ever become popular with the masses in the first place? Take away Purple Rain from his catalog, and what you have is the marginal fringe-dweller that Prince is today. For better or worse, the public will always associate Prince with the 1984 masterpiece. It's a double-edged sword: while Purple Rain introduced the general public (including me) to Prince, it also set unrealistic expectations for the rest of his career.

Bruce Springsteen experienced a similar, though less drastic, drop in popularity after Born in the U.S.A. Fans expected another set of Top 10 hits from Springsteen, but instead got adult-oriented, introspective fare like Tunnel of Love and Lucky Town. Of course, Bruce didn't deluge the market year-in, year-out with middling releases--this lack of restraint and failure to work with seasoned producers is what really hammered Prince's popularity.

Here's an interesting spin for y'all. I think part of his popularity fading is because of hip-hop. at least from the black persepctive. Prince's image is almost the exact opposite image as the hip hop artists of the early 90's. i mean his effeminate look clashed with a culture that was focussing on being 'hard', a la NWA or LL Cool J. These thugs weere talking about hood drama when our man was spealing 'diamoinds and pearls'. I've always thought that.

I think the name change and writing 'slave' across his face came across as 'Michael Jackson-ish' to a lot of the general public.

Then of course, it's the business. If your stuff isn't being backed by the industry machine, you get pushed to the back and other suckers that conform are put in the spotlight. From all that I have noticed, Prince has had a least one accessable 'hit song' on each album, so he would always be available for air play. But if he's fighting the machine, and the machine controls thw music world, he loses that battle hands down. At least he's winning in the underground.

Here's an interesting thought about Image. I have a 5 year old. I've been playing Prince to death around the house since seeing ONA in Lakeland, Fl (best show I have ever seen!). She loves Prince, even thought she's never seen him! She says that 'America' is her all time favorite song. Without that image, the music speaks.

To me the first big mistake was to disband the Revolution (at a time he was saying it was "the best band of the Universe" which was quite true I think), then to get rid of all his analog gear (synthesizers, early drum machines & tape recorders) to get an all digital recording studio that is responsible (according to me) for the difference of his sound between the 80s & the 90s.

In the 80s, electronic was still a pain in the ass, you had to spend a lot of time on it to get some nice sounds, but when you get'em it was really rewarding, and you had some warm, raw, inspiring & funky original sounds.

In the 90s Prince (over)used what was the standarts of the times : Ultra-Clean Roland presets & Akai Sound banks
Why ?
Cause it was so easy. Instead of spending hours & hours programming the machine to get some sound, you just had to push a button to get another sound, a sound that was specially programmed for you at the factory (the GM or General Format, Roland introduced then).

And then his sound got less & less personnal, as you could hear the exact same sound banks in a lot of other productions (from R&B to Easy Listening).And then came in the "Auto-Pilot" arrangements as I read here !
And it sounded cheap & less & less funky

And he it was also at that time he started to use editing like he did on Batman; To make it short, instead of singing/performing every choruses for e.g., he would just copy & paste one that sounded good everytime the chorus came in the song. So it was much more clean & perfect...maybe too much.

Now I hope he will keep on recording live instruments in the studio like he did on TRC (the best LP since Lovesexy I think), cuz to me that's the only way to get the Funk back !

Sometimes I think the Purple Rain soundtrack and movie and the 1999 album were the only commercial things Prince did in his entire career. Everything else with the exception of maybe Diamonds and Pearls has been strictly anti-commercial which would only make him unpopular. The man just had to follow his muse. And I'm really glad about that.

From the effeminate style, to the name change, to the psychedlic music, to incorporating scratches, to record company battles, to overtly sexual music and videos- it's a wonder he was ever as popular as he was.

herbthe4 said:

Ironic that this rebellious trait is exactly what made Prince famous in the first place!

In 1978, he insisted on producing himself on his debut album.

He wore no pants and cursed on his 3rd album

He didint care if gay rumors swirled around him

He refused to give interviews

He did not come to We Are The World taping

These are just some of the most memorable rebel moves that Prince made through his career. Now, he makes them with more maturity and experience. Now they mean much more. Now they are substanial.

But the world doesn want or respect substance or principle anymore. Prince eludes to this in his song "Dont Play Me"
He says that he is over 30 and doesnt smoke weed and he put his ass away (obvious reference to his old sexy ways).

Yes, Prince is almost an elder statesman of msuic now. He doesnt rap or hold his crotch or get he latest producer to manufacture his hit records or slap around his girlfriend or have run ins with the law or smoke weed...so he is not as popular as he once was.

But neither is James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Micheal Jackson, THe Who, Led Zep, Bruce Springsteen or most other legendary rock stars who actually write, produce, sing and play their music.

