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Stevie Wonder of generation X Swiped this from Okayplayer.com (JohnBook screen name)
I pasted this here because the last paragraph sums up how I feel. I don't care if P never gets hip-hop or if some people think his music is not relevant. He is the Stevie Wonder of my generation. Nuff said. ----- I fortunately remember a time before MTV. "Seeing music" was something you waited to do every weekend, with shows like "Midnight Special" or "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert". I was a kid, and I wasn't allowed to watch "The Tonight Show". But in the late 1970's, there was something I had never seen before, a promotional film clip for a song. I saw them on public access in Honolulu, and Warner Bros. had done a string of promotional film clips for people like Gary Wright, George Harrison, Thin Lizzy, Al Jarreau, and Ashford & Simpson. And then there was Prince. To be honest, I just thought "I Wanna Be Your Lover" was cool sounding, I was nine years old and that's all I cared about. I was already into Parliament, Funkadelic, War, Ohio Players, and Earth Wind & Fire, and Prince to me came from that. But the video was cool, as he was seen playing all of the instruments. I didn't know much about the mechanics of the recording studio, other than that there was a tape machine that made it possible for one person to play instruments on it, one by one, so that it sounded like a full band. That appealed to me big time. I had always wanted to be in a band, but to be able to say "hear all of these sounds? I made them all" was something I always wanted to do. After they showed the video for "I Wanna Be Your Lover", they would show "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad", which showed him with a full band. I believe he had a trenchcoat in that one too, which was bizarre, but it showed that he had a band. A year or two later I would see the videos for "Dirty Mind" and "Uptown". Good, funky music, but the fucking guy was wearing underwear in a trenchcoat! I believe my avatar gives a good description of my face when I first saw those videos, but I clearly remember seeing the ladies in the crowd in those videos, going crazy. I also remember one of the ladies wearing a T-shirt that was popular at the time, the old HAWAII 79 or HAWAII 80 T-shirts (the number indicating a year, not a football number, as I've seen Old Navy do). I have no idea who she was, but I remember thinking "wow, Hawai'i is in his video". MTV in the early days didn't play anyone who was darker than Paul Wall, so the only time I got to see the next Prince videos was on the old USA Network TV show, "Night Flight". That's where I saw "Controversy" and "Sexuality", and the songs were great. It wasn't until "1999" and "Little Red Corvette" that he started getting attention outside of his core following, whomever they were (i.e. fans of soul music vs. those who thought he was the new "new wave"). He seemed to me a kooky guy who gets off on dressing weird, yet made some incredible music. He always had that smirk in his videos, as if to say "I'm having a good time, I hope you are too", and who didn't want to watch Jill Jones and Lisa Coleman playing keyboards together? C'mon. When "When Doves Cry" came out, remember when they always played the single version of the video first? I don't remember the exact release date, but the song came out very close to the time we moved from Honolulu to the Pacific Northwest. My dad had died the year before, so the lines about his father being too bold was something that was in my mind at the time. Plus, the song was different from his past work, it would be a few months before it was realized there was no bass guitar heard in the song. But the big news was that Prince, the little goofy guy with bikini briefs, was going to do a full length movie. No one knew what it was going to be like, if he was going to act, or what, but of course 21 years later, we all know the impact "Purple Rain" had not only for his career, but 1984 in general. Up until that point, music was still about Duran Duran and The Go-Go's. With Prince, that killed it. If it was Madonna who arguably defined how to push your image to a higher level, it was Prince who defined and defied the music. As a Prince fan for 26 years, I have yet to see him on stage, so I missed incredible tours and shows that fortunately are archived on tape. For me, while I had liked the music of my parents and uncles and aunties, like hip-hop, Prince was music for me, it was now music. Relevant isn't a word that should be used for him, Prince is and always will be. That's how important he is. In truth, he simply makes good music and has become the Stevie Wonder of my time. In other words, a casual fan doesn't have to digest every piece of Prince album, side project, or pseudonyms, but it's safe to say there is at lease ONE Prince song that is a guilty pleasure. | |
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. [Edited 6/23/05 8:11am] | |
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I really must say, that's the most heartfelt thing I've read on here in quite some time. Thanks laurarichardson for bringing it to our attention. Thank you JohnBook and Okayplayer.com for showing how it's done! [Edited 6/23/05 8:21am] | |
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laurarichardson said: Swiped this from Okayplayer.com (JohnBook screen name)
I pasted this here because the last paragraph sums up how I feel. I don't care if P never gets hip-hop or if some people think his music is not relevant. He is the Stevie Wonder of my generation. Nuff said. ----- I fortunately remember a time before MTV. "Seeing music" was something you waited to do every weekend, with shows like "Midnight Special" or "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert". I was a kid, and I wasn't allowed to watch "The Tonight Show". But in the late 1970's, there was something I had never seen before, a promotional film clip for a song. I saw them on public access in Honolulu, and Warner Bros. had done a string of promotional film clips for people like Gary Wright, George Harrison, Thin Lizzy, Al Jarreau, and Ashford & Simpson. And then there was Prince. To be honest, I just thought "I Wanna Be Your Lover" was cool sounding, I was nine years old and that's all I cared about. I was already into Parliament, Funkadelic, War, Ohio Players, and Earth Wind & Fire, and Prince to me came from that. But the video was cool, as he was seen playing all of the instruments. I didn't know much about the mechanics of the recording studio, other than that there was a tape machine that made it possible for one person to play instruments on it, one by one, so that it sounded like a full band. That appealed to me big time. I had always wanted to be in a band, but to be able to say "hear all of these sounds? I made them all" was something I