If you dont recognize me, youre a young buck who needs to go back to org school.

Veteran orgers, on the other hand, will remember this historic moment as the victorious return of Nep2nes to the threads of this here glorious website. Let us pause as we recognize the profundity of this moment....

Anyway, Im back with a confession...I havent listened to Prince's latest album, in fact I dont remember the number in the title.....in short, Ive fallen off the prince wagon, but scary enough, it didnt hurt.

I thought this time would never come. I fell off after the rainbow children. I learned to like it OK, but just "OK." Then he did that album, east westnorth...I dont remember what it called..anyway he did the compass album, and after that I became lost, and decided to get a GPS so I could find my way back to musical sanity. I listened to Black Sweat and Te Amo Corazon off the new album I think it is, but unlike in the past, my ears were unwilling to give it a repeated audience--something which Prince songs have seemingly come to demand more and more each passing year. Am I missin something? Perhaps. But I'm 22 and been a Prince fan since age 12, am I really missing the point this early? So I figure, it's time for me and Prince to part ways, at least for the most part.

Nevertheless, if you have managed to stay on the wagon, kudos to you. But Ill no longer talk down to those who fell off the wagon after emancipation, or after graffiti bridge....or even after purple rain. Sooner or later, everyone will fall off at some point, (perhaps only the diehard JW's will be with him at the end looking for rainbow colored people...heh heh). But I think the important thing is that at one point we were on it in the first place, and wasnt it a great ride?

Anyway,sidenote: as part of my realization, Im selling my Prince memorabilia, but Ill keep my CD's around for an occasional spin. If anyone's interested in mags, books, and vinyls (including The Family's Screams of Pasion single,) it's in the marketplace section. http://www.prince.org/msg/9/193418

I welcome all orgers to shoot me an orgnote, particularly old buddies of mine.....I just returned from a yearlong sojourn in Egypt, with trips to Turkey and Palestine/Israel. I also got married in Egypt. I guess thats why prince has been on the backburner, I got a life! LOL.

Peace to you,
Neppy
[Edited 6/25/06 17:29pm]

Congrats, Nep. Good to see you back.


The bad news, of course, is the fact that I'm first to post on this thread likely will doom it to total obscurity...

There. another Org moment lost...

Ummm, Wow! What a dramatic exit.

To answer your question, I fell off the purple bandwagon in 1986 when I was 17, after being a fan since around 1980. And you know what, I didn't get back on the bandwagon until 2004. During those 18 years, the only albums I knew about were SOTT, Lovesexy, The Batman Soundtrack and vaguely D&P. I didn't know about hits like Cream, I Hate U and 7 until 2004 when I joined the org....same goes for TGE, Come or the Graffiti Bridge movie/soundtrack. I remember Tevin Campbell's song "Round and Round" but I had no idea that it was even connected to a movie. Basically, when I fell off, I fell off hard

I said all that to say this, it's not unusual to fall off the wagon of your favorite artist. As you stated, sooner or later everyone will fall off. This phenomenon is not unique to Prince fans. I used to be a big fan of Madonna and George Michael when I was teen also, but after a few year of college, I fell off their bandwagons too.

Peoples priorities change. In your case, you've entered into a new phase of your life and Prince no longer fits into it.

Congrats on the marriage and good luck selling your memorabilia.
[Edited 6/26/06 4:12am]

Good to see you, Nep2nes! I hope life is treating you well, and it sounds as if it has.

More on topic, I'm still loving Prince. I even got on stage to sing "Peach" with him in May in Vegas! I don't think I'll ever stop paying attention to what happens in the Prince camp, regardless of my level of interest. Quite simply, he's been too big a part of my upbringing (strangely enough) to ignore.

Sorry to hear a few of you have fell of the bandwagon!!! But I must agree that Prince has been too involved in my upbringing to leave him, I have felt at times where i didn't understand where he was going, but then we must understand he has had different phases of his life, that makes him write and sing about!
I'm also 22, and I've been in love with him since I was 5 years old and was introduced to music by my step-dad, and through all the good, bad and ugly times Prince's music has been there for me.
I feel almost distraught to hear your turning your back on him, try playing your fav prince song of all time, turn it up to the max, close your eyes and let him bring it back to you!
By the way he's new album 3121, is the funky's its been for years!!

Hope to speak soon

Se7enkisses x x x x x x x

hey nep, congrats on the marriage and all. Hope all is well with you

PurpleKnight said:

How can U put 'The Rainbow Children' and 'Rave...' in the same category?

