korovyov said:

Reading the reactions of fanatics like this to any doubts voiced is causing me to wonder when it would be correct in defining his loyal following, NPMC, etc. as an actual cult... It's really starting to freak me out more than ever.

I try to look at it this way, nothing is as exciting as it was when I was 16. Nothing will ever replicate the connection I had with Prince's music at that time (Purple Rain). It was thrilling and exciting. I craved every single thing I could get involving the man.

But the catch is, almost everything was more exciting to me when I was 16. You get older and your passions mellow over time. Nothing any artist including Prince does from here on can possibly replicate the excitement I had in that mid 80's period.

We had some rough times through the 90's and some very up and down quality. I still cant find another artist I like better, in the overall sense i.e the whole package inc live performance ability etc.

I still look forward to each new development and release but not with the same intensity. Sure, Rave was a bit crappy but to me TRC was an amazing return to form and the recent live performances are brilliant. I listen to the ONA boots and watch the NYC ONA video and am blown away.

Those performances prove he's still got it to me. The problem at the moment is that the NPGMC sucks! They dont tell us anything. Why do we not know what the next CD is and when it will be sent? Why are the tour plans not advised ? Where are all the other promised items such as DVD,merchandise etc?

The NPGMC is run by incompetant retarded amateurs. Prince needs a manager. It could be so much better.

Cant spell!
[This message was edited Tue Aug 13 17:41:19 PDT 2002 by bkw]

Is Prince worth it anymore???

Why are you judging Prince's worth, or judging Prince at all? I can see trying to make a determination on whether paying $100 for the club is worth it to you or not, but not judging someone's worth. (maybe you didn't mean it the way it reads)

Whether you do or do not like where Prince is at today, that is your personal choice. Our opinions should not matter as to whether or not you want to buy anymore of his work, or renew with the club.

I can understand being frustrated about not receiving a promised CD. I can also understand that you can't get with whatever CD's he has put out in the last several years. Your personal choice. But to question his worth?

I liked much of Prince's old stuff, but I dig the new stuff too. I am not a JW, nor do I follow any organized religion, however I am not offended or feel he is coming on too strong with his religious views. I appreciate some of the spiriutal messages in TRC and I enjoy the whole CD. I respect him for being true to himself.

I tend to agree with Sensual Melody. Most of us basically get something personal from his words or the sound and we come and go as it suits us. He doesn't owe us and we should not expect him to be the same way 4ever. I remember at first I didn't like P*** Control from the Gold Experience because of the P word. I hated that word. One day, I stuck the CD in the player and actually heard the message in the song, and it became one of my favorites. (it still is not a word I like to hear)
I know for me no one's music/words have moved me as much as Princes and as consistently as he has over the years. He has written songs I swear he was writing about my personal feelings. I love the sensual ones, the funky ones, the ones about heartbreak and lonliness, the spiritual ones, the romantice ones. But what he does and doesn't do does not dictate what goes on in my life.

I am looking forward to the next 3 CD;s from the club. And, I will be there at the next tour in my city. I enjoyed the ONA tour and had the best seats I ever had by being a club member and am grateful I paid the $100. i would never of had those seats without the membership. i realize that doesn't apply to everyone who is a member, but I am grateful I had that opportunity. I was close enough to see how much he puts into playing as well as totally enjoying the live music. Based on that peformance alone, and the comments from attendees at this year's celebration, I hope to make it to next year's celebration.

bkw said:

You win the award for Favorite Response To My Post, hands down. Thank you for your eloquence and insight.

Not financially but he is definatly still worth it musically

hmmm

Define Worth it?


Extraordinary talent - yes!

If you mean, worth listening to because of a man who pores his heart and soul out, whether or not you might think it is negative or positive. My heart bursts!

old prince is worth it to me.i really dont have the same interest in him i did when i first became a fan( summer 98')...nowadays he doesnt have the same effect on me...when im in the mood ill put on like 17days or pink cashmere or something but other than that...

Anxiety said:

But who's to judge what work is growing backwards? When it comes to art that's a personal opinion, some agree, and some don't - it's subjective. Some in our lives might find that our work is growing backwards too. What's right for them isn't always what's right for us, and vice versa.

