New topic
Printable| Author | Message |
Don't Sweat the Charts I read a lot of stuff here about how Prince could have "a hit" if he only did this, that or the other thing...
Who cares? Since when did album sales ever have a direct correlation with artistic quality? I tried to dig a little and come up with the top selling singles for ever year since 1970, but apparently that's a tightly guarded (and expensive) list to obtain. Off the top of my head I can come up with a wealth of useless bullshit that the public somehow dumped mass quantities of cash into and on top of, but that doesn't make any of it art. "Convoy", "Disco Duck", "You Light Up My Life", "Stayin' Alive", "Pac-Man Fever", "Saturday Night" (BayCityRollers), "Macarena", "I'm Too Sexy", "Electric Avenue", and so forth. Why, when discussing the merits of Prince's work, especially in comparison to better selling artists like MJ and Eminem, do people constantly refer to album sales as a benchmark of the artistic integrity within the work? By this reasoning, Saturday Night Fever is the greatest record of all time and David Hasselhoff is a fucking genious. Prince doesn't seem to care all that much, why do we? "Who got the brand new hit in Los Angeles? Guess what? It aint me. Uh-uh. Try 2 make me pay big $ 4 the frequency. Guess what? I aint givin' up fees, not me, to no Jukebox with a heartbeat..." | |
- E-mail - orgNote -  Report post to moderator |
herbthe4 said: Why, when discussing the merits of Prince's work, especially in comparison to better selling artists like MJ and Eminem, do people constantly refer to album sales as a benchmark of the artistic integrity within the work? By this reasoning, Saturday Night Fever is the greatest record of all time and David Hasselhoff is a fucking genious.
Prince doesn't seem to care all that much, why do we? It seems to be a bragging rights sort of thing. Some people haven't left the 80s. This post not for the wimp contingent. All whiny wusses avert your eyes. | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
It wouldn't bother me if he never had another "hit." As long as he keeps making music and having concerts, I'm cool! Hit or no hit, the man has the best live show I have ever seen. No one else even comes close. He moves me. *this is for whoever taught you how to kiss in designer jeans* | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
|
herbthe4 said: I read a lot of stuff here about how Prince could have "a hit" if he only did this, that or the other thing...
Who cares? Since when did album sales ever have a direct correlation with artistic quality? I tried to dig a little and come up with the top selling singles for ever year since 1970, but apparently that's a tightly guarded (and expensive) list to obtain. Off the top of my head I can come up with a wealth of useless bullshit that the public somehow dumped mass quantities of cash into and on top of, but that doesn't make any of it art. "Convoy", "Disco Duck", "You Light Up My Life", "Stayin' Alive", "Pac-Man Fever", "Saturday Night" (BayCityRollers), "Macarena", "I'm Too Sexy", "Electric Avenue", and so forth. Why, when discussing the merits of Prince's work, especially in comparison to better selling artists like MJ and Eminem, do people constantly refer to album sales as a benchmark of the artistic integrity within the work? By this reasoning, Saturday Night Fever is the greatest record of all time and David Hasselhoff is a fucking genious. Prince doesn't seem to care all that much, why do we? "Who got the brand new hit in Los Angeles? Guess what? It aint me. Uh-uh. Try 2 make me pay big $ 4 the frequency. Guess what? I aint givin' up fees, not me, to no Jukebox with a heartbeat..." I have 2 admit I liked some of the songs U named above-- You Light Up My Life and Staying Alive-- are '70s classics-- while Pac-Man Fever brings back memories of my grade school years when Pac Man was big-- I loved that song. Macarena and I'm Too Sexy are fun songs, disposable they may be, but entertaining!!! Prince would b selling more records if he had good marketing and wasn't making career missteps the last few years (e.g., turning the public off with his name changes and even his own fans with his preaching). Peace! [This message was edited Tue May 28 0:18:05 PDT 2002 by rainbowchild] "Just like the sun, the Rainbow Children rise."
"We had fun, didn't we?" -Prince (1958-2016) 4ever in my life |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
|
Um, charts are a sign of acceptence by the mainstream. To be in the top tier of the charts means that you are making music that people want to hear. Part of being a musician is to make music that people want to hear.
Besides, don't act like Prince didn't release this new CD in response to Alicia Keys's marketed skills as a pianist cum soulgirl. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Still it's nice to know, when our bodies wear out, we can get another -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
herbthe4 said: I read a lot of stuff here about how Prince could have "a hit" if he only did this, that or the other thing...
Who cares? Since when did album sales ever have a direct correlation with artistic quality? I tried to dig a little and come up with the top selling singles for ever year since 1970, but apparently that's a tightly guarded (and expensive) list to obtain. Off the top of my head I can come up with a wealth of useless bullshit that the public somehow dumped mass quantities of cash into and on top of, but that doesn't make any of it art. "Convoy", "Disco Duck", "You Light Up My Life", "Stayin' Alive", "Pac-Man Fever", "Saturday Night" (BayCityRollers), "Macarena", "I'm Too Sexy", "Electric Avenue", and so forth. Why, when discussing the merits of Prince's work, especially in comparison to better selling artists like MJ and Eminem, do people constantly refer to album sales as a benchmark of the artistic integrity within the work? By this reasoning, Saturday Night Fever is the greatest record of all time and David Hasselhoff is a fucking genious. Prince doesn't seem to care all that much, why do we? "Who got the brand new hit in Los Angeles? Guess what? It aint me. Uh-uh. Try 2 make me pay big $ 4 the frequency. Guess what? I aint givin' up fees, not me, to no Jukebox with a heartbeat..." Many people on this site automatically assume that,if a song is topping the charts,it must be trash.By this reasoning,I guess we could say that "When Doves Cry","Kiss" and "Cream" are awful songs,since they all went to Number One on the charts.Yes,there are alot of stupid songs that sell big,but that's not ALWAYS the case,you know.And for the record,I think the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack is a masterpiece:) | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
Dauphin said: Um, charts are a sign of acceptence by the mainstream. To be in the top tier of the charts means that you are making music that people want to hear. Part of being a musician is to make music that people want to hear.
I agree! I think MOST artists want their music to sell,whether they admit it or not. | |
| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |