The #1 thing that stops Prince from creating truly great music is that he doesn't write about a wide variety of emotions or feelings. Rarely (recently) has he written music that's dealt with anything of significance. His feud with Warners produced a great artistic album - Come. Even The Rainbow Children was interesting and at least took a stand on a topic. But more often than not, Prince keeps things positive and safe to the point of boredom. He's never released Empty Room on an album. That's a "great" Prince song... deals with pain, heartbreak, and there is no happy ending.

Too much of his music is devoid of reality. Has Prince ever questioned the existence of God? The unjust nature of the world? Has he ever come clean about relationships? How about just a great pop song? I'd love to hear Prince music of him questioning himself and his own abilities, or to reach down deep and create something that matters. Susan Rogers talked about this once... that he recorded the song "Wally" about his breakup with Susannah, and it was this really deep, heartfelt, painful composition... but he destroyed the tape because it was just too personal. She was upset about this because "Wally" is the kind of music she longed to hear from such a talented musician.

But Prince is incapable of admitting mistakes or showing a vulnerable side. When his genius is questioned, he releases "Undisputed" to prove he's still "all that." Usually a song like that flops because it is dishonest. I don't buy it, and think it's fraudulent.Is Prince a great, cherished artist? Absolutely. But his views and life perspective are too safe and comfortable for him to create anything meaningful.

Comments!

God, you again!



Just kidding.

lspear76 said:

He questions his belief in God during the original Old Friends For Sale "now i'm wondering if theres someone up who really cares". However, this version was never released.

See Strange relationship. a great pop song on the surface but underneath some of the most open and honest lyrics prince ever put down

onenitealone said:

Give me a break. I post here three times per year.

lspear76 said:

Well 2 of them have been moaning about Prince.

I want to see a positive third post.

Go on - you can do it!

lspear76 said:

You really have energy! First the "3121" thread, then you go on...

A very humble and not-meant-to-be-offensive question: if that is your opinion, why are you still interested in him and his new music? Make yourself a nice evening with a bottle of wine and "Purple Rain" in the CD player...

And if you look for "meaningful" Prince music post-TGE, I'd like to recommend "Wasted Kisses" and "Eye love you..." to you.

Ì`m agree with you. That`s one of the few problems with his music. When I`m sad, I`ll rarely listen to Prince. I really wish he could write melancolic songs more often. But apart from that I love him to death.

3121 said:[quote]

lspear76 said:

You're right. Those songs are well done and I can listen to them again and again. Prince usually backs out and likes to "play it safe," thus never releasing songs like the original "Old Friends 4 Sale." I guess when you get older, and you're living in a rich, safe, comfortable environment there's not much to complain about. Also -- people of faith (the path of least resistance) fall into this confort trap too. I guess there is more art in pain and reality than in faith. Wake me up when Prince writes about some real issues or releases some true funk.

lspear76 said:

What if he doesn't question God's existence? Should he write a song about an insincere emotion just so that people will think he's being "real"?



Letitgo, I love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore, If I Was Your Girlfriend, etc...hell, throw in Strange Relationship if you want, although I've never heard that it was based on any actual relationship he's had. Or are you saying that unless Prince becomes a male Tori Amos then he's hardly worth listening to?



Uh...you didn't just seriously ask if Prince has "ever written just a great pop song", did you??...



If I Was Your Girlfriend was "about" Susannah and his feelings for her...I Love U But...was supposedly about the Mayte...and there are those who get anal about Prince who can fill in all the other songs either about or inspired by his real-life experiences in relationships and love who could easily make your claims that Prince never writes what happens in his life sound far more ridiculous than it does simply on it's own.


...Letitgo, The Question Of U, Anna Stesia, for fuck's sake...

And disc two of Emancipation just screams of personal, heartfelt emotional and relationship experiences...but because it's positive in tone and not negative, well it can't be "real", now, can it...

