Some of the best things emanate from sound...A Secret; A Vow; A Universe.
~ Prince

Musicology

the academic and scientific study of music. It covers the study of all types of music...; from art music to folk songs, from European music to non-Western music. Aside from the study of music per se, musicology also includes: (1) the study of various musical forms and the evolvement of music notation (2) the study of different musical instruments

A Secret: 3121

A Vow: Planet Earth

A Universe: Lotusflow3r, Minneapolis Sound, Elixir



Just a theory?

xpertluva said:

The original version was released online a few days after it was announced and generated a good deal of Internet buzz. (This is previous to the Planet Earth release)

Everyone was more or less getting excited about the fact that Prince was going to 'rock out'.

When it was released, it ended up confusing folks because the background music wasn't much different from what you would have heard on tracks from Graffiti Bridge, like "Shake!". As a matter of fact it reminds me ALOT of Shake!



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[Edited 2/28/10 20:36pm]

Interesting theory. He did mention LF & Wall of Berlin in 3121. Love & Lolita would've fit nicely on MPLSOUND as well as Chelsea Rodgers.

sweething said:

I love those 3 records.

thedance said:

I completely agree. Musicology, 3121 and Planet Earth all share a very similar vibe and come across as "retrospectives" in style, even though the compositions are new they almost all seem to hark back to a prior stylistic period in Prince's career.

Lotusflow3r/MPLSoUND, on the other hand, seem more forward thinking. Prince is trying something new here. ...and while MPLSoUND could be considered a release in his typical style - to me, it sounds like he's making an effort to UPDATE that style for "today" even when he's revisiting past ideas. It doesn't sound like a retread (as much of the prior 3 releases did).

2 me that "era" of Prince's sound (i.e. rehash of previously done stuff & homage 2 R&B history) started with "Musicology" not "3121". "Musicology" hardly belongs 2 the (short but prolific) jazz era ("TRC" up to "NEWS")

sweething said:

Interesting!

not sure there's much of a connection between the 3 releases.

N.E.W.S. - a humble pure perfect record created when he was more himself then ever.

3121 - "look at me i'm back but not really back cuz i never went anywhere" - the enticing peril of hollywood popularity rears it's ugly head.

Planet Earth - the line between genuine and fake friends blurs. he'll sing about anyone anywhere anytime. a dark record.

MPLS/Lotus/Elixer - not on my radar.

I think of Musicology, 3121 and Planet Earth as a trio. Him taking the Rave formula and perfecting it with better songs and LotusFlow3r & MPLSound being him finally meeting the goal and getting it completely right.

thedance said:

me too. mainly because i completely dislike "musicology" and "planet earth"
and consider "3121" merely decent.

lotusflower, the title disc, is my fav prince album since TRC and before
that The Gold Experience.

since out of his entire catalogue only "musicology" and "planet earth" are
the albums i simply cannot listen to as a whole, i usually put the bulk of
3121 in a playlist with a smattering of the few tracks from musicology and
planet earth that i think are good (strangely, the good songs on both of
those albums are more than just good and closer to brilliant, they're just
burried in amongst so much debris that it's hard to enjoy them on the cd
they initially came on).


3121
Magnificent
A Million Days
Funk
Te Amo Corazon
Guitar
S.S.T./Brand New Orleans
The Word
All The Midnights In The World
Lion Of Judah
What Do U Want Me 2 Do?
Fury
Reflection

it looks very messy but it makes for a very nice listening experience,
i love it.