I am deeply disappointed in the latest Prince tracks I've heard:-( they sound just like everything he has done since 1995. traditional rock band instrumentation and lifeless guitar riffs with sucky melodies!

I know the Prince kool-aid drinkers will saY its the greatest thing since creation but come on....he use to do real music that sounded different than everybody else that produced HITS! now he sounds like a Jimy hendrex tribute band! nothin new here.....

what can we do to make him do REAL MUSIC hit music?
[Edited 12/22/08 16:08pm]

Donjuandeblacko said:

You might be write

Real Music and Hits?

the guys in his 50's.....

i remember when i was pre-pubescent, and my favourite artists having hits really mattered to me. it was a loooong time ago.

it's precisely because he makes real music, that he doesn't have hits.

Donjuandeblacko said:

Marrk said:

Good answer, I would argue that Prince has the ability but not the desire to write a string of hit singles and/or albums but doesn't because he's removed himself from the bullshit or being 'chart position obsessed'.

The charts DO NOT dictate how talented a performer is and having a hit these days is more about marketing skills than artistic skills

Remember in that old video? Maybe it was Prince of Paisley Park, where Levi Seacer Jr., claimed Prince could write a hit a the drop of a hat?

I've come to believe that less & less since 1991.

viewaskew said:

I believe that is still true. We really don't know how Prince as an artist feels about what He delivers. Prince's idea of a masterpiece or just an average song can be put away for a later project.

Prince doesn't have 2 write a song 4 anyone but himself. We are lucky if we hear any of his work.

mplsmike said:

Donjuandeblacko said:

why can people stop bitching and respect the man for the talented and gifted person he is

Oh my God, I've just listened 2 3 of the songs...Im sorry but they really do suck

I once remember reading an article, way back in the day, that Prince had a cult like following of members, like most bands do, in the beginning. Then P-Rain exploded, and there were families in the seats instead of the people who digged the things that he was doing to begin with.

(I may get trashed for this, but with the exception of WDC and PR from that album, it has grown to be one of my least liked Prince albums. I bearly ever listen to it any more, and I would listen to SOTT 100x over PR.)

Now Prince is back in that seat again.... with only those people who really love his work listening.

And another thing. Prince has made enemies with every record label under the sun I would think, and most retailers, with the way he has revolted against the system.

To have a 'hit', you need lots of air time on the radio, and Prince has been sort of black balled in that area I would think. (That is no suggestion of the color of his real balls btw.)

hollywooddove said:

I agree with this statement. Many a poor-ass sonmg has charted high because the singer was BJ'ing a radio station owner..

Donjuandeblacko said:

He wants to write hits, but the battles with the suits have forever changed him.

It would be nothing short of amazing to see Prince have a song at number 1 on the charts but where radio is today, I care about that less and less, since I hardly listen the radio. With all of that said, I wonder, why do so many want Prince to have a hit song today? Why do so many fans think that his current music couldn't be a hit? Most of what's out there isn't memorable and it's going to the top of the charts, why should or shouldn't Prince be a part of that? I'm still trying to find all of this out for myself.

He's tragically lost the ability to write a hook or a catchy chorus. The music is still somewhat there but the sound and production are stale and lack any sort of wild creativity that was still there even as late as 1995's TGE and bits of Emancipation.

Lyrically, he has avoided writing about real personal feelings except only to expose his warped view of religion and race and rail against the "man" who stole all his money.

Ironically, it is exactly when P was freed of record labels when he began to sound more corporate, more formulaic and more stuck in his ways. They say you become the thing you hate, well there you go.

There are still glimmers of real feelings that seep through the music once in a while (Reflection for example) and even though Prince always had a mask, he showed honesty and sensitivity but now it all seems like posturing and route regurgitation of old themes.
[Edited 12/22/08 8:11am]

emesem said:

I was against this thread and all set to call the thread starter an idiot, but your post is true. It's right on the money. Prince should read it and take a long hard look at himself because you speak the truth.

i don't understand this ongoing argument. everyone peaks and has there time. why should prince be any different. that's just how i view all musicians. nobody can be good forever. would it be nice yes, but at this point with prince's career, or others with long careers, i'm just past that desperation for a hit. its just not realistic.

What a bunch of crap! NOBODY can do anything original anymore because it has all been done. It's like you want Prince to reinvent the wheel or something. In my opinion all you can do is make a great song or piece of music and I believe Prince has hit the nail on the head several times on many of the songs on his last few albums. The new work is a nice change of pace and has Prince sounding fresh and inspired. No Prince is not 25 anymore but he sure sounds like he is. Crimson and Clover sounds like he recorded it back in 1984 and that is what is so fuckin great about it. If you are that disappointed you should go listen to something else.

