sonofblade said:

There were enough clones back in the 80s. There are still some today. Go to them for 80s Prince sound.

Prince is going to give us the Prince of 2day and I will take that every time.

skywalker said:

WOuldn't a 48 year old Prince with 25 year old Prince's attitude seem a bit ridiculous?

sosgemini said:

I'm sorry, I didn't realize that metacritic is the end all and be all of opinions. Sos, from the tone of your posts you're about to get "catty" so understand this: I'm not dismissing the views of those who don't like the music. My gripe (as always) is with those who continue to anaylze music of an artist that they supposedy haven't liked in decades. If you love the Dirty Mind era and despise the 3121 era that's fine. But how can you truly evulate the music when you've disliked the numerous eras that precede 3121. Why should an opinion be considered credible and discussion worthy if it's 2006 and you haven't liked any of the man's music since 1985?

And don't give me that Horton Hears A Who... a person is a person after all fanfare.

Seriously... why should that person's opinion be valued if that's all they have to base their opinion on?

What can Prince do to better please you?

"TRC" was about as far from that as you can be.

To me, you are really missing Prince's old attitude rather that a certain sound.

WOuldn't a 48 year old Prince with 25 year old Prince's attitude seem a bit ridiculous? I think it would.

skywalker said:

Stop catering to the hip crowds just to get their recognision (just because they're simple doesn't mean he should make simple music or dumb it down, it just seems too desperate...)

If you think that those people who prefer 'the Prince of old' generally want him to rehash the same music from the '80's, then you've missed the point.

.

At this point, Prince fans are the only ones who can't accept "good enough". As long as he doesn't resort to Kirky J programming and doing his best to appeal to the TRL crowd I'm happy with that. I just want to hear an album that I can honestly say as a listener, "Yeah he put his best effort into that".

langebleu said:

- Exactly!

psykosoul said:

I really don't think he put his best effort into songs like 'Musicology' and 'Life O' The Party'.

I agree with much of what you said there, but it does sound like you're resigning yourself to accept sub-par material just because of age.

Prince has the ability to produce and play pretty much whatever he wants, but I think he's missing some spark of inspiration - I accept most artists run out of steam as they get older, that hunger of youth is no longer there - but I still find it difficult to say 'Oh well, he nearly hitting 50, I'll just resign myself to accepting stuff like 'Life O' The Party' or ANOTHER sappy cookie-cutter Prince ballad (the ones on Musicology).

I don't really look to Prince for cutting edge music, I have other artists I'm interested in for that, but I do still hope a little bit for something interesting from Prince - he can still deliver something interesting, TRC and Xpectation did that me.

I really don't think he put his best effort into songs like 'Musicology' and 'Life O' The Party'.

I agree with much of what you said there, but it does sound like you're resigning yourself to accept sub-par material just because of age.

Prince has the ability to produce and play pretty much whatever he wants, but I think he's missing some spark of inspiration - I accept most artists run out of steam as they get older, that hunger of youth is no longer there - but I still find it difficult to say 'Oh well, he nearly hitting 50, I'll just resign myself to accepting stuff like 'Life O' The Party' or ANOTHER sappy cookie-cutter Prince ballad (the ones on Musicology).

I don't really look to Prince for cutting edge music, I have other artists I'm interested in for that, but I do still hope a little bit for something interesting from Prince - he can still deliver something interesting, TRC and Xpectation did that me.

But I am confused: how come Musiclogy ballads are more or less sappy / cookie-cutter than any other previous Prince ballad. Isn't Adore just as syrupy and sappy as any other. Surely all ballads follow similar patterns / formats / styles with overly sentimental lyrics?

KAB said:

I'm glad you brought that up... I think Call My Name is on par with Adore and could easily be considered one of his classic ballads. Maybe it's the lack of Linn Drum usage that makes folks think otherwise

Perhaps it's not Prince who has lost his "cutting edge", but the fans who cry for the Prince of old.

sosgemini said:

On the converse, Kate Bush's album is also proof that the fans of many artists who wait decades to release new music (see Stevie Wonder also) are so happy to hear new material that they force themselves to believe the artists' new releases are creative and inspiring.

