Let's see... The great songs from the 90s:

Trent/NIN:
Hurt
Reptile
A Warm Place
The Becoming
Happiness in Slavery
Gave Up
The Downward Spiral
March of the Pigs
Driver Down
Where is Everybody?
Head a like A hole
Physical
Suck
Down in It
Wish
Piggy
Heresy
Eraser


Prince:








Any questions?
[Edited 4/24/08 4:49am]

what are u thinkin of, prince did all this stuff already.

he made cds with sound bites specifically for djs to mix etc.

He pioneered music and digital sales way before any of the big music stores or corporations could even be bothered to have the finance meeting about it.

he must have spent shedloads of dosh building his sites. then it wasnt so easy to find web designers let alone forward thinking - good ones. they just werent around. you guys forget how 'new' the internet is, its still evolving and i think prince has decided its not for him at the moment. cant say as i blame him its all a mess.

hes just gone back to the more old fashioned way of promoting music, he plays live gigs, catch him if you can - creates a sense of seeing something special. mass marketing has just watered down peoples expectations. god people are sooo lazy.

you all expect something for nothing and given to you everyday. music aint like that.

get off yer lazy arse and go find his records, go see him play live.

thats what people used to do before the internet. fans would hunt there groups down even if it was to a crap pub somewhere. concerts were word of mouth! or by radio.

theres no mystery any more and everyones a critic - shit you go and do some recordings and see what sells!!

anyone can upload shit nowadays - its easy even for proles like us, so of course it makes sense.

he already created a web market for download music many years ago, heck prince started all of this!

yes he seems to have withdrawn from the web 'site-wise' now but so what. you can still buy his music from the web. diddums you cant get hold of videos as easily or pics to laugh at or rip apart - so what! go find the magazines or the press articles, cut em out like we used to years ago!

Prince did all of this before the advent of itunes and such stores.

Prince realised the worth of net advertising way back when - even his music reflected his interest in the net like 'www.'

he marketed his dj cds via his won cds, hes always made his music accessible to all.

as for funkyhead Im surprised you even bother coming in here considering' theres better bands to spend your money on'.

Let's see: Reznor was free from his contract a couple of months ago, and what has he done:
- set up remix.nin.com where you can DL multi-tracks and make your own remix
- uploaded a ton of stuff on remix.nin.com including really rare stuff
- released an album in various formats, all non-drm and even including two different lossless formats (Ghosts I-IV)
- made a ton of money because he realises that some fans are willing to pay a lot of money for a beautifully produced collector's item
- announced tour dates

Oh yeah, and today he released yet another single online, for free. (Finalised a day earlier, and then sent to radio.) Multitracks to make your own remix: available. And NIN.com has "two weeks" on their front page a couple of days ago, just like with Ghosts; May 5 is the date to look out for. Yet another album already?

And to think Prince could have been doing all this years ago. Instead he sent the internet cops on his fans, threatened fanmags with lawsuits, released albums nobody gave a frak about, replayed his greatest hits on every tour,,...

What's Prince's next move? Oh yeah, a self-congratulating overpriced photo book of his tepid London shows which failed to promote yet another unspectacularly bombed album.

What a waste. So. Frikking. Depressing.

Both men love dick. Only Trent is willing to entertain the notion on CD.


Both are influenced by the Devil. In Trent it's apparent in his performances. With Prince, it's apparent in his hairdo.

Trent is nowhere near as talented as Prince. But there's ALOT to be said about still trying to push one's bounderies.


But only Michael Jackson married Elvis's daughter.


I thank yall know exactly what I'm getting at too.

i know i'm gonna get an atomic famboy wedgie for this, but what the hell. my buttcrack has been a little too comfortable over the winter months, nothing's gonna chap down there anyway:

look, i might be a bit disappointed in prince, but i ain't mad at him.

okay, so trent reznor and radiohead and raconteurs and whoever else out there are kicking prince's ass in terms of how they're marketing their music and doing it independently and enjoying great success.

well, great. prince and bowie and todd rundgren and a few others blazed the trail that led to what's bringing these bands their massive success right now. prince, bowie, etc., were the first mainstream artists to take chances with marketing music online, and those early models have been improved upon until we now have really cool concepts like the 'ghosts' and 'in rainbows' online sales.

soooo...

does this mean that we should still expect prince to be blazing the same trail, running around in the same weeds, following these same methods? not at all. i'd LOVE it if he did, but hey, whatever: the online thing clearly isn't his bag right now. it's his life, his career, his music. he clearly knows how to market his music in ways that benefits him. look at the gimmicks he used to sell 3121 and planet earth. that's where his head's at these days. so be it.

i honestly don't think prince's heart is in the "solutions" anymore in terms of championing idealistic and positive solutions to the problem of making/selling music without compromising yourself. i think these days, dude just wants to get paid. kinda sad. but hey - dude did his part years ago to help bring us to where we are today. i just hope the NINs and radioheads can keep pushing this concept so that the making and distribution of music is controlled by the artists more than the suits.

