We have all heard the refrain: Prince is great, but he's not the greatest musician that ever lived, and if you think that, you're just a fam-atic. I'm not saying that Prince is the G.O.A.T., it's impossible to measure that, tho there was a time when I believed that. But I put these questions to you:

1. Do you feel like it's unfashionable to speak of Prince in glowing terms, even on the org?

2. If you feel that way, do any of you try to watch what you say about Prince out of fear you might get dissed by other orgers, that it's not "org-fashionable" to praise Prince, or that you won't be perceived as a "fully-informed" music fan?


I'm not implicating any orgers in particular, I'm talking about whether this phenomenon exists.

Thoughts?
[Edited 4/5/05 16:10pm]

i give props when props are due.

andykeen said:

See . . . I wasn't really stating an opinion, other than it's impossible to measure whether Prince is the greatest musician of all time. We can agree that "there will never be anyone like him ever." That's undisputed. No artist's work has meant more to me than his, that is also undisputed. The question was, do you temper your opinions of Prince on this board to avoid being frowned upon by others?

1. The group mentality here is 2 downplay his genius. Y do u think that is, namepeace?
2. Do u think they'll honestly answer u? Eye've always njoyed Jughead....

love

i think that is true, to a certain extent. it probably exists because if we all gushed about him incessantly, it wouldn't make for interesing discussion.

personally i think as a complete package, he's better than every other artist out there, but there are certain areas in which others exceed him (for example, jimi hendrix was a better guitar player than prince is).

you know, i think there are some people who feel some kind of comfort or belonging or gratification from feeling that they belong to a "camp" - some folks get off on praising every single last damn thing the man does, as if he were completely incapable of error or even a bad hair day.

then there's the other camp who think prince is some kinda fallen angel who can't do a damn thing right, and that he's out of touch with reality and hates his fans and blah blah blah.

and if the rest of us say something positive, then we're wholesale buttkissers. and if the rest of us have a criticism then, oh, we're just big ol' haters.

to hell with it.

i have my own opinions and my thoughts don't exist to be filed into someone else's narrow binary reality, and if that hurts folks' brains, then good.

i think prince continues to be an amazing force in music. i also think prince is deeply flawed. deal with it!

Anji said:[quote]1. The group mentality here is 2 downplay his genius. Y do u think that is, namepeace?
2. Do u think they'll honestly answer u? Eye've always njoyed Jughead....

I've always loved Jughead too...
[Edited 4/5/05 19:55pm]

Anxiety said:

Anxiety said:

I agree!

Anji said:

Well, well, my dear Anji, nice to see you.

To answer your question: I think it is a tendency, not a wholesale mentality. I've seen it when:

- Veteran orgers sing Prince's praises and get excoriated for it by orgers who simply want to reaffirm their independence or broader musical knowledge (i.e., if you profess your love for Prince you either must be a fam or must not know any other music).

- Rookie orgers post new but repetitive threads and the vet orgers kill'em for it (I've even seen mods do it). That has got to discourage the newbies from really expressing themselves, even though the reason they came to this site was to do so. But sometimes some orgers get off on making them look stupid.

Early on, I subconsciously understated my love of P at times. I'm not afraid to admit it.

I think it's always been unfashionable.

I mean, you can gloat over prince for too long--he always comes along and does some fucked up shit every 2 years or so.

But whenever it gets down to the music, I defend him till no end.

It's like Mozart--You may hate classical music, but to say that Mozart wasn't any good would be ignorant.

AsianBomb777 said:

Superb!

Anx said:



Indeed.

namepeace said:

i completely agree. i haven't posted very much because it can be pretty intimidating at times.

evenstar3 said:

you'll get over it. honest.

evenstar3 said:

The key is to distinguish whether certain things have been covered before and try to find a new angle.

From the time I first discovered Prince in 1979, all the way through the "Purple Rain" album, I was a "fam" before there was an official word called "fam". Every song, album, thought, hairstyle, attitude, and style of dress that Prince had, I thought was the absolute "shit on a stick". Prince could do no wrong in my eyes back then.

