Let me just say, Prince is still my favorite artist. Not his current music, but he packs so many great old songs (not hits) and they live on.

Interestingly, I rememeber a Rolling Stone interview in which he drove around in a T-bird or something. He was saying he doesn't listen to anything much but his own stuff. That was back in '85 or something, believe.

What happened? He started fixating on the 'boy band' scene and the rap scene of the time. That was a bad move. I mean, rap was already making huge moves when Prince was starting up. The Sugerhill Gang and Grand Master Flash were pulling out major everlasting tunes. Not charting, but we hear them on the radio today.

What this tells me is Prince was really consumed with being'in the scene and current' when he starting flirting with rap and changing his sound. But WTF? What defined Prince up until that time was being new on his own accord. He made the rules. Yet something inside said "listen to what others are doing, and incoporate." You don't do that when you are the rule maker.

No? Then ask yourself, how would the Stones appeal to you if during the 90s they decided to release a grunge album? Or during the 80s, mimic U2?


Of course its too late for Prince to change the rules 15 years later. It isn't too late for him to capatilize on what he did best. He probably hates that notion, popping out mind-blowing works that he views as old.

Take some advice Prince, the Stones are still doing what they do best, and they're what, 150 years old?

You know, he did have a weird-wack time of things in the 90's, but his stuff right now is hot. Really fresh. I mean, it is definitly not the shit you are hearing all the damn time on the top 40. I think he has really maintained through the years. He tapped onto to something in the last few years that keeps him in this really good place musically. I know his stuff doesn't always appeal to EVERYONE but that was never his goal. He hasn't sunk into oblivion, which must have been tough not to do having had so much popularity in the mid-80s. He has remained tight and true to himself. Sometimes, I don't like his stuff, sometimes I just don't get it. But I almost always hear the originality.

And one more thing-
I pulled out 3121 today and listened to "the word" and even though it is all JW stuff--it is SUCH AN AMAZING song. So deep and rich muscially. It's part of the "new" sound I think you were refering to,but it hardly ruins him. It only confirms his brillance. My opinion, ofcourse.

What are you ranting about Rockability?

Rockability said:

Yeah how would you feel if the Stones released music in the 70's that had a disco beat? Oh wait a minute - they did do that. The Stones chased fads the same as anyone else. While I agree with some of your points about Prince I wouldn't use the Stones as an example. Just about every artist gets desperate to be a hit again & trying to be current isn't that bad a thing. Sometimes it works & sometimes it doesn't.

A lot of artists, especially those with such a long career as Prince swap and change sounds. Bowie has always been a bit of a chameleon when it comes to taking sounds that are then in fashion, and U2 have changed their sound, having to reinvent themselves to remain who they are.

I suppose Prince, for better or worse in what he has released, has done this too. I was listening to the Slaughterhouse today and some songs on it are quite good, but so different to his 80s stuff. I suppose if an artist doesn't change then they have the fear of becoming dull and dated.

Rockability said:

Actually, Prince came up when he was defying the rules of genre music and singing about rebellion against the established order ("I wish there were no black and white/I wish there were no rules," "There aren't any rules in Paisley Park"). He wasn't making up rules--he was ignoring the ones that existed. And fittingly, he went into decline when he put his foot down, and laid down the law himself ("If U want 2 play with me/U better learn the rules").

Springsteen once said that all rock stars start out anti-establishment, but once they make their fortune they become the establishment. And that's what happened to Prince. When he made Lovesexy, that was a clear cut move toward the conservative mindset, toward law and order, away from anarchy and freedom.

Thing is, he still had his rebellious streak, but he failed to channel it through his music. It manifested professionally, in the form of legal and contractual problems with WB.