Reverend said:

cborgman said:

I'm not so worried about the "hymn" feel of the song. I mean...there are some great college songs can be performed as hymns or as marches. As a matter of fact, here's one from my alma mater - the University of Wisconsin.

Songs To Thee Wisconsin played in a traditional style (check out the a cappella about halfway through)...

http://www.badgerband.com...tional.mp3

and as you'd hear it at Camp Randall Stadium on a football Saturday...

http://www.badgerband.com...rching.mp3

jdcxc said:

The thing is, although the song is getting a lot of criticism, and people were expecting something totally different, that's the reason it's also getting a lot of attention, because it's not the type of song most expected from Prince. Now it may not have received the response he expected, but so far it's received media and radio attention. I have a feeling somehow that all this attention to this song will work out in Prince's favor.
[Edited 1/23/10 12:48pm]

Genesia said:

that song is kind of stirring, particularly the second version. the tempo is way faster that prince's, the sound is more compelling.

but if that song was written by someone best known for bringing the funk in a way few can, i would think those writers had slipped thier minds too.

i guess i can't wrap my brain about it. i thought the point of fight songs was to rally the people up, not put them to sleep. prince's song is like a lullaby.

it'd be like if in "braveheart", his speech to the troops had been:
hey, guys... let's go out there and inform them that they can take our lives. and our freedom, if they win. and they probably will.

and the lyrics are terrible for a football song. it really sound like he took some leftover lyrics he had laying around from when he wrote TRC and then changed them slightly. i mean... chariots? thrones? walking on water?

his heart was in the right place, but i don't think his brain was.
[Edited 1/23/10 12:51pm]

purplepolitician said:

hmmm...good question

2elijah said:

the old "there's no such thing as bad publicitY" adage...

i can roll with that. he's always been at his best when he has something to prove. this song gives him a lot to prove.

GirlBrother said:

!!!!!

cborgman said:

Exactly, see, cborg...you get it.

..and you know he will just brush the criticism of this song over his shoulder and keep things moving, because no new artist today, can touch or match his 30 plus years legacy, because he already owns that.
[Edited 1/23/10 13:01pm]

MantuaPharoah said:

2elijah said:

i think the song is terrible, but i totally get what you are saying.

as fucked up as a life as i have had since early childhood, i've learned to always look for the way to grow from a bad moment. the more awful or terrible something is, the more there is to be learned from it.

cborgman said:

Exactly, I mean crawling under a rock over a bad/negative experience doesn't get you anywhere. Misery loves company, so never become it's friend. Just pull up the boot straps and keep things moving.
[Edited 1/23/10 13:10pm]

Something tells me he is going to get more free publicity from this then from Lotusflow3r, that's for sure. If they can only get him to sing it at the Grammy's ...

2elijah said:

absolutely.

maybe he'll go record some better stuff to prove he's still got it. then we all benefit.

this is why i keep saying he needs people in his life that challenge him instead of his yes men who praise everything he ever does as genius.

if he had some folks saying "i think you can do better than this song" in his life, we could get another PR or parade or SOTT out of him.

The song is unecessarily painful. I could almost tolerate the lyrics but the music is like something created by a group of drunk high school kids.
[Edited 1/23/10 13:13pm]

SomewhereHereOnEarth said:

if you listen to the full version with it's better audio, you ca hear him all over it.

it sounds like it's only him and either one or two females.

cborgman said:

But I don't think he has to prove to anyone he's still got it, when he already has it. He already proved he has it with his 30 plus year career, that's why he's still a well-respected artist among other musicians. The song is basically and "anthem" more than it is a fight song, in my opinion. The song needs to be more upbeat and more added to it, to pep up the fans. Fans will always have an opinion of any artist whether it is positive or negative, that comes with the program. No matter what song he creates or releases, there will always be "criticism". That is how it is for any artist. He's matured, and I certainly don't expect him at his current age, to perform like he did at 21 years old. That's the thing with some of his fans, that's kind of what some of them expect from him, to probably fill a void their missing in their own lives. No matter what he does, it will never be enough, and he or no other artist will ever be able to satisfy every single fan.

There are fans that love "Purple Rain" and some that don't like it. You see my point? He has very, demanding fans, some who don't accept or respect that he's matured and obviously has a different outlook on life. His religion was obviously his choice, but some blame Larry, and harshly blame and criticize Larry for a choice Prince obviously made himself. Some fans are pissed because they want the Prince that grinded on the floor, took his tongue and licked it around his lips in a sexual fashion, and sweared up and down the stage. But newsflash, many of those same fans are around Prince's age now with children. Imagine those same fans doing what Prince did back then....now. They wouldn't do it, so why would they expect him to?

