Little Red Corvette
1999
I wanna be your lover
Controversy
Automatic
Delirious and more

TheKing662 said:

Hello, my young friend, MTV wasn't even around for some of them and the whole concept of music videos was completely new! Prince was actually one of the first to think out of the box, (regarding videos) in that time!

shellyann said:

this is true, and also a good part of the marketing plot behind prince was to introduce him as a live rock act and get people to consider his as the stadium rocker he had ambitions on becoming

The vast majority of Prince videos, when they're not a collage of old videos or something, are performance videos. Him, on a stage, singing. No great set design, no concept, no story line, nothing. Just performance. Even the colorful "Raspberry Beret" was nothing but a pretty performance video. "When Doves Cry" was the most original video he'd had up to "I Wish U Heaven".

Batman had some interesting videos, fun stuff. But then it was in the early 90's when Prince got all artsy and started making home movies set to his own music.

The two or three 1999 era videos were recorded while on tour, I believe. I get bored watching stuff like "Dirty Mind", "Uptown", "Sexuality", "1999", "Little Red Corvette", etc. It's BORING shiz, and to me it was rather UNinventive. (Wasn't there a video for "Let's Pretend We're Married" as well? I know there's a video to "Automatic" floating around out there that might have never been released.) Everyone that shot a "video" pre- or early-MTV did that. A lot of times band would shoot a performance video to send overseas, because they weren't able to tour or appear in Japan, Europe, ,etc. So the "performance", on tape, would have to suffice. That's where a lot of old stuff comes from. But as far as the 80's, Prince standing on a stage and singing was nothing that original. What was original was stuff like Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf", or Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart", etc. Of course if you had a horse, blowing fabric in a window, and a wet street, you had an 80's video.

I just think he didn't have the scope to think of something bigger. I'm not sure why. There was a multitude of talented video directors back then, including Mary Lambert, that could have got him going w/ a decent video or three.

^
But isn't that's what was refreshing about them. His is a musician, leader of a band who gave great live performances of songs - and that's what his videos depicted : "I'm a great live performer - watch me perform my great new song" - as opposed to "I'm gonna hire 30 dancers to do the same routine as me and pretend I'm a zombie in a graveyard OR I'll strap myself to a rotating windmill blade and dip my head in water, whilst robot heads look on".

No - he didn't go there with that BS - he was straight up singer/musician, performing his latest song ! PURE !

FunkDr said:

My opinion exactly.

shellyann said:

Let's not go nuts here, they're just simple performance videos. What about Queen or ABBA - those were outside the box for the time.

FunkDr said:

Right. I think this was probably to his detriment commercially speaking, but it highlights Prince as a musician and band leader first, not just a sing and dance showman.

Several reasons

1. Most videos before 82 and 83 were like that, simple live or back stage videos showing musicians and stars playing the song.
2. More adventorous ones were tacky and cheap ass, eg Bee Gees staying alive and alot of black artists didn't really do videos or substituted white chicks (Eg Funkytown, you would think all those white girls they were white but Cheryl Johnson was black and beautiful).
T3.his may come to from promo films of the late 60s and 70s which showed groups playing their hits in front of audiences or on a TV show like midnight special,soul train, dick clark, ready steady go, the big beat, Top of the pops etc.
4. MTV did not start until 1981, there were not many outlets for music videos to be shown before it in en masse. Here in NZ in the late 70s and 80s when there were less ads on TV they would play a music video between programs usually of a current hit. This stopped about 1987 here, when Video Hits (Our version of MTV) started being played. MTV only arrived here in 1996, promptly followed by Maxx and the Juice in the later 90s
5. There were some epics in the early days but not many groups did epic videos before 1983, the technology was still new and directors like Julien Temple only started then. You have realise too in the early 80s most of pops innovators were British new romantic style.

I actually like his early videos as people got to see what a stage presence Prince was and his dancing, prancing and his musicianship, ok Controversy is not an epic film, but its great watching the raw energy and vibe and the flying trenchcoat scene in "Dirty Mind" surely can not be surpassed, the early videos are classic and I love When Doves Cry too with the doves and bathtub, the Rohrsach blot dancing and that woman painting. Its all part of the evolution of the Revolution.

My theory is....he knew that someday he would be making movies,so he wanted to keep the videos really simple so he could "save" his acting chops for his movies.This strategy paid off in 1984.Alot of people went to see 'Purple Rain' and were thrilled to see Prince in a different setting,where he leaves the stage and actually speaks.