always wanted to do. After they showed the video for "I Wanna Be Your Lover", they would show "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad", which showed him with a full band. I believe he had a trenchcoat in that one too, which was bizarre, but it showed that he had a band. A year or two later I would see the videos for "Dirty Mind" and "Uptown". Good, funky music, but the fucking guy was wearing underwear in a trenchcoat! I believe my avatar gives a good description of my face when I first saw those videos, but I clearly remember seeing the ladies in the crowd in those videos, going crazy. I also remember one of the ladies wearing a T-shirt that was popular at the time, the old HAWAII 79 or HAWAII 80 T-shirts (the number indicating a year, not a football number, as I've seen Old Navy do). I have no idea who she was, but I remember thinking "wow, Hawai'i is in his video". MTV in the early days didn't play anyone who was darker than Paul Wall, so the only time I got to see the next Prince videos was on the old USA Network TV show, "Night Flight". That's where I saw "Controversy" and "Sexuality", and the songs were great. It wasn't until "1999" and "Little Red Corvette" that he started getting attention outside of his core following, whomever they were (i.e. fans of soul music vs. those who thought he was the new "new wave"). He seemed to me a kooky guy who gets off on dressing weird, yet made some incredible music. He always had that smirk in his videos, as if to say "I'm having a good time, I hope you are too", and who didn't want to watch Jill Jones and Lisa Coleman playing keyboards together? C'mon. When "When Doves Cry" came out, remember when they always played the single version of the video first? I don't remember the exact release date, but the song came out very close to the time we moved from Honolulu to the Pacific Northwest. My dad had died the year before, so the lines about his father being too bold was something that was in my mind at the time. Plus, the song was different from his past work, it would be a few months before it was realized there was no bass guitar heard in the song. But the big news was that Prince, the little goofy guy with bikini briefs, was going to do a full length movie. No one knew what it was going to be like, if he was going to act, or what, but of course 21 years later, we all know the impact "Purple Rain" had not only for his career, but 1984 in general. Up until that point, music was still about Duran Duran and The Go-Go's. With Prince, that killed it. If it was Madonna who arguably defined how to push your image to a higher level, it was Prince who defined and defied the music. As a Prince fan for 26 years, I have yet to see him on stage, so I missed incredible tours and shows that fortunately are archived on tape. For me, while I had liked the music of my parents and uncles and aunties, like hip-hop, Prince was music for me, it was now music. Relevant isn't a word that should be used for him, Prince is and always will be. That's how important he is. In truth, he simply makes good music and has become the Stevie Wonder of my time. In other words, a casual fan doesn't have to digest every piece of Prince album, side project, or pseudonyms, but it's safe to say there is at lease ONE Prince song that is a guilty pleasure.  Great Article, thanks for posting that Laura.[Edited 6/23/05 8:22am] I'm not a fan of "old Prince". I'm not a fan of "new Prince". I'm just a fan of Prince. Simple as that | |
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Wow, that was really touching and I can tell it was completely honest.  | |
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laurarichardson said: Swiped this from Okayplayer.com (JohnBook screen name)
I pasted this here because the last paragraph sums up how I feel. I don't care if P never gets hip-hop or if some people think his music is not relevant. He is the Stevie Wonder of my generation. Nuff said. ----- I fortunately remember a time before MTV. "Seeing music" was something you waited to do every weekend, with shows like "Midnight Special" or "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert". I was a kid, and I wasn't allowed to watch "The Tonight Show". But in the late 1970's, there was something I had never seen before, a promotional film clip for a song. I saw them on public access in Honolulu, and Warner Bros. had done a string of promotional film clips for people like Gary Wright, George Harrison, Thin Lizzy, Al Jarreau, and Ashford & Simpson. And then there was Prince. To be honest, I just thought "I Wanna Be Your Lover" was cool sounding, I was nine years old and that's all I cared about. I was already into Parliament, Funkadelic, War, Ohio Players, and Earth Wind & Fire, and Prince to me came from that. But the video was cool, as he was seen playing all of the instruments. I didn't know much about the mechanics of the recording studio, other than that there was a tape machine that made it possible for one person to play instruments on it, one by one, so that it sounded like a full band. That appealed to me big time. I had always wanted to be in a band, but to be able to say "hear all of these sounds? I made them all" was something I always wanted to do. After they showed the video for "I Wanna Be Your Lover", they would show "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad", which showed him with a full band. I believe he had a trenchcoat in that one too, which was bizarre, but it showed that he had a band. A year or two later I would see the videos for "Dirty Mind" and "Uptown". Good, funky music, but the fucking guy was wearing underwear in a trenchcoat! I believe my avatar gives a good description of my face when I first saw those videos, but I clearly remember seeing the ladies in the crowd in those videos, going crazy. I also remember one of the ladies wearing a T-shirt that was popular at the time, the old HAWAII 79 or HAWAII 80 T-shirts (the number indicating a year, not a football number, as I've seen Old Navy do). I have no idea who she was, but I remember thinking "wow, Hawai'i is in his video". MTV in the early days didn't play anyone who was darker than Paul Wall, so the only time I got to see the next Prince videos was on the old USA Network TV show, "Night Flight". That's where I saw "Controversy" and "Sexuality", and the songs were great. It wasn't until "1999" and "Little Red Corvette" that he started getting attention outside of his core following, whomever they were (i.e. fans of soul music vs. those who thought he was the new "new wave"). He seemed to me a kooky guy who gets off on dressing weird, yet made some incredible music. He always had that smirk in his videos, as if to say "I'm having a good time, I hope you are too", and who didn't want to watch Jill Jones and Lisa Coleman playing keyboards together? C'mon. When "When Doves Cry" came out, remember when they