PurpleKnight said:

I wondered the same thing and tried an experiement which entailed a mini-campaign to have the local Old Skool R & B radio station play songs from P.E. I sent a couple emails asking them to play certain songs. At first they did not and then just before and after the Grammys I began hearing some of the songs played during the morning rush hour. However, I've noticed the Planet Earth songs are not played on a regular rotation like many other songs much older and certainly not as much as the songs by today's entertainers.

I thought Prince's P.E. light-hearted, authentic, music would go over well on that station but I am surprised that it's not getting more play. ???

It was great for Prince to be all experimental, changing his sound with every album and all in the 80s. It worked then because he set the trends and was ahead of them. He was cool because the 80s was a hard core nerd bazaar

He can't do that now because he's out of touch. And no, he's not hip.

The result is now he's a chameleon with no home. He keeps trying to fit the latest fashion to be cool (Baby Mama anyone? ) & I think comes off as someone without a genuine musical voice or identity. That's crazy. He of all people should have a credible voice. But he denounces his past, changes his lyrics. Refuses to play staples then only plays them. I mean, who is this guy, this schizoid? and which one of him is real and which one of him is the one that keeps me a fan?

I'll tell you what attracted me. His indie side and his lyrical philosophies and metaphors. Indie doesn't have to play cool. Indie just is. Had he stayed true to that, he could carve a place for himself anywhere and any era. But he betrayed that.

But he can't just be indie when it's convenient and opportunistic. Because it doesn't read genuine. I mean this is the guy who on New Years Eve 1999 wore a bunch of braids and ribbons in his hair trying to sound hard core, cool, and down. Give me a break. What a pretender. What kind of artist at this age doesn't know who he is?

Would the real Prince please stand up? He's trying to appeal to the pop crowd, i.e. the kiddie crowd and that's not even an appropriate evolution for an artist of his merit and talent.

He's become a caricature. And I hate that. He comes off as desperate and trying to hard for a hit. It's unbelievable.

So in closing, there is no place at the inn for Prince because:
1. Musicially schizophrenic and disingenious.
2. Pretender who betrayed his indie status and counterculture persona.
3. Caricature in bright suits.
4. Desperate (dancing twins, the latest jargon as cool as that computer guy at the office, namechecking artists in a lower caste on his records for all eternity. . Metaphors that reveal not insight but stupidity "like the wall in Berlin").
5. He has nothing to say. His music used to be about ideas. Now, everything is recycled and the thoughts are lazy as hell.

But it seems that the younger generation do know who he is - as evidenced by those flocking to his concerts, parties, performances?

Perhaps it's more like he's refining his current music to broaden his base? Which certainly could be rocky until a perfect balance is found.

IMO, it's kind of sad and corny when performers play all their old stuff at concerts, this should be left to the 60+ crowd. Prince isn't there yet.

If you look around it's not a matter of would these listeners accept him or get him. That's the way you look at things in a climate where people are looking for talent and new sounds.

There's no place for talent today, so unless he's willing to do a whole album of Black Sweat crap material none of these people that like to nod their head to shit hop will be interested.

It seems 2 me he's lost the love & passion in the studio! I suppose he 'is' in some kind of limbo with his music. He can't seem 2 find his way back 2 being Prince. The last 3 albums R a bit of a mish mash! He seems unsure of the kind of music he wants 2 put out.

It's not really about Prince.

It's about the state of mainstream and "indie" as well. It's gone to crap and not that it's dragging him around by the nose or anything, but he clearly feeds off that to a certain extent. You can ask a lot of the same questions about Stevie or really any established talent of his era, before, or after it.

Everyone's sampling, imitating certain sounds, or just making elevator music and this has been happening for like forever now.

He grew up on all these great rich sounds and continued on with that only to have all of that dry up around him and watch nearly everyone after him pretty much bastardize what he did and spin music's wheels.

Dance said:

I think that's too much of a generalization.

What about artists like Tool, NIN, Radiohead, Immortal Technique, etc.?

You might not like them, but they've continued to flourish on a less mainstream level.

prince has now finally been accepted as a "living legend"

the love and the slew of awards he has been given since musicology is unbelievable

for a long time fan like me (25 years +) its kinda overdue but ironic that its perhaps for his"tamer" music
hes always been considered a real indusrty outsider and now i guess hes part of the industry

but the guys 51-i bet hes loving it!

SynthiaRose said:

please explain how future baby mama is"the latest fashion"

is the latest fashion to write a beautiful harmony/melody

is the latest fashion to sing in a perfect falsetto?

is the latest fashion to write a great song-that was so good and soulful it wssnt even realesed commercially yet radio hipped to it(esp black radio)and it won a grammy

i honestly do not get your point

I loved Planet Earth!

Much better than 3121 (tho that one had some good moments too)

People here are jaded and hard to please.

Prince IS music,and there'll alwayz b a place 4 him.

June7 said:

aw come on

AW COME ON!!!!!

Today's music and the inspiration 4 it...comes from what the world has to offer right now...Prince will always appeal to a mature audience...the kid's of today's rock and roll, lacks something...In my opinion...I see talent, but I don't see Dr. Hooks, Earth, Wind and Fire's, Beatles, Styx, or Queen...and certainly no Prince's coming up the rock and roll steps.

