Moonbeam said:

Several of my friends who see me as a prince "nut" all say Crystal Ball in very interesting

Members of my 'circle of friends' raise an eyebrow here and there when i blast my prince collection at them ... its obvious i have grown up with more flexible taste ... however, they dont want to admit it but i think by me shoving his genuine music in their faces and emphasizing the meanings they are beginning to take a little hint that something from the days of old can be 100000x's better than most main stream stuff today ... true classics break the barrier and last forever!!!

Anyway they normally drift toward 'purple rain' and '1999' ... go figure because they are the most overplayed, literal and straight forward of all his songs, well to the un-PRINCEified ear/eye ... hehehe. Come to think of it, my so-called partners in crime usually tell me that his tunes are disjointed and 2 suggestive to be able 2 move them ...

Well Ugh speaking very highly of my friends here: they couldnt tell what MUSIC was if it bit them all in the @$$ ... :p aww hell i still luv them ... 2 each their own ...

They would probably like the majority of them if they were exposed to them.

A lot of people I know just can't seem to get over the fact that a middle aged black man is singing about sex with a high falsetto voice. That's enough to turn a lot of people off to him.

People are idiots.

lovebird said:

Not true. I have exposed my friends to just about everything, and most of them balk at the music for either his voice, the message, or the sound. Maybe people my age just don't get it.

Most of my friends love Raspberry Beret and anything from the Purple Rain soundtrack (except Computer Blue, which they've never even heard). They must think that he stopped making music after 1984 or something.

When I try to indoctrinate my friends, I often will play "Adore," "Do U Lie?" or "Strollin'" to start off with, and then go into some of the more funky material (erotic city, usually). Anything that makes me dance will do, depending on my mood.

I also like to play songs with a sense of humor (such as Movie Star) or something that they know but didn't realize was a Prince song (Manic Monday, Shhh, I feel 4 U, or Uh Huh are all songs that people recognize and enjoy hearing the original of).

I have found that "She Loves Me 4 Me" has gone over well with non-fans. It really is a beautiful song.

jtgillia said:

Yeah, but what was the excuse when he wasn't a middle aged black man singing about sex with a high falsetto voice???

You either "feel" Prince or you don't. It's pretty much as simple as that. But I think for a lot of people, it's the personae that they can't seem to quite get over, and then that translates into their dislike for his music. Most people that don't like him can't seem to seperate the two. If you don't believe me, ask them to explain WHY they don't like a particular song, and they get stumped.

Abucah- That was precisely the point I was trying to make.