2 each his reach, I suppose, but if U don't like 'Rainbow Children' and 'N.E.W.S.', I guess we have opposing tastes in music... I suppose U must not like Herbie Hancock's '70s stuff, like with the Headhunters.

Let me understand this...your 22 and you fell off the bandwagon? You
were barely on the band wagon if u ask me. You have only been listening to P for 8-10 years? Im 35 and have been jammin 2 P since 83'. Old stuff and the new stuff (the new stuff--oh,oh,,god forbid!)
And guess what? I gotsa life too! Married, 2 kids, another on the way.
I guess what Im tryin 2 say is....u seem 2 consider yourself a life long P fan
when in fact you are a youngsta who has barely lived life and Im sure one day you will find out that there is no 'bandwagon' at all....you'll go through periods where your obsessive w/P or casual w/him and his music,,but u will always be a fan/fam...his effect on u will never leave...never cease... period.
talk 2 me in 10 more years.

best regards,
the pope2the9s

Moonbeam said:

Absolutely Priceless

thepope2the9s said:

and there it is!

as far as the topic goes. It's simple. You are either a Prince fan, or you're not. Can you honestly say you are NOT a Prince fan? being a Prince fan doesn't mean you love every album the man has ever put out...it just means you are a fan of his music in general. There came a time for me where I had to separate the Prince in my head from the real Prince, once I did that, I seemed to have a better respect for him as an individual.
There's no need to be on or off any imaginary bandwagons, just enjoy the music you like and don't dwell to the music you don't like. Occasionally I go back and listen to a song or album that I never particularly liked and find that I like it much more than I once thought. Prince's music seems to age well....I tend to like it better with a bit of dust on it

To answer this quuestion, " I have often went adrift, but I have always stayed afloat."

pennylover said:

I totally agree with this 100%. That's one thing with Prince. No one really goes away. They'll be breaks but once Prince drops something new, interest grows again and they have to check it out. Even if it last for a day or less, he's got your interest at all.

Shorty said:

I think your sentiments should be tatooed on the ass of every mofo who joins this site. Despite the fact that the original post smells of... *ahem* fronting *ahem* ...

I don't understand why everyone can't simply agree that Prince has already established his legend as a great musical icon and not every single release has to be bigger and better than the previous ones. I remember falling off the bandwagon after NPS/Rave and literally getting pissed off (sold the entire collection... The Family & Apollonia 6 Japanese imports and all... still kick myself in the ass for that every morning) because I knew he was capable of better. 2 years later, faith was restored in The Rainbow Children... 4 1/2 years later, I'm right back where I was in '99 because I think 3121 is a bummy, lousy-ass fucking album.

However, it still doesn't stop Prince from being the shit in 2006.

thepope2the9s said:

Yount!

lmao at the 22yo coming on here talking about old school like he was around
when Prince had the bouffant and frills and wore bikini briefs , kids eh !

Spinlight said:

Nep2nes said:

Looks like your travels and journey hasn't taught you anything. To be expected.

Ladies n Gents: neptunes

BSK3601 said:

yes, for all neps has changes...she has also remained the same
I can't believe you sold off your collection and ADMIT it too! dang!
I agree! Prince is still the shit in 2006! I was there in NYC last week at bryant park when he came out in that pink suit! ..only PRINCE could rock that suit like he did! and he sure did!

Congrats on getting married.. ...Wow..lol Not too surprised, I guess...Nep is definitely a cutie.

And as for the topic, bandwagons are for people who aren't truly fans of the person/sports team/whatever...it's a term usually used in derision of those who "hop on" anything that's popular or doing well, and then "hop" right back off once it loses it's popularity or newness. The people who are on bandwagons are usually the types who don't invest too much thought or emotion into whatever the bandwagon is attached to...which is why they tend to jump on and off different bandwagons, and why fans tend to get irritated by those types.

Fans, however, tend to be those who are sincerely effected emotionally, intellectually, even spiritually in some people's cases...and they see themselves as fans even if they no longer really follow the person or team's output. I'm a huge Stevie Wonder fan, but haven't bought one of his albums--or listened to one--in close to 20 years. Couldn't tell you the titles of his albums, the name of his singles...nothing. But calling the effect his music had on me and the brilliance that drew me in nothing more than being on a "bandwagon" would severely diminish how I viewed--and still view--Stevie Wonder and his talent. I'll be a fan forever, even if I never buy another one of his CDs.