always played the single version of the video first? I don't remember the exact release date, but the song came out very close to the time we moved from Honolulu to the Pacific Northwest. My dad had died the year before, so the lines about his father being too bold was something that was in my mind at the time. Plus, the song was different from his past work, it would be a few months before it was realized there was no bass guitar heard in the song. But the big news was that Prince, the little goofy guy with bikini briefs, was going to do a full length movie. No one knew what it was going to be like, if he was going to act, or what, but of course 21 years later, we all know the impact "Purple Rain" had not only for his career, but 1984 in general. Up until that point, music was still about Duran Duran and The Go-Go's. With Prince, that killed it. If it was Madonna who arguably defined how to push your image to a higher level, it was Prince who defined and defied the music. As a Prince fan for 26 years, I have yet to see him on stage, so I missed incredible tours and shows that fortunately are archived on tape. For me, while I had liked the music of my parents and uncles and aunties, like hip-hop, Prince was music for me, it was now music. Relevant isn't a word that should be used for him, Prince is and always will be. That's how important he is. In truth, he simply makes good music and has become the Stevie Wonder of my time. In other words, a casual fan doesn't have to digest every piece of Prince album, side project, or pseudonyms, but it's safe to say there is at lease ONE Prince song that is a guilty pleasure. Agreed...Great Post...he is the Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Sly Stone and Little Richard of my generation (I'm 34)...But that deosn't take away from the impact hip-hop had on a lot of people's life...And I think the point that was being made in that previous post was not that P wasn't relevant (He is the most important musical artist of my life) because he didn't "get" hip-hop. It was that he showed a lack of respect and understanding for early hip-hop culture which showed by picking subpar MC's to collaborate with....But I do respect your opinion.... | |
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murph said: laurarichardson said: Swiped this from Okayplayer.com (JohnBook screen name)
I pasted this here because the last paragraph sums up how I feel. I don't care if P never gets hip-hop or if some people think his music is not relevant. He is the Stevie Wonder of my generation. Nuff said. ----- I fortunately remember a time before MTV. "Seeing music" was something you waited to do every weekend, with shows like "Midnight Special" or "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert". I was a kid, and I wasn't allowed to watch "The Tonight Show". But in the late 1970's, there was something I had never seen before, a promotional film clip for a song. I saw them on public access in Honolulu, and Warner Bros. had done a string of promotional film clips for people like Gary Wright, George Harrison, Thin Lizzy, Al Jarreau, and Ashford & Simpson. And then there was Prince. To be honest, I just thought "I Wanna Be Your Lover" was cool sounding, I was nine years old and that's all I cared about. I was already into Parliament, Funkadelic, War, Ohio Players, and Earth Wind & Fire, and Prince to me came from that. But the video was cool, as he was seen playing all of the instruments. I didn't know much about the mechanics of the recording studio, other than that there was a tape machine that made it possible for one person to play instruments on it, one by one, so that it sounded like a full band. That appealed to me big time. I had always wanted to be in a band, but to be able to say "hear all of these sounds? I made them all" was something I always wanted to do. After they showed the video for "I Wanna Be Your Lover", they would show "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad", which showed him with a full band. I believe he had a trenchcoat in that one too, which was bizarre, but it showed that he had a band. A year or two later I would see the videos for "Dirty Mind" and "Uptown". Good, funky music, but the fucking guy was wearing underwear in a trenchcoat! I believe my avatar gives a good description of my face when I first saw those videos, but I clearly remember seeing the ladies in the crowd in those videos, going crazy. I also remember one of the ladies wearing a T-shirt that was popular at the time, the old HAWAII 79 or HAWAII 80 T-shirts (the number indicating a year, not a football number, as I've seen Old Navy do). I have no idea who she was, but I remember thinking "wow, Hawai'i is in his video". MTV in the early days didn't play anyone who was darker than Paul Wall, so the only time I got to see the next Prince videos was on the old USA Network TV show, "Night Flight". That's where I saw "Controversy" and "Sexuality", and the songs were great. It wasn't until "1999" and "Little Red Corvette" that he started getting attention outside of his core following, whomever they were (i.e. fans of soul music vs. those who thought he was the new "new wave"). He seemed to me a kooky guy who gets off on dressing weird, yet made some incredible music. He always had that smirk in his videos, as if to say "I'm having a good time, I hope you are too", and who didn't want to watch Jill Jones and Lisa Coleman playing keyboards together? C'mon. When "When Doves Cry" came out, remember when they always played the single version of the video first? I don't remember the exact release date, but the song came out very close to the time we moved from Honolulu to the Pacific Northwest. My dad had died the year before, so the lines about his father being too bold was something that was in my mind at the time. Plus, the song was different from his past work, it would be a few months before it was realized there was no bass guitar heard in the song. But the big news was that Prince, the little goofy guy with bikini briefs, was going to do a full length movie. No one knew what it was going to be like, if he was going to act, or what, but of course 21 years later, we all know the impact "Purple Rain" had not only for his career, but 1984 in general. Up until that point, music was still about Duran Duran and The Go-Go's. With Prince, that killed it. If it was Madonna who arguably defined how to push your image to a higher level, it was Prince who defined and defied the music. As a Prince fan for 26 years, I have yet to see him on stage, so I missed incredible tours and shows that fortunately are archived on tape. For me, while I had liked the music of my parents and uncles and aunties, like hip-hop, Prince was music for me, it was now music. Relevant isn't a word that should be used for him, Prince is and always will be. That's how important he is. In truth, he simply makes good music and has become the Stevie Wonder of my time. In other words, a casual fan doesn't have to digest every piece of Prince album, side project, or pseudonyms, but it's safe to say there is at lease ONE Prince song that is a guilty pleasure. Agreed...Great Post...he is the Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Sly Stone and Little Richard of my generation (I'm 34)...But that deosn't take away from the impact hip-hop had on a lot of people's life...And I think the point that was being made in that previous post was not that P wasn't relevant (He is the most important musical artist of my life) because he didn't "get" hip-hop. It was that he showed a lack of respect and understanding for early hip-hop culture which showed by picking subpar MC's to collaborate with....But I do respect your opinion.... ----- He showed a lack of repect because they are not musicians. Period and don't assume that hip-hop had this impact on everyone's life | |