Aerial as well as A Time 2 Love sound dated and were given praise that wasn't so deserved. They are both decent albums but there is nothing fresh about either one of them.

I'm sorry I still believe that Prince is one of the few artists who is held to this unjust standard. Every fanbase wants their favorite artist to reach new heights and uncover new territory but Prince fans are the only ones who are just absolutely unreasonable about it. It seems that they are too scared to find artists who are making fresh, creative and inspiring music and they expect someone who did it 20+ years ago to be able to do it in a drastically different musical climate.

At this point, Prince fans are the only ones who can't accept "good enough". As long as he doesn't resort to Kirky J programming and doing his best to appeal to the TRL crowd I'm happy with that. I just want to hear an album that I can honestly say as a listener, "Yeah he put his best effort into that".

A damn near 50-year-old Prince is beyond all the "cutting edge" bullshit. This has absolutely nothing to do with his current religion and beliefs. I base this opinion strictly on his age. What 47 year old entertainer do you know that hasn't become Vegas-y in the golden years of their career? His peers as well as artists before him who are still recording aren't given that expectation. (Madonna fans wanna pretend she's "Re-inventing herself and relevant.. but that's a different story) Why should Prince?

If you wanna judge the music on your personal tastes, fine. Do that. But I'm sick of all of this talk of wanting Prince to be "cutting edge", "challenging" and "inspiring". That just ain't gonna happen no more. It's "challenging" enough to attempt to find a place for anyone 35 and older in today's musical climate. Just because the music didn't match your preference isn't Prince's fault. It's not your fault as a listener either. But if Prince doesn't meet your needs anymore, then it's time to let go. It doesn't make him less or more of a captivating artist, it doesn't make you any less or more of a music listener with discriminating taste. It just means the relationship is over. Whether you've been a fan of his music for 25 years or for 2 years, it doesn't matter. Some of you all need to stop pretending like you can't control getting sucked back into the purple vortex. And some of you just need to accept Prince's music for what it is right now.

psykosoul said:

it was cute the first couple times..but it grows stale to the ear repeated effort after repeated effort.

is the qoal to create quality music or to release an album each and every year? is this not art?

I love this man.

I am confused: how come Musiclogy ballads are more or less sappy / cookie-cutter than any other previous Prince ballad. Isn't Adore just as syrupy and sappy as any other. Surely all ballads follow similar patterns / formats / styles with overly sentimental lyrics?

Prince's decision to release an album a year is one of his own personal demons. He's averaged an album a year since he started. Usually when he takes a complete year off he comes up with a pretty damn good album (i.e Purple Rain, The Rainbow Children) That's why I'm hopeful that 3121 will contain some good stuff.

kate bush's new album is proof that an artist can be fresh, creative and inspiring twenty years after being in the industry..

so sad that soo many are content with subpar work simply because they expect it.

sosgemini said:

On the converse, Kate Bush's album is also proof that the fans of many artists who wait decades to release new music (see Stevie Wonder also) are so happy to hear new material that they force themselves to believe the artists' new releases are creative and inspiring.

Aerial as well as A Time 2 Love sound dated and were given praise that wasn't so deserved. They are both decent albums but there is nothing fresh about either one of them.

I'm sorry I still believe that Prince is one of the few artists who is held to this unjust standard. Every fanbase wants their favorite artist to reach new heights and uncover new territory but Prince fans are the only ones who are just absolutely unreasonable about it. It seems that they are too scared to find artists who are making fresh, creative and inspiring music and they expect someone who did it 20+ years ago to be able to do it in a drastically different musical climate.

At this point, Prince fans are the only ones who can't accept "good enough". As long as he doesn't resort to Kirky J programming and doing his best to appeal to the TRL crowd I'm happy with that. I just want to hear an album that I can honestly say as a listener, "Yeah he put his best effort into that".

A damn near 50-year-old Prince is beyond all the "cutting edge" bullshit. This has absolutely nothing to do with his current religion and beliefs. I base this opinion strictly on his age. What 47 year old entertainer do you know that hasn't become Vegas-y in the golden years of their career? His peers as well as artists before him who are still recording aren't given that expectation. (Madonna fans wanna pretend she's "Re-inventing herself and relevant.. but that's a different story) Why should Prince?

