In reaction on his cover of Radioheads 'Creep' during Coachella, which to me was way too much like: some showy Vegas-band doing a misplaced cover of an indierock-song, i am wondering what styles of music Prince should leave alone, because he doesnt have real 'affinity' with it?

Here are my picks:

Indie / alternative rock:
Especially the british type of music. It just doesnt 'fit in' with his more funky / soul-like take on rockmusic.

Reggae:
Blue Light and Ripgodazippa, too much autopilot, no real touch and spark.

Hip-hop:
Discussed before often, of course (Tony M...). I don't mind him rapping on songs (the 1999 album, Girls and Boys, Pussy Control), but when he tries to copy what is 'hip' in Hip-hop at a certain time it mostly comes out forced and / or cheesy.

Roots-rock / Americana:
He killed two great song on Emancipation (I cant make you love me, One of Us) and alltough a recent song in this vein (The One U wanna C) is catchy, it almost sounds like some parody.

Dance / Techno:
Not that his songs in this genre (Loose, Melt with U, Sleep around) are really 'that' bad, but the moment when he releases them they sound allready dated. Like he has listened to dancemusic that was popular 5 - 7 years in the past, and decided to try his own take on that kind of dated material.

Contemporary R&B:
The moment ít went 'wrong' IMO was when he released Pink Cashmere on The hits set. The song sounds like he is trying to 'copy' what was popular around that time, instead of himself being in the forefront of being innovative in that genre.
Since then his albums are spoiled way too often by plastic, generic sounding R&B songs (a large deal of Emancipation, New Power Soul and Rave, songs like Mr. Goodnight and Beautifull, loved and blessed).
I love it when he tries to innovate the genre (The Minneapolis sound, The Camille tracks) or when he goes old-fashioned (Slow Love, Adore, Stax-like during live performances) but when he moves into the territory of R. Kelly and Beyonce its neither fish nor flesh, and he bores me to dead.

What does that narrow him down to? James Brown pastiches and slushy 80s ballad retreads? I dunno, Prince's music, to me, always sounds like a category unto itself.

Having said that - I agree with a lot of what you said, I haven't particularly enoyed his forays into Reggae, Prince and rap is like oil and water and I agree his take on electronic dance music has sounded incredibly dated and shows a real lack of understanding of the genre, I'd say it's been that way since the very early 90s (NPG and Gett Off maxi singles are admirable attempts).

Prince has done dance music successfully (Bob George, Purple Music, 1999 2nd LP?...), but not for a very long time.

Agree with you about most of the styles you´ve mentioned but, then again, what would be left ? His style has always incorporated the latest trends in music and fashion, especially in his heyday. A lot of his classics were also a product of the sound that was hip back then, he just changed it and took it to a whole different level. You know, like during the DirtyMind days, that minimalism and rawness of the Punk era, or the New Wave and New Romantics influences during the mid 80s, even fashionwise.
But, all in all , I agree with you about the Reggae part and the Techno bit, though I really liked a lot of his attempts at House music, especially during the D&P era.
I disagree with you about the whole Rock/Alternative thing. I think he should check that music out and incorporate a bit of that raw, unpolished energy into his sound.
Remember those Purple Rain rehearsals and how he came up with those guitar heavy, long and distorted versions of Something in the Water and Erotic City, or anthem stuff like Another Lonely Christmas and Purple Rain, or Free. I really liked that.

His problem is not that Rock wouldn´t mix well with his Funk and Soul roots but the other way around...his constant desire to give props to Funk and Soul legends and that style in general has lead to something of a stylistic stalemate, the rawness is missing and when he DOES come up with Rock stuff, it sounds a bit tame and polished...to much Rock for the RnB audiences, yet too soft for those who really dig guitar heavy music.
And why do you dislike him doing RnB ? It´s always been a staple in Prince´s music, like Do Me Baby, Beautiful Ones or Adore, those would clearly be labelled RnB today. I catch your drift about R.Kelly and Beyonce and their cohorts but I guess he can be only as good as his competitors are.
I really hoped that Maxwell,D ANgelo, Erykah Badu etc. would ignite something in Prince, not that they´re better than him but maybe spark something but I guess they have way too much respect for him to really challenge him in any way.
Back in the days, you had guys like Rick James, Michael Jackson, Madonna, U2, and all those hair metal dudes. .,..not that they were in any form or shape better, but you can´t deny that there was some sort of competition going on. These days, he´s chasing the latest sound of today instead of creating something unique.

