Okay so I'm a new fan of Prince. I've been a Michael fan for the past 12 years and I've always held Prince as like a very talented guy and I loved his mainstream music. Now I'm getting into the stuff the "poptart Prince fans" would probably not dig. (IE - Gold Experience, Symbol Album, The Rainbow Children, etc.)

I've also read Alex Hahn's book "Possessed." (I'm not sure how accurate it is but I'm trying to figure that out.) I respect Prince for so many reasons. His talent and the fact that he has such a drive to do so much music. I guess what I want to know is...

First of all..how accurate is "Possessed?" I've read books about Michael that are all about throwing dirt at him while trying to write a biography. Is this the case with Prince also? Is this the "essential" book about Prince? Is there another that is better? (I was kind of p*ssed that Possessed ended right before Musicology came out. I would have like to have seen the book end on good note for P.)

Second of all..I've heard Prince held a party for his fans where he discussed spirituality and stuff of that sort at Paisley Park. Does he do this on a regular basis?

Third of all..Do any of the hardcore fans think P will tour USA again? I live in Kansas City and would really hope to see him live at least once before I die. Is this possible?

4th of all..What is the story with Prince's "official" fanclub? You pay 100$ for all the downloads? Do you still get access to all the past downloads? Or is just the current ones? Do you pay extra for the downloads? Also - Did the perferred seating stuff apply for the Musicology and future shows?

Lastly..What are the best websites to get Prince news up-to-date? Is it Prince.org ? hehe

Okay thanks guys! It means a lot to me!

Your friend,
Jason
[Edited 7/9/05 19:42pm]

Try Dez's book, I hear it's good

Sure he will Keep hope alive buddy!


Uh, here!!
and housequake.com

Is this the "essential" book about Prince? Is there another that is better?

No, I think the best book on Prince or Prince "history" would be "DanceMusicSexRomance" by Per Neilsen (I think that how you spell it). It deals with Prince's first 10 years in the Music biz and it's great. Also, the people from the website www.uptown.se has a book called "The Vault" which is great too. It list everything Prince has done by date and year. My friend has a copy of it and I need to get my own.

Second of all..I've heard Prince held a party for his fans where he discussed spirituality and stuff of that sort at Paisley Park. Does he do this on a regular basis?

If memory serves me, that was during the Celebration he had at Paisley Park in 2001 for the listening party of The Rainbow Children. There hasn't been any word of him holding town meeting like stuff on issues like that since but someone else can correct me if I'm wrong.

Third of all..Do any of the hardcore fans think P will tour USA again? I live in Kansas City and would really hope to see him live at least once before I die. Is this possible?

Absolutely. Performing is in his blood and I can't see him stopping unless something were to happen God forbid.

4th of all..What is the story with Prince's "official" fanclub? You pay 100$ for all the downloads? Do you still get access to all the past downloads? Or is just the current ones? Do you pay extra for the downloads? Also - Did the perferred seating stuff apply for the Musicology and future shows?

You pay $25 for a lifetime membership. There's a section for downloads and you don't have to be a member to get them but there's a discount for those that are. They have stuff in there from the last 4 years of the site. The preferred seating has been in effect since 2000 or 2001 with his Hit-N-Run tour and is still in effect until the NPGMC changes that.

Lastly..What are the best websites to get Prince news up-to-date? Is it Prince.org ? hehe

Like what Thekidsgirl said this site and www.housequake.com are great unofficial sites.

I hope this helps you out and continue to enjoy the funk!

jasonstar said:

Hi Jason,

I'll just say that "Possessed" is not the "essential" book about Prince, it was written by someone with an agenda, who mistakenly thought Prince was through and tried to capitalize on that. Read the books mentioned in the posts above for better insight. Prince is quite extrodinary but he is still human like the rest of us, prone to make mistakes.

Welcome to the FunkySide, do enjoy your stay!

jasonstar said:

The book "Possessed" by Alex Hahn has some factual information but do not in any way take the book as the gospel on Prince. The dude was a disgruntled fan with an ax to grind.
You're better off reading "DanceMusicSexRomance" by Per Nilsen. This only covers the first 10 years of Prince's career however, I think the author reissued the book under another name and extended it on into the current era.

Also, I've read that Dez Dickerson has a great book out also, called My Time With Prince or something like that.

Ifsixwuz9 said:

Per Nilsen hasn't produced a follow-up or extension to DanceMusicSexRomance.

Alex Hahn's book does have factual inaccuracies in it which Hahn has acknowledged (e.g. he mistakenly attributes U2's guitarwork to Bono).

However, the book sources its information from the same interviews that Per Nilsen had previously conducted for his own book and other research (made available to Hahn), and further interviews conducted by Hahn and associates.

Alex Hahn then presents a viewpoint woven into the presentation of facts about Prince's career, as suggested in the title: 'Possessed - The Rise and fall of Prince'.

Some people will inevitably disagree with his viewpoint for one rreason or another.

.
.
[Edited 7/10/05 7:17am]

purplecam said:

To clarify here, the NPGMC has made available some of the material previously first made available for download through previous subscription arrangements.

So you don't get access to all of the past downloads - but there's still a considerable amount of material that can be downloaded.
.

Do they charge per download? If so how much?

jasonstar said:

go have a look. I think the NPGMC is reasonably good value. I won't pay for video downloads though. No way.

langebleu said:

Thanks, I thought that you did. You learn something new everyday.

langebleu said:

Ok, so the The Vault (couldn't remember the name of it earlier) does not further the musical exploits of prince to the current era? If not, thanks for letting me know I'll save my $50 bucks.

langebleu said:

Alex Hahn is also "a lawyer" who represented a Prince fanzine, Uptown, who Prince attempted to sue. Bias and conflict of interest as literature? You bet:nod:

jasonstar said:

Possessed is actually a lot more accurate than a lot of fans would like to
admit. Though it is of course not exactly written from an objective viewpoint.
Prince could be a right pain back in the day, but it didn't affect his knack
for musical genius.


