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".

Byron said:

all of the 'one nite alone' piano cd seems very meaningful and personal to me.

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!

onenitealone said:

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!

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"?



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]

Byron said:

You don't have a job, do you ??

xt1000 said:

Better...I have a career. One that allows me to set my own rates and dictate my own schedule, take vacations at my desire without asking permission...and even allows me to post on an internet message board if the feeling hits me to do so. It's wonderful having control.

Byron said:

Me too.....some of us are so lucky


But if someone had asked me that question to be honest I would have said 'No', which makes me think you are lying.

xt1000 said:

Better...I have a career. One that allows me to set my own rates and dictate my own schedule, take vacations at my desire without asking permission...and even allows me to post on an internet message board if the feeling hits me to do so. It's wonderful having control.

Byron said:

so you must be a civil servant then

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!

Prince was bad as hell back in the day and I never talked about him like a dog until he started making "meaningful" music. I hope he doesn't create any more of it. Keep the over emotional bullshit and just jam.

vainandy said:

You do realize that this is why some people buy 50 Cent and Mike Jones, right?
They don't want any meaning in their music either. In my opinion, this desire has contributed to the overflow of music we have on the radio and on the shelves that really isn't saying a dang thing. Also, keep in mind that Prince had plenty of meaningful music back in the day while he was jammin'. If you take the meaning out of music completely, and demand only entertainment, you're going to get what's currently being played right now.

OdysseyMiles said:

Apparently people listening to these current artists are listening to it for the lyrics (the "meaning" in the song) because there sure as hell is no music behind the lyrics. Prince is far from these artists. He plays actual music and ain't afraid to get uptempo and funky with it. These current artists are far from what a "meaningless" version of Prince is.

People concerned with "meaning" in music are concerned with lyrics. I could care less about lyrics. I'm concerned with the way a song sounds first rather than what it says. If I want to listen to a mushy whiney story, I'll watch a soap opera. If I want to throwdown, I'll listen to music and there is absolutely no throwing down with what's currently being played right now with these other artists.

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.

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?

oldpurple said:

...No, graphic designer.

Prince is an entertainer not some moron who wants to make you cry over the poverty in the world, aids in Africa and unemployment rate. There are other artists who do that very well already and who know how to make money out of it. No need to have one more so called desperate whinger to ruin radio waves.

Prince is a PartyMan dude !