Is this a song about Rob Lowe, the actor??.. Listen again.

sorry, poor joke
[Edited 2/1/09 11:33am]
[Edited 2/1/09 11:34am]

Whiskas31 said:

That's just plain wrong...but right?

conciousone said:

I'm glad someone knows what i mean!!

I really enjoy this song. Impressed with it

However, It's prince subconscious writing lyrics about his own colonized mind.

Rob Lowe?

This reminds me of some lyrics that were bothering me. If anyone knows more about evolution than I do please correct me but the lyrics go something like-

Upload, the evolution principle
You see a rock on the shore and say
"It's always been there."

I get his point...Kinda. But my question is: What do rocks have to do with evolution?

cherrymoongirl said:

Who knows where life came from ? Biology, astronomy and mineralogy might be connected somehow. Anyway as a JW he probably does not "believe" in evolution principle. For most christians Darwin is worst than devil, I guess.

But maybe not the right place 2 discuss that
[Edited 2/2/09 10:04am]

cherrymoongirl said:

Rocks don't evolve they just get worn down with time.
Like the guy above, I guess it means we didn't evolve according to religion.
We just appeared on the shore or in the garden of Eden.

Whiskas31 said:

I think Colonised Mind has to do with how our thoughts are shaped by society leading to the mistaken concept of how we came to be, ie evolution.

Thex said:

But I thought Colonised Mind was to do with how our thoughts are shaped by religion leading to the mistaken concept of how we came to be, ie God.

iloveannie said:

iloveannie, U R so clever !

cherrymoongirl said:

I've gone back and forth in my mind on this lyric... While one reading (and Prince's overt religiosity) suggests that the song criticizes the lack of God-factor in the theory of evolution, I guess I kind of creatively read it as a criticism of the notion of "natural selection" that ignores or downplays the role not only of God, but also of human beings in shaping nature.

The idea that we see a rock on the shore and say "it's always been there," as though it will always be there and we have no responsibility in terms of our impact on nature...

Upload, the evolution principle
You see a rock on the shore and say
“It’s always been there”

Download, no responsibility
Do what you want, nobody cares

or uhhhm, alec baldwin....

I will tell you exactly what ‘Colonised Mind’ is about.

‘Colonized Mind’ is a song written by a man with more money than you or I will ever have, explaining how the two party system offers ‘an illusion of choice’.

The man who wrote this song will never have to worry about medical insurance. He will never have to worry about money to pay the bills. He will never have to worry about defaulting on his mortgage. He will never have to worry about his credit rating. He will never have to worry about losing his job. Apparently he does not care about rendition, torture, Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo either.

Because he wants to tell you that you don’t need to bother voting because “they’re all the same.”

At the same time, he says that “throughout history you will always find a colonized mind.”

Now, this is ironic, because he is a man of African ancestry. African people had religious texts and systems of worship much, much older than Christianity. When African people were taken to the Americas they had their gods beaten or evangelized out of them to be replaced with European Christianity. Their minds were ‘colonized’, if you like.

Likewise, in Africa, Christian missionaries from Europe did their best to put an end to ancient religions and even entire languages, arrogantly ‘colonizing’, if you like, the minds of many thousands.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Prince’s gospel. But this song is probably the worst song this millionaire Christian has ever recorded.

iloveannie, Nupwrsoul and Splanknasty, your comments are really brillant. Funny 2 see how criticising the same song lead 2 different issues.

It's always subjective.

Who colonizes who ?

Who's the blindest ?

Art means to ask, science to answer ?

I have no idea but I'm still blown away by this song. Love it love it love it.

Splanknasty said:

Sorry, but you are saying that this song is about colonized African minds?

cherrymoongirl said:

Evolution vs Creation...he's saying that people who believe in evolution, don't believe in God as the creator of everything, including rocks. Some damn body better explain how rocks were created!

Thex said:

I think it's remarking on the relevance of time.
One may say, "It's always been there,' but of course it hasn't.
It may never move in our lifetime or visibly change but the rock was not always just 'there.' Just as the Earth hasn't always been here or appeared the same throughout time (Pangea.)

musicolog said:

I think they both ask and seek to answer.

I don't know and I don't care. Just listening
that beautiful guitar cry is enough for me.

