My thoughts after 3 listens:

Yes, sounds like a Lotus reject. Nothing amazing or note worthy as I've heard it all before on Lotus. Quite frankly, there's nothing particular about it that would make me want to listen again.

My guess is Prince wanted to put this track out there to gain feedback on it. Time will tell if he decides it's new album worthy based on the net's feedback.
[Edited 2/26/10 16:50pm]

I like this song. It's very catchy and I can't wait to be able to download it.
Well done Prince. Thanks for the great music over the years.

I listened to it on lotusflow3r.com

I now want $78 back.

I downloded it.. 4 free

After the way this song was hyped up, I'm very underwhelmed. There's a few decent guitar runs somewhere in this unfocused, non-melodious, mishmash of styles and trademarks, but that's it. For a supposed "rocker", it completely pales in comparison to anything on Lotusflow3r. I'm still riding off the high of that album, so it's disappointing for me to hear Prince on auto-pilot again. If this is just a one-off song or outtake, it's not the end of the world, but if it's an indicator of an upcoming project, then I'm a bit worried. Just my opinion.

2the9s said:

As it stands right now, I really, really wish he'd have gone with this idea...



I mean honestly...if he's just going to put out artificial, mashed up, cookie cutter stuff, couldn't he at least let us get in on the fun, too?

I remember when people made the same type of comments about "3121" until they heard him play it live in so many different ways. I think his best version of "3121" was on the "21 nights" cd. Loved the horns;the New Orleans style sound, and the way it was played live at the "3121 Club" in Vegas. In Cause and Effect, I love the guitar solos and could imagine what that would sound like live.

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

So the dancing youtube baby could have been off the hook for a mere $700?!

2elijah said:

I think, when it gets to a point where on the day of a new song premiere, people are saying "I'm sure it will be good live" is the day we admit that it doesn't cut it as a record.

Umm....I don't know.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Mmm! Hmm! And it would have prevented a whole lot of other aggravation!

It's a disjointed song to say the least, i'm not loving it, maybe he just wanted to throw his latest song out there on impulse and see what people say about it? Look at all the interest this type of stunt from him generates, maybe he wants to create some hype just because he knows he can?

Lukewarm at best
Whomever said he was attempting to 'do his own thing' while 'appealing to the masses' was right....

more fail than an iPad

'dre

SquirrelMeat said:

Well, Squirrel, I can't speak for everyone else's taste in music, since that would be impossible. I was giving my opinion on a track that sounded better live to me, than the studio version, when I heard it played in Vegas. I also stated in my above post, that I could "imagine" what the guitar solos in Cause & Effect would sound like live, since that's basically my favorite part of the song right now;the other parts of the song, would have to grow on me after multiple listens. If he changes the other parts of the song up a bit if he should play it live, like he did with 3121, then maybe I may have a different opinion of the song. just my two cents.

With this track, Prince continues the dual trend that he's been on over the past few releases: on the one hand the song evidences greater technical & compositional proficiency than before in terms of phrasing, chord changes, and playing; yet on the other hand the lyrics showcase his increasing emotional distance from his audience (& from himself, if I can be so bold).

Lyrically, he is no longer willing to share his struggles (of the flesh, mind, heart, or soul) with his art or his audience (even though he HAS to have struggles because that is what makes us human). Instead we get someone trying to convince himself that everything is okay because he is saved (of the Elect) because he is made in the image of God (not "cause" as the circulating lyrics indicate) and is subject to no man.

His art no longer asks questions, but aspires to provide answers. It's not inviting. When he declares, "I am here" and then asks "Where are you?" one gets the sense that he's not really interested in where "you" are, as much as he is preoccupied in telling us where "I am." This artist believes his "here" is where everyone should be.

When this phrasing first appeared in his work, it was the Rebirth of the Flesh, and the declaration was "We are here, where are you." WE. There is no more WE in Prince's world. Prince is in autobiographical mode. This is about him. He is writing/reflecting on HIS life story, and trying to fit the pieces into the narrative of what he considers "The Greatest Story Ever Told."

