Of course this is all debatable, no? I mean, one man's vagina is another man's scary furry melting thing.

But I guess we all have our criteria for what we think a good Prince fan is.
There are some who think a good Prince fan is one who should love everything
that the man does, focus only on the positive, and reprimand those that don't
think the same.

But upon pondering this method or mode of fandom, I find it to be a bit taxing
on the person. Firstly, being a fan in this 'all or nothing' category requires
that you've seen this:



..dreadful movie, and then find something positive to say about it. Perhaps,
we could point out his wonderful hair? I mean, it is nice hair.

But after so many Jugheads, Wedding Feasts, and Arms of Orions, you ended up
losing yourself to this singular devotion to Prince I think. You went to see
him perform in O2... perhaps 3121 at Rio... and you thought the truncated,
jazzed up versions of Kiss or Delirious were brilliant, didn't you? And even
if you didn't, you dare not mention your true feelings of it. For how could
you do so now that you're in just that deep? One can't say Graffiti Bridge
was a great movie and then turn around and say they didn't like Musicology. It
just doesn't make any damned sense. So the 'all or nothing' approach is a
path that can only lead you to insanity.


But then there's the other type of 'fan'. The one that only likes one part
of Prince's career. Or only likes one part of his musical palette. Maybe
you only like the funk of his pre-Purple Rain era. Perhaps you only like his
booty shaking, panty droppin' plastic years music. Or perhaps you only like
it when he rocks. Either way, you hate everything else he's done and you
think that he is over. That Prince, is...done.
The problem I see in this is that you may think Prince is done, but there's
one thing I know about Prince. It's that he loves hair relaxers and a good
hair iron. But one more thing: He absolutely loves to surprise us. You can't
go about thinking his career is over, because Prince will prove your ass wrong.
Lest we forget that everyone thought Prince's career was over after Graffiti
Bridge. And if the law of karma was true or if there really was a God, Prince's
career should have been over--cause that shit was rank. But what
happened? Prince released Diamonds & Pearls, worked that album like a 9-to-5
and scored several top 10 hits while wearing assess pants, pencil think beard,
and a scary typhoon do. He can, if anything, achieve the impossible. To write
him off at ANY point in his career will end up with you being proven totally wrong, for sure.



Then there's the fan like me. One who has found 'the middle way' of Prince
fandom. I still buy his albums even if I dread what they may sound like. I
dreaded the thought of Lotusflow3r and believed it to be a potential suckass
album. But I wasn't going to just write him off. I knew that Prince had a few
tricks up his sleeve yet. Prince is like that innocent girl in biology class
you happen to run into at the party. In school she seems so reserved and
predictable. But after a couple of beers at the party, she's giving the most
amazing blowjob of your life.
So no matter what is going on his Prince life. No matter what religion he joins
and barely lives by despite what comes out of his mouth, I know.... believe
me.... I know. Prince will surprise us.
So the middle way fan loves parts of Prince's catalog that make us happy.
We detest the parts that just isn't our thing. But we know that in the future
he'll always throw something else at us that may make us quite happy.

We view the first type of Prince fan with only pity and sometimes repulsion.
We view the second type of Prince fan as being very similar to us, but with
a scorching case of herpes and a bad temper. We are comfortable in our
pragmatic and practical approach to our fandom. We are comfortable enough
to praise when praise is needed, criticize when we don't like something, and
in the end realize that Prince is just a singer/musician/song writer that
has for one reason or another turned our ear his way.




What are your thoughts? I'm particularly interested in hearing from you
fans in the first category because you're the ones that have a uni-bomber
vibe to you.


.
methodcal's keen eye edit
[Edited 8/22/09 17:06pm]

If you're short, black and androgynous than your thread title might be right.

Gohi said:

Hello first category fan

After the thought that must have gone into that diatribe, one would think that it wouldn't be possible to miss the word fan in the title. I thought "I think I'm a better Prince than most of you" meant they were an impersonator or something. I mean, there are easily a few thousand other people who are a better Prince than me.....

methodcal said:

Thanks for the catch!

I actually put no thought in to this thread and I type very fast.

But I'm still correct in what I say. I'm absolutely convinced that
I'm a better fan than most folks in here, yourself included

You're writing is reminds of a past orger.

Having said that I feel this post and agree exactly.

Imago said:

i hear ya. you know if he started up a goat farm that would REALLY surprise me first of all because i figure him for more of a camel or llama sort of guy but also because i just don't think he'd have the patience for a goat farm. it's not like he put a lot of time and energy into his first website, nor into his second if the rumors are true. he seems to overlook details, and lack a certain follow-through when it comes to his projects. and let's face it, a good goat farm requires for more dedication and long-term cimmitment than prince seems able to make, at least to his fans. maybe it's for the best? maybe the old prince was like some sort of musical johnny appleseed, or pied piper singing about come in the old days, preaching the word while whispering in our ears about the things he'd like to do. but, gifted a musician though he undoubtedly is, i just don't see him making a success of a goat farm. like i said, llamas, camels maybe, donkeys, or burros, but, imho, not goats.

xlr8r said:

Thanks. I can tell your the third type of fan, like me.

