Here are some of the Pointless questions the (Ebony/July, 2010) interviewer asked Prince:

1. "As a mature artist, what are your challenges as they relate to remaining fresh and innovative?"

2. "Do you not drink alcohol"

3. He was asked who first influenced his musical pursuits such as, Hendrix, L. Richard, Santana.

For the first question, I would say, he will never have any challenges remaining fresh and innovative. Age is only a number. Genius people are that forever.

Seccond, that is a good thing that he does not drink. Alcohol is bad for the health.

It can damage the liver, brain cells and so forth.

Third, Duh! any real/true/obsessed fan, knows that his father was a musician

and his mother was a singer. Obviously, they were his first influence to music. The "others" were subsequent influences.

I'll agree that the second of those question was pointless. The first, however, is certainly relevant. As someone who has been in the business for thirty years, I am sure there are difficulties in keeping the music, and the business, fresh, interesting and creative. I'm sure people have asked the same question of Madonna, Cher, Janet, the Rolling Stones...(and of course they all. I'm sure, have different answers...)

=0P

Narrow-minded about the drinking. I guess all those scientists with an assload of degrees saying some red wine is good for you are wrong. I guess all those people who have lived to be 100+ years old, and when asked what is their secret to a long life, almost always say "___________, and a little wine every day".

You're not listening if you think won't have a problem staying fresh and innovative. What has Prince done in the past 10 years that you've never heard before? What is truly innovative in his music that has other people, other artists, running out and trying to do their own version of it? No one's remaking "Musicology" or "3121" or "Call My Name" or "Lolita" or "Box of Chocolate" or "Dreamer". What songs did they do on BET? Two Purple Rain songs and two SOTT songs. All 80's era stuff. (They also had a bit of the b-side "Girl" in there, too.) What did the band play when Prince walked up on stage? "I Wanna Be Your Lover". Not "Feel Better, Feel Good, Feel Wonderful". Not "Props and Pounds".

Prince IS struggling to be fresh and innovative, and it's gotten the better of him in recent years. No one is questioning the musicianship. It's the final product, and the choices made, that lack creativity and originality. Even Prince is going back to his Linn drum machine and hyping that to be his "old sound", yet seems to have forgotten what that sound is or how to hone it into a great record. He hyped the old sound as far back as Rave Un2, and as recently as Lotusflow3r. Yet either of those albums sound like old stuff (other than the one old track on Rave, that being the title track).

So that number one question is quite valid.

ernestsewell said:

Narrow-minded about the drinking. I guess all those scientists with an assload of degrees saying some red wine is good for you are wrong. I guess all those people who have lived to be 100+ years old, and when asked what is their secret to a long life, almost always say "___________, and a little wine every day".

You're not listening if you think won't have a problem staying fresh and innovative. What has Prince done in the past 10 years that you've never heard before? What is truly innovative in his music that has other people, other artists, running out and trying to do their own version of it? No one's remaking "Musicology" or "3121" or "Call My Name" or "Lolita" or "Box of Chocolate" or "Dreamer". What songs did they do on BET? Two Purple Rain songs and two SOTT songs. All 80's era stuff. (They also had a bit of the b-side "Girl" in there, too.) What did the band play when Prince walked up on stage? "I Wanna Be Your Lover". Not "Feel Better, Feel Good, Feel Wonderful". Not "Props and Pounds".

Prince IS struggling to be fresh and innovative, and it's gotten the better of him in recent years. No one is questioning the musicianship. It's the final product, and the choices made, that lack creativity and originality. Even Prince is going back to his Linn drum machine and hyping that to be his "old sound", yet seems to have forgotten what that sound is or how to hone it into a great record. He hyped the old sound as far back as Rave Un2, and as recently as Lotusflow3r. Yet either of those albums sound like old stuff (other than the one old track on Rave, that being the title track).

So that number one question is quite valid.

Excuse me. "Props n Pounds" is like "17 Days" and just never found a home.

Spinlight said:

Excuse me. "Props n Pounds" is like "17 Days" and just never found a home.

Let me give you a piece of good advice (and I do get paid for counseling). PNP is nothing like "17 Days". That song is WACKY. You know we're going to disagree on that song until the end of the world, and have since 2001 when it crawled out from under the rock behind 19 Galpin Ave. You can agree to like it, and I'll agree that it's a piece of bantha fodder.

"17 Days" is classic stuff. "Props N Pounds", in title alone, is ridiculous, and embarrassing. Ain't no one covering that song.

ernestsewell said:

Spinlight said:

Excuse me. "Props n Pounds" is like "17 Days" and just never found a home.

Let me give you a piece of good advice (and I do get paid for counseling). PNP is nothing like "17 Days". That song is WACKY. You know we're going to disagree on that song until the end of the world, and have since 2001 when it crawled out from under the rock behind 19 Galpin Ave. You can agree to like it, and I'll agree that it's a piece of bantha fodder.

"17 Days" is classic stuff. "Props N Pounds", in title alone, is ridiculous, and embarrassing. Ain't no one covering that song.

Bahahaha. See, he wrote PnP for people like you. Negative people don't get to play!

Spinlight said:

Bahahaha. See, he wrote PnP for people like you. Negative people don't get to play!

I am here. Where are you?

That stupid ass song also talks about condoms and how stupid they are (!), birth control in general (1), holidays, and any other stupid part of Jehovah's Witness belief system. Yeah, that's a hit waiting to find a home.

ernestsewell said:

Spinlight said:

Bahahaha. See, he wrote PnP for people like you. Negative people don't get to play!

I am here. Where are you?

That stupid ass song also talks about condoms and how stupid they are (!), birth control in general (1), holidays, and any other stupid part of Jehovah's Witness belief system. Yeah, that's a hit waiting to find a home.

Chaka mad, Ernest. Chaka real mad.

And so am I that you keep hating on a song that set the tone for the next decade of music he released. People shouldn't cover Prince's music anyway cuz it always comes out bad or corny as fuck.

When was the last time you saw someone try to be Prince on stage? Oh I remember it vividly, a pregnant mother rolling around on a piano trying to hit notes way above any register she could attain.

Props n Pounds remains golden, baby.

Spinlight said:

ernestsewell said:

I am here. Where are you?

That stupid ass song also talks about condoms and how stupid they are (!), birth control in general (1), holidays, and any other stupid part of Jehovah's Witness belief system. Yeah, that's a hit waiting to find a home.

Chaka mad, Ernest. Chaka real mad.

And so am I that you keep hating on a song that set the tone for the next decade of music he released. People shouldn't cover Prince's music anyway cuz it always comes out bad or corny as fuck.

When was the last time you saw someone try to be Prince on stage? Oh I remember it vividly, a pregnant mother rolling around on a piano trying to hit notes way above any register she could attain.

Props n Pounds remains golden, baby.

Alicia's dumb ass has zippo to do with that song, though. (I had to laugh when Alicia was missing those high notes and came back down to a lower register. LOL)

How the Hell could anyone like Props N Pounds?