I am a writer myself and one must be inspired to write and inspiration may not come easy especially in the music industry and especially after writing for OVER 30 yrs like Prince has

I agree Prince only needs to write for himself at this point, he's got an amazing catalogue. If he needs to write just to release thats great where he is free to write about anything he wants, some of us will always listen and thats the great part about it.

Maybe Prince just needs some inspiration, my advice for that would be to get out of LA.

I don't want "hits" per se. Because Princes hits were his own brand of supergeniuspop that confounded much of what was popular at the time. However he used to do it in an environment where he had people and events in his life to inspire. I don't hear that anymore. I don't hear anything that speaks to me. As I always say - that's fine. He's had his share of amazing work. But it is frustrating to hear Springsteen on the radio (someone I don't care to listen to generally) with the E Street sounding somehow greater than they were in the late 70's and early 80's with somewhat the same sound. I was sort of awestruck, but then realized they have all been through different life experiences and musical sounds and then came back together with great energy and real drive. Paul McCartney hired a producer to kick his butt in the studio and tell him if it sucked - resulting in a pretty amazing album last time around.
I think creating in a vacuum never results in much progress. There's a point you hit a wall and need help breaking through. You don't do that with yes people around you at all turns.

There are many reasons why Prince doesn't (or possibly can't) write hit songs anymore and they include:

1. He is 50 and the kids who still buy singles (downloads) think he is an OLD man

2. People who grew up with Prince are now mostly in their 30s or 40s and we still buy albums (though most people buy less then they used to)

3. Have you listened to the majority of the crap kids listen to these days (and the radio programming that supports the crap)?

4. Have you noticed how most kids want to listen to "music" on their mobile phones! All that treble, very little bass, poor quality with no depth and therefore no need for "real musicians, real music" etc (damn I sound old, like my father when I wanted to listen to my cassettes on my Walkman!)

5. Does it really matter? Prince will never have another number 1 single. In fact number 1 doesn't mean what it used to. When Does Cry sold 2 million + copies in the USA. When did any single sell that quantity in the last five years?

6. In fact albums do not sell like they used to. PR was at number 1 for 26 weeks in the USA and sold over 16 million copies. That will never happen again for any artist not just Prince.

7. The real money is in live performance. Not many of today's artists could sell out 21 nights at a single venue (but if you looked at the crowd most of them were in their 30s and 40s).
[Edited 12/22/08 10:45am]

emesem said:

AMEN!! This post is right on the money. I agree 100%

jaypotton said:

You hit the nail on the head with this. By and large artists over 45 do not get played on urban or popular radio with any frequency. And the ones that do are some how teamed up with some 20-something flavor of the month to get them over. And the stuff that kids like is, to me, is unlistenable...it all sounds the same.

But regardless of his age, the shitty music that is being pushed by radio these days,or his battle with WB, or his weird lyrics and antics , we all know very well that he could come up with a hit anytime but it probably is for sure more difficult these days.I still find bits and pieces of greatness in every album that he releases but they are no longer as flawless as they used to be in the past. My main gripe are the lyrics that are either too simplistic or, the other extreme, too esoteric and too difficult to relate to for the casual listener.The lack of catchy melodies might also play a part, as well as lack of competition.
Sure,there are still a lot of great singers and musicians out there but they can hardly be called competitors, they are admirers of his art and his persona.
Back in the day, he would try to be better than any rock, pop, soul or funk musician out there,and with the garbage that´s out there today, he probably no longer feels challenged. However, there are plenty of people out there who still write good music but Prince is too established as his own kind of genre to be accepted by the Rock crowd, or by the Rap audiences,or by the average "Pop" audience. He doesn´t really fit in these days, and instead of reminding people of how great his own legacy is, he´d rather school his audience about some old folks from the 60s, 70s and 80s...which is a noble thing to do but I doubt it works for his own legacy. People are forgetting Prince more and more these days, and he´d better remind the younger generation of himself instead of other great legends from the past.

WisdomNLove said:

DAMN RIGHT
The man's not out to please ppl with what they wanna hear. He's just gonna do him now and make music he loves and sing wat he wants to sing about. He's been in the business long enuff playin and makin music primariliy for the fans, besides, there are gonna be ppl that will love his new stuff anyway.

He was able to have hits with music that sounded different than everyone else's back in the day because radio and people were open to different sounds back then. These days, radio is only open to shit hop and it takes radio to get a hit.

Look into the future

Donjuandeblacko said:

God you must hate great guitar, bass and drums then cuz the last tracks are just amazingly played and arranged.

That's real music. Like TRc was as well.

Nothing to do with Mr Goodnight.

I'm amazed how deaf some Prince fans are. Really.