No, that was just at the Rainbow Children Celebration in 2001.


I would think so, why shouldn't he?


No, you only pay $25 for membership. You don't need to be a member to buy the
downloads, they're mostly $0.99 for single tracks or $9.99 for albums. If
you're a member you get them 2/3rds the price ($0.77 for single tracks, $7.77
for albums). Also, being a member gives you access to the website and first
dibs / prefered seating on tickets whenever possible.



Prince.org Housequake.com NPGMusicClub.com

BorisFishpaw said:

Hahn used the oldest trick in the book by SELECTIVELY using facts to create a work of fiction under the guise of non-fiction . The caricature in Hahn's book would be incapable of creating many of the great songs Prince has made. Most of us concede the fact that Prince is no angel, but c'mon now. Deep down even the most cynical people know this book is trash.

Ifsixwuz9 said:

The Vault covers Prince's career up to May 2004. It is produced by 'Uptown', with Per Nilsen as Editor-in-chief. It presents Prince's recording life in an encyclopedic format. It is the latest of a series of works from the Uptown stable in this style.

'DanceMusicSexRomance' however is a work by per Nilsen alone, and presents Prince's life as a narrated biography. It is this style of work that has not received a follow-up or extension.

Personally, I would thoroughly recommend 'The Vault'.


.

whodknee said:

It would be interesting to know which are the facts that you believe Hahn elected to include and omit in order to create this 'caricature'.

Personally, I don't think it is so much a case of selective inclusion and omission of facts that creates the portrayal of Prince that is considered a caricature - rather, it is the way that the facts are presented to support the argument of the book.
.

Possessed is a piece of shit

I could have wrote a better book.

I thought Possessed was EXCELLENT! There's alot of dirty laundry aired, and Alex Hahn definately insert's his commentary. But I, with exceptions, pretty much agreed with his assessments. I also don't see the book as thouroughly negative like alot of posters on the org seem too. I'm from Minneapolis and I knew or knew of a fair amount of people who worked for Prince. I grew up hearing stories about how how much of an asshole he could be. Geniuses are often difficult people, there should be no surprise. I also am of the belief that his music has really faded over the years, and he's hit some serious creative low points.

Still fucking LOVE him, though. He's my boy! I still think he'll come back around some day.

Possessed is right on, you just need to read it critically like anything else.
[Edited 7/11/05 0:29am]

lilgish said:

Or perhaps "written".

.

POSSESSED is a lot more accurate than many people will admit. While there are people who feel that Alex had an ax to grind, they don't realize that he, almost SINGLE HANDEDLY saved UPTOWN magazine and future magazines which want to report on Prince. He, in his own free time, defended UPTOWN from Prince's lawsuit, and helped the court come to a decision that supported UPTOWN's right to discuss Prince and his music.

Without Alex Hahn, Prince.org might not even be allowed to exist.

Possessed is good and worth reading, even for another perspective (a lot of Prince people were interviewed for it), but I suggest DMSR, Days of Wild or The Vault. They are all great books for fellow Prince fans.

You will hear people ranking on Alex, but remember how much he did for fans everywhere when it comes to Prince.

If you don't want to buy Possessed, borrow it from the library. Personally, I suggest buying a copy because I doubt any people who have written about Prince have made any money on it and I, for one, want to continue to read about how Prince creates music. It makes the songs that much more personal to me.

langebleu said:

See, I all ready have an editor and I haven't even started writing the book yet..

whodknee said:

Really? For me to consider a book as 'trash' it would have to be pretty much
made up completely. As far as the facts go, Alex's book is pretty accurate
to be honest.

langebleu said:

Ok. Thanks for letting me know. I prefer the DMSR style of work. I wish Per would do a DMSR part 2 to bring us up to date. Thanks again. While I think books like The Vault are terrific sorces of information I'd prefer to read a bio than an encylopedia. I think I'll still save my $50 bucks.

I just finished it and I gotta say:

1) It was a lot of fun
2) It was well-written for a pop-music bio
3) I agreed with most of his music assessments
4) Someone please tell me P didn't say that homophobic shit about Wendy and Lisa? Pretty please??

langebleu said:

The way the facts are presented is to paint him as nothing but a prick. We know the man has some redeeming qualities. The tone of the book and the commentary make his agenda obvious and that doesn't make for an honest work. You don't write non-fiction by re-arranging the facts and omitting others to support your thesis. You lay everything out there and let the reader make their own conclusions. So what it comes down to is whether the reader is seeing what they want to believe.

Admittedly, I'm the kind of person that believes even serial killers and KKK members have good attributes so a book written with the intent to tear someone down isn't going to sit well with me. Give me insight into the person-- a true portrait.
[Edited 7/31/05 14:56pm]

As for which facts were left out. Anything positive. Now if Prince, as I suspect isn't one to make big public gestures, Hahn would have had to get off his ass and do a little more research. He could, I don't know, make an attempt to find out if there was anybody Prince had helped along the way. If Prince hadn't then Hahn should have stated so and told the lengths he went to find such instances. That would strengthen his story even more. Something tells me he didn't do this, though.

So I guess I'm saying that I'm not going to do Hahn's work for him. I'm not the one writing the book-- although it feels like I am . It's Hahn's job to cover all of his bases and at least attempt to appear objective.