Also, those who followed his career from the beginning should know by now something about his persona. It's not like they never knew a little bit about that. He's always been pretty private about his personal life most years. As far as his religion, maybe it does have an effect on what he is releasing these days, but geez, is that any reason to overly bash him? What is that going to do? Like I said, there will always be criticism about his music, point is. constructive criticism is one thing, but bashing him to no end is another, and a lot of that bashing seems to come from a lot of fans who want the Prince of yesterday.

Well. we'll just have to wait and see what happens on Sunday. That's all I have for now. Just my two cents, and no, I don't drink purple koolaid.
[Edited 1/23/10 13:32pm]

cborgman said:

he saw the future and apparently sports will be a lot more feminine.

he saw the future and apparently sports will be a lot more feminine. [/quote]


I don't think I have ever read so many hilarious quips on one thread before!!

Again, I'm all about fairness.

I listened to the full version. it's not the nails on chalkboard that the snippet is. The only reason I listened to the song after hearing the snippet is because it's Prince and honestly I wanted to know was it as utterly cringeworthy as it appeared.

It is Prince's version of a team anthem, a demo of Prince's version of a team anthem. Tweak that demo and it would be alright.

Not my cup o' tea and hopefully a genre that Prince reeeeeally thinks twice before he ventures into it again.

2elijah said:

it's not the fans... it's the general public. i don't think most of them have heard anything from him since... TGE? but they're all hearing this. and laughing at it, because most of us, fans or no, think it's terrible.

i don't think the awfulness of this song has anything to do with his religion, other than he wrote a football song that seems to be way more about jesus than football.

i don't blame his religion for any of his meh music, excepting TRC, and that i blame more on his determiniation to change the world overtaking his ear for good music. TRC has GREAT music, some of his best. the lyrics and ideas though... not so much. and that vadervoice?

but this song is just... crap (in my opinion, obviously, and most people's). not because he's a jw, but because he didn't put much time or effort into it. everyone around him constantly assures him it's genius, no matter how bad, because everyone around him is a sycophant. and he buys into it.

then when the rest of the world hears it... this happens.

the scary part of it is given his stubborn nature, he'll want to prove something based on this song. but instead of an album of kickass high energy rock songs, he'll go write an album of low tempo hymns.
[Edited 1/23/10 13:42pm]

Cinnie said:

Deadflow3r said:

I don't think I have ever read so many hilarious quips on one thread before!![/quote]

this thread is full of very funny lines.

cborgman said:

Thing is, none of us know whether or not the people around him don't give him advice when it comes to his music, it may not be good advice in our opinion, but they may think that's what they're giving him. All most fans have to go on are rumors about the people around him, and most take it to heart.

The song basically sounds like a traditional anthem, not a fight song to me. Improvements can be made, as it's not too late. I'm sure Prince did this in good faith, and probably won't be the first time he's taken hits from the public, and this will just be another hurdle that he'll get over. No one is perfect.
[Edited 1/23/10 13:50pm]

Nothinbutjoy said:

same here. i listened to the full vesion and said that it isn't as bad in context.

if he speeds it up, changes some of the silly lyrics, and gives it a bigger sound, it could be good.

but i doubt he will. he's probably going to go into his stubborn mode.

2elijah said:

granted.

i'd bet money he goes into stubborn mode on this one though. he won't make changes because that would be admitting that everyone is right about the song.

writers are generally like that. i can't tell you how many writers have asked me to look over their scripts and to be honest, then gotten stubborn and locked down when i tell them the truth. thank god i don't have that kind of ego about my stuff. i'm actually the opposite. compliments make me uncomfortable, and i mostly want to hear criticism.

cborgman said:

Well, seeing how the reaction was to the song publically, maybe he might put his stubborness on the shelf, and make a few changes.

Prince actually vetted this! He wanted people to hear this? He put zero effort in it. I have not seen one good review of this. His cool points really went down with me. His career is toast.

2elijah said:

i hope you are right. with some editing of the lyrics, speeding up, and a more dynamic sound, this could be good.

i really think it would have been a lot cooler if he had done something more along the energy of let's go crazy to whip a crowd up. this is like she gave her angels with a less depressing story.
[Edited 1/23/10 14:00pm]

I'm too lazy to read through all the pages. Has anyone said who the female is singing backup?

After hearing the full version, its not so bad. I find myself wanting to sing the chorus now...

http://www.youtube.com/wa...5mereCM83Y
I figured out what song it reminded me of!