I love Prince to death and I've come to the point where I feel he'll always top my list of favorite artists out there. But there's too many other acts I like as well. Some sound like him, others don't. I mean, Prince did open my ears to a lot of new and different sounds, but there's other that have exposed me to even more sounds. Sure, Prince had his New Wave phase, but that doesn't mean I can do without Duran, Smiths, Spandau, ABC, Clash, B-52's, Gang of 4, yada yada yada. Just like with Funk too: I love Prince but I love's my Cameo, P-Funk, Gap Band, etc.

You see, there are many qualities in Prince that makes me love him to begin with. But there are certain other qualities that I see in other artists that Prince may or may not have that make me appreciate them.

And also, in regards to music, the general idea about artists and the evolution oof music in general is for each generation to outdo the next one. Not even outdo, just try and do something different or fresh or radical. Maybe they could draw inspiration from the musicians of the past, but they should create something new out of it. Or at least that's the way it should go since I'm not seeing much of that in today's music. Prince had his time and his legacy and secured his place in music history. And even though he's still around turning out great tunes, he should make room for the younger generations of artists to tell their story.

HELL NO !!!!!

It would be up to the individual obviously, but I don't think it's that crazy of an idea for someone to only listen to Prince music. Just last night I played Venus de Milo for my wife, who is a moderate Prince fan, and asked her to guess whose song this was. She didn't know, but she liked it. When I told her who it was she was somewhat suprised. Then I stopped it and played a snippet of 18 & over just to contrast between that and Venus de Milo. We then discussed the tremendous diversity in this man's music. I believe it is unmatched by anyone, and I think that one could find a song by Prince from any major genre, with the possible exception of country.

Prince's music really is all that I need. I listen to other artists on occasion, but I could definitely go the rest of my life listening to nothing but Prince. He's so diverse that I never get bored listening to him.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

yeah, i know...thats why i asked the question...cause i wanted to know which artist i could recommend to you..

BELL6983 said:

I love Prince but, um no. Even if every single thing he'd released in the last 30 years was golden I'd still need to listen to other artists.

While I've come close to listening to his music for 24 hours at a time,
I find that every once in a while I need to take a break & get a corndog.

sosgemini said:

Thanx, but the thing is my taste is music just varies SO MUCH that it's really hard to put a label on my preference. Basically I like anything as long as it isn't hip-hop, rap and I don't like most country. I've mentioned BSB a couple of times, I like that kind of music, but also Clay Aiken's style, Josh Groban has some great songs and the list could go on. I guess what makes Prince great is that he seems to sum up all of the kinds of music that I like and introduce me a different aspect of others (like some hip-hop, funk, soul, and R&B) that I wasn't into before.

I love other music as well but i can stand just Prince music if he consist on playing a diverse sound as he always does.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

too true. aside from the BSB, i can't put my favorite artists in numerical order. they're just too good to me. i feel like something's left out.

oh and i like ure comments abt the BSB. BSB's songs are great to dance to!! I never really liked N'sync- but love the BSB b/c their music matured as they got older- and you can see that with their lyrics and their choice of styles. same with the Beatles- as they got older their music matured as well- which is why they've retained so many fans over the years, in my opinion.

I love Prince music, but it's definitely not the only music I need I love all types of music and genres

While I wouldn't want to exclude my other favorite artists, there are times when I feel like his music is all that I need.

Last week, I was reminded of the chaos that's on mainstream radio these days and Prince's music was all I needed to get over that lack of "good music" by listening to some good music.
To combat what garbage is on the radio these days, Musicology is all I really need to get my fill of what GOOD music sounds like.

Well if I had to drop everything else or only listen to Prince it would be a VERY easy choice, Prince would be gone in a flash!!

Some o' y'all need to broaden your horizons.

Genesia said:

But with Prince's music can I horizons the broads.

Illustrator said:

Point taken. But you can do the same with Teddy Pendergrass...or Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet.

And don't forget Bach's The Art of the Fugue.