It's interesting people saying 'Prince did it first', when really, he only tinkered with it.

There's a thread a few posts down about how to get the DRM tracks they paid for to work, because the licenses are no longer valid because Prince changes domain names and websites like he changes his underwear.

Yes, Prince was one of the early adoptors to digital distribution, but has he really built on that experience? His net activities have always been fraught with mistakes and poor business and customer service decisions. Not just Crystal Ball, but also the '4 albums' where some of the proposed albums never materialised, advertised products that disappear without further mention (NPGMC CD compilation, sampling CDs, Crystal Ball II, Crystal Ball video collection). Not to mention all the legal threats, fan site closures, preaching and embarrassing blog type posts over the years.

Credit where credit is due, Prince started banging on about the internet way back in 1993, he did see the changes coming - But let's not pretend Prince has got this whole 'net thing down, he doesn't even have an official site at the moment.

Let's see: Reznor was free from his contract a couple of months ago, and what has he done:
- set up remix.nin.com where you can DL multi-tracks and make your own remix
- uploaded a ton of stuff on remix.nin.com including really rare stuff
- released an album in various formats, all non-drm and even including two different lossless formats (Ghosts I-IV)
- made a ton of money because he realises that some fans are willing to pay a lot of money for a beautifully produced collector's item
- announced tour dates

Oh yeah, and today he released yet another single online, for free. (Finalised a day earlier, and then sent to radio.) Multitracks to make your own remix: available. And NIN.com has "two weeks" on their front page a couple of days ago, just like with Ghosts; May 5 is the date to look out for. Yet another album already?

And to think Prince could have been doing all this years ago. Instead he sent the internet cops on his fans, threatened fanmags with lawsuits, released albums nobody gave a frak about, replayed his greatest hits on every tour,,...

What's Prince's next move? Oh yeah, a self-congratulating overpriced photo book of his tepid London shows which failed to promote yet another unspectacularly bombed album.

What a waste. So. Frikking. Depressing. Of course this is just my opinion, and is not law nor fact

NouveauDance said:

that's kinda like pooh-poohing the inventors of the first black and white television for not coming up with blu-ray technology. sure, prince's early forays into internet commerce were awkward and jankity, but he was one of the first to take the dive, and other people have come along since him and smoothed the edges, and it will surely keep evolving. could prince have done it better back then? oh, probably. but at least he was doing it, and i think the impact it made was more effective than the sum of the glitches and goof-ups.

Anxiety said:

Uhm, no, I probably wasn't clear enough, but I was more referring to what he's done SINCE, not way back. Saying he's been at it for over 10 years, there's still a LOT of room for improvement, and as many times as he gets a new domain name, there doesn't really seem to be much else that changes or improves - the last sites content gets assigned to history and on with the next batch of ideas. That's Prince's way yes, but is he learning from his mistakes or just repeating them?

NouveauDance said:

oh. well, if you're criticizing his follow-through, then i can't really debate you there.

Anxiety said:

Why are you so argumentative?

It's like I don't even know you anymore.

Imago said:

why? you just shut that mealy trap right the hell up. that's why.




[Edited 4/24/08 8:54am]

Anxiety said:

BartVanHemelen said:

there's the first correct thing you've said.

I respect Trent Reznor and his current attempts at doing things his own way...he's definitely a trailblazer in many ways.

But let's be a little fair to Prince---
In the past 17 years, Nine Inch Nails have released 11 albums (EPs, remix albums, and live releases included). In the same time, Prince has released 15 studio albums, 3 vault albums, a 4-disc live album, 3 digital albums, and multiple EPs, soundtrack recordings, and online singles. Trent is building on what Prince was doing more than a decade ago. Yes, Crystal Ball was a fiasco, but who else was successfully releasing albums exclusively through the internet in 1997? How many other artists were even attempting that? Members of the NPGMC could download Prince multi-tracks and make their own mixes...it was a feature of the club way back in 2003.