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laurarichardson said: Swiped this from Okayplayer.com (JohnBook screen name)
I pasted this here because the last paragraph sums up how I feel. I don't care if P never gets hip-hop or if some people think his music is not relevant. He is the Stevie Wonder of my generation. Nuff said. ----- I fortunately remember a time before MTV. "Seeing music" was something you waited to do every weekend, with shows like "Midnight Special" or "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert". I was a kid, and I wasn't allowed to watch "The Tonight Show". But in the late 1970's, there was something I had never seen before, a promotional film clip for a song. I saw them on public access in Honolulu, and Warner Bros. had done a string of promotional film clips for people like Gary Wright, George Harrison, Thin Lizzy, Al Jarreau, and Ashford & Simpson. And then there was Prince. To be honest, I just thought "I Wanna Be Your Lover" was cool sounding, I was nine years old and that's all I cared about. I was already into Parliament, Funkadelic, War, Ohio Players, and Earth Wind & Fire, and Prince to me came from that. But the video was cool, as he was seen playing all of the instruments. I didn't know much about the mechanics of the recording studio, other than that there was a tape machine that made it possible for one person to play instruments on it, one by one, so that it sounded like a full band. That appealed to me big time. I had always wanted to be in a band, but to be able to say "hear all of these sounds? I made them all" was something I always wanted to do. After they showed the video for "I Wanna Be Your Lover", they would show "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad", which showed him with a full band. I believe he had a trenchcoat in that one too, which was bizarre, but it showed that he had a band. A year or two later I would see the videos for "Dirty Mind" and "Uptown". Good, funky music, but the fucking guy was wearing underwear in a trenchcoat! I believe my avatar gives a good description of my face when I first saw those videos, but I clearly remember seeing the ladies in the crowd in those videos, going crazy. I also remember one of the ladies wearing a T-shirt that was popular at the time, the old HAWAII 79 or HAWAII 80 T-shirts (the number indicating a year, not a football number, as I've seen Old Navy do). I have no idea who she was, but I remember thinking "wow, Hawai'i is in his video". MTV in the early days didn't play anyone who was darker than Paul Wall, so the only time I got to see the next Prince videos was on the old USA Network TV show, "Night Flight". That's where I saw "Controversy" and "Sexuality", and the songs were great. It wasn't until "1999" and "Little Red Corvette" that he started getting attention outside of his core following, whomever they were (i.e. fans of soul music vs. those who thought he was the new "new wave"). He seemed to me a kooky guy who gets off on dressing weird, yet made some incredible music. He always had that smirk in his videos, as if to say "I'm having a good time, I hope you are too", and who didn't want to watch Jill Jones and Lisa Coleman playing keyboards together? C'mon. When "When Doves Cry" came out, remember when they always played the single version of the video first? I don't remember the exact release date, but the song came out very close to the time we moved from Honolulu to the Pacific Northwest. My dad had died the year before, so the lines about his father being too bold was something that was in my mind at the time. Plus, the song was different from his past work, it would be a few months before it was realized there was no bass guitar heard in the song. But the big news was that Prince, the little goofy guy with bikini briefs, was going to do a full length movie. No one knew what it was going to be like, if he was going to act, or what, but of course 21 years later, we all know the impact "Purple Rain" had not only for his career, but 1984 in general. Up until that point, music was still about Duran Duran and The Go-Go's. With Prince, that killed it. If it was Madonna who arguably defined how to push your image to a higher level, it was Prince who defined and defied the music. As a Prince fan for 26 years, I have yet to see him on stage, so I missed incredible tours and shows that fortunately are archived on tape. For me, while I had liked the music of my parents and uncles and aunties, like hip-hop, Prince was music for me, it was now music. Relevant isn't a word that should be used for him, Prince is and always will be. That's how important he is. In truth, he simply makes good music and has become the Stevie Wonder of my time. In other words, a casual fan doesn't have to digest every piece of Prince album, side project, or pseudonyms, but it's safe to say there is at lease ONE Prince song that is a guilty pleasure. Very moving piece. Thank you for posting this! | |
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laurarichardson said: murph said: Agreed...Great Post...he is the Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Sly Stone and Little Richard of my generation (I'm 34)...But that deosn't take away from the impact hip-hop had on a lot of people's life...And I think the point that was being made in that previous post was not that P wasn't relevant (He is the most important musical artist of my life) because he didn't "get" hip-hop. It was that he showed a lack of respect and understanding for early hip-hop culture which showed by picking subpar MC's to collaborate with....But I do respect your opinion.... ----- He showed a lack of repect because they are not musicians. Period and don't assume that hip-hop had this impact on everyone's life . [Edited 6/23/05 12:11pm] | |
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Sorry,but I've never really believed people saying when "I was a kid I was a big fan of Prince..."
