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Thread started 01/16/10 3:16am

TheVoid

BONO on PRINCE (no, I'm not talking about Anal Sex)

This was posted in 2005 about a book that Bono was in discussion Prince:



Fans looking to get further inside the head of the already vocal frontman of U2, Bono, have a great new opportunity in the form of "BONO: In Conversation," a book complied by French rock critic/journalist (and friend of Bono) Michka Assayas.

Printed chronologically as a series of conversations between Assayas and Bono, each chapter focuses largely on major themes such as Bono's religious beliefs, his work in Africa and with world leaders, his childhood and his thoughts on his U2 bandmates.

What might surprise some, though, is how many times the name "Prince" comes up in conversation. Name dropped nearly a dozen times throughout, Here are a few of Bono's thoughts on the Purple One:

On living the rock star life:
"These white rock stars, they think they're authentic, and that Prince is just some sort of showbiz Christmas tree. But he has more soul in his little finger than a whole harbor full of these rock bands."

Bono talks about meeting Prince in the early 90s and asking him about the word "slave" written on his face:
"There's no excuse in the twentieth century for intelligent people signing a deal they don't understand. That said, Prince deserves the best deal in the world because he is the best in the world. He's Duke Ellington to me!"

After saying that he would much rather be in a band than a solo artist because solo artists are too prone to indulgence:
"I think, in some ways, it's easier to realize a vision that's singular and in your own head, but it's harder to keep the vision going without argument. Look at Prince. He's one of my favorite composers of the twentieth century. I really believe in him. But he needs an editor. He needs a row. He needs somebody in the studio to tell him to f*ck off. 'And guess what? There's six great tracks and four of them are pretty average. I'm sorry, sir. Your genius was having a bad day.' Does he have that? No chance."





What are your thoughts about Bono's comments? Specifically him needing an editor? Doesn't that make his works a bit more impure? I saw a documentary where Aerosmith was allowing some famous producer to just rip and rearrange one of their songs apart, and I was absolutely appalled that they would agree to dropping artistic integrity for a 'hit'. lol
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Reply #1 posted 01/16/10 3:23am

zaza

"There's six great tracks and four of them are pretty average" - shame that on U2's last album are just three great tracks and the rest is awfull.. lol And I was hardcore U2 fan back in the day.
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Reply #2 posted 01/16/10 3:51am

thedance

avatar

zaza said:

shame that on U2's last album are just three great tracks and the rest is awfull..

No Line on The Horizon... I agree Zaza, is average at best. wink

Magnificent
Moment Of Surrender
The boots song

these are great. I can't get into the rest.. and I am U2 fan too.
Prince 4Ever. heart
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Reply #3 posted 01/16/10 4:00am

rafael

thedance said:

zaza said:

shame that on U2's last album are just three great tracks and the rest is awfull..

No Line on The Horizon... I agree Zaza, is average at best. wink

Magnificent
Moment Of Surrender
The boots song

these are great. I can't get into the rest.. and I am U2 fan too.



sorry, but Bono is right.....
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Reply #4 posted 01/16/10 4:05am

zaza

thedance said:

zaza said:

shame that on U2's last album are just three great tracks and the rest is awfull..

No Line on The Horizon... I agree Zaza, is average at best. wink

Magnificent
Moment Of Surrender
The boots song

these are great. I can't get into the rest.. and I am U2 fan too.

Your list is nearly similar as mine, but I like No Line On The Horizon instead of Moment Of Surrender lol
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Reply #5 posted 01/16/10 4:23am

BorisFishpaw

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Bono's right - it's always good for an artist to have people they can trust
who will tell them truthfully when they think something sucks, or could be
done differently or better etc. Even if their advise isn't taken, just having
that sounding board is beneficial IMO.
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Reply #6 posted 01/16/10 4:27am

TheChief

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2005 rang, it wants its news back
Grandma's hands clapped in church on Sunday morning, Grandma's hands played the tamborine so well.
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Reply #7 posted 01/16/10 4:37am

chewymusic

avatar

thedance said:

zaza said:

shame that on U2's last album are just three great tracks and the rest is awfull..

No Line on The Horizon... I agree Zaza, is average at best. wink

Magnificent
Moment Of Surrender
The boots song

these are great. I can't get into the rest.. and I am U2 fan too.

same with "...Atomic Bomb" there are a couple of good cuts and
like 85% of he album is ballads bored
I miss the Actung/Zooropa/Pop days
"Hyperactive when I was small, Hyperactive now I'm grown, Hyperactive 'till I'm dead and gone"
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ ___

"Midnight is where the day begins"
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Reply #8 posted 01/16/10 4:39am

toejam

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TheChief said:

2005 rang, it wants its news back


"Yeah, well the jerk store called, and they're running out of you"
- George Costanza
lol
Toejam @ Peach & Black Podcast: http://peachandblack.podbean.com
Toejam's band "Cheap Fakes": http://cheapfakes.com.au, http://www.facebook.com/cheapfakes
Toejam the solo artist: http://www.youtube.com/scottbignell
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Reply #9 posted 01/16/10 4:44am

zaza

chewymusic said:

thedance said:


No Line on The Horizon... I agree Zaza, is average at best. wink

Magnificent
Moment Of Surrender
The boots song

these are great. I can't get into the rest.. and I am U2 fan too.

same with "...Atomic Bomb" there are a couple of good cuts and
like 85% of he album is ballads bored
I miss the Actung/Zooropa/Pop days

I LOVE "Pop" album..I know both critics and fans hate this album, but it's definitely in my Top 3 U2's album.
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Reply #10 posted 01/16/10 8:33am

trisha

Bono's right !

