As far as I know, it's STILL cool to like Prince. I used to care about everybody loving Prince and all that but now I could give a fuck. I will agree with those who said that once 2004 came, the tide did shift a lot in the positive for Prince and his music, past and present. Even with that, as long as I think it's cool to like Prince, that's all I care about.

That was so long ago, my memory falters.




I don't think it's cool to like Prince now, but people are understanding more and more each year that he's a genius AND a visionary. The less we have to hear about his religious gear shifting, his unpronounceable symbols, suing his fans, and the like, the more people will focus on the fact that his talent is truly, and I mean this with no sarcasm, awe inspiring.

I think it's becoming fashionable in a chic kinda way to start liking Prince again. It always seems to be the case when ever he's touring, about to tour or releasing a new album. He certainly didn't do his street cred in the mid 90's with that ridiculous name change and releasing a whole load of funk doodles that were half baked.

vainandy said:

Most of the guys from where I grew up were of the same backward, close-minded mentality as the folks who booed Prince off the stage at the infamous Rolling Stones concert. They're a bunch of phonies if you ask me because you know they were all secretly liking it (his music is too infectious not to like at least some songs). More importantly, they didn't stop me from listening to it...I just had to be sneaky about it and "borrow" cassettes from my older sister's collection.

It's ironic that so many guys try to ridicule Prince when he's such a lightning rod for some of the most beautiful women on the planet...for that alone he should be every guy's hero!

.....

Prince in 1983-85 was at his peak in terms of fans. He was the man. I was in Highschool at that time and eveyone...black, white, purple, green or blue loved Prince

He sold out the 20,000 seat Capital Center outside of Washington DC 14 nights.

Its funny when I read other people that say he was never popular in their circle. Because in DC he still is and was very very popular

Its is true shortly after Purple Rain people did begin to adandon him ARTWIAD and Parade turned a lot of folks off. People wanted him to sound a certain way and he had moved in a different direction...so folks dropped him. He tried to recover with Sign ...but released if I was UR Girlfirend which went a long way towards alienating and confusing fans, & radio programers. In all of its sheer briliance it killed that album. Then the pose nude/Lily cover of Lovesexy...P has never been much of good marketer when it came to selling images of himself that the maasses can embrace Oh well it is what it is

However, Prince and his career choices has as much to do with "it being cool" as anything else. He chose this path

It's still cool to like Prince. Like I'm supposed to like Justin Timberlake or T-Pain or Rhianna cause they sell more records. I don't think so.
For an artist who's spent his whole career not caring what others think of him and doing his own thing and following his own muse, it's sad that more of his fans don't adopt that attitude instead of being so concerned about what others think.
Thankfully, I'm one of the fans who got the message early on. It's music y'all. If you enjoy it, that's all that matters.

I'll be 40 in September.

i think its still cool to like Prince. i always defined cool as going by ur standards, and not follwing anyone else's. and that's wat Prince has done- made his own rules to do something he loves- make music.

Hell yeah. Rick Live In Long Beach is a great CD. You also need to check out his live DVD.

I love all those groups you mentioned along with The Barkays, Roger and Zapp, The Isley Brothers, Lakeside, Dynasty, Midnight Star, Ebonee Webb, Bobby Nunn, One Way, Michael Henderson, Fatback, The Brothers Johnson, Brick, The Dazz Band, The Whispers, O'Bryan, Ray Parker, Jr. and Raydio, Instant Funk, etc. The list goes on and on.

Exactly. Pre-Purple Rain and even during Purple Rain, it was very cool to be into Prince. Around The World In A Day changed everything.

I bet the black folks at your school were into Prince long before that.

vainandy said:

Close enough

vainandy said:

You are a TRUE Funk Soldier!!!

You know it! Funk forever!

shygirl said:

I quit caring about what other people thought when I read an interview with Steve Vai where he said Prince was the number one artist with whom he wanted to perform. When a guitar wizard like Steve Vai (a musician who played for Frank Zappa and filled Eddie Van Halen's shoes with David Lee Roth) says that about you....you just can't get anymore clout than that!

.....
[Edited 7/30/07 5:18am]

NouveauDance said:

I'd agree, there is some insane love for Prince at the moment (loads of people at my work are getting tickets to the O2 who wouldn't have dreamed about doing that a few years back and I'm like "told you so!".

The ball started rolling with Musicology but I think the momentum really kicked in with the Superbowl. It was like people suddently remembered "oh yeah Prince, he was cool backn in the day. Man he can still kick it!"

I grew up in the UK just South East of London. There was a crowd of us who "discovered" Prince around the time of Purple Rain and over the course of 84-87 we devoured/shared/tipped each other off to all the side projects etc. It was a very cool time and we certainly were the "in crowd" at school.

Not boasting as this wasn't exactly hard, the rest of the kids in school were buying either Dire Straits or Stock Aitkin and Waterman produced crap!

It's ironic that so many guys try to ridicule Prince when he's such a lightning rod for some of the most beautiful women on the planet...for that alone he should be every guy's hero!

