It seems that as time passes Prince has moved further and further away from doing deals with big labels. I hope that his mind set is now focussed on expanding the NPGMC and saying F.U. to the music 'industry'. Even if he did do a one off deal such as the RAVE cd i doubt that he will acheive any level of mainstream success unless he changes his music drastically to fit in with commercial radio. On one hand i'm glad that he's stopped pushing for the mainstream but i must admit i'd love to see him be in the charts again selling mega millions. Can you see him ever getting back to somewhere near where he was. Are you bothered?.

javed said:

I don't think Prince is interested in being IN the game. I don't believe the fans he still has care either, I certainly don't, the charts are a pile of hogwash anyway with no meaning anyway.

I agree Marilyn. Who gives a flying Pook poo what's on the charts now!!

CarrieLee said:

I would put one of those hug symbol things here but I don't know how so I'll just give u a Carrie

CarrieLee said:

Amen to that...

Charts suck...

marilyn said:

Hugs...



: hug : without the spaces

Here's an example of how meaningless the charts are, in the UK the next #1 single will be a song by the guy who wasn't even a runner up in the last Pop Idols sham (show).

IceNine said:

Thanks Ice, I'll give it a go tho' I'll probably fuck it up

CarrieLee said:

::

That's ok Marilyn, this one is my favorite anyway:

So when you want to show me love, just gimme some instead!!!

I knew I'd fuck up! Ha ha!!! Oh I'm just fuckin' useless

Of course prince wants mainsteam success again. Otherwise, why would he keep trying to do one album deals, and then moan about the promotion or video costs?

He wants his cake and eat it. This control freak attitude will stop him from ever becoming a mainstream again.

I used to hope and pray that P-dog would put down the samplers and drum machines and put out an honest-to-God LIVE recording, live musicians.

And he finally did, TRC, and I wasn't too impressed with it, on a whole. Before you pull out your glyph-shaped guitar and beat me down, remember, I'm old-school - I think SOTT was as good as it ever got, and THAT was a comeback from PR... I dug the heavy funk-guitar catchy hook kind of stuff. The rapping was tolerable - Gett Off is tha bomb, but Crap Unto the Crap Craptastic was horrid.

SO. NOW that I've clarified where I'm coming from - here's where I'm going...

He finally released a live musician CD. But the problems with it were twofold - PAINFULLY heavy message, and WHAT UP WITH RAPPIN LIKE SNOOP DOGGY DOG on MELLOW. Now, if EVER there was proof that he's STILL tryin' to be hep with the kids, it would be his mimicry of Snoop.

So, yeah, he's TOOO out of the game to get back in mainstream, because he's tooo out of his mind with this message-pushing (which HAS been debated to DEATH elsehwhere, so I know where you ALL stand, monkey-tards).

My point tho, is that, oh, hell yeah, he could put out a 30-minute CD of 6 songs like he used to, include the pop-rock song, the nasty funk song, the slow-grind song, the goofy-new wave song, and the wacked out artsy song (this type lineup is lifted from Controversy and/or Dirty Mind) and PYA-ZAYAOW, the hits they would be a coming. Hell - he could just polish off 6 vault songs, like he did on CB or the Vault... but, no, I didn't really dig the reworkings... so I take that back.

IN MY OPINION, he's doing what he wants, which includes tip-o-the-hats to current artists' styles, writing about what he wants, etc. Maybe, ONE time, he'll do a sell-out wrecka, just for kicks, and give it to Warner Brothers, and let them market the hell out of it, maybe he'll even let somebody make the video OFF OF THE PAISLEY PARK property, so it has that kind of quality - what do they call it? Oh - yeah, GOOD QUALITY.

Except, *I* think that Prince's idea of doing a sellout record was Crap unto the Crap Craptastic - an extremely derivative pale reflection of styles that were current that week.

That's just my opinion, but I know I'm right!!

SquirrelMeat said:

During the promotion of "Rave" Prince said that he hoped that "Rave" would sell more copies then "Purple Rain" did so I would also say that he still cares about mainstream success.

It doesn't really matter, the charts should go and we should just listen to whatever music we like and not have to be dictated to which music is No.1 and is the best 'cos they clearly aren't. They are CRAP!



Come back 1980's!!!

marilyn said:

Now, if you type the word "hug" between the colons, you will have it!

BTW: No "" around hug either.

IceNine said:

Thanks for being so patient with my dumb old ass

I'm sure every artist wants to express his beliefs on such an elevated, artistic form that it becomes embraceable by universal standards and hence "mainstream."

Mainstream is not necessarily evil. Lesser artists become "mainstream" by pandering to what's already out there but he didn't use that approach with Purple Rain, (which was actually non-conventional in my opinion and became mainstream only because of the strength and mastery of this eccentric creation.) It changed mainstream. It didn't cater to it.