Your analysis is lacking, to say the least.
[Edited 2/17/06 7:50am]

EmancipationLover said:

I like Prince because he's a great artist and doesn't cater to the mainstream. He's gained my admiration for having a long lasting career, for what, 30 years? It takes a lot to continue to work for that amount of time. But he's lost the ability to touch people and create meaningful songs. Even songs like SST, donated for Katrina relief, are lousy. They're not even songs. He probably wrote it while taking a shit. People respect him as an artist because he's so talented but rarely do they like his music, which is strange but true. How can someone so talented not create music that people like? He picks up a guitar on SNL and people that haven't listened to him go nuts with admiration. But they'll pick up 3121 and say, "this sucks, there's nothing like that great song on this album." Instead, we're forced to listen to Tamar and another lousy happy go lucky-everything in the world is great because God loves me r&b song.

And just to add...the Lovesexy album in its entirety is ferociously heartfelt, personal and real...and hardly worthy of being overlooked, or even worse dismissed, in order to make sure your shakey opinion appears to have more validity.

It would help to acknowledge the many times Prince has indeed let his personal emotions and experiences come thru in his songs and then say you'd like some more of that...than it would to pretend he never has.

For the record, "Comeback" is about the death of his son. But you're right, let's pretend he never recorded and released that song and focus on "Undisputed" instead.

"reflection" is extremely heartfelt and meaningful, and "S.S.T." is another recent song i can think of that seems to have very direct lyrics. i think there's meaning in just about all of his songs, even if it's just a verse or a couple of lines. if you aren't able to catch it, then it might be argued that he's doing his job as a pop musician.

Byron said:

95% of those songs you listed are from the 80's or early 90's and I agree those songs are deeper than what he's released in the past 10 years.

If Prince is comfortable and believes in God and everything is perfect in his world, that's good for him, but horrible for his art. Lovesexy was positive but exciting and creative. Anna Stesia is a true breaking point for that album and his career. Prince's recent positive work is bland. There's just... a difference. Prince is probably so comfortable in his life, what can he write about? I'd love to hear Prince's music if Paisley Park (the building) crashed to the ground, Prince's fortune was stolen away by Mani, and Prince came down with crabs. That would produce some *interesting* music! Instead we get "the world is great, God I believe in the one true God" music. Imagine if Dostoevsky was a "happy go lucky love the world" writer.

lspear76 said:

If I kindly may correct you: he obviously has lost his ability to touch YOU, but that isn't representative for the rest of the world...

CalhounSq said:

i like my biscuits better.

"Don't Play Me" is another one, this time from the perspective of an artist instead of a man or woman...an artist considered too "old", too "straight", too this, too that, to be considered worthy of radio airplay. You can argue whether or not he's right on point or being overly sensitive...but you can NOT argue that this song isn't based in anything real or meaningful to Prince.

Byron said:

Lovesexy is a great album, I'm not denying that. But Comeback... Prince writes songs in a way that they're not even personal. Who, besides Prince fans, would realize Comeback was about his son? Not one even noticed.

EmancipationLover said:

I have high standards. I guess some people just listen to music to be entertained. And watch movies. I guess that explains box office successes of Big Momma's House 2.3121 is the "Big Momma's House 2" of the music industry (from a purely artistic standpoint).

lspear76 said:

Have you heard the entire album? If not, how can you judge it as the "Big Mama's House 2" of the music industry?

gmcb said:

Prince is a predictable artist nowadays. Obviously the music is not going to be much different than Musicology, SST, or other tracks. Judging from Te Amo, Black Sweat, and Beautiful Loved and Blessed, the album itself will be less than average at best. It's a logical guess based on the recent past and the first reviews from the listening parties. Do you disagree?

lspear76 said:

He's only released three albums over the past 5 years, The Rainbow Children, N.E.W.S and Musicology...and you already said TRC met the criteria of being meaniingful and showed Prince taking a stand on something the way you'd like.



