People cry and whine about wanting to see and hear the "old" Prince. These same people know that he is a genius and no genius has ever remained the same. Go through history and cite any other genius in any other field and you will find this to be true. The abillity and the need to constantly explore new horozins is what makes them geniuses in the first place. Look at how Miles Davis revolutionized jazz several times over throughout his career. No one took a bashing like he did when he started using electric intruments and rock musicians. Little did people know that they were being introduced to a brand new musical genre that lives today!

If Prince did what he used to do, these same fans would blast him for not being cutting edge anymore. Prince could be up to Purple Rain 5 now and be just taking the money. Any fan that is old enough to remember how Prince made the statement that he would not be cashing in will remember the uproar that Around the World in a Day made on the heels of Purple Rain. Prince threw everyone a hard left turn.

What would be sadder than anything is Prince out there rehashing Purple rain or SOTT or anything else from the 80s. It would be immediately recognized and scorned - and rightfully so - especially coming from an artist with the ability, vision, skills, and genius of Prince. 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.
[Edited 12/12/05 12:12pm]
[Edited 12/12/05 12:35pm]

Exactly.

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.

.

langebleu said:

Try explaining that to him, you might get a laugh out of it...

Neversin.

langebleu said:

completely

sonofblade said:

Thank you for writing this.

I don't think anyone wants a rehash. What we would all love is some newfound inspiration...

Neversin said:

So what kind of Prince album are you looking for? Be specific. Of course you want something "fresh" "groundbreaking" and "inspired" (so do I)but we all have different ideas about what that is. I am interested- what would your ideal new Prince album SOUND like? Don't tell us what it ISN'T tell us specifically what would get you going. Synths? Drum machines? More guitars? Industrial vibe? Flat out 4/4 rock? What is it?
[Edited 12/12/05 15:59pm]

skywalker said:

Like I said on the other thread it doesn't matter what kind of music as long as it's not rehash or trite to cater the hip crowds (like he has been doing the last 10 years...) that were molded and hand picked by the industry he himslef so loaths...
I just want him to be Prince again, the guy who challenged himself and didn't look for "inspiration" or simply bite the style of the flavours of the week or play the tired nostalgia act (like he's doing now and has been doing the last, almost, 10 years...) just to get recognision of the overhyped products of today, Prince used to create his own style and intentionally turned left when everyone turned right only to be followed by the same people who went right a month earlier and him turning right on them and them again 100 steps behind him trying to keep up... (That was also what it felt like to be a fan, always being surprised and trying to keep up...)

Neversin.

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.

psykosoul said:

They don't sound dated, in some cases they sound timeless, anyway, I think TRC is cutting edge and timeless, so Prince is still capable of doing great work.

psykosoul said:

Exactly. Anyone that has followed the careers of great artists knows that EVERYONE goes thru this at one point. After 25+ years and as many albums its kinda unreasonable to expect someone to still be cutting edge. Great points on Stevie and to the person that started this thread, your synopsis on Miles is dead on. All this damn complaining speaks more about these individuals and their expectations than it does about Prince.

DorothyParkerWasCool said:

to the both of you:

http://www.metacritic.com...ate/aerial

http://www.metacritic.com...il/12songs

your singular opinion does not make consensus.

and for the record i applaud TRC for the effort..I loved the musical direction..Loved the lyrics...Loved the musicianship. All that it lacked was energy...and im not talking speed either..It lacked emotional energy.

and i too applaud prince for registering with the public once again with his Musicology Tour but I am not going to come up with excuse after excuse for albums that have way way too much filler..far more then his albums of the 70s, 80s and 90s.

and releasing an album a year is no excuse for diluting your fanbase with crap. plain and simple. Prince, if it sounds like something you've done before, then keep it in the vault.

a good ten year break might do him some good.

Neversin said:

Again, I understand what you are saying. However, I don't understand what "sound" you are looking for. How will you know inspiration when you hear it? TO me, there are moments of "Musicology" that sound very inspired and urgent. You didn't hear it and that's cool. Different strokes etc. It really boils down to-What can Prince do to better please you?