So, of course, I want him to define, divert, and shape mainstream again. But can he?

[i] Did anyone see Bruce Springsteen on Nightline last night where he talked about the aim of pop music is LIBERATION via expression of human ideas and experiences in such a way that people can explore their identities, their place in this world/universe, and where they want to go. I was so glad to hear Springsteen say that. I instantly thought of Prince.

That LIBERATION describes perfectly how I felt when I became a fan hearing Controversy, Uptown, Free, Let's Go Crazy... as a pre-teen seeking to become...

I think that's an element that's missing in Prince's music today ... the universal power to LIBERATE and allow people to explore.

Is it just me or do you feel accordioned into some small exclusive cast after listening to contemporary Prince, especially the Rainbow Children. I feel dirty like I have to break out of some oppressive mold when I listen to him. Even when I sang Head and Sister I never felt that way (dirty). I always felt free to explore and inspired to be whatever through early Prince music.

Which is why I haven't heard RC in months. Can Prince appeal to universal humanity and define "mainstream" music again? Sure, but he'll have to LIBERATE himself first and then LIBERATE the music. [i]

It Worked!!

Hugs all round

He is still getting $125 per ticket per show, you would think he had the number one cd, single, movie and had NSYNC opening for him. Who needs chart success, when fans still line up in droves.

SynthiaRose said:

what do u mean by changing mainstream and not catering to it?

After his death, the media will start to kiss his ass again.

subyduby said:

Well, I think my initial post explained it. But to elaborate: I feel Prince and others have often had success with the general populace through albums that weren't like other albums of their time. These artists' renderings were of such quality and uniqueness they actually changed the climate of popular music by expanding (not doing something in line with or catering to) contemporary tastes and standards.

The general populace wanted something different (in the early 80's they were rabid for any incarnation of Prince beyond B-sides to Sheila E. and The Time. A distinct sound that Prince wasn't doing because it was 'popular.' Although now Purple Rain is descried as too mainsteam! The charisma and the talent of the man made it popular.) That's not pandering to current tastes, it's changing it.

The general populace was coaxed into liking more than the shit they were already listening to and in some cases the greater art shook them into the realization that they were listening to shit. Hence, a new style became popular and wanted by a great number of people. Excellence is often ignored by the masses, but not always. Sometimes you hit on a formula that can make the masses like the real stuff. That's rare. I think Prince once did this and that is what I mean by his changing mainstream. That's just my opinion, Suby.

I really think Prince Can Do It. The music is wonderful he just needs to Promote Properly. He's the Best. He can definitely get back on the Charts.

He would have to change his concept behind the promotion of his music, 'cos all the youngsters today like really good looking clean cut boys - pop idols and even though Prince is the best looking man on earth I do not think he will appeal to them.
He would be better off doing something similar (but better) to what Damon Albarn did from Blur when he started Gorillaz. Thats cool. Maybe if Prinec did something like this and released a video with the cartoon characters on TRC artwork OR even better if the Muppets made aPrince character and characters of all his band and associates and he had a 'Prince Muppet Show'.

Untill the game changes YES

JAMIESTARR said:

Well Tom Jones is doing OK. Which game is this?

Another example of what SynthiaRose is talking about are the albums 'OK Computer' and 'Kid A' from Radiohead. It would be foolhardy to say that those albums were meant to cater to the mainstream, but they are so good that they cannot be denied. They achieved some amount of popular success without coming into the game with a sure fire winner. They didn't have #1s though...

Perhaps a more precise example would be Ray of Light by Madonna. It had been some time since someone put (and I say this with caution) 'depth' into computer generated dance music and she got it on pop radio. Madonna really sucks sometimes, and she sells out (Music, Dick Tracy) but I think Ray of Light was an album that she wanted to make. She took a risk and it was good enough that people ate it up.

I think TRC could have been really popular (at least some songs) if the lyrics wouldn't have been so confusing outside of the scope of the rest of the album. Or if the line She Loves Me 4 Me hadn't been used in a horribly bubble gum song not too long ago.

Perhaps Prince could succeed if he got away from the 'cultish' religious content and stuck with more of the 'Lovesexy' feel.

marilyn said:

At the moment here in France, the N°1 record is a “band” called “Mad’house” , their album is only shitty awful covers of Madonna’s songs, AND IT SUCKS, it’s the eternal italian euro dance music , I don’t undestand why people (so called dj, radio station leaders, ) decided to program endlessly this terrible shit to brainwash us, where are the music ( & I talk about pop-ular music) lovers? The music-business is killing the music.

"game"? you mean creating music or being able to be on the charts? I may dog his current business approach, but he obviously is creating music of some worth. Charts are ok if you watch MTV and count royalty checks, but jazz blues and funk ain't on the charts so I've been caring a lot less than I really should.