Prince and his music has always been strictly for the teenage/adult people... So I don't believe that a young kid could understand all the meanings of Prince music... And enjoying it....  |
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krayzie said: Sorry,but I've never really believed people saying when "I was a kid I was a big fan of Prince..."
Prince and his music has always been strictly for the teenage/adult people... So I don't believe that a young kid could understand all the meanings of Prince music... And enjoying it.... ----- Not true. I was about 11 when I Want To Be Your Lover was out and I really liked that song. | |
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Thank U, i really enjoyed that read  thanks!Keenmeister |
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krayzie said: Sorry,but I've never really believed people saying when "I was a kid I was a big fan of Prince..."
Prince and his music has always been strictly for the teenage/adult people... So I don't believe that a young kid could understand all the meanings of Prince music... And enjoying it.... Age is nothing but a number! I was a young kid when I became a big fan of Prince's music. I'll admit I may not have understood he meanings, however his music did speak to my soul. It intrigued me enough to make me want to keep listening and discover his meanings on my own as I matured. My children were raised on his music, hell I used to even put my headphones on my belly when I was pregnant. Even though they're teens now and all into hip hop and the crap ClearChannel calls music, they're still pissed at me for not taking them to see Prince last year, so it can happen! [Edited 6/23/05 14:40pm] | |
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Prince is now the Standard! Just like Stevie was back in his day 4 singer/songwriter/musician! U,ME,WE!....2FUNKY! | |
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Great post. I wish it was longer because it's so insightful, the kind of testimonial that I wish more people who dismiss Prince would read. However, I would go further because Prince is actually more than a Stevie Wonder. Somehow, he managed to represent black music as a whole (Sly, JB, Hendrix, etc.) AND The Beatles, Joni Mitchell and Santana AND create a whole sound very much his own, not to mention putting his personal twist on the greats I have just mentionned. In fact, today Prince is in himself a celebration of all of american music with the notable exception of country (give or take a country-influenced live rendition of Alphabet Street). His records may not have been compelling every time, but more than any other musiciaqn alive today he can say he has offered the most complete body of work in terms of the idioms of American music. | |
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Aerogram said: Great post. I wish it was longer because it's so insightful, the kind of testimonial that I wish more people who dismiss Prince would read. However, I would go further because Prince is actually more than a Stevie Wonder. Somehow, he managed to represent black music as a whole (Sly, JB, Hendrix, etc.) AND The Beatles, Joni Mitchell and Santana AND create a whole sound very much his own , not to mention putting his personal twist on the greats I have just mentionned. In fact, today Prince is in himself a celebration of all of american music with the notable exception of country (give or take a country-influenced live rendition of Alphabet Street). His records may not have been compelling every time, but more than any other musiciaqn alive today he can say he has offered the most complete body of work in terms of the idioms of American music.
Typical Prince fan statement... [Edited 6/23/05 17:25pm] |
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krayzie said: Aerogram said: Great post. I wish it was longer because it's so insightful, the kind of testimonial that I wish more people who dismiss Prince would read. However, I would go further because Prince is actually more than a Stevie Wonder. Somehow, he managed to represent black music as a whole (Sly, JB, Hendrix, etc.) AND The Beatles, Joni Mitchell and Santana AND create a whole sound very much his own , not to mention putting his personal twist on the greats I have just mentionned. In fact, today Prince is in himself a celebration of all of american music with the notable exception of country (give or take a country-influenced live rendition of Alphabet Street). His records may not have been compelling every time, but more than any other musiciaqn alive today he can say he has offered the most complete body of work in terms of the idioms of American music.
Typical Prince fan statement...   see that someone has been sippin too much Purple Kool Aid  again.  [Edited 6/23/05 19:31pm] | |
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I agree.
Musicology = Characters | |
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krayzie said: Sorry,but I've never really believed people saying when "I was a kid I was a big fan of Prince..."