It's an old and tried true story, but one gets the sense that in his work it is forced or contrived--it's not organic. His metaphors and language is too easily and directly drawn from religious scripture. Maybe Prince feels if you're going to, what better to signify on than what's believed to be Divine words? What it means is that we're not going to get yellow daisies in the yard, bubble baths with pants on, animals striking curious poses or any of that weird-only-Prince-could-come-up-with-this-shit type of language.
[Edited 2/26/10 17:52pm]

2elijah said:

Don't get me wrong, I agree with what you are saying.

I just think its a little sad that I'm already hoping for more from a live version.

TwiliteKid said:

Bohemian67 said:

What's so funny about all the haters is that they spend so much time writing about Prince and their dislike that it's all so clear and obvious how much Prince and his music moves them. People don't waste their time constantly over things they don't care about.Indifference to Prince would also not lead to such emotionally charged posts.


But that's just it: It's fams like yourself that label them/us haters in the first place. I don't hate Prince, and I like a lot of his recent music. That doesn't mean we have to love everything he does, or keep it to ourselves when we think a song sucks. And honestly, those of who think that this song is even a tenth as good as his work in the 80s need to seek medical attention.

Klyph said:
Exactly! I don't hate Prince. He has done nothing to make me hate him. I do however hate a good portion of his current output. I hate that he feels like he has to constantly push his religious agenda on his fans. You know what I love about The Cross so much? It's the inward feel of the outward message. It's the inclusiveness of it. I'm as die-hard an athiest as can be, but even I have gotten teary eyed from that song.
[Edited 2/26/10 14:36pm]

Bingo Klyph! When Prince started his "Love is God...God is Love" chant in Germany long ago I could FEEL his spirituality. I watch it sometimes now and STILL feel it. I'm not bashing anyone's religion or lack thereof, but I don't understand and/or feel the "message" of the music since his religious conversion. I suppose today's LoveSexy is too complex for me, but I don't hate Prince for that.

all along the watchtower, princes kept their view

i drink too much wine, i must take a piss

cause and effect

Cx

NuPwrSoul said:

Perfectly said. Let's take Faith Evans "Again"




Now I done felt a lot of pain
I done seen a lot of things
From struggling and broken heart to fancy cars (oh yeah)
And even though my money changed
Tried my best to stay the same
But you know with mo money
My problems stayed


If I had to do it all again
I wouldn't take away the rain
Cuz I know it made me who I am
If I had to do it all again
I've learn so much from my mistakes that's how I know he is watching me


In ATL I caught a case
And the media tried to say
I had a habit
I couldn't manage
and I am throwing my life away
But everything ain't what it seems just because its on TV
Cuz they speculate and exaggerate for a better story


If I had to do it all again
I wouldn't take away the rain
Cuz I know it made me who I am
If I had to do it all again
I've learn so much from my mistakes that?s how I know he is watching me


Nobody knows what life may bring
It might make you happy it might make you sad
Sometimes yeah
but I know there's a reason for everything (but I know)
That's why I keep believing
Whatever is meant to be is gonna to be


If I had to do it all again
I wouldn?t take away the rain
Cuz I know it made me who I am
If I had to do it all again
I've learn so much from my mistakes that's how I know he is watching me

If I had to do it all again
I wouldn?t take away the rain
Cuz I know it made me who I am
If I had to do it all again
I've learn so much from my mistakes that's how I know he is watching me



Now I can't relate to her status of fame and money but I sure can relate to the idea of not changing any of the "rain" because I am who I am because of my painful experiences. This song is so grounded that anybody who isn't a star and can't relate to the physical things she's singing about can relate to the overall sentiment of the song. There is a sense of humilty that is sorely missing from this Prince track and throwing the word "compassion" in there isn't fooling anybody.

Prince, meanwhile is singing on about something that nobody connects to. Yeah he's saying the same "I wouldn't change the past" kind of thing but look how nobody is moved by it except those who can never admit he's actually a fallible human being....

.
[Edited 2/26/10 18:23pm]

I do not have the urge to listen to this song again.

SquirrelMeat said:

Gotcha.

