"Maybe I have spent too much of my life idolising and not enough of it seeking out new artists and new music which can offer those same feelings of anticipation and discovery...

Who knows, maybe Prince has ended up narrowing my horizons and prevented me from discovering so much more...."

Vanity lives on. Im quoting myself (above) and something I said on another topic and it got me thinking.

Has being a Prince fan held me back from discovering so much more musically from diferent genres etc?

I like to think my tastes are quite diverse. But I dont seem to have too many mainstream tastes. Prince has certainly made me delve into areas of music based purely on style and type. But overall I have always tended to enjoy less succesful, more underground artists and avoided the mainstream.

It could be that it is purely down to age and natural taste. But the only fact that can underly anything is that Prince has been a constant for the best part of 20 years.

The thing Im trying to get at here is specifically being a Prince fan. Im sure as most of us know, being a fan of Prince is a very consuming thing. Almost, if not actually obsessive!

So has being a Prince fan hindered or obstructed my discovery, and consequently my enjoyment of other artists and music? Has my taste been tainted by Prince in that as far I am concerned nothing or no-one is better than him? Has my objectivity been led astray?

Or am I better for it? Has it widened my horizons? Has it made me appreciate sound and vision in a deeper more artistical way?

What take on it do you have and the role Prince has had on your own musical taste and growth?

Im sure its hard to be obbjective on this, but it would be interesting to see another take on it....

Maybe if I had spent less time being consumed by the next release, or stripping down the current release, I could be getting that feeling of awe and anticipation from a whole plethora of other artists....

Listening to Prince's music opened me up to listen to more jazz, gospel and fusion artists.

is that the qn u r asking us all?

4 me, and I hope others, His music is a plethora of styles as he does not categorize his music, music is music. thus he has opened me up to different "forms" of music, different writing styles in my "work". I don't think Prince hinders my creativity, just the opposite. I can be annoying though when u want to go 2 sleep and have something in ur head, get up, write it sown and then go back 2 bed, get up 3 minutes later and do it all over again, night after night 3 days straight, and in 3 days all u get in 12 hrs sleep. . Prince is Prince. Love him.
[Edited 1/7/05 7:29am]

HamsterHuey said:

But has it hindered you in terms of how you enjoy those artists? Do you feel it is good shit but doesnt compare with Prince, or do you enjoy it for what it is without making any comparisons etc?

missmad said:

Im sure it is great for your creativity.

But do you find yourself making comparisons with other artists and genres and coming to the conclusion that Prince is simply the best and no one compares? If so, then surely he has hindered your enjoyment of other artists and their music by virtue of that comparison...

In the 1970s and 1980s, I was heavy into mainstream and a little into underground. From the 1990s to the present, the only new music I have been into is underground house. Prince has nothing to do with why I listen to underground music. The new mainstream music sounds like shit, that's why I don't listen to it. I'm accustomed to much better and I refuse to lower my standards.
[Edited 1/7/05 8:01am]

Jon said:

Personally, I love all different kinds of music. Prince is just one artist. Me liking his music has no influence on how I experience someone else's music.

In other words; there is no need to compare, even though I like to hear by which artists Prince has been influenced. It's fun to hear that the bass-line of Daddy Pop was blatantly lifted of Aretha Franklin's Rock Steady, f.i.
So maybe I like other people's music MORE becuz of that, hehehe.

I have never been the person to say he just likes Prince's music or that nothing compares to Prince. Being that way would indeed hinder my musical experience. Prince is an amazing musician and singer, but he has made music I do not like at all and music I consider just so-so. There are just artists I like better than others, for many different reasons. Prince is one of them.

not at all.

HamsterHuey said:

I agree with what you say. I like to think I am the same way inclined. But you never know what really goes on in our minds. Afterall, its all about taste and what moves you. At the end of the day, our influences move our tastes and depending on how bigger the influence, that influence can inadvertly alter our tastes without us even knowing it...

Example. I really got into TTD when he was up and coming and I have little doubt that it was Prince's influence that steered me into liking his music. But these days I find TTD's (or Senanda as he likes to be called) stuff pretty rubbish. Is it because I no longer find him as good anymore because he is not what I first thought him to be? If so, then it is because the Prince connection is not what it was when it first got me interested in TTD. Therefore, Prince has indirectly turned me off a particular artist which he got me into in the first place.

Then again, maybe I just think he is crap now. End of story....

I think I am waffling on a bit... Im not quite communicating what Im trying to say here. Im even losing the initial idea in my mind, so I may as well stop.

TFI Friday!!!

HamsterHuey said:

Thanks for that Daddy Pop/Aretha mention. I've always thought that too.

I've been an obsessive Prince fan since 1979. I have always liked to listen to new things. I have eclectic tastes. MY FAVES are PRINCE, BOY GEORGE (yes, he still records), KISS, JILL SCOTT, AMEL LARRIUEX...the list goes on. I am also a HOUSE HEAD. I have a very discriminating pallet when I listen to HOUSE MUSIC. It's gotta be vocal, soulful and danceable. Gospel House, Garage, etc. I like some Country music (the twangier the better) and of course I have some very very guilty pleasures. I wont mention them here for fear of embarrasement but they're a couple of pop music teeny boppers. Nuff said.

I don't think PRINCE has steered me from not listening to other music or to listen to other music. I've always been the odd duck so I've always given different music a try.

Miguel

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

There is no thinking about it; it is so. I consider it to be an amazing tip of the hat of Mr. Nelson towards Ms. Franklin.

Jon said:

every artist/musician has their own stamp on what they do, as is said it is not what they do but how they do it. I don't think artists or people for that matter should be compared, making generalizations that really are not there 2 begin with, but are their because peeps have an influence on ur opinion. All in the mind. Prince crosses all "borders, all limits" of music, however you look at it, he can play with Santana and can jam with Lenny Kravitz, Alicia Keys. etc. Ray Charles 4 example can do that 2 but in a different way, not in a musical sense but in how it is interpreted. I could go on, lol but I won't. does this answer your qn?