Sacrifice~
I'm talking about the way something appears on an internet page. My original post seemed to travel to far to the right, whereas Istenszek's posts seem a little short of the margin.

I'm talking about the frame.
[Edited 3/7/10 8:33am]

Nice thread Tame, and no Prince is absolutely NOT washed up. The opposite in fact.

I came back to Prince last year about the time he brought out Crimson and Clover. The last cd I had bought was D&P. It took a while but I managed to catch up with 23 cds I didn't have, bought from a collector who was moving on. Within those 23 cds were also 1999, SOTT and some "so called greatest" which I had't bought when they came out though I knew hits from them.

Do I listen to the "new" old ones e.g SOTT and find them better than the Lotus? No. I also don't listen to Parade or PR because I'm over that. They were great and remain great but I am more interested in the butterfly, not the caterpillar.

Having been away a long time I honestly hear how Prince's music has developed, matured and evolved imo for the better. Sex sells sure, but try and make good music without what the massa want and then you see if someone has talent and can really create or not. Take away sex & the sexy divas from the current mainstream R&B and it would fall apart as a genre.

Prince can still kill the guitar like he did in Let's go crazy etc in PR. He does it now in songs like Dreamer and Cause and Effect(end). He can still write soulful moving ballads, like Sometimes it snows and The Beautiful ones, only now they are Here, Boom, Better with Time, 4Ever & Ur gonna c me.

Funky & jazzy, the lotus instrumentals, Poppy easy sing alongs... $ & No more candy, Deep unpredictable stuff, Beverley Park 77 & lets not forget the brilliant RC.

We don't have the political "America" but we have Colonized Mind. There was also Cinnamon girl and of course Dreamer.

Prince has kept up with the sign of the times and his albums include something for everyone. Someone who's washed up creatively can't do that, or receive a grammy nomination for a song which I unfortunately don't like. There are also lots of Prince songs I'm not fond of but that's because of subjective taste not the artist.

To conclude, he still provides the unpredictable, the playful, the deep and the sweet for me. His music is able to reflect many of my own diverse and different moods and that's what I love about Prince's music. There's a special time and place for various tracks.

I'd still like to steal his electric guitars so he can only play accoustic though.

Tame said:

I'm sorry. I'm a little touchy because someone I respected on the org said or hinted something that was mean. I like your post Without putting any editing in my original post, I said that you have a point. But "Prince is not finished yet". But I wanted to make it personal because me an FunkyStrange was feeling the same about the topic. I put FunkyStrange's name in it and thats how the editing came in.

He's on autopilot artistically. He released 3 albums last year--something that's pretty hard to do when you're writing almost all the songs, playing most of the instruments, and trying to find a way to make a no-talent protege listenable. That takes quite a bit of genius.

I'd say Prince's auto-pilot is at a level far above most other artist's pinnacle.


For realz, yo.

wow really?

Just ask any person on the street about Prince and 9 times out of 10 you will get nothing but love for the man.

paisleypark4 said:

That's true. But unfortunately, he's been able to coast on that--at the expense of his longtime fans--for quite a while.

Efan said:

That's on you if so. If you think he's been coasting yet following his work, tours, websites etc.

Tame said:

Thanks for the post...and of course he's not washed up. I don't think that will ever happen. His music has changed but that's normal and so has his style. But he's consistantly amazing in everything he does. When I think about it...the music I mean...I find myself starting with Controversy and moving to Never B Another Like Me. Washed up and Prince just don't fit in the same sentence. The man is F.I.N.E and supertalented...always has been...always will be.

xlr8r said:

I know that's one of the talking points used to dismiss anyone who complains about Prince on this site, but the logic doesn't hold for me. I wasn't saying he was coasting as an artist--although I think an argument can be made for that--I meant coasting (or riding) on the wave of vague, noncommittal support that he has from the public at large. I meant that he can sell a 3-CD set at Target for $12 (now $5) and get the general public to buy it. He has accumulated enough good will through the decades for that. Same thing when a CD comes with a concert ticket or with the newspaper. That doesn't make the people who got those CDs "fans."

As for me, I make an attempt to separate the art from the artist. Right now, I have very little respect for Prince as a human being. I consider him a thief who treats his longtime fans terribly. As an artist, I respect his talent greatly and I want to see what he'll create next. There are ups and downs with that, songs that are better than others. There's no problem with saying that.

Bohemian67 said:

I love this post Bohemian67. I like your "Metamorphisis," analogy.

That profound analogy about a catepillar and a Butterfly never ceases to amaze me because it is a living example of walking on the ground...liquefying...and Flying in one life time.
I think Prince is a butterfly already, I just don't think Prince has left the tree yet. I'm sure more of Prince's beautiful heart will be released into the airwaves in our lifetimes.

Efan said:

Ok if you put it thjat way it makes sense (and I kind of agree with it) and that 'talking point' wouldn't even come up.Even th0ough that talking point isnt used for every time somoene complains about Prince.