So did anyone else just absolutely get sick when reading the back cover to this book? I mean, no human being is perfect but i can't stand it when these authors write a book who they are CLEARLY obsessed over (fanatic comes to mind) and then all they do is bash the artist they are writing about.
What kind of sick world do i live in? or am i the one with the problem
i feel that the good book to read is Dance Music Sex Romance by per nilsen and even that one isn't perfect. The purple reign book is okay but also shows tendencies towards a negative bias which is not needed. anyways, just my thoughts anyone else?

I did not like that book.

Firstly, what is a negative bias?

I'm not terribly interested in reading bios on Prince, I admit, but when reading something I don't really care if it's opinionated or not so long as it's based on facts.

So, are the things presented facts or just opinion pieces?

It's one thing for a person to have an opinion on the 'War on Terror'. But, if someone writes about the incidents in Abu Graeb or the torture of prisoners, I wouldn't accuse the reporter of a negative slant because those incidents did indeed occur.

I think it's good to have varied opinions out there. Per Nielson is more factual than anything. The Possesed book is what it is. My only complaint about it is the obvious editing errors and a few facts not completely correct, however, the book should not be overlooked. It gives perspective that I think is important to have when researching Prince, which is NOT that easy to do. We all know what a little purple ass Prince can be and this book goes into how even Prince is flawed. It also goes over some really good material and gets into some of the issues between Prince and WB, which in P's carreer is important to note.

Until Prince pens a book himself, we are only going to get half baked attempts at getting to the whole picture and honestly, I am not sure I would believe a book Prince wrote. As of now the only one who I have read that has any real understanding of what was going on back int he day is stuff I have read by Matt Fink.

Imago said:

Possesed was factual and opinionated regarding the facts.

Possessed the song is much better.

superspaceboy said:

Girl , you got that right.

As I read that book....I would have to stop from time to time to think how to defend Prince from the negative things going on.....That author was trying to make Prince seem arrogant and down right mean.....I imagine he had a bad experience with Prince and was just expressing his saltyness and jealousy.....

bobbyc17 said:

I'm guessing he didn't have to try too hard.

superspaceboy said:

ok, well, I guess that wouldn't bother me too much so long as the facts are there. I normally make up my own mind about the facts.

It's actually my favorite,next 2 DMSR.There R a few obvious errors,but it showed Prince in a light that not all fans want 2 accept,but we've all heard stories about how much of a prick he could be...

lovitzj said:

Listen, Frank, Prince ain't all elephants and flowers in your yard. There's a dark, bitchy, ego side to Prince that is well documented, as much as his playful, Wendy-pulling-his-armpit-hair-at-the-piano, fun side. Some books will reveals one or the other, or both equally. Hahn did misquote Fink, and given that lack of good conscience on his part, he probably misquoted or misused quotes from other people as well. I've not read the book, but I'm always open to read a Prince biography.

The WORST, by far, is the Liz Jones book Purple Reign. It was nothing but quotes from other sources (she pulled heavily from the Oprah show and other interview circa 1996/97), and didn't credit ANY of them. Her take on Prince is so ridiculous and pedestrian, it's better off as a leveler for a wobbly table.

ernestsewell said:

Yeah, that was the worst one ever. It was on par with (worse than, actually), those cheap little 25 page pop start bios that you used to be able to get at places like Spencer Gifts for Sam Goody for hot new pop stars that looked like they were culled from the text of Teen Beat and Tiger Beat.

The evidence of how the author is misinterpreting the facts, is in the difference you'll see between what he wrote about Anna Garcia, and what she says in a separate interview.

Read them both closely, and check out how he twisted whatever she told him:

http://prince.org/msg/5/304453?&pg=3

That being said, I wouldn't touch that book, based on what I've already seen as negative bias and factual errors.
[Edited 4/21/09 14:49pm]

bobbyc17 said:

Why would you ever feel the need to defend Prince? Prince IS arrogant and can be mean...not seemingly so...is.

errant said:

lovitzj said:

It's better than 'Prince: Thief in the Temple. Now that is utter crap! Straight in the funkin' bin!

All u all must be talking about a totally different Prince from the Prince that I know...U all must have not got close enough to see the true prince yet

lovitzj said:

Yes, totally agree with your assessment.

Dance Music Sex Romance by Per Nilsen is the best musicians bio book I've ever read, as it focuses on the music and production besides the artist's private life. Overall this is a fair and objective book.

I'd recommend this book to anyone, as they will soon learn Prince is a focused disciplined musicaholic and (spoiled) genuis. The story is very inspirational.

I wish Per Nilsen would write DMSR II!! From the left off Prince years from 1989-2009!! This would be probably the same amount of pages for double the time period --- since interviewees might be harder to find with the signed confidentiality agreements Prince incorporated, and also perhaps harder to come by since he was more reclusive at certain points. If it was written like the previous I'd spend vast amounts of $$$ for insight.

Never read it...Never Will.