Show me anywhere where Prince says everything is perfect in his world, or anyone else's...huge pet peeve of mine is encountering arguments that expressing the positive side of life is not being "real"...it's like those 18 year olds who love to exclaim "I've experienced more of life than people twice my age" because they've gone thru hardships, drug addiction, death of friends, etc. As if experiencing the birth of your child or seeing the Pyramids in Egypt aren't considered "Life". But seeing your buddy O.D. on drugs at a rave, now THAT's life. Please.
[Edited 2/17/06 8:12am]

lspear76 said:

So, because he's not literal enough for every attention-deficit listener to "get" right off the bat, we should dismiss his efforts of expressing personal heartbreak and emotional vunerability??...Are you serious?

The return of Lou! You are my original internet nemesis from the early nineties. So much time has passed that I really have no recollection of why we didn't get along. But, back when the internet was becoming mainstream, you and I used to get into some pretty heated online debates and arguments. I would go so far as to say we hated each other! But, time heals a lot and, in hindsight, I have no idea what our beef was. So, it's all good now. When I saw your screen name, I just knew it had to be you. It was like a ghost coming out of the woodwork. Welcome back! (Or, maybe you have been back and I just haven't noticed?)

Peace!

Byron said:

The Rainbow Children came out in 2001, wow. Prince's music quality is not only suffering but also his quantity.

Didn't Prince lose both of his parents within the last 3 years? Where is all the music about personal loss? What have we gotten? Musicology... 3121. Prince doesn't seem to write about his life and would rather keep his image as "Undisputed." I don't think he's honest with himself. He did an interview for Newpower Soul on Good Morning America where the interviewer asked Prince if he "feared losing his edge." Prince's response? A quick "no I never lose my edge." Prince writes music in the same way. And that's why it's boring and trivial.

Byron said:

No, I think that his writing style makes it so listeners don't understand. The Love We Make is an example of a step up in writing style. The Truth album is actually pretty well made. It's too bad it was only released as part of the Crystal Ball set.

lspear76 said:

I have very high standards too. I am classically educated on three instruments and partially in classical composition and music theory. Believe it or not, I like a lot of his recent output AND the new songs (the 4 known so far) from 3121.

Could it be that something like "personal taste" plays a role?
[Edited 2/17/06 8:22am]

lspear76 said:

For about six months the entire world knew about the death of Prince and Mayte's child...it was newsworthy and tabloid fodder all over the place.

Shortly after all of this, Prince releases a song with these lyrics:


Walking up the stairs Thursday afternoon
Sweet wind blew not a moment 2 soon
Ooh, I cried when I realized
That sweet wind was U

Spirits come and spirits go
Some stick around 4 the aftershow
I don't have 2 say I miss U
Cuz I think U already know

If U ever lose someone dear 2 U
Never say the words - "They're gone"
They'll come back, yeah
They'll come back, yeah, yeah
They'll come back

Tears go here


There's nothing obtuse or cryptic there...it's a positive expression of the pain of losing someone (he even says it directly in the lyrics). What is there to not understand? It wasn't quite as literal as Clapton's "Tears In Heaven", nor was it released as a single to radio and thus a huge market...but it's every bit as personal, vunerable, heartfelt and real. Prince has done this a lot, believe it or not, even within the last 10 years.

Btw, an "ills of the world" song? "Dear Mr. Man"...A personal expression of "real" emotions and thoughts? "Reflection" (as Anx said)...Two songs off his last CD that meet your criteria. It's irrelevant whether or not you actually like the songs, that's not the point and gist of your argument. Hell, throw in "Call My Name" since it's a love letter he wrote for Mani (unlike MJ, the words Prince puts in many of his love songs are based on actual events and experiences...heh..lol). He doesn't have to wait until Mani hooks up with a member of Motley Crue before expressing his emotions towards her, yanno. So that could be said to be three songs off of his last CD that meet your criteria.

And throw in "Avalanche" onto the "social statement" pile...

I think Emancipation is probably right...it's more a reflection of your personal tastes than it is one of Prince no longer writing "meaningful music".