Illustrator said:

He certainly has broadened mine

in too many ways to name.
I look at music definitely and favor songwriting opposed to pre-packaged music.
I also look at many things differently and my writing style has blossomed, especially when I talk about him.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

Ummmm...honey...when I said folks need to broaden their horizons, I meant broaden them beyond Prince. Songs were being written for a thousand years before his mama even squeezed him out.

Young people are ssssooooo earnest.

Genesia said:

Musicology is tempting me to look into other songwriters in the past (like Elton John, Billy Joel & the Beatles)... I've developed an utter disdain for what radio sounds like today, so the perfect antidote for that is to dive into the past. I feel that Prince is trying to give me that extra push forward (or should I say "back" as in time?)

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

You might check out some of his influences -- Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Led Zeppelin, Little Richard, Jackie Wilson, Tower of Power...I could go on and on.

And don't forget...If you wanted to buy a Sam Cooke a'bum, where would you go?

Genesia said:

Led Zeppelin influenced Prince? Seriously?
"Stairway to Heaven" is an awesome song with the pregression it has... he kinda does the same in Purple Rain, which makes it just as incredible.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

You couldn't grow up when Prince did (especially living in a predominantly white place like Minnesota) and not be influenced by Led Zeppelin.

He gave 'em a nod on his ONA tour...doing Whole Lotta Love.

Genesia said:

Haha, good point.

[I've been saying this a lot, but I'll say it anyway] What makes Prince so appealing is that everyday is a learning experience, I either learn something new about him or I learn something about his music (or both).

I looooove me some Prince but even I need a break from ole Purple Dude. I got so many other people like Stevie, Donna Summer, Earth, Wind and Fire, old MJ and anything else that comes to mind. Lately, I've been jamming to DeBarge. I miss them, where they at?! When I come back from my hiatus, I appreciate him more than I did before.

purplecam said:

This weekend, I went back to some of my fav. artists for studying music. [Prince isn't good 4 studying... at least Musicology wasn't]...
Jesse McCartney's CD certainly missed me... so I played it two days in a row.
I went back to Ryan Cabera, The Click Five and Aly & AJ for a brief stint and it was definitely interesting to go back to Ryan Cabrera, thinking about him as a songwriter. Sure, he co-wrote his material, but he played guitar.

But Prince is the only person I listen to who I can take the whole picture into account. Take apart both the instrumental and lyrical portions of his material. I feel his material is the only artist's material I can really do that to and it increases my enjoyment of it when I find something. When I do it with anyone else, it just ruins the moment cuz I'm not focusing on the song as a whole.
And I could care less about connecting with the others thru their music the way I do with Prince... I should spread that joy around, but what can I say?

I spoil Prince to death the way I listen to his music.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

That's cool DPR. That's what makes music so great. All the choices we have in what we want to play. But all of my favorites make me love Prince's music more than before, if that makes any sense. Prince is just the ultimate for me.

purplecam said:

That makes perfect sense.

He really is the ultimate, but then again, I can't really put him in the same class with anyone else I listen to.
I knew that from the start when I first knew he was that he wasn't like the others. I saw him as a musician so dedicated to his art and also lived for the thrill of the performance. The vibe I got from him initially basically told me everything I needed to know about him before I jumped into his crazy world. He was a man with class and unrivaled talent. At the time, I only knew him as he was in the present, a musician still holding strong and making music, not that I knew how well his music did on the charts.
I jumped into this world 2 months ago today and discovered that he is everything I thought he was, but after I got into this world was when I got the details... I soaked it in little by little over the course of the following month b4 I bought any of his albums... and it's been an incredible journey. I'm still enjoying the ride unlike I had with any other artist. Every day's a learning experience and the fact Prince wrote his material himself opened the window for me to connect with him on a personal level thru the music the way I hadn't done with anyone else I listened 2 before him. I try to visualize him singing the song and see his heart within the song and in the case of his really good pieces, he teaches me something new or our minds and/or hearts connect.

With all that said, I do feel like Prince is all that I need, but it'd be cruel to the other artists I listen to to exclude them from my life.
[Edited 4/2/07 18:57pm]