BTW, I wouldn't have thought that he had such high regards for Prince !
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Reply #11 posted 01/16/10 9:00am

JesusFreak

avatar

TheVoid said:

"These white rock stars, they think they're authentic, and that Prince is just some sort of showbiz Christmas tree. But he has more soul in his little finger than a whole harbor full of these rock bands."
[/b][/color]

lol i love the quirky innovative point of view frontmen and artists in general natually possess

Anyways, Bono pretty much hit the nail on the head
the fact that he appreciates Prince is just adds to the fact that he's a worthy musician cool
[Edited 1/16/10 9:00am]
"Not to sound cosmic, but I've made plans for the next 3,000 years," he says. "Before, it was only three days at a time."
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Reply #12 posted 01/16/10 9:21am

RodeoSchro

Since I can't be thejason, my new nickname is going to be "Showbiz Christmas Tree".
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Reply #13 posted 01/16/10 9:45am

OnlyNDaUsa

avatar

toejam said:

TheChief said:

2005 rang, it wants its news back


"Yeah, well the jerk store called, and they're running out of you"
- George Costanza
lol



"What's the difference? You're their all-time best seller."
"Keep on shilling for Big Pharm!"
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Reply #14 posted 01/16/10 9:48am

DIAMONDGEEZA

Average prince is still miles better than the crud we endure 2day.The only reason prince goes down hill ever is the lack of support from a major label in the advertising and distribution department.If apple pushed prince on the net and record stores like hmv covered the rest it would be a start.maybe a 3 year deal with sony would work(it certainly isnt the music).oh,and if you put the output of u2 side by side with prince its obvious prince would win.there is more to his music.And it saddens me when i ask some young people who prince is? and they don't have a clue.i've helped them obviously but its still bad/sad.
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Reply #15 posted 01/16/10 9:58am

OnlyNDaUsa

avatar

DIAMONDGEEZA


A while back there was a topic about Prince's new stuff compared to the old. Many old fans do not like the new as much. Some of the New fans think it is better. Now it is not as popular (some of that is due to how he markets himself) but even in his heyday Prince said that success was not the same as quality (paraphrased from the 85 rolling stone interview from memory).

Also if we grew up listing to Prince then some of those songs would mean more to us than a new song. Which seems to be part of being older.

Prince also said "my only competition is well me in the past."
"Keep on shilling for Big Pharm!"
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Reply #16 posted 01/16/10 10:28am

BlackandRising

BorisFishpaw said:

Bono's right - it's always good for an artist to have people they can trust
who will tell them truthfully when they think something sucks, or could be
done differently or better etc. Even if their advise isn't taken, just having
that sounding board is beneficial IMO.



I would agree with this to a point, but freakishly talented people are best left alone to their own whims and devices. If all of the talented people in the world who have created masterpieces of work, be it music, paintings, sculpture, etc., had someone telling them that their vision wasn't "good", what would this do to the artist's vision as it relates to his confidence in his vision? Im sure that most great artists throughout history had, for every one of their masterpieces, numerous failures. And failures are successes in a way. As Thomas Edison said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
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Reply #17 posted 01/16/10 11:51am

BlackAdder7

many orgers have said the same thing, prince needs a producer if he wants to be a commercial success
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Reply #18 posted 01/16/10 12:01pm

JesusFreak

avatar

BlackAdder7 said:

many orgers have said the same thing, prince needs a producer if he wants to be a commercial success

screw that! last thing we need is another artist out there being unfaithful and un-authentic to their fans by letting producers monkey with their work for the sake of easy prosthetc $
Prince is above that
let the baker make the bread
"Not to sound cosmic, but I've made plans for the next 3,000 years," he says. "Before, it was only three days at a time."
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Reply #19 posted 01/16/10 12:03pm

OnlyNDaUsa

avatar

BlackAdder7 said:

many orgers have said the same thing, prince needs a producer if he wants to be a commercial success



I am not sure about that but he could use someone to say "NO" to him once and a while.
"Keep on shilling for Big Pharm!"
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Reply #20 posted 01/16/10 12:42pm

Shawnt27

trisha said:

Bono's right !

BTW, I wouldn't have thought that he had such high regards for Prince !


He always talks about Prince with respect. The vocals in the U2 song "Lemon" was influenced by Prince.
[Edited 1/16/10 12:42pm]
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Reply #21 posted 01/16/10 12:56pm

zaza

Shawnt27 said:

trisha said:

Bono's right !

BTW, I wouldn't have thought that he had such high regards for Prince !