XxAxX said:

Oh dear gawd, I have to invent a new category of fandom for you

Imago said:

Very good Imago!
I fall into the scorching herpes cat, but i swear i neither have herpes or am I angry, I'm laughing my ass off usually reading everyone's posts, the haters. middle of the roaders, and the fams.

Its funny stuff, mostly unintentional sometimes, but especially yours because I love your twisted humor.

violetblues said:

I sense a pent up soup of emotional larceny bubbling up inside you that wants to spill out and drown us in pure, unadulterated, ire!

George Bush once claimed to be a passionate conservative, then he buttfucked Iraq without lube!!!


Thanks for supporting this thread though

Imago said:

thank you dear, i'd appreciate that i 0(+> and yes goats are a lot more challenging than most people realize. to be clear, what i said above about our hero prince - i hope you understand i'm not being negative when i state i don't see him as a goatherd. i'm being positive, in the opposite direction.

first of all, i don't think prince would enjoy looking after goats because being a goatherd does involve a lot of walking. some of it entirely uphill. and secondly, imo prince would look kind of weird wearing the traditional knee high leather boots and leather vest of the goatherd after all these years of wearing high heels and silk in public. would he be comfortable in that role? could he be comfortable~?

so, like i was saying, even though i'm a huge fan of prince i think as long as he sticks with making music and albums and videos and such he'll be just fine. but, as you pointed out above he's full of surprises and i'd be really surprised if he were ever successful at goat farming.


[Edited 8/22/09 18:00pm]

lol @ 'uni bomber" vibe

Another clown, just looking for attention.

Dayclear said:

Another pointless wise ass response to a thread that doesn't bring anything to it, who's looking for attention?

hm... are you gay?

you can write a whole damn novel as to why you think your the "biggest prince fan" it doesnt impress me at all or make you a bigger fan than ANY of us..while your contemplating your next scandalous post, most of us have the new power SOUL..we take it where ever we go....tsk..tsk..how dare u?

SCARLETTPUZY said:

OMG, I just checked your profile and all the songs you listed as favorites do NOT qualify you as a fan.

Perhaps a fair weather fan as such, but not a real fan!

I need a 5th category now.

Imago said:

you have to be careful on the internet. some people are just plain

XxAxX said:

It only proves my dust mite fecal matter spores in the brain theory. But that's really the subject of it's own thread, really.

Imago said:

I was making fun of your thread title typo, sir.

Gohi said:

Yes, I know

I daresay I am offended at being labeled as a first category fan...

Gohi said:

ok ok. Transcendent level fan?

Interesting read, Imago.
Enjoyed it.
I feel a lot of what you are suggesting and conveying.
I love a lot of Prince's work, but not all. I happen to be one that thought Graffiti Bridge was quirky and bits of it was in fact cute. But a good movie? Nah...Not so much.
I am not a R&B Prince fan, POP Prince fan, Rock Prince fan, Jazz Prince fan (and so on). I am ALL of that. I have found something fabulous out of each and every genre Prince has experimented with. However, I do not think every single song is great. There are some that feel TRC was THE album. Personally, I found a few tracks very appealing...the rest, not so much.
There are a few songs from Prince's career that I have likely only heard twice, simply because they just did nothing for me.
However, overall...I have always been drawn to the majority of his work/art/sound.
As far as his religion and what he does in his personal life...what is it of my business, or anyone else's?
I once had an orger swear he/she was/is a better fan than myself because he/she claimed to have more bootlegs than myself. Yeah, I had to laugh that one off. (not the part about he/she having more bootlegs, that may very well be true. But it was funny to me that, that is how that person measured being a better Prince fan)
Anyway, am I the biggest fan? I doubt it. I mean, it would be fairly difficult to "measure" the biggest/best fan.
I do not think that there is one type of fan that is "better" than another...I think it is simply how the individual feels within. We will always have people that feel they are better fans because they like EVERYTHING (as you stated).
We will have the ones that feel they are better fans because they are able to actually critique his work, and tell us about it.
What it comes down to is what each of us feel inside and how the man/music/legend makes us feel.

At least, that is my opinion on the whole subject.
Nice read.
Have a good evening.
[Edited 8/22/09 22:21pm]

I need to come to the org more often!

everyone keeps dissing graffiti bridge. i actually quite liked the movie.
not really sure what type of fan i am. i was obsessive over prince when i was like 11-15 years old...drifted away for a few years, and came back now that i'm 30. i'm just now discovering his albums since "come".
i still like the albums before that the best, but i'm giving all the rest of them a shot anyway. some songs i like, and some i don't. i'm just a normal fan. i wouldn't put myself in any category. labels are worthless, in my honest opinion.
i like him...he's hot...he's a great musician...but i wouldn't devote my life to trying to get with him like a few of the people i've seen around here. that's just scary
[Edited 8/22/09 22:35pm]

I'm just posting coz I want one of those hugging smileys...

I think I've become an Imago fan...

what website do I need to pay to join and will there be a instead of a lousy t-shirt?

Imago said:

That's more like it. I've never been hugged so much in one thread.