Prince and his music has always been strictly for the teenage/adult people... So I don't believe that a young kid could understand all the meanings of Prince music... And enjoying it.... I don't know about that. My daughter as a baby would dance up a storm to 'Housequake'. My husband and I found it hilariously cute. We'd use to turn the song on and off, just to watch her stop and start. Now I can't keep her out of my Prince CDs. | |
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laurarichardson said: murph said: Agreed...Great Post...he is the Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Sly Stone and Little Richard of my generation (I'm 34)...But that deosn't take away from the impact hip-hop had on a lot of people's life...And I think the point that was being made in that previous post was not that P wasn't relevant (He is the most important musical artist of my life) because he didn't "get" hip-hop. It was that he showed a lack of respect and understanding for early hip-hop culture which showed by picking subpar MC's to collaborate with....But I do respect your opinion.... ----- He showed a lack of repect because they are not musicians. Period and don't assume that hip-hop had this impact on everyone's life I understand your gripes...It's hard to really buy into hip-hop nowadays...But then again, the hip-hop that was such a huge part of my life (along with Prince...) is not the hip-hop that I loved...and it doesn't have to be...Again, musicianship is cool, but what made hip-hop great was that it was revolutionary on so many levels...and the bottom line: The fact that Prince didn't respect hip-hop showed a lack of insight and snobbery on his part (again, dude never had to "like" it; but at least respect it as a viable artform)....And the fact that he tried to incorporate it into his music years later speaks volumes on his own hypocrisy as well as hip-hop's overall cultural impact...Hey, i get it...you don't like hip-hop...And i never said hip-hop had an impact on everybody's life...Just the younger generation 18-40, that are running the world..As with most music, it's a generational thing... | |
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krayzie said: Sorry,but I've never really believed people saying when "I was a kid I was a big fan of Prince..."
Prince and his music has always been strictly for the teenage/adult people... So I don't believe that a young kid could understand all the meanings of Prince music... And enjoying it.... Absolutely not true. I became a fan of his at 5 but I knew he was more for the adults when I saw that Purple Rain was rated R. I didn't get all that he was saying in the songs but the music really hit me, especially the beats. Kids can get into anything if they are exposed to it so never say never. If the music is bumping, you're going to groove to it, no matter what age. I'm not a fan of "old Prince". I'm not a fan of "new Prince". I'm just a fan of Prince. Simple as that | |
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krayzie said: Aerogram said: Great post. I wish it was longer because it's so insightful, the kind of testimonial that I wish more people who dismiss Prince would read. However, I would go further because Prince is actually more than a Stevie Wonder. Somehow, he managed to represent black music as a whole (Sly, JB, Hendrix, etc.) AND The Beatles, Joni Mitchell and Santana AND create a whole sound very much his own , not to mention putting his personal twist on the greats I have just mentionned. In fact, today Prince is in himself a celebration of all of american music with the notable exception of country (give or take a country-influenced live rendition of Alphabet Street). His records may not have been compelling every time, but more than any other musiciaqn alive today he can say he has offered the most complete body of work in terms of the idioms of American music.
Typical Prince fan statement... [Edited 6/23/05 17:25pm] I stand by my "typical" Prince fan statement. Now, I did not say Prince the sum of all these artists combined. I said he managed to represent their type of music for a new generation. He did it with credibility and originality, unlike people like Lenny Kravitz, and I think that is because Prince wasn't imitative right of the gate like Lenny, and did create his own sound. I appreciate we have different opinions but you sound derisive and dismissive of several posts here, like your assertion kids can't get into Prince. I direct you to the Purple Rain DVD and the video to Baby I'm a Star/I Would Die 4 U, where you will see with your own eyes two little girls nodding their heads with mouths wide open. Enjoy! | |
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Aerogram said: krayzie said:
Typical Prince fan statement... [Edited 6/23/05 17:25pm] I stand by my "typical" Prince fan statement. Now, I did not say Prince the sum of all these artists combined. I said he managed to represent their type of music for a new generation. He did it with credibility and originality, unlike people like Lenny Kravitz, and I think that is because Prince wasn't imitative right of the gate like Lenny, and did create his own sound. I appreciate we have different opinions but you sound derisive and dismissive of several posts here, like your assertion kids can't get into Prince. I direct you to the Purple Rain DVD and the video to Baby I'm a Star/I Would Die 4 U, where you will see with your own eyes two little girls nodding their heads with mouths wide open. Enjoy! ----- Co-Sign Almost all of the criticism on this post have been derisive and dismissive. If you really are a fan of Prince you must be drinking Purple Kool-Aid as if you are demented or brainwashed because you are fan with a high opinion about P's music. It is a opinion and everybody has a right to have one. Unfortunately, we live in a world were it is hip and cool to be cynical about everything. Everybody has a hidden agenda or his bonkers if they don't follow the masses. Will I have never followed the masses and one of the things I love about P is he does not follow the masses either. I posted a fan's true opinion about Prince as an artist that did not come from a Prince message board and still people doubt it is genuine. I guess the 1.4 million tickets he sold less year was a figment of our imaginations as well. Prince is a musical genius and an Icon. Accept and get over it. | |
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murph said: laurarichardson said: ----- He showed a lack of repect because they are not musicians. Period and don't assume that hip-hop had this impact on everyone's life I understand your gripes...It's hard to really buy into hip-hop nowadays...But then again, the hip-hop that was such a huge part of my life (along with Prince...) is not the hip-hop that I loved...and it doesn't have to be...Again, musicianship is cool, but what made hip-hop great was that it was revolutionary on so many levels...and the bottom line: The fact that Prince didn't respect hip-hop showed a lack of insight and snobbery on his part (again, dude never had to "like" it; but at least respect it as a viable artform)....And the fact that he tried to incorporate it into his music years later speaks volumes on his own hypocrisy as well as hip-hop's overall cultural impact...Hey, i get it...you don't like hip-hop...And i never said hip-hop had an impact on everybody's life...Just the younger generation 18-40, that are running the world..As with most music, it's a generational thing... ----- I know a lot of musicians and most of them are snobby about their craft. Why should they not be. They took the time to learn to play an instument and they are doing something that is 100% creative. Do you really think a rapper is being 100% creative by ripping off a sample from another artist. A rapper could choose to work with musicians but, most of them will not do it and I think we all know that deep down inside that know their talent is limited and they can't cut it with musicians. I will always belived that Prince tried to incorporate into his music because the pressured to do so by the mighty WB. When you work for a record company they expect you to sell records and if you have to change what you are doing to do so they don't care. I would also love to know what you think Hip-Hop cutural impact has been. Because this is what I see. 1)The destruction of RnB music. No singing and no musicianship. Just rapping 365 days out of the year. 2) A reliance on stereotypical images that demean African-Americans. 3) The promotion of misogynistic images that demean all woman. 4) The promotion of criminal acts as a means of survival. Nothing to be really proud of. | |
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EvilWhiteBale said: I agree.