I figured it was part of his image. He didn't want to reveal too much about himself; he wanted to remain a mysterious figure so you couldn't get a definite read on him. He just wanted to project that he was a singer, musician, dancer--and put his sexy and sexual spin on all those. But acting out a part in a video would reveal too much about him (maybe by adding a silliness or some other factor to him that he didn't want to be associated with).

It depends on your perspective.

What is music? Interactivity between man and musical instruments. What better way 2 show that than a video of an actual performance? I'd rather watch that than some trumped up video that has NOTHING 2 do with the music itself.

It seems that some artist created videos 2 get distract the listener from the FACT that the music itself was not very good or interesting.

Just my 2 pennies.

TheKing662 said:

a Delirious music video...

I have never seen this, are you sure it exists???


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[Edited 5/14/09 11:52am]

Because that's what most groups did back then.

that's where he works best

Although all of those classic Prince video's were filmed on stage...They are so imprssionable...I can see Prince plain and as beautiful as day...I couldn't wait to get home from school and turn on MTV back in 1982. 3. 4.

FunkDr said:

You can diss "Thriller" and "Wild Boys", but the fact is that 25 years later, you remember them. The only reason any of us know any Prince video is because we're huge fans and have watched everything a gazillion times. It's not because they're particularly memorable. The most memorable thing about "Little Red Corvette" is that he is wearing blue jeans.

could cost not be a factor methinks. It worked well enough for me though

Prince didn't like shooting music videos.
He also was trying to bill himself, I'm sure, as a serious musician. Unfortunately, during the early part of his career, his sheer brilliance was often overshadowed by the fact that he was so controversial.

I thought it was a refreshing break from other musicians who chose to rock out with really bad stage sets or perform as the leader of some 'menacing' dancing street gang.

ernest - I'm not really dissing them - they're both good artists and I like both songs - maybe I didn't pick the best examples, because those are strong underlying acts and songs.
I just think some Prince fans become so familiar with the songs, albums, videos, tours etc that their impact/quality becomes diluted and/or taken for granted!
I guarantee that if you saw Prince and LRC video for the first time or 3 again, you wouldn't just remember him wearing jeans ! You'd remember the HOT track, the way he smoulders and melts the camera lens, the cookie looking band and his wicked dancing (made all the more cool/mysterious by the fact that there isn't 30 other "ordinary folk" doing the same move).

FunkDr said:

It was just conversation, that's all.

ernestsewell said:

Nah, I ain't buying this. Anyone who grew up watching MTV in the early days remembers the Little Red Corvette video for the same reasons I do.
The video was shown regularly. It stood out for me, and is a BIG part of what made me the Prince fan I am today.

I thought he was so cool, even at age 9 or 10. Unlike anyone else I was seeing on MTV.

The dark stage with the red spotlight on the microphone, with Prince casually strolling to the mic wearing the purple jacket, jeans, and the high heels. Damn, that look he had. So mysterious, so fucking cool.
Dez in the kamikaze headband (everybody remembers the headband) sharing the mic with Prince.
The sidestep dance into the splits. The microphone stand kicks. It's all there.

It's just one of my favorite videos period. It truly captures everything I love about Prince and that era perfectly.

Little Red Corvette is a classic music video.

Accujack said:

I don't know how many times I've tried to emulate that dance while standing in front of a mirror!

jockeyb4u said:

Have you ever pulled it off?

Accujack said:

It's classic just because it's old. It's not much different from 1999, except it's on film, instead of video. We all have those definitive moments when we discovered Prince - a video, a song, a performance. In reality, in the grand scheme of all things Prince, the video might not be THAT exciting, but for us, as a starting point, it is fantastic. Don't get me wrong, I loved seeing Prince on MTV back then. (My aunt had a 1976 red corvette and we BLASTED that song at the time when it came on the radio.)

I'm just saying it's all perspective.

Accujack said:

not yet but here's a vid of my trying!



But don't worry, when/if the day comes when he pulls me onstage, I'll be ready!

[Edited 5/14/09 10:50am]
[Edited 5/14/09 10:51am]

The videos for these songs are rehearsals that Prince had filmed for the upcoming tour for choreorgraphy & other things!

thedance said:

..back in the day..that was the style..which i like very much..i grew up that way..but i ALSO L-O-V-E..the new style and beyond...
...mzsexybaby'SOMEBODY CU GIT DIS MEOW-MEOW OFF MY LEG'