As far as what you say Prince is doing/feeling- it's mostly speculation. How do you know Prince isn't challenging himself? You don't really. You really only can guess based on the fact you perceive his records to sound lazy-that is, uninspiring to you. I don't think Prince follows trends nearly as much as you say, or nearly as much as he once has. To me, Prince (even when he is biting other styles) still sounds like Prince. I mean, nobody else puts a song like "pussy control" and "endorphine machine" on the same album. "pussy control" was Prince biting other styles -but it still sounded like Prince. As far as catering to "hip" crowds, "TRC" was about as far from that as you can be.

Anyway- the original point: What kind of sound would Prince have to make to please you? 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.
[Edited 12/12/05 20:48pm]

and thats all wrapped up in a bow called IMHO. so theres no need in debating it cause its my own personal views. im not here to tell anyone else how they should feel. or judge others for how they feel.

save that shit for the madge vs. mariah carey threads in the music: non-prince forum.

psykosoul said:

I couldn't have said it any better.

skywalker said:

what do you think of the new single?

purplecam said:

what couldnt have been said better? that people arent free to have their own views? the fact that has been like neil diamond can create an album that is both critically acclaimed and fan based adored yet when it comes to prince people arent free to think what they want?

or the fact that this one person posts a contradictory review on Aerial (which is universally acclaimed) which is also adored by the critics and fanbase? do you agree with that?

please expand..im confusticated.

lilgish said:

It's alright. Not mindblowing-is it supposed to be? I'm sure it'll grow on me(Prince songs usually do). It's abit "Parade" sounding with the strings. I like it fine. You?

sosgemini said:

and vice-versa sos... and vice-versa.

And it's pure speculation but I'm willing to bet that more than half of the people who wrote those reviews were in training pants when "Daydreaming" was released. It's probably cutting edge to them because they weren't born when she did it decades ago. And you wanna see something else...

http://www.metacritic.com...musicology

Some of the same folks wrote favorable reviews of Musicology and said it was his best work in a long time. Maybe it was... maybe it wasn't. Musicology was by no means a shitty album but those folks probably ignored The Rainbow Children and had no clue it was available.


We can sit back and expect "energy", "challenging" and spurt out all these cliched catch-phrases all day long. At the end of the day, it's all opinion. But the likelihood remains that if Prince ran out tommorrow and released an album produced by Rick Rubin the usual suspects at Prince.org would find some reason to shit on it because it doesn't drive them the way the music used to back in '84.

I liken it to those eager children who are expecting a XBox360 (or whatever the latest gaming system is) every Christmas morning yet they are severly let down when they get a used PS2. It's not that the parents don't have the desire to get it... they don't understand that there are legitimate reasons that the parents didn't/couldn't provide it.

These days that's how it is with every Prince release. Mofos get all excited just to get let down.... simply because they can't grasp the concept, they're just plain in denial, or they're too lazy to find the alternative solution.

psykosoul said:

http://www.metacritic.com...musicology

69%

once again, why are you even attempting to judge or rationalize peoples opinions?..accept it for what it is..if the group consensus is that the album is stellar so be it..if not, so be it too..

like the music? great for you...but dismissing other's views doesnt make the work any more enjoyable for you...or any less or those who dont appreciate..

these types of discussions are masturbatory at best.

skywalker said:

too many responses today, so I'm using my other account.

In the context of an album, especially a concept album, it would work. As a single the hook is uninspiring and the mix is very plain. It does sound like tv theme music like some have said. It's a new direction and it does grow on you in spots on continuous listening.

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?

Damn people! The album will come out
Some will Love it
Some will Like it
Some will Hate it and
Some will use it as a coaster.

No matter what your feeling will be I'll warn you all now...

It will not be Purple Rain 2
It probably will not be ground-breaking
and there's a good chance it won't change your life

but if you can get pass all that, you just might get to enjoy it
for what it is.

New music, by a talented musician, which will likely sound better
than most of the crap being cranked outta the radio anyway

I personally can't wait!

langebleu said:

What people miss is the energy and the fun and the strangeness that was present in his older work and former personae. No one sane wants re-runs of the old work. The style and sound is up to him entirely. And as long as whatever it is he does is quality, most of will be pleased.

psykosoul said:

there is only 1 other musician tha feels like this
? IS THAT U ?

skywalker said:

So because he's "old" he has to sound like it?



Christ, I hope people don't expect that of me when I get into my 40's.


Remember: growing old is mandatory, growing UP is optional. You don't have to behave a certain way because of the number of years you've existed.