NouveauDance said:

Exactly.

It's amazing that Prince doesn't get that. He wasn't mainstream in the 1980s either, until he BECAME (part of) the mainstream. Did he sit down to write a hit album? Sure, but it was still PRINCE MUSIC, it wasn't Prince doing a pale imitation of what was in the charts. (Which is why I hate D&P, because it was Prince imitating current trends.)

Why do people let this bother them so much that we have thread after thread after thread on the same BS? I am sure Prince himself doesn't care what era of music we like as long as we enjoy his music period. Why do people feel the need to fight dude's battles for him?

I am sure that if most people are honest about it, they will see that they don't support or don't think other artists are as good as they were 20 years ago. I feel the same way about Bowie, the Stones and most of the R&B acts I used to enjoy. Does that make me less of a fan of those people now? No it doesn't.

Like a thousand threads before it, a lot of fans were here on this open forum stating their honest opinions on Prince's music. It was and remains a place for free speech. Now, many of you joined knowing people say whatever the hell they want to about the guy. Why do YOU subject yourselves to this? Why shouldn't you be the ones to leave?

tricky99 said:

You still don't get it. We (or at least I) don't think Prince should have stopped making/releasing music in 1988, or 1995. I think he should stop putting out the cack he has been doing for over a decade and a half. And it is cack. Prince knows it's cack.

He's wasting his talent on cack.

And in the meantime he can't even be arsed to look after his legacy. If he doesn't care about it, fine -- hand it to someone who cares and just IGNORE it. Don't promote it, don't talk about it.

tricky99 said:

I get called a hater? At least I'm saying he's wasting his TALENT on cack. You're claiming that all he can do is produce cack.

And it's not like he doesn't know. Prince knows DAMN WELL that he's nowhere near his old self.

tricky99 said:

Dude, there is ZILCH "talent, heart, and soul" in his current output. ZILCH. That's why he can't be arsed to promote it. That's why he can't be arsed to find a record company to release LF outside the US. If he put "talent, heart, and soul" into his output, how come he can't be bothered to find ways to have it reach as large an audience as possible?

tricky99 said:

How can you NOT feel disdain for a man who desperately clings onto "the good old times" and then fills the rest of his album with desperate copies of pop shite? For a man who sings about "getting better with age" when he should be SHOWING IT. Let ME be the judge of that.

Whenever Prince makes songs that have him yacking on about how funky he is, most of the times he isn't.

Want to impress me? Then IMPRESS ME. Don't sing a song about how you're impressing me, because that won't impress me.

tricky99 said:

Yeah, it's not like Miles made crap albums. Sheesh.

vainandy said:

Dude, have you LISTENED to those strings? There's NOTHING "traditional" about that. Ditto for his use of horns etc -- Wendy & Lisa & Eric were NOT playing traditional stuff there.

Bohemian67 said:

Bwahahahah. The frikking Grammies? THAT's your defense?

BartVanHemelen said:

So true...I mean Prince fans should know better than anyone that the Grammies are a joke. I mean Can't Slow Down by Lionel Richie, an album of uninspired ballads and limp mid tempo dance tunes won Album of the Year over Purple Rain.Just a little Prince album that changed the face of music over the last quarter century.
[Edited 2/6/10 8:57am]

fmarasco said:

That is a very interesting point. Shitty music has been winning Grammys forever.

fmarasco said:

Didn't they give the Black Eyed Peas a gazillion awards last year? And this year Beyonce got more Grammies than Michael Jackson.

Yeah, what a great indicator of quality.

I recall watching Jethro Tull getting the first Heavy Metal Grammy in 1989. It took the Grammies till 1989 to recognize Heavy Metal -- and then they give the award to Jethro Tull?

See also:
http://messageboards.ivil...in&msg=645

BartVanHemelen said:

I believe Michael won eight Grammys at once. I don't believe that some of today's stars actually believe the garbage they put out is Grammy worthy. They buy into their own hype.

tricky99 said:

the fact is anyone can have a 3 disc collection...the bottom line isn't putting anything worth listening to or buying.

Exactly. Rick James is my second favorite artist after Prince and his last album before his death was absolutely unlistenable. And The Barkays are my third favorite artists and I didn't even buy their last two albums. This doesn't mean I'm no longer a fan, it only means that I'm being truthful and accepting that their recent work sounds like shit.

It all comes down to people being obsessed with Prince and thinking he's God. You don't say nothing bad about God. In their obsession though, they should consider what Prince has said about idols. But then again, Prince doesn't practice what he preaches so I guess they're still following what Prince wants.

tricky99 poured out the hit dog juice!

vainandy said:

Ladies and Gentlemen...THE TRUTH!!!!!

xlr8r said:

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

That's not the truth. The truth is that people either think he can do no wrong, or people who act he fucking commited Capital Murder over the dumbest shit and they spend every fucking waking moment acting like Prince murdered their dog and raped their mother at the same time in front of them.