Musicology = Characters ----- Musicology = $$$$ = Entrepreneur | |
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laurarichardson said: murph said: I understand your gripes...It's hard to really buy into hip-hop nowadays...But then again, the hip-hop that was such a huge part of my life (along with Prince...) is not the hip-hop that I loved...and it doesn't have to be...Again, musicianship is cool, but what made hip-hop great was that it was revolutionary on so many levels...and the bottom line: The fact that Prince didn't respect hip-hop showed a lack of insight and snobbery on his part (again, dude never had to "like" it; but at least respect it as a viable artform)....And the fact that he tried to incorporate it into his music years later speaks volumes on his own hypocrisy as well as hip-hop's overall cultural impact...Hey, i get it...you don't like hip-hop...And i never said hip-hop had an impact on everybody's life...Just the younger generation 18-40, that are running the world..As with most music, it's a generational thing... ----- I know a lot of musicians and most of them are snobby about their craft. Why should they not be. They took the time to learn to play an instument and they are doing something that is 100% creative. Do you really think a rapper is being 100% creative by ripping off a sample from another artist. A rapper could choose to work with musicians but, most of them will not do it and I think we all know that deep down inside that know their talent is limited and they can't cut it with musicians. I will always belived that Prince tried to incorporate into his music because the pressured to do so by the mighty WB. When you work for a record company they expect you to sell records and if you have to change what you are doing to do so they don't care. I would also love to know what you think Hip-Hop cutural impact has been. Because this is what I see. 1)The destruction of RnB music. No singing and no musicianship. Just rapping 365 days out of the year. 2) A reliance on stereotypical images that demean African-Americans. 3) The promotion of misogynistic images that demean all woman. 4) The promotion of criminal acts as a means of survival. Nothing to be really proud of. It's always perilous to assess a whole genre. Every single style has a large ratio of conventional music for every great record. Rock, Soul, punk funk.. they all had their share of unimaginative efforts. The fact real musicians were behind it didn't make it more compelling than an average rap record. Look at what rock became for a while, at the robotics of modern r n b. I think a good rap record can be just as rewarding as any if it's made by the right people, whether they can play an instrument or not. In a way, a programming software or unit is a musical instrument. It takes imagination and taste to put together great tracks. As for the rapping itself, it does take a strong rythm sense and lyrical flair, even if most rappers don't exactly rise to the occasion. The whole thug culture is despicable - so maybe it had a documentary edge at the beginning but now it's just endless aping of the worst stereotypes, not to mention the misoginy. But you just can't judge a whole genre so swiftly, because all it takes to show something is musically interesting is a couple of Public Enemy's. Rap has definitely demonstrated its musical relevance even if so many acts have made it hard to remember. | |
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morningsong said: krayzie said: Sorry,but I've never really believed people saying when "I was a kid I was a big fan of Prince..."