When I hear efforts like this and 'Purple and Gold' it dawns on me why he never released that $700 / 7 disc collection of sounds / loop samples (I know some of you all remember what I am talking about). It must of occurred to him that if he did, some of us fans could have made the music we wanted and then sell it to the rest of us. (I'm just saying!) Peace!

NuPwrSoul said:

Oh man P need 2 stop trying 2 b hip and write some simple songs with emotion. This is soulless. Very embarrassing and shows he has fallen way behind. I seem 2 be listening 2 bands who sound more P than he does these days...

NuPwrSoul said:

A very interesting analysis though i wouldn't agree with most of it: Prince has always been a preacher as far as "Uptown" and this was in 1980. He is, of course, more confident about where he stands now because, hell, the man's 51! & still in this song he keeps admitting his own "dark side" and says what he was already saying in 92 (remember "My name is Prince": "i got 2 sides & they're both friends").

Also, on songs such as the quite recent "4ever" or "Here" (no matter how fictionnal or "real" they might be, that's up to Per Nielsen to learn about it & tell us in 20 years), Prince keeps showing/admitting a sensitive if not fragile side of himself, as well as doubts about his emotional stability and capacity to handle a love affair/rejection.

From "Controversy" to "Strange but true" & up to now prince has always been a mix of self-confidence and doubts and i don't see much change except that he knows more how to handle it personnaly than he used to: once again that's maturity, experience and a religion that is now regulated by strict rules instead of being his own unstable mix of whatever he liked in the Bible and whatever he liked in the Flower Power movement and whatever he liked in Buddhism or whatever else (remember him talking about reincarnation around 1995).

As for the "i" vs. "we", let's remember that back in the 80's Prince made up bands such as The Time & so on 2 create the illusion he was part (& leader) of a movement (both musical & spiritual), a game he definitely gave up playing after 1998's "new power pack" with Larry & Chaka: he just quit pretending and assumed that he is one person who might have spiritual "followers" with a part of his fandom ("Letitgo": "now i've got an army & we're 3 million strong" -> 3 million was Prince's approximate fanbase back in 94) but who isn't part of any aesthetical or spiritual movement that he would have generated. In a sense, his admittance of being a JW is even a counterpoint 2 this "I instead of we" in the sense that Prince didn't CREATE or GENERATE JW's in the sense that he created the Revolution, The Minneapolis Sound or the New Power Generation. He now admits more than ever being part of something that existed before him and will exist way after his death, a tradition which is bigger than him (when the NPG/MPLS "we" of "Rebirth of the flesh" was nothing but the expression of Prince's "kingdom")
[Edited 2/26/10 19:26pm]
[Edited 2/26/10 19:29pm]

I want to like it, but I just can't. Bring back the RAW & REAL PRINCE and leave Pro Tools alone..

databank said:

I hear what you're saying, but I think Prince's pronouncements earlier in his career allowed for greater ambiguity and therefore openness and doubt, elements that both make for some of the most engaging art. Until The Rainbow Children, I never got the sense that Prince had constructed strict Manichean dichotomies of us vs. them, me vs. you, those who are saved vs. "The Banished Ones" etc. His use of the Bible prior to his association with the Jehovah's Witnesses highlighted the Love of God, where as now he seems just as if not more fixated on the LAW of God and obedience. ("Is it better to be a follower or a leader?" he asked during the One Nite Alone shows, with followers being rewarded with a stage seat.)

I DO think that his more recent work reflects maturity--musical & lyrical. This is someone who is at peace with himself and his life. Even in his interactions (when he had them) with his audience/fans during the Celebrations, etc., reflected that fact that he was moving toward a comfortability with himself that I don't think we'd seen before. So don't get me wrong I'm not knocking him for it. I think many people often make that journey.

Not only that, but it is not downloadable from lameusflow3r.com. Once again $77 well spent for a track a memeber can listen to on a minneapolis radio station.

Billy Sparks was right in the Purple Rain Movie, "Nobody digs your music but yourself, Kid" Actually, It is rarley that the "Music" isn't great but the lyrics these days are just so f'n boring and meaningless.