BSK3601 said:

I always wonder about people who actually sell off all their stuff when they become disenchanted with an artist for whatever reason...lol...I can't wrap my head around wanting to do so. The only reason I could fathom that would make a lick of sense is if that artist was found to be a child molester or murderer or Nazi worshipper or something..lol...I've never become even remotely angry at any of my favorite artists for not putting out better music.

Byron said:

I was still in my 20s when I did that. So let's chalk it up to young and dumb.

That was actually an eye opener for me. I realized that I took Prince's music a little too personal. Prince music was a cult for me. If he farted on it, then it must be good. I literally believed that even on his worst day he was still the best around. Even though there were plenty of other folks I dug, I believed blindly through Emancipation, New Power Soul and Rave... Rave brok... Rave beat the shit outta the camel's back. So my tantrum was to sell EVERYTHING. In the meantime, I learned to appreciate other musicians more and to stop putting such high demands on Prince as an artist. I realized that it was actually okay if the creative well ran dry. However, I also felt stoooopid as hell when I realized how much good shit I gave up... and for what? ...all because Prince wasn't doing what I wanted him to hear anymore. 2 years later The Rainbow Children was released and all was forgiven.

I guess that's my first admission of Battered Prince Fan Syndrome.

BSK3601 said:

...You just "snapped"...lol

I think you're the only person I've ever seen who has owned up to saying that selling all your Prince stuff wasn't such a bright idea afterall..lol...as well as the only person who I've seen actually put some thought into the real reasons why it was done in the first place...kudos.

damn...

the amount of weight that's placed on creative shoulders

amazing

Wow! Welcome back.

Blast from the recent past....I remember you and to be truthful I skipped a lot of your posts for reasons I don't want to get into.

With respect to the topic, I've never stopped being a fan of Prince and probably never will. I did (and still do) have times in my life where I wasn't so involved with listening to each and every scrap of music he put out.
I don't need to like everything he's ever done. There isn't an artist dead or alive who has ever made me like everything they've ever done.

Anyway good luck on you're marriage.

moonshine said:

first of all, Im a she, not a he.

second of all, you and pope2the9s got it all wrong if you think that age is any indication of the level of a person's knowledge of and intensity of love for Prinnce.


Put it in perspective, I was around 11 or 12 when I learned about Prince and dove head first into his music. Im now 22. I spent the better part of my life loving him and his music, and in this short time, I caught up on all the old albums, old rumors, old Prince-related artists, old movies and generally everything I could possibly absorb which was Prince-related and which had happened before I stumbled across Prince.

I was a sponge, and for this reason, I can talk it up with the best of you Prince freaks...

You can name any Prince song for me and I can tell you the album it came from and the year it came out. I was on morpheus kazaa and all those other programs along with you, looking for that rare unreleased song. I was a diehard.

anyway, enough of that. lets just say, youre not qualified to make judgments based on what little info you have on me.

your argument is similar to someone who says to a person who had just had a divorce: "well you must have never really loved each other in the first plce."

the point of my post was not to slam those of you still into P (I said this in my original post, but apparently your aging eyes missed it. )

My point was, I have done something I never thought I would do: fall off the Prince wagon, and not feel bad about it! I have a new religion, a new husband, and while I know those things dont necessarily have to keep me away from Prince, they have-----and I havent suffered withdrawal! Ive learned that I devoted far too much of my time to Prince, as good as he was and still is.

If you take one look at my posting history, youll see just how many hours of my life I used to while away on this website.

So far from this being an indication of me being a "youngen" who will "come to my senses" 10 years from now and have a Prince-epiphany.....Im happy with what has happened. I know Prince doesnt obsess over me as much as I did him, so why dont I take a cue from P, and live my own life? Music is just one part of life, thats what Ive learned....

Thats all I was sayin'...
[Edited 6/29/06 12:51pm]

Nep2nes said:

Um, yeah it is....you were only two years old when Purple Rain came out, so as far as I'm concerned, you know NOTHING. I have Prince concert ticket stubs older than you.




big whoop



Oh yes I am.


Why do some people insist on making dramatic exits from a messageboard? Just stop posting. Eventually people will get the hint that you're not into Prince anymore....
[Edited 6/29/06 12:59pm]

Hi All

I thought Prince was a ship that sank with LOVESEXY, and now is a Submarine that sometimes surfaces with Awsome Songs. You pick out the songs that u think are awsome and type the next line.
[Edited 6/29/06 13:05pm]
[Edited 6/29/06 13:05pm]