Prince and his music has always been strictly for the teenage/adult people... So I don't believe that a young kid could understand all the meanings of Prince music... And enjoying it.... I don't know about that. My daughter as a baby would dance up a storm to 'Housequake'. My husband and I found it hilariously cute. We'd use to turn the song on and off, just to watch her stop and start. Now I can't keep her out of my Prince CDs. Mmhhh sorry but do you really believe that your baby enjoyed Prince music (the melody, Prince voice, the lyrics, the subject of the song...) or only the rythm of the Music and nothing much... Common, a baby can't have the abilities to understand what is good music or not, it's all about rythm... [Edited 6/24/05 9:54am] |
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laurarichardson said: murph said: I understand your gripes...It's hard to really buy into hip-hop nowadays...But then again, the hip-hop that was such a huge part of my life (along with Prince...) is not the hip-hop that I loved...and it doesn't have to be...Again, musicianship is cool, but what made hip-hop great was that it was revolutionary on so many levels...and the bottom line: The fact that Prince didn't respect hip-hop showed a lack of insight and snobbery on his part (again, dude never had to "like" it; but at least respect it as a viable artform)....And the fact that he tried to incorporate it into his music years later speaks volumes on his own hypocrisy as well as hip-hop's overall cultural impact...Hey, i get it...you don't like hip-hop...And i never said hip-hop had an impact on everybody's life...Just the younger generation 18-40, that are running the world..As with most music, it's a generational thing... ----- I know a lot of musicians and most of them are snobby about their craft. Why should they not be. They took the time to learn to play an instument and they are doing something that is 100% creative. Do you really think a rapper is being 100% creative by ripping off a sample from another artist. A rapper could choose to work with musicians but, most of them will not do it and I think we all know that deep down inside that know their talent is limited and they can't cut it with musicians. I will always belived that Prince tried to incorporate into his music because the pressured to do so by the mighty WB. When you work for a record company they expect you to sell records and if you have to change what you are doing to do so they don't care. I would also love to know what you think Hip-Hop cutural impact has been. Because this is what I see. 1)The destruction of RnB music. No singing and no musicianship. Just rapping 365 days out of the year. 2) A reliance on stereotypical images that demean African-Americans. 3) The promotion of misogynistic images that demean all woman. 4) The promotion of criminal acts as a means of survival. Nothing to be really proud of. Okay dog... Now you are turning the conversation to something entirely different...In my previous post, I acknowledge the fact that hip-hop has veered off from its artistic path in recent years. But in our original post we were talking about the '80s and Prince's snobbery towards an artform that threatened him. Hey, I'm responding to a cat that thinks It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back was not even on the level of Grafitti Bridge...I understand your contempt for hip hop...but if you couldn't see the revolutionary and groundbreaking spirit of this genre in the late 70's and throughout the '80s and even the early 90s, I'm sorry...Even today your God (Prince) has been able seperate the talentless MC's from the one's that are pushing the genre forward (Ex: his work with Common, his praise of Outkast ect...) And for the last time, Prince is human...Everyone has a little hypocrisy in them, and Prince is not immune...You think a record label could pressure him into doing rap???!!!! No, our boy simply saw the handwriting on the wall and tried to relate to the youth..Unfortunately, he got some wack ass MC's to work with...funny thing is, you probably wouldn't be able to distinguish Tony M. from Rakim...And I think that's the problem right now...There's one thing to not like a genre (I am not a huge fan of country), but i acknowledge it as a past artform... | |
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laurarichardson said: krayzie said: Sorry,but I've never really believed people saying when "I was a kid I was a big fan of Prince..."
Prince and his music has always been strictly for the teenage/adult people... So I don't believe that a young kid could understand all the meanings of Prince music... And enjoying it.... ----- Not true. I was about 11 when I Want To Be Your Lover was out and I really liked that song. Yep of course "Wanna be your lover" was an average pop/rnb hit, so i understand that you enjoyed it, but I truly don't believe that you were fan of Prince music when he was in his Dirty Mind/Controversy period... During this time Prince made a very hardcore music with a lot of sexual meanings and gay/androgynous behaviours... A lot of (adult) people were shoked by his very explicit lyrics and his image... He talked about lesbianism, incest and masturbation, Common, it was the early 80's, how a young girl could enjoy songs like that ???
Prince was more an underground artist and his music was strictly for the 15/30 years old public... So when you affirmed "I enjoyed "Dirty Mind", Controversy" or "Sexuality" when you were 9/10 years old seems to me a little bit unbelievable... [Edited 6/24/05 9:52am] |
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Aerogram said: laurarichardson said: ----- I know a lot of musicians and most of them are snobby about their craft. Why should they not be. They took the time to learn to play an instument and they are doing something that is 100% creative. Do you really think a rapper is being 100% creative by ripping off a sample from another artist. A rapper could choose to work with musicians but, most of them will not do it and I think we all know that deep down inside that know their talent is limited and they can't cut it with musicians. I will always belived that Prince tried to incorporate into his music because the pressured to do so by the mighty WB. When you work for a record company they expect you to sell records and if you have to change what you are doing to do so they don't care. I would also love to know what you think Hip-Hop cutural impact has been. Because this is what I see. 1)The destruction of RnB music. No singing and no musicianship. Just rapping 365 days out of the year. 2) A reliance on stereotypical images that demean African-Americans. 3) The promotion of misogynistic images that demean all woman. 4) The promotion of criminal acts as a means of survival. Nothing to be really proud of. It's always perilous to assess a whole genre. Every single style has a large ratio of conventional music for every great record. Rock, Soul, punk funk.. they all had their share of unimaginative efforts. The fact real musicians were behind it didn't make it more compelling than an average rap record. Look at what rock became for a while, at the robotics of modern r n b. I think a good rap record can be just as rewarding as any if it's made by the right people, whether they can play an instrument or not. In a way, a programming software or unit is a musical instrument. It takes imagination and taste to put together great tracks. As for the rapping itself, it does take a strong rythm sense and lyrical flair, even if most rappers don't exactly rise to the occasion. The whole thug culture is despicable - so maybe it had a documentary edge at the beginning but now it's just endless aping of the worst stereotypes, not to mention the misoginy. But you just can't judge a whole genre so swiftly, because all it takes to show something is musically interesting is a couple of Public Enemy's. Rap has definitely demonstrated its musical relevance even if so many acts have made it hard to remember. Ditto...Thankyou for your insight.....And really, we don't even have to keep bringing up Public Enemy from the past to prove the point....There's some hip-hop out there today that's going beyond the bullshit (Common, OutKast, MF Doom, the Roots, Kanye West, Jay Z (dude is a sick lyricist...it's hard to front on him talent wise), David Banner ect...) Like most genre's of music, hip-hop is suffering through a recycled period...but so was rock...and country is going through the same shit (Toby Keith WTF????).... | |
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