Bowie, Zappa and Prince have always been fiercely individual people who will do as they please in their careers. That's been the case since day 1 for each of them. What's right for one isn't necessarily what's right for the others simply because no matter how much alike they are, at the end of the day they're still individuals who share traits and aesthetics and still have elements of yang to the others' yin.

Maybe Prince has outgrown you, maybe you have outgrown Prince. Either way, you've grown apart, and it's obvious that some who are continuously musically disgruntled have grown apart from him too.

When I was disappointed with Prince's output on a consistent basis I ceased spending money on him. And later on when I resumed my interest in him, and the music I hadn't heard, I found out I hadn't missed THAT much. Flashes of brilliance here and there, but not an entire album that had conviction, cohesiveness, and a flat out sense of purpose until TRC.

Sure, I can understand people who feel the narrative voice gets in the way (though it's not a problem for me). I can understand people who don't like that kind of music (because one person's diamond is another person's coal).

But I don't get people who feel they're being preached at simply because he's singing about his own beliefs, considering there wasn't a problem when he was preaching about jacking you off and giving you head. I don't get people who feel "Wedding Feast" was an attempt at a SONG in the same way the others songs on the album are SONGS. I don't get people who in their minds won't allow Prince to do anything tongue in cheek like that, but will allow that leeway with Zappa's parodies and satires - when it's so obvious that the man is laughing at the end of that smorgasboard at least.

Some fans feel Prince should lighten up, thinking Prince is too serious, yet Feast sullies the album. Some fans felt Prince should use real drums on an album for a change (I was one), he did, yet others still forever call for the Linn Drum. Some folks said Prince should focus on his musicianship (I was one) instead of catering to the market that supports Ashanti, Britney, 'NSync, et al., he did.

No matter what, Prince cannot win with some of his fans. They come from so many different backgrounds and cultures, they expect him to do everything he usually does at once, they expect innovation and commercial success (which is rare and they should be thankful he achieved that at all), they expect him to keep his mouth shut about what's important to him and play his geetar, yet others want to see him at the march for reparations on the 17th. They want him to do nothing but pop music, others want a rock album from him, others want him to go deeper into a jazzy vein...then are disappointed when he doesn't do it, despite the fact that he touches on all these things sometimes. Prince cannot win. It's sort of a curse, because of his prior success. No one person with as many expectations is going to please everyone all the time.

On the business tip; The Keystone Clerks of the NPGMC have never been worth it for me, because I knew their reputation beforehand and it hasn't changed. I hope all the people who knew their rep and still decided to join aren't the ones complaining, because that would be the fault of those specific members. It comes under the heading You Deserve What You Put Up With.

bkw said:

This is actually how I feel..thank you
MS

Anxiety said:

I was exposed to Jerry Lewis's early movies when I was younger and I was initially amazed at how unbelievably funny he was. I would piss my pants from laughter. It was practically dangerous! Even tapes of his real-life persona as seen in interviews and such blew me away! I was sold!

Then I tune into the "Jerry Lewis Telethon" or would see him interviewed on Charlie Rose or as a guest on Saturday Night Live... and its painfully obvious that this is NOT the guy back in the day. Not that he "matured," "moved on," "developed," etc. But that he seriously lost something. Here was a bitter, angry, self-obsessed and extremely unfunny "personality."

But at least I still can go back and dig on those movies even if I have seen them hundreds of times. That Jerry Lewis is Jerry Lewis.

bkw said:I try to look at it this way, nothing is as exciting as it was when I was 16. Nothing will ever replicate the connection I had with Prince's music at that time (Purple Rain). It was thrilling and exciting. I craved every single thing I could get involving the man.

But the catch is, almost everything was more exciting to me when I was 16. You get older and your passions mellow over time. Nothing any artist including Prince does from here on can possibly replicate the excitement I had in that mid 80's period.

See I don't think it was because you were 16 but because it was the eighties - music was more exciting then. I felt the same as you did about Prince in the eighties only I wasn't sixteen - I was in my late twenties. When I was sixteen it was the 70's & no music inspired that kind of passion as much of the 80's music did.

Prince is worth every penny. The ONA shows, the soundchecks
and the celebration is worth more than 100.00.

I don't understand why people complain with all that
Prince gives.