Beginning with "Around The World In A Day", when Prince started getting more and more "versitile" and "artsy/fartsy", I started seeing Prince in a whole different light. I still enjoyed his music but I no longer saw him as the "larger than life" person that could do absolutely no wrong in my book. I started seeing him as human and started seeing him as someone that made mistakes just like everyone else and also someone that made songs that were further and further away from the Prince that I knew and loved for so many years before. In other words, Prince became a great artist to me and no longer an "idol". I still loved him more than any other artist out there but I no longer "worshipped" him. Actually, that's a good thing.

I call it like I see it and could care less about being fashionable and going with the flow of whether everyone else is bashing or praising Prince on that particular day. I've never been one to go with the flow of popular opinion. People around here can tell you, I will down and diss the almighty "Parade" album in a minute and not give a damn if the whole org doesn't like it.

I don't think I would still be here if people weren't critical, it would be just another fan site and as a MJ fan I know about those; people on those boards still think Mike is pretty.

Most of us are here because we dug the early stuff (Dirty Mind, 1999, Purple Rain, SOTT...etc.) Prince is not releasing stuff of that quality anymore and I don't feel like I should hide that opinion.

The man did a cover of Sheryl Crow's Everyday Is A Winding Road for Christ’s sake, and his version was worse.

I’m not a die-hard fam, but let me say this is by far the best fan forum on the net. Prince fans are the smartest music fans I’ve ever met. Ben, the Mods and all the members should feel very proud of what they have here. Prince’s genius has definitely inspired creative and beautiful minds.
[Edited 4/6/05 0:34am]

namepeace said:

1. No.

2. I don't give a shit about what other orger's think of my opinions.

it's definitely a tendency here at the org... I mean..the word "fam" is pretty much a derogatory term around here.
I think it's pretty sad really.

namepeace said:

I believe that some individuals feel this way, yes. However, I would not generalize the entire org and say that it's "the thing to do".

namepeace said:

Nope. If I cared that much about other's opinions of my posts, I'd probably never post. This is what makes the org fun. You've got a whole gang of folks who aren't to speak their minds, and when it's done respecfully, we all have a good time.

just the fact that we r here.. says it all

Shorty said:

It is sad, that anyone uses the word 'Fam' just because Prince said it half a dozen times in '98. I have zero respect for said people or their use of Princebonics. It's easier to type 'I' than . losers. If i see any of that in a post, it doesn't get read and any point you were trying to make is lost. simple as.

Prince is capable of being a genius. Genius being the most overused word flung around to describe him. IMO it's been along time since he demonstrated it as fact.

Marrk said:

ah ha! here's a prime example kids!
you know...I don't use the word fam either but I don't get angry when others do...to say you have zero respect for someone who uses the word fam is a bit drastic to me...respect holds more value than that in my book. So what if someone wants to use instead of I, for you to call them a "loser" jus shows how immature your mentality is. You put others down in an attempt to rise above them but it has the opposite effect.

Shorty said:

I stopped playing follow the leader when i was about 5. I don't like the herd mentality, that's all.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

...see, I think thats the kinda bullshit they're talking about..new folks to the org dont know what has been discussed before and if someone posts something repetitive they're bound to get..."Not this bullshit again"..and when they do express an unpopular opinion or an express a concern, they can even get a shitty comment from a mod...completely welcoming...The Org has a bad reputation at some of the other fansites out there, for the most part I find it to be a cool place to discuss Prince and other topics..at other times I fully understand the reputation we have all helped to create...
Anyway, namepeace, to answer you original question..I think some understate their opinions..I know folks out there LOVE the New Power Soul album and wont admit it!!!!

Marrk said:

I don't play follow the leader either...if you don't like the herd mentality that's fine...why put others down though?

Shorty said:

That's the nature of messageboards. If i want a mass love in, i'll go to an MJ board or the NPGMC.

As i enjoy the org and it's varying opinions and relative freedom of speech, i'll stay put. I do regret using the term 'losers' though, it's not something i'd say in everday conversation, nor is it a word i remember typing too often here either. so i take that back.

rest assured, i am above anyone that claims to like 'Jughead' though!