OK.
Up until last week , I had not seen purple rain for about 12 years or so.
I noticed when watching it again, that Prince no longer had this mystical shroud surrounding him anymore that he once had for me.
I mean, when I saw PR as a kid, Prince was like this magical being--a Jimi Hindrix, Little Richard, Jesus combination.

Now when watching Purple Rain, he seems like a really talented...kid.
ALmost like I watching Justin Timberlake perform--no I"m not saying they're talents are equal--I'm saying that now that I'm older, watching Prince in PR feels alot different from when I used saw him as a kid.

Anyone get that feeling when they watch old Prince videos?
[Edited 12/19/04 10:29am]

AsianBomb777 said:

...let me think of something funny and reply to this thread...

AsianBomb777 said:

Hmm, interesting thought.

I think at the time, back in '84...Prince was this new phenomenom and all the crazy press, crazy women, the sign thing, and the slave thing hadn't happened yet. It's hard to view him back then without considering all the things that have happened to him since he hit stardom in '84. All of that can subconsciously affect the way we view him now. Me in particular, I don't view him in the same "mystical" light like I did back in 84..but I was 9 and 20 years later...I don't think I could view *any* artist in the same regard...afterall, i'm a grown-ass woman.

Though it's a no-no for putting his name in the same post as JT

Also, this reminds me...I'm putting PR on my DVD wishlist for Christmas.

-wpc

yep, he was a VERY talented kid -- to think that he was 24 when 1999 was released, and 26 when the whole Purple era came about -- wow! And he did it ALL! He wasn't industry-produced. He was his own person who did it all himself -- the songs, the music, the words, the dance, the performance, the looks, the gestures, etc. Now days artists have teams of people around them teaching them all these things. Not Prince. He was one talented Kid who could do it all... naturally!

back then i thought of him as this weird alien superhero who always wore costumes and communicated in his own language.



i guess my perceptions haven't changed much over the years.

It definately put him in a whole new light because before "Purple Rain", Prince was a 100% total mysterious man who you very rarely heard speak. I think that's one factor of the film's major success because people were dying to know more about him or to even hear what he sounds like when he speaks.

Yes...I would agree....I remember he made me feel energetic and good...kid yeah kinda ...young man absolutely...I think I was in awe of his risk - taking and ability to mesmerize...take you to another place...playing the guitar like he did (does)...THAT was actually the most beautiful thing...you felt his "pain"...now, ...same thing...different light...hhmmm not sure...

oh, okay, I'm awake now!

vainandy said:

true... i remember during the whole 1999 success, Prince was rarely to be seen outside of a musical performance... some people were surprised that Prince could even talk, not to mention: act! he definitely had the whole mystique thing going on at this time -- and he played it that way for a purpose. it did make people want to get to know him more

Snap said:

yes! i remember becoming fascinated with prince during the 1999 era when i saw his picture in rolling stone's yearbook issue and i thought, who the HELL is this guy to dress this way and look so vulgar and futuristic and bizarre?! i wanted to know what his whole deal was, and i wanted to know right then and there. of course, there was no internet then, so i had to take what scraps i could get in the mainstream media. when i caught wind that he was making a movie, i went absolutely nuts. then when i heard "let's go crazy" for the first time, it was OVER.

Dirty Mind - Boner
Controversy - Pre-cum
1999 - Foreplay and intercourse
Purple Rain- C L I M A X after that I totally saw him differently and respected him even more.

ATWIAD - cuddling....

Miguel

AsianBomb777 said:

Hey! You didn't say Vag once !

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

New Power Soul - annoying ass phonecalls after you've severed the bonds

AsianBomb777 said:

Click, dial tone, goodbye. Some people just don't get the hint, huh.

Miguel

One thing I thought odd about the videos from Purple Rain . . . why do you think they are so boring?!?!

The videos from the movie are just clips from the movie pieced together awkwardly. I would think that someone as creative and original as Prince would have gone all out for his biggest year ever and made more interesting music videos . . .

Having said that - Purple Rain and 1984 was the shining moment in Prince history for me. I wonder how he looks back on that year . . . it doesn't sound like too positively. He keeps saying he's changed and he wouldn't do stuff like that anymore.

That pissed me off also. Prince was probably too busy to make videos that year because he immediately went on tour. If you notice the later videos from that album were concert footage. That was the trend back then, though...almost every video that featured a song from a soundtrack, was clips from the movie.

I now watch Purple Rain only for the music, the acting is unwatchable, it views to me now as entirely a pose to make the movie a hit.
The real Prince emerges at times in Under the Cherry Moon

AsianBomb777 said:

Remember, Purple Rain, Award shows, MTV, and only a few other mediums were the only outlets to see Prince. Now, we can talk about the size of his privates on the internet. We can see him on the org with thousands of pictures. The excitement wears off when you know when he leaves his house or what he eats for breakfast. Hell, we know when he sees a movie or watches a basketball game. We feel like we know him better, when in actuality he is as mysterious as ever. Just not as flamboyant.

DarkKnight1 said:

True.

I'm gonna sound like such a little school girl by saying this, but I would get REALLY excited when I saw magazine pictures of him with news snippets (usually only 2 sentences saying almost nothing at all).

And dear God, when a single would drop with the words "music from the forthcoming album...." I would almost pee myself.

Back then , I truly believed that Prince would usher in "the dawn" and that the best of his music was yet-to-come.

Now, I see it like an adult would: His best music just might be behind him, and I can appreciate that. Certainly his best years are behind him. But even if his best music is yet to be released, I have grown as a person, and really don't idolize him nearly like I did before.

For you DarkNight, it was probably the Versace pix. For me it was the fact that "The Dawn" came and went, and I barely paid attention.

AsianBomb777 said:

I still look forward to every release with great expectation, but not since we can hear most anything on the internet well b4 it is released. Hell, we dont even appreciate the NPGMC like we should. Boots and bitching has ruined some Prince fans. Dont get me wrong, I couldnt live without some of the "hard to find" Prince CD's. But, I almost wish that stuff was harder to get because we would appreciate it more. I remember back in the day when a b-side or maxi would come out, I would listen to them for weeks. Now, I cant even listen to US of D twice without switching to something else. The newness just isnt there anymore.

Well said! I feel exactly the same way.

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

Well put, u two. Whats musicology now?

I never idolized him, mostly because i was born in '84-- so i missed the magic. My family pretty much severed the ties fr. him when i was still young.
My aunt brought him back to life 4 me with her bsides CD--

I did all the discovery from then on myself

cinnamonjo said:

Musicology = hot date but can't get it up, then you notice your roommates viagra.

if ever i want to find the Prince mystique i put on the Lovesexy Live video. there's a bit during Eye Wish U Heaven, "the feeling you get when you fall in love, not with a girl or boy but with the heavens above"...when the camera closes in on his face his eyes look huge and somewhere else, like he's being given the music from a place we'll never know.
i'm maybe slightly obsessed.

Watching Prince back in the day, 1984, was like watching Christopher Reeve in Superman in 1978, or watching your first Bruce Lee movie.

Earth-shaking.

I recently saw Purple Rain again and some concert footage of the time. I just have to say:

He was one BAAAAAD muthtaf****r.

Still is.

This thread makes me want to cry.

Alasseon said:

...shut yo mouth!