A lot of artist release a cd than there on all
the talk shows with everybody saying how wonderful they
are so the public will go out and buy the cd, and than
you don't hear from them again for another 3 to 5 years
when they release the next cd.

Does any other artist on earth invite his fans to his house for a week?

angellm said:

All of the freedoms that we possess are predicated on the assumption of the most basic freedom of all - freedom of thought; without this, all other freedoms are largely an illusion. That's because you're a brain-washed tool. Yet, you're completely sold on the cult of Prince. Cult indoctrinees have given up their critical faculties and are true not to themselves (as they may be led to believe) but to the organization who has pimped their mind.

I like this 'Anxiety' guy...

Well Anxious one, I agree with your words very much, and respect your opinion (which I seldom say on this site). I think you should voice your exact post to the NPGMC. I mean Nat Turner's idea may have been a lil far fetch, but none the less, he had the right idea in mind. Your words would do more, than any picket sign would. Give it a shot. I hate to see a loyal 20 year fan, generally loose interest.

Blue
Dont play me

lovebird said:

Maybe we should all just bend down and give him head?

And Prince puts out crap like NPS, Rave, etc. back to back, and it sucks monkey cock. It's not his house, its his place of business. The "celebration" is written off as an "educational event" - its a sizable tax write off.

Xtreme said:

It's not his house, its his place of business. The "celebration" is written off as an "educational event" - its a sizable tax write off.[/quote]

There are many easier ways to get a tax write off that don't involve fans.

Anxiety, Xtreme


I agree, y'all.

Cheers.

Wow. This is one of the most sane, most objective posts I've seen in reference to Prince on this site thus far. I too, am from the era of great Prince singles (with amazing b-sides). It was an incredible time for r&b and pop, and yes, is sorely missed. At any rate, thank you for the clarity of your writing. As for whether or not Prince is still worth it anymore- I would venture to say yes, to some degree. His recordings haven't been able to hold my interest for some time now, but one can always look forward to his live performances- from another perspective, I find he is still one of the greatest live performers in American pop music history, right alongside other icons like Ellington, Dorsey, Sinatra, Chuck Berry, Elvis, etc. I say that if the recordings can't sway us like they used to, that's alright. In the end, the power of an artist often lies in his live performances anyway, and the feelings he is able to convey to or arouse in his audience. As long as Prince can hang on to that bit of mojo, we'll have plenty to look forward to, I think. In the meantime, as some of the recorded music he chooses to release now may seem a bit off kilter compared to his older ventures-we can at least take refuge in knowing that (overall) his music has been both a foundation and a bridge of sorts, between old school funk and r&b for alot of the lovely newer artists out there like the D'angelos and Maxwells and Musiques,or Bilals who are doing great things artistically. The fact that Prince has created a kind of "legacy" that influncences the core of modern "soul" music will always render him relevant in the bigger picture of things, and yes, makes him still worth it after all...

PaisleyPrincess said:

i totally agree with the above - this whole one-upmanship between fans is really pathetic.

A 'true' fan is what? One who blindly licks prince's backside or one who independently judges the music for what it is and who, unfortunate as it maybe, decides its not what it once was.

someone with their own mind?

and yes, prince was better when he shut his mouth and was mr mysterious musical genius

Christopher said:

You first became a Prince fan in the summer of '98?? The 'NPS' CD is what made you become a fan? Unbelievable!!

TheResistor said:

Stop telling me what to do.

Xtreme said:

oh fuck you, xtreme.

Xtreme said:

so the fuck what? If you were him, you'd do the same thing, and you know it.

He IS worth my effort, time, $ & thought. Keep it coming P, I can't do without it...

Anxiety said:

It fucking sucks 4 the younger fans who never got 2 c Prince when he was normal!!! (in his usual fucked up way)

Grr!!

However, I loved ONA, and I think Prince is slowly shedding his ego...which may make 4 a more boring persona but at least we have the music which (as I've said so many times) is better than anything on the charts.

Soon, Prince will absorb all of Larry's knowledge right out of his brain and move on. He's always done that...

DavidEye said:

lol no'ah!,

it was all the old stuff of course,but yeh i did buy nps in 98' and liked(like) it lol.

LadyCabDriver said:

Fuck off, you old bag!

I think that depends on YOU.As for me sometimes he's worth it..sometimes he's not.