If Prince was stripped of Guitar, Piano, and Voice...Prince would still be a beautiful poet...without all of that other jazz...and I would own all of his books.

I think Prince still has it in him to make fantastic music...Agreed his more recent albums have not been consistent but there have been moments of genius.

Unfortunately, he will rarely appeal to the younger crowd (hell I'm 25 so I mean younger than me) because they want to see someone new...teenagers are so fickle (which we all know) but they seem to have control of who is successful and who is not.

We should just be grateful that we all know and love his music. Everyone else is missing out!

SynthiaRose said:

You are just another disguntled fan. Someone upset that the path Prince is on is not the one u would have chosen for him. U critize his wardrobe but Prince has always dressed to his own liking and has been critized for it by someone from day 1 to today. Dancing twins? Have u forgotten the game boyz, mayte, and cat? He still has something to say but maybe u just don't like his point of view anymore. Like alot of others your dissatisfaction has more to do with u then it does prince. When it time to get off the boat just get off no need to blame anyone for it. U and him just grew apart.

Prince is as relavent musically as we each feel. If u live/love the music he makes then he has a place in music. I don't expect Prince to have a big hit. The music industry is dominated by the teenagers. Prince only moves further and further away from that demographic just like the rest of us. Prince had his day in the sun now it all gravy. I think too many off us are overly influenced by the media and culture to determine the worth of something. As far as I'm concerned its just between me, prince and the music. All the other stuff (media, charts, other fans) is just white noise in reality.

i think the fact that Prince was able to sell out all those shows in London is a sign that he still has great relevance. even as some one who considers himself to be a hardcore fan, i was amazed that Prince sold-out all those o2 gigs.

the fact that long-time fans question Prince's "place" does make one wonder though.

a) are we hooked on his music and regardless of its quality, we still need another hit

b) is the world in a state of nostalgia, and holding onto a Prince of the past, merely tolerating the Prince of the present.

*sigh*

maybe Prince used to be really good at singing to our hearts, and we're still waiting for him to do it (deeply) again.

I'm not sure how much Prince really wants to "Fit in" with today's music. He certainly is rejecting the internet lately if the younger, newer fans don't get him. He's always got us diehard, true funk soldiers to fall back on, I mean we're the ones that will spend the REAL MONEY on him, not try to get a free ride at his expense everytime they can, and that's what it's about ain't it? I mean what's he have to do to show you, he doesn't really care?!
[Edited 3/11/08 5:19am]

Dayclear said:

i honestly hope that Prince cares. its the true funk soldiers who keep him relevant, and not glitzy stars he entertains up in beverly hills. i have heard it said before here, but sometimes i also miss the underground Prince, who truly didn't give a rat's ass 'bout the system; but maybe he did then also, and he's just relieved to be relevant in the eyes of the rich and famous.

Lawd knows

June7 said:

That is no kind of lie. Prince will NEVER win for trying. NEVER.

Or, (and this will come as a shock to the purple kool-aid kids) here's a thought you might not have considered.


PLANET EARTH SUCKED.

That's why it got "bitterly rejected".

It's HORRIBLE. GARBAGE. CACA.


that is all.

To me, I do think that Prince's music still has a place in the music world. If you are still buying the music, then he's still relevant to you but the biggest problem that I see and have always seen with Prince and his music is this: Promotion. To me, this is my biggest complaint with him. There are always great songs on the albums and I think he's made albums that have been worthwhile within the last 4 years but who knows anything about it or about the albums themselves, aside from the hardcore fans, aside from Musicology, if even that? How many times have you talked about a recent Prince album and your friends have said "Oh he's still making music?" or something like that? It doesn't help matters any that he seems to have taken himself off of the internet so it makes matters even worse.

Look, I believe that Prince is still a force, if for nothing else, his live shows sell out. Whether fans or regular people want to relive 1987 or just simply want to see Prince himself, it's bringing them to the arenas and that's half the battle. I just want to see Prince make music that is true to himself and that he will let the world hear.
[Edited 3/11/08 7:05am]

ButterscotchPimp said:

i still think that lion of judah fits into the same
genre or category as songs like a million days and
thunder and the sacrifice of victor which i enjoy
truly

ButterscotchPimp said:

How can people reject an album that most people didn't even know came out?
[Edited 3/11/08 7:00am]

purplecam said:

then again, thousands got it for free through the concerts and newspaper, how can they not know about it?

ReverendP said:

That was over in the U.K. and I should have stated that in my post. The same kind of promotion wasn't held here in the U.S. There was a commercial that I only saw a few times for Planet Earth thanks to him linking with Verizon Wireless but that was it. No videos (before Somewhere Here on Earth last month), no singles, no TV apperances and no interviews. That really won't work in today's climate in America.
[Edited 3/11/08 7:08am]

purplecam said:

i see what you mean, truth ye reason.

ButterscotchPimp said:

feel better now? i don't care too much about Planet Earth either, but you clearly need help. emotionally.