.....[/quote]
That's what I've been trying to TELL everybody!!

pald1 said:

since 2004 it's cool to like Prince

Alexandernvrmind said:

yes, great synopsis of his mass appeal through the years.
I was also in high school during the mid/late 80;s and 1984 it was cool to dig Prince, dress like him and play his music.
1985 ATWIAD sounded too much like Beatnik Beatles. Mind you, Prince had a more funk RB sound... his rock moments made him look more daring and more like a rebel. Most of his fan base was RB (black) crowd with the rock (white) digging him because he was edgy. Then he comes out with AWTIAD and it sounds a lot like the 60's.
The white kids think "this sounds too much like what my dad likes... old Beatles music" and the black kids (especially black males) are like WTF??
Then the next album cover posing nude sitting on a flower... was really too much... now to like Prince was truly making a statement about your sexuality.
SOTT was an attempt to get back to his RB base with Adore... but he doesn't release Adore as a single... he releases If I was your girlfriend. Most people (casual radio listeners) do not have the time nor inclination to really listen to the lyrics the way we do here on the org. All most people heard was Prince singing about being somebody's GIRLFRIEND!! I heard several people say that "that boy done lost his dayum mind!" These were the same people who bought 1999.

vainandy said:

See? this is why I love VainAndy.... he has such great taste in music and makes me remember great times in my teenage years.

40 black male. to like him in the early 80's was some rebel shit, the prince vs. rick thing was fun. i remember spending the night with my cousins and listening to two teenagers who lived across the street from one another battle by blasting the systems through open windows. ahhh summertime in the hood LOL DMSR always ended matters man that was a fuckin jam!! LOL. Purple Rain was cool but kind of a letdown if you got off on being rebelous, now you had blonde cheerleaders at high school ( who thought you were a freak 2 years earlier) digging you because you had a curl and rocked eyeliner. I loved ATWIAD because my cousins and most black folks were like WTF?. That album led me to the beattles and hendrix. Parade and SOTT are companion peices for me, to still dig him at that time made you avante garde but trust me "Adore" although not released did not get past the brotha's. That was the house party, tell her you wanna talk to her (while easing her into a dark corner) jam. Lovesexy was cool, but i had to endure the What's up with your Boy? comments. Saw the tour in Chicago and to me that was the best line-up. The 90's was like everybody knew he was your dog and everybody who wanted to take a shot at you could do so by taking a shot at him. It was a mix of being frustrated with his decisions but still willing to dig for the gems. In 2004 it became Chic but almost in an establishment sort of way. This country loves legends, they dont give a shit how you get there but if you do they will honor that. Theres almost a sense now that he is the embodiment of "real music" and innovation. I think this is mostly due to the business and the bullshit it cranks out than anything. i dont think he's a true artist nowadays because the messege is convoluted with dogma and restraint. But at 40 i guess i've mastered restraint as well so maybe it is still cool to like him

During the 80's it was no problem being a Prince fan.
Everyone at school and my friends knew I was a Prince fan,they even called me
Prince 4 a while if I didn't respond 2 my own name
Ok,sometimes they said he made strange music,album tracks,
and especially the Lovesexy-look was something they could joke with.

They respected my choice of music but I had no one 2 talk about
his music!!Almost everyone liked his hits but that's it.

During the Slave period and the name chance Prince lost a lot of his
credibility....and all those jokes!I can imagine how it must have been
if someone was still at school that time.

Since Musicology it's ok if U are a Prince fan,the jokes are 4gotten

I have to say it's always been cool to like Prince whether it's now the past present and or future. Who gives a shit. You have people have seen Prince and called him gay and you have people who just don't know what great music is.

Who cares. Obviously Prince doesn't and if he doesn't why should we when he is the man behind the music. I have friends who hate him and I have no problem with that. Mind you I'm in High School. I am accepted by the people who don't like him. Who cares music is music. And Great Music is Prince.

I think being a female and kind of having that Prince girl look (long dark hair, kind of ethnic, etc)..made it pretty easy to be a public fan. Of course, I got the he's gay thing too, but I'm sure it would have been more difficult to admit it if I were a guy.

Now that I'm in my 30's it's the best thing. Co-workers and associates are always trying to relate to me with little Prince fun facts or forward me articles they read in NY Times. It's very cute and it makes me different and it makes me proud. You know, it really says I'm a non-conformist and I like what I like.

Oh and speaking of Rick James, I just saw the "Give it to Me Baby" video the other day...my God that shiznit was high-larious and I do me HIGH.

What crowd of people are you referring to? Children? Come on... The kids in my junior high and high school listened to shit like Motley Crew, Cinerella and numerous other 80's hair/metal bands. That was considered "cool" in the little hick-midwestern town I grew up in in the 80's. Kids do not always have great taste in music because they're uneducated. Prince was never cool at my school because he wasn't "hair-metal". I didn't care. I loved Prince from the 4th grade on.

No...unless I'm around another fan everyone just thinks it's nuts...same with Bob Dylan...

This is a stupid ass thread!!! It will be forever cool....yes forever cool to like Prince. He is just that kind of Prince, I kike hime and definitely will always love him.