He always talks about Prince with respect. The vocals in the U2 song "Lemon" was influenced by Prince.
[Edited 1/16/10 12:42pm]

That's true.
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Reply #22 posted 01/16/10 1:13pm

fever

fucking bono..
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Reply #23 posted 01/16/10 1:14pm

boogiebear

zaza said:

Shawnt27 said:



He always talks about Prince with respect. The vocals in the U2 song "Lemon" was influenced by Prince.
[Edited 1/16/10 12:42pm]

That's true.




Bono, is a nice kind person. But he made a slip up. Prince's editing suppose to be Prince and Bono conversation. So when Bono how talented Prince and said something like he needs editing it just doesn't sound right to me. He could call him or E-mail him. With the (editing) part of the interview.
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Reply #24 posted 01/16/10 1:17pm

prime

avatar

I believe everyone thinks Prince needs someone around to say "NO". That is what Wendy and Lisa did. He was the boss, but they would tell him if something was wack. Where ever he had a band in the studio he turned out a GREAT record. In the early to mid eighties and then again in 1991 he turned out good music that sold everywhere. Both were his best periods and he had folks in the studio with him.

I have heard Clive Davis, LA Reid, and a lot of others who said he is a genius, but he some folks around him.

Don't get me wrong....he has produced some jams all by himself, but there also been times I thought "dang, homie....I could have told you that wasn't going to sell".
Prime aka The Kid

"I need u to dance, I need u to strip
I need u to shake Ur lil' ass n hips
I need u to grind like Ur working for tips
And give me what I need while we listen to PRINCE"
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Reply #25 posted 01/16/10 1:27pm

loveu2the9ss

DIAMONDGEEZA said:

Average prince is still miles better than the crud we endure 2day.The only reason prince goes down hill ever is the lack of support from a major label in the advertising and distribution department.If apple pushed prince on the net and record stores like hmv covered the rest it would be a start.maybe a 3 year deal with sony would work(it certainly isnt the music).oh,and if you put the output of u2 side by side with prince its obvious prince would win.there is more to his music.And it saddens me when i ask some young people who prince is? and they don't have a clue.i've helped them obviously but its still bad/sad.

Prince's production doesn't bump like it used to.. there is a lot better produced music out there and he could be a part of that if he choose to. He just like's making his own productions & I get it.... but that doesn't mean that it's gonna swing! Love him though! wink
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Reply #26 posted 01/16/10 1:39pm

prime

avatar

DIAMONDGEEZA said:

Average prince is still miles better than the crud we endure 2day.The only reason prince goes down hill ever is the lack of support from a major label in the advertising and distribution department.If apple pushed prince on the net and record stores like hmv covered the rest it would be a start.maybe a 3 year deal with sony would work(it certainly isnt the music)



Trust me....If Prince released something that radio would want to play....they would play it. “Call my name” was getting a little play, but keep it real.....Prince doesn't release music that is considered "wow" anymore. I play a lot of stuff to average folks and they think its alright, but nothing great.

Trust me....Radio and everyone else wants to make money and if playing a song would get more listeners they would play regardless if they were independent or on a label.
Prime aka The Kid

"I need u to dance, I need u to strip
I need u to shake Ur lil' ass n hips
I need u to grind like Ur working for tips
And give me what I need while we listen to PRINCE"
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Reply #27 posted 01/16/10 1:55pm

GustavoRibas

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As an artist myself, I know how precious it is not to have an ´editor´. But we must agree that Prince doesnt seem to be challenging himself that much, lately. I loved ´Lotus Flow3r´ because of the production, the guitars, etc, but most of his recent stuff (planet earth, 3121, Musicology) is retro with almost nothing that we could call ´masterpiece´ or ´genius´. Sounds like he is only having fun in his confort zone, which is something good. But a guy with Prince´s talent could do a lot more if he wanted.
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Reply #28 posted 01/16/10 2:11pm

prime

avatar

GustavoRibas said:

As an artist myself, I know how precious it is not to have an ´editor´. But we must agree that Prince doesnt seem to be challenging himself that much, lately. I loved ´Lotus Flow3r´ because of the production, the guitars, etc, but most of his recent stuff (planet earth, 3121, Musicology) is retro with almost nothing that we could call ´masterpiece´ or ´genius´. Sounds like he is only having fun in his confort zone, which is something good. But a guy with Prince´s talent could do a lot more if he wanted.


I agree with you 99%.....but I think he wants to. He puts a lot of money and a lot of promoting just for a record he didn't put his all into.

You know...there are artists out there I don't like, but I hear something and I am like "wow, that is nice". I don't get that from Prince anymore. I still buy everything and enjoy it, but I don't get that "are you kidding me" reaction anymore. I do like "Call my name", "Future baby mama" and "Mr. Goodnight".....
Prime aka The Kid

"I need u to dance, I need u to strip
I need u to shake Ur lil' ass n hips
I need u to grind like Ur working for tips
And give me what I need while we listen to PRINCE"
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Reply #29 posted 01/16/10 4:35pm

thebanishedone

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Bono the guy that was taking mike from Paul Mccartney during live aid performance 1985
nobody should do that
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