SUPRMAN said:

One may be closer 2 the truth than another... I mean throughout History religions often lack of mind opening (sorry 4 my poor english) led 2 ignorance and death : Socrate, Copernic, Galileo, so-called witches, Native American, antisemitism, a.s.o... I hope even P know that the earth is not flat.

Art sometimes bring intuitive answers, something like lightning ideas, also true.

Anyway I guess most of us R glad a Prince song B so "rich" : musically very beautiful, spiritually not so easy as it could sound at first listening. Kinda mature song, very well balanced, that talk 2 heart and mind...

Well, one of his best for years !
[Edited 2/3/09 0:25am]

Tremolina said:

No. I'm saying that this song is appalling.

Prince is saying "It doesn't matter who you vote for." No, it doesn't matter to him, because he has more money than any of us will ever have. He is a multimillionaire whose wealth totally insulates him from ever having to think about the mortgage or health insurance. It "doesn't matter who you vote for" if you're fine with torture, Guantanamo Bay and rendition.

This song is appalling. I say it again.

Talking about colonized African minds: Christian missionaries are responsible for the destruction of hundreds of ancient texts, languages and religions. To hear a Christian whining about colonialism, and colonized thought, is pathetic.

Prince is a millionaire trying to preach to people for whom politics is serious who is too rich to worry about the consequences. He is a fundamentalist Christian trying to evangelize whilst moaning about "colonized minds."

And this song is appalling.

We are unfit to rule the world.Without God it's like the blind leading the blind. That's how I understand the colonized mind.
As long as we fall under man's law and not under God's law we create one mess after another. It doesn't matter if a king or a politician rules, there is still no harmony on the planet. And as long as people misinterpret God's law by following man-made doctrines they will continue to twist the truth.
I do love the song and the guitar part is amazing and out of this world but I'm asking myself what Prince with all his preaching is really doing to make this world a better place. I'm afraid spending money on mansions and hosting lavish parties isn't helping to change anything.
You would think as rich as he is and the platform that he has with his celebrity status, he could do more and actually make some positive changes.
By living a self-centered life in his gated multi-millionaire Beverly Hills community he has lost touch with the problems that everyday people face.
He was more approachable for everyday people when he hosted parties at Paisley Park. These days one has to have connections or a huge bank account to come close to him.
He should take "I am everyday people" out of his repertoire.

Isn't it easier to fit a camel through the eye of needle than a rich man to the Kingdom of God?

So now we have Prince AND Cliff Richard who are both well and truly fucked. Although I imagine Prince has been fucked more often than Cliff. Or is he just all talk?


PS: Seriously, if Prince's lot do ever read these threads then my chances of getting in to the next concert are pretty slim I'd say. "It's okay Prince, I still buy all your albums! Even the old ones on vinyl!". Phew, just in case like.

The general gist is about not letting your mind get too compartmentalized, which is definitely an interesting song topic. Unfortunately, his monomaniacal solution to this - God - provides too simplistic an alternative.

its about how Prince never paid attention in high school and never went to college and gets his world history, science and literature from Larry Graham and the internets.

emesem said:

I think that you have hit the nail right on the head. I love Prince's music as much as anyone. If I ever had a question about music or performing, there is nobody I would go to before Prince. However, if I want to know something about science, I will go to a scientist.

I would imagine that the only thing which Prince knows about evolution is that it is opposed to the Genesis account of creation. For Prince, that is enough to know that evolution is wrong. Unfortunately, Prince has probably never considered the wealth of information that supports evolution; a scientific theory that has lasted a very long time (BTW, the scientific use of the word theory is different than the colloquial use). I suggest that he, along with everyone else go to talkorigins.org. If you are going to deny evolution, you should at least know something about it, beyond the crap portrayed in the Ben Stein movie "Expelled."

Darwintheorgangrinder said:

exactly how long is "a very long time"?

Darwintheorgangrinder said:

Yes, Im sure that website offers unbiased explicit proof of thier views and other views on the origins of life.

thepope2the9s said:

They actually do. They have all of the arguments given by christians that are used against evolution or the old earth. They do not have any alternative scientific explanations for life because there aren't any. Evolution is the only scientific theory explaining how species come to be. Why don't you actually go to the site before you knock it.