mELdOURADOsELVAGEM said:

3 grammys sir

like i said ealier, he has been very successfull, money-wise in the last 15 years. I think everybody hopes to some day take it a little slower as they age, getting out of the rat race that is necessary for most young people just starting out.
He has lived the american dream, working hard when you are young and reaping the beifits when you are older.
I think that is the trajectory Prince is in, reaping the benifits of one of the greatest back catalogs of almost anyone one around, playing gigs when he wants to, releasing what he wants to when he wants to.
When Prince Plays live, he knows what people want to hear, he knows whats going to pay his overhead, he knows he has to play music from a certain time frame.

Commercially, Prince hasn't had the same success as earlier years because;

a) In a lot of cases, he's chosen not to.
b) The record industry has changed and records simply don't sell as much as they used to.
c) He's got 'legend' status, not 'contemporary pop star' status these days, so his music, when promoted to the masses will still sell, but only to those who appreciate both him and music in general rather than the processed pop market.
d) He's distributed a lot of his more recent music in different ways than the usual recognised methods and it's when those recognised methods ain't used that the crappo record industry decides to tell us all that the music hasn't been a 'success'.

But in terms of artistry, Prince has been amazingly successful over the past 15 years. He can still do all the genres he's always been good at and do them brilliantly, and he can still sell records when he chooses to. His live shows continue to piss on the opposition and he can choose to create something completely non-commercial one year and then follow it up with a made-for-the-masses opus the next and vice versa. Are there any other music artists out there who have that luxury both because of their art and their reputation? He still has the power to be controversial lyrically (The Rainbow Children) and has managed to surprise us musically too (The Rainbow Children again).

Over the past four years, Prince has proved to me what he has clearly known for ages: that commercial success really doesn't matter. Musicology, 3121 and Planet Earth served their purpose and as a fan, I'm no more or less appreciative of the music just because those albums were offered to the masses through either a major label or given away to thousands of people. So long as the music is there for me to pick up either in my local wrecka stow or online, I don't care who else gets to listen or whether or not other people like it. But I'll happily stand my ground and defend it to death on the Org if I feel the urge .

As a fan, all I want for the future is for Prince to bombard me with new music for as long as he is able and even when he isn't, I hope we get albums crafted from the vault.

Riverpoet31 said:

just seeing what johnny cash was able to do in the last few years of his life gives me hope that any artist can pull out a fantastic renaissance in their later years.

Prince really hasn't had a true hit album since Diamonds and Pearls which sold over 3 million copies. He hasn't had a top 10 hit since TMBGITW. the facts!!

There's just no doubt that his music has lost some of its edge. Lenny Kravitz said it best when he was describing hearing 'Head' or was it 'Do Me Baby'? for the first time. he said in those days Prince was 'less tight' than he is now. When i hear classic Prince i hear an artist searching, and sometimes screaming, for life's answers. this makes for compelling music. I miss this in his current music. it is human nature to, as you grow older, find comfort and solace in certain spiritual beliefs- i think you just get tired of asking questions, and Prince's path has shown itself to be no exception. it's not all a loss, because if he becomes passionate enough about his beliefs we might have another Rainbow Children, which is why i look forward to this potential 'Armana' project. As a human being, i think Prince has been in a bit of a hiatus for the last several years, and so for me the music lacks purpose and urgency. Let's also not forget that Prince defined himself with his sexuality. Now that he's constricting that, he might be still asking himself- 'er...so who am I, again?' What does remain in his music is his unfaltering musical gift, but for me, Prince was always about the searching.

3121 was at number 1 the first week on the charts and then fell off the face of the earth within the next 6 weeks. Can prince have an album that stays on the chart longer than 6months anymore? given cd's out at the concerts shouldn't really count towards record sales.Peace RUSTY

Prince really hasn't had a true hit album since Diamonds and Pearls which sold over 3 million copies. He hasn't had a top 10 hit since TMBGITW. the facts!!

rusty1 said:

Bring back the funk. Let me hear some of that MPLS sound and have Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produce his next record....time to go back to were it all started....sounds funny but he fired them back in the day when they skipped a TIME show.....maybe now is the time to bring it all back together so he can put Timberlake/Timberland back in check. Yount!!!

dolorespark said:It seemed since 90's came around his sound had became outdated and not bold. A great performer, but as a songwriter are Prince's days long behind him???

The Rainbow Children was certainly a bold and daring project. Pretty much way underrated by people who want him to be bold and daring.

3121 was at number 1 the first week on the charts and then fell off the face of the earth within the next 6 weeks. Can prince have an album that stays on the chart longer than 6months anymore? given cd's out at the concerts shouldn't really count towards record sales.Peace RUSTY

part of the problem Prince has is the changes in top 40 radio - when prince came along, top 40 radio played all different kinds of music. It wasn't unusual at all to hear Kenny Rogers followed by Van Halen followed by the Bee Gees followed by Stevie Wonder followed by Barry Manalow. These days, each of those would be relegated different markets.

This kind of fragmentation works against a diverse artist like Prince. When you follow up a successful Call My Name with a success worthy Cinnamon Girl, it looks like you are following up a hit. But in reality, on today's radio, most of the stations playing Call My Name won't touch a song like Cinnamon Girl no matter how good it is - you have to get that played on a whole different set of radio stations for it to be a hit - stations who pretty much wouldn't be playing Call My Name.

part of the problem Prince has is the changes in top 40 radio - when prince came along, top 40 radio played all different kinds of music. It wasn't unusual at all to hear Kenny Rogers followed by Van Halen followed by the Bee Gees followed by Stevie Wonder followed by Barry Manalow. These days, each of those would be relegated different markets.

This kind of fragmentation works against a diverse artist like Prince. When you follow up a successful Call My Name with a success worthy Cinnamon Girl, it looks like you are following up a hit. But in reality, on today's radio, most of the stations playing Call My Name won't touch a song like Cinnamon Girl no matter how good it is - you have to get that played on a whole different set of radio stations for it to be a hit - stations who pretty much wouldn't be playing Call My Name.

The obvious reason is that people in general have different musical taste, but could there to a certain extent be another reason? Such as bad marketing and/or that the media have turned against him?

Reviewing his 90s and 2000s output my analysis is that it to a certain degree has to do with bad marketing and media uninterest.

Perhaps he could've released other singles such as Jam Of The Year, Sleep Around, The Same December, So Far So Pleased, The One U Wanna C?

Perhaps the media was too caught up in reporting about the symbol issue instead of reporting about his actual music?

alandail said:

no no no, as a fan, and as someone who works in radio promotions, I havent heard a hit single in him for a long long time, i was shocked that "Black Sweat" did as well as it did.
As fan, i cant find any inspiration to promote his current music, and that says a lot I think.

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

but the bullshit tracks like lil wayne, rhianna, and countless others r? yeah right