If you wanna judge the music on your personal tastes, fine. Do that. But I'm sick of all of this talk of wanting Prince to be "cutting edge", "challenging" and "inspiring". That just ain't gonna happen no more. It's "challenging" enough to attempt to find a place for anyone 35 and older in today's musical climate. Just because the music didn't match your preference isn't Prince's fault. It's not your fault as a listener either. But if Prince doesn't meet your needs anymore, then it's time to let go. It doesn't make him less or more of a captivating artist, it doesn't make you any less or more of a music listener with discriminating taste. It just means the relationship is over. Whether you've been a fan of his music for 25 years or for 2 years, it doesn't matter. Some of you all need to stop pretending like you can't control getting sucked back into the purple vortex. And some of you just need to accept Prince's music for what it is right now.

langebleu said:

- Exactly!

psykosoul said:

I really don't think he put his best effort into songs like 'Musicology' and 'Life O' The Party'.

I agree with much of what you said there, but it does sound like you're resigning yourself to accept sub-par material just because of age.

Prince has the ability to produce and play pretty much whatever he wants, but I think he's missing some spark of inspiration - I accept most artists run out of steam as they get older, that hunger of youth is no longer there - but I still find it difficult to say 'Oh well, he nearly hitting 50, I'll just resign myself to accepting stuff like 'Life O' The Party' or ANOTHER sappy cookie-cutter Prince ballad (the ones on Musicology).

I don't really look to Prince for cutting edge music, I have other artists I'm interested in for that, but I do still hope a little bit for something interesting from Prince - he can still deliver something interesting, TRC and Xpectation did that me.

sosgemini said:

really??? I've never heard a song by Kate Bush and I listen to Top 40 radio stations on occasion.

who are they?? please share....

Meloh9 said:

sosgemini said:

On the converse, Kate Bush's album is also proof that the fans of many artists who wait decades to release new music (see Stevie Wonder also) are so happy to hear new material that they force themselves to believe the artists' new releases are creative and inspiring.

Aerial as well as A Time 2 Love sound dated and were given praise that wasn't so deserved. They are both decent albums but there is nothing fresh about either one of them.

I'm sorry I still believe that Prince is one of the few artists who is held to this unjust standard. Every fanbase wants their favorite artist to reach new heights and uncover new territory but Prince fans are the only ones who are just absolutely unreasonable about it. It seems that they are too scared to find artists who are making fresh, creative and inspiring music and they expect someone who did it 20+ years ago to be able to do it in a drastically different musical climate.

At this point, Prince fans are the only ones who can't accept "good enough". As long as he doesn't resort to Kirky J programming and doing his best to appeal to the TRL crowd I'm happy with that. I just want to hear an album that I can honestly say as a listener, "Yeah he put his best effort into that".

A damn near 50-year-old Prince is beyond all the "cutting edge" bullshit. This has absolutely nothing to do with his current religion and beliefs. I base this opinion strictly on his age. What 47 year old entertainer do you know that hasn't become Vegas-y in the golden years of their career? His peers as well as artists before him who are still recording aren't given that expectation. (Madonna fans wanna pretend she's "Re-inventing herself and relevant.. but that's a different story) Why should Prince?

If you wanna judge the music on your personal tastes, fine. Do that. But I'm sick of all of this talk of wanting Prince to be "cutting edge", "challenging" and "inspiring". That just ain't gonna happen no more. It's "challenging" enough to attempt to find a place for anyone 35 and older in today's musical climate. Just because the music didn't match your preference isn't Prince's fault. It's not your fault as a listener either. But if Prince doesn't meet your needs anymore, then it's time to let go. It doesn't make him less or more of a captivating artist, it doesn't make you any less or more of a music listener with discriminating taste. It just means the relationship is over. Whether you've been a fan of his music for 25 years or for 2 years, it doesn't matter. Some of you all need to stop pretending like you can't control getting sucked back into the purple vortex. And some of you just need to accept Prince's music for what it is right now.

psykosoul said:

EXCELLENT POST OUTSTANDING!

And Prince still didn't get it. They wanted funk but they didn't want 1970s funk. They wanted 1980s Prince funk that attracted them to him in the first place. Anyone who had been into funk for years, had already lived through the 1970s and moved on to the next decade.