NouveauDance said:

Exactly what I was thinking ..

KoolEaze said:

I agree with your goodself here too.

i think he should tackle whatever styles of music he feels a connection to.

i do think he should dig a little deeper when he comes up with rock/pop covers. it's all fine and well to cover a top 40 hit, but it's far more interesting for him to come across some non-single track that he enjoys and offer that. but who knows - maybe the overall popularity of a song is part of what makes prince enjoy/respect it enough to want to cover. who knows how that man's mind works.

Honestly, the fact that he would even try any of these choices make me appreciate him even more cause it shows that he's willing to leave his "comfort level" and do something new and different. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but that kind of risk-taking is why I'm a Prince fan. Saturday night proved that the saying is still true with P: "Expect the Unexpected."

I don't care what kind of music it is, if it ain't botherin' him,
then he should leave it alone.

Since Prince hasn't told me what kinds of copy I should or should not write, I think I'll extend him the same courtesy.

He can do whatever kinds of music he wants. If I like it, I'll listen. If I don't, I'll give it a pass.

i completely disagree in all honesty, though i do understand where youre coming from; also think it probably is dependant on tastes in music too. i love when he tries things that are different from him. his foray into reggae are my fav moments (mainly being as i am into reggae alot) and his techno stuff i think can be hilights.
[Edited 4/28/08 11:46am]

No, no, no... I don't believe he should leave anything alone, ever. He should play whatever he's feeling at the moment and let us be the judge. For example I despise the entire Rainbow Children album and there are PLENTY of orgers who TOTALLY DISAGREE with what I just said. Does that mean he shouldn't give it a try, hell no!!!

Prince, playwhatchalike!

Riverpoet31 said:

u do realize that pink cashmere was recorded in 1988 don't u? but by ur opinion, prince shouldn't do any genre period unless it has the synth sound of the mpls sound

L4OATheOriginal said:

Right ??

L4OATheOriginal said:

You ain't lying!

Why should he be put into a box of what he can and can't play? Just because you may not like his version does not mean that he should "stay away" and keep to only certain genres of music. I'm not fond of his hip hop or rap interpretations, but I'll take it rather then have him not record anyhting at all. Some of you are just so elitist it's sickening.

NouveauDance said:

L4OATheOriginal said:

Thank you i was reading this post like, WTF If you take all that from him what does he have left. Like NouveauDance said, "Prince's music, to me, always sounds like a category unto itself"

I don't care what kind of music he does, but when he does rock, I'd like to see him focus more on melody & lyrics--refining the song rather than the arrangement, as he's wont to do.

A flimsy song that has an amazing arrangement works better for funk, rock focuses more on the song craft.

Also focus on singing in a vocal range that suits the style (ie NOT falsetto).
[Edited 4/28/08 15:51pm]

I know someone is gonna shoot me, but I didn't dig that bluesy/jazzy ballad he did for SHOE. I mean I just couldn't see Prince singing it. I could see Smokey Robinson singing it. Not Prince. I love his dance tunes better.

not entirely crazy but I'll quibble on a few points. You call "one of us" and "cant make you love me" Americana. I think you are being led astray by who's singing in the original. Both are basic pop songs that lend themselves to many diferent arrangements.

And I dont understand why you think Prince cant do indy alternative since he's version of "Best of you" was amazing. (unless you think thats straight up rock)...

Agreed on all the rest. Especially contemporary R&B which has been even more embarassing than the strange rap/stuff he used to do.

Prince was much better when he didnt try to be a jack of all trades and the various styles of music just came out of him all mixed up. Pre-1990 or so it was all much more organic.
[Edited 4/28/08 15:50pm]