Prince has been silent lately and he's been enjoying his hard-earned respect the last few years. Of course I would love to see him innovating online and releasing more material, but the things Trent is doing now and the corporate battles he's fought are things Prince created the blueprint for over a decade ago. As has happened multiple times in his career, Prince innovated and then...unfortunately, sometimes...got bored with his own innovations and moved on.

Prince, Bowie, and Reznor (and Radiohead, to a lesser extent) are all internet pioneers and free-thinkers within the industry. Respect is due to all and I give them that respect. No one's getting their "ass kicked." It would be nice if Prince released more music online. It would be nice if Trent Reznor didn't take years to make a new album (six years for 'The Fragile'?). Such is life.
[Edited 4/23/08 16:46pm]

I respect Trent Reznor and his current attempts at doing things his own way...he's definitely a trailblazer in many ways.

But let's be a little fair to Prince---
In the past 17 years, Nine Inch Nails have released 11 albums (EPs, remix albums, and live releases included). In the same time, Prince has released 15 studio albums, 3 vault albums, a 4-disc live album, 3 digital albums, and multiple EPs, soundtrack recordings, and online singles. Trent is building on what Prince was doing more than a decade ago. Yes, Crystal Ball was a fiasco, but who else was successfully releasing albums exclusively through the internet in 1997? How many other artists were even attempting that? Members of the NPGMC could download Prince multi-tracks and make their own mixes...it was a feature of the club way back in 2003.

Prince has been silent lately and he's been enjoying his hard-earned respect the last few years. Of course I would love to see him innovating online and releasing more material, but the things Trent is doing now and the corporate battles he's fought are things Prince created the blueprint for over a decade ago. As has happened multiple times in his career, Prince innovated and then...unfortunately, sometimes...got bored with his own innovations and moved on.

Prince, Bowie, and Reznor (and Radiohead, to a lesser extent) are all internet pioneers and free-thinkers within the industry. Respect is due to all and I give them that respect. No one's getting their "ass kicked." It would be nice if Prince released more music online. It would be nice if Trent Reznor didn't take years to make a new album (six years for 'The Fragile'?). Such is life.
[Edited 4/23/08 16:46pm]

But only Michael Jackson married Elvis's daughter.


I thank yall know exactly what I'm getting at too.

Jesus, if you follow that line of logic this site would have about 10 regular visitors!.Also trying to recaptuer the mystery in the age of the 'net' is a waste of time, all he's doing on a weekly basis it would seem is to drive more and more of his loyal fans away.

renfield said:

Well said. And Prince has performed on TV too many times to count. I have never seen NIN on TV.

RodeoSchro said:

I've seen them once on TV and I wasn't impressed. I respect them (or is it him?) but you can't compare the 2 IMHO.

funkyhead said:

Oh Im sorry - I thought there were only about 10 regular visitors in here anyhows!! go check the home page and see whos on-line? thought so not many eh? how many names you recognise in here daily? yep about 10 regular users!!


god these forums are so boring, all you people do is moan about prince.

I dont think its a waste of time trying to recapture the mystery? I also dont see how hes driving fans away? what - just cos he hasnt got a site anymore plus i see that as a contradiction in terms how can you drive away 'loyal' fans. you either like his music or you dont! whether he has a fansite or not should be immaterial. Its not his fault you feel frustrated by his apparent lack of care for you.

hes just a musician making music for himself, if you like it and want to buy it then whooppee for you i dont think he gives a flying shit anymore.

most of you peeps are pissed cos you cant download shit for free anymore and by removing his stuff from youtube etc is helping stop the fraud/theft that everyone gibly takes part in on the net. the net isnt everything, its an infant and needs molding into something useful. At the mo its a source of information and misinformation plus about a million peeps plugging themselves, another million false marketing shit and a million more downloading shit they shouldnt.

in the words of the infamous youtube vid 'the internet is for porn' theres no other real tangible use - yet! oh okay ill give you music, yep you can get that, oh and buy shit! its a web alright - a web of concealment half of you have no idea what youre doing when you go shopping on the net. as ive said before, all is not as it seems - like price comparison sites - ha! all you webbies fall for them! no wonder prince has got out of it!

as for the 90s why you all down on the 90s music?

there is actually more to life than the net!

im signng off now and before you all shout good riddence - i actually have a life and stuff to do! apart from moaning about prince!