He's not a deity, and he's not this this vicious monster who needs to be put to death.

Because that's the way a lot of people here act.

He's a fucking musician. People here seem to be personally offended when he does something they don't want him to do.

They bitch and moan about how he's being "controlled" by the Jehovah's Witnesses, when in reality, they're just mad because they're not the ones controlling him.

Paris9748430 said:

In all honesty, I think it is blown up by both sides. In my honest opinion, there are only a few people who actually seem to hate the guy. There are also only truly a few people who wish he would be like he was back in the 80s.I am perfectly groovy with the fact that a lot of people here enjoy his current output but some of those same people seem to jump on others who don't, even if they state it respectfully. I am at the point where i don't post anything about my feelings on his last few albums for fear of being called a "hater".

I don't understand why both side can't peacefully co-exist.

Paris9748430 said:

This thread is 5 pages long and the only person that brought up his religion into the discussion was YOU! So that says what exactly?

Vendetta1 said:

It's because people suck, and the org is no different.

Paris9748430 said:

That we can agree on.

Vendetta1 said:

Damn that! I see it as a badge of honor!

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Well I see it as grown people being juvenile when they call someone that in the first place. Like they want differing opinions stifled. And there is no arguing with people like that or with people like the thread's OP because they are right and everyone else is wrong.

Is Gold experience that great really? (And I know I am going to be crucified for this)

Lets assess, as I Don't agree. I gave it a score of 49%, which ranks it near the bottom of all Prince albums with such mediocre albums like NewPOwerSoul, Rave in2 the Joy fantastic and Indigo nights.
NOW is trend following party rap, 5/10
319 is a sexy but unexceptional Prince ballad 4/10
Pussy Control is just silly, and sounds embarassingly dated now 4/10
We March is feel good pop, so we had Mr Big and Joe Public at the time 5/10
TMBGITW version is not as strong as the original, its ok 7/10
I Hate you is a quite good seduction number 8/10
Gold is a good song, but loses greatness as its overdone and too feelgoody. 6/10
Dolphin is probably the only great song on the album, but even that is over produced. Still a classic 9/10
The NPG operator is ridiculous and pure self indulgence. 0/10
Endorphinmachine, is overproduced and could give you a migraine 2/10
Shh! Is a good seduction ballad, but not on the level of Dark or even satisfied. 7/10
Shy Is an unremarkable pop effort 4/10
Billy Jack Bitch, is funky and very catchy, but its also utter nonsense. 3/10

Total score 64/130 = 49% A marginal FAIL
Overall over the disc has aged badly, and its just not a classic album, if anything it is very average. Its the type of album that has summed up Princes long period of decline and mediocre sounding work since the 80s. Much better is Come and Emancipation. This album is so moribund , its not even on my ipod now.

Better albums include Come, Emancipation, Rave un2 the joy fantastic, Musicology to date except Elixer.

Huggiebear said:

I gave the Gold Experience away. Twice. I have also given away One Nite Alone piano, twice and Rave Unto and Rave Into. I am very picky when it comes to music in general and Prince music is no different. Some bootlegs have me scratching my head wondering why people praise them so much.

Huggiebear said:

You failed when you called 319 a ballad.

Paris9748430 said:

To me it's a Fail taking Emancipation over any album, overindulgent twaddle and the first time cover versions appeared dreadful album.

Whereas TGE at least Rocked at times
..
.
[Edited 2/6/10 16:45pm]

Paris9748430 said:

Take out the horns and boasting and its a ballad style structure. Everyone is allowed their own opinion

Vendetta1 said:

LOL! I agree. It's people who think that their opinion is holy writ and get upset when they can't force others to agree.

For example, most folks worship Lovesexy but it doesn't impress me. It would be silly for me to get all bent out of shape over the people who love it though.

babynoz said:

BartVanHemelen said:

I agree that D&P was a bad indicator of future problems. Where I disagree with your overall criticism is the blanket accusation of crap material. It takes editing, but there has been a healthy dose of inspired stuff over the last 20 years.

Creativity is not as easily manufactured as many of you seem to think. Most artists have a very short shelf life at their creative peak. Prince's brain today is not the same as it was when he was producing some of the greatest compositions in American popular music history. He had a creative run that is unmatched by any contemporary artist. Our expectations are unreasonable when they come to P. Do we hold the same standard for the collective simple crap that U2, Springsteen, etc. have released over the last few years?

BartVanHemelen said:

I love your mangling of the English language, let me guess you are somewhere in Northern Europe excluding the British Isles