They are grown folks and the industry doesnt always sell grown ups artists in a world that wants to see half naked teenage girls that can not sing.

Prince is doing what he has always done. He is breeaking new ground and moving ahead. Rainbow Children proved that. It is another masterpeice but hardly noticed by the general public. The good thing is that Prince doesnt have to be concerned about that. He can concentrate on his art.

And that is what those of use who appreciate great music care about. As for the general public...


...cause FACE said so!!!

SteevenS said:

Why is it that only white folks think the Revolution was his best band? Bobby Z was the weakest drummer he ever had! Wendy and Lisa has shown that they are not as important to Prince's success as they would like everyone to believe.

The Revolution has 2 advantages being in the movie and being mostly white.

All the manifestations of the NPG were better technically than the Revolution. get over it, you sissies

SquirrelMeat said:

you are right about "usa box" but people that live in usa, only know usa, so it's all they compare things too. and it's very true that in the usa MTV is what seems to make you or break you in most cases. there are rare instances when bands manage to make it on the quality of their music only....but this is all an underground market thing, that slowly rises to the top....and if there is enough noise about them, they will find themselves onto MTV.

with prince....he didn't release the right singles off of most of his 90's cd's...i remember wishing that i was his manager back then, because he always seemed to pick the wrong songs off his cd's to release to TV & radio. if he had picked different songs i think it would of made a difference. but the fact is because of all the talking out he did against the record industry it hurt him. he was in a way black-listed from radio and TV for many things.

peace, kim--

BLACKMF said:

i agree that the NPG is and was so much better technically than the revolution. i think it was just prince that was maybe a little bit more creative back during the revolution time period.

Fonkay31 said:

Amen 2 that!

>>>>>THE SACRIFICE OF VICTOR<<<<<

The music got shitty.....(still better than radio)

I mean, nothing else changed so that had 2 have been it.

vespertine said:

it's NONE of that. Every Artist has their time in "The LimeLight" or should i say 15 minutes of Fame. u have an Artist who's HOT & then they release cool & mayb even mediocre MUSIC & then it just goes downhill from there.

how many Artist have a 20 somthing year Career & is HOT their ENTIRE Career?

but now we have Prince... a True Musical Genuis in all the sense of the Term

he's a SuperStar Musician 2 us.

the MASSES don't Matter (or do they)...

i'd prefer he stay UnderGround. just NPGMC Famz & Famz who's been around 4 awhile

BLACKMF said:

-----

First of all I didn't say The Revolution was his best band, the best one to me was the one he had on the SOTT Tour & Lovesexy, but I really think his songwritting was much better with them.
Second, I saw The Revolution live on the Parade tour (a rather extended version of the Revolution with the addition of Miko, a horn section, background vocals, etc, etc...) and it was sooooo much better than the NPG live (if you were there in 94 in Paris, you would have seen how badly they sucked actually !).
Everybody thinks Booby Z sucked on drums because he had to play like a drum machine (which requires quite a good timing).
I personnally think Michael B. was just showing off a lot on drums, and I'm pretty sure Bobby Z could do exactly the same thing, the difference is that he was not allowed to do it cuz it was not the trend back in the 80's, and he had to deal with those early electronic drum kit that were much more difficult to play with than a good old acoustic set.
Get the video of the Parade tour, and you'll see Bobby Z was a really good drummer.
Thirdly, I don't care who's black & who's white (I think you just took a look at my pics but don't read what were my favourite artists ), I'm not in that kinda sh*t, so please keep it for yourself!!
Peace

Barry White stated during the run of the hugely successful Practice What You Preach single,...."I dont care WHO you are if the record company doesnt want you to have a #1 hit ,you wont have one."

MTV & corporate radio will not play PRINCE.

GoldiesParade said:

The name change actually increased the amount of publicity that Prince got. It wasnt for his music but it was publicity and all publicity is good...especially in a society that celebrates celebrity for the sake of celebrity - deserved and otherwise.

To say the name change was the reason for a decrease in popularity is short sighted and not very well thought out. It is the dummy response to a complex question.

Airplay and TV exposure is what makes or breaks record sales (one of the commonly used measures of popularity which is not accurate) and popularity with the general public. Prince is as popular as ever with those that are hip to him and know the work...or just with those who starve for quality music in a day of worthless noise and crap.

yeah, I said it...say something...

...cause FACE said so!!!

what made him unpopular 2 the masses? that he doesn't kiss anyone's ass... he does not network with the big heads...

what was the name of this thread again?

oh yeah :substansial uproars of laughter:

Its like this, Out of Site, Out of Mind. I encounter alot of people who luv this cat; though when the media does not speak much about an individual, you kinda forget that they are there. Think about someone you dug about a year ago that kind of dropped off. Why? I know u have the answer; you always do.....peace Muszewell

geminipaul said: