rialb said:

I'm not a huge Springsteen fan but I would argue that his fans enjoy his recent music more than Prince fans enjoy his recent music. Springsteen is also still selling a lot more than Prince.

With someone like Springsteen, there has been very little stylistic diversity throughout his career. Not only do his fans know what they can expect from him - I would say that they are also the kind of people who enjoy familiarity more than surprise.

Prince's music, on the other hand, has always been full of "surprises" - unexpected elements. Thus, it attracts people who like to be surprised.

The problem, however, is that some people not only want the surprise, but they want their surprise in a very specific way (which really makes it not a surprise...).

Such an audience is very hard to please.

Bruce and Prince are not even comparable lol

Prince's fan base won't ever agree to anything let's just leave it at that.

FunkiestOne said:

If Michael Jordan turned up each match, walked around and took weak shots at the hoop and refused to five his all whilst acting like "I'm Michael Jordan don't you know!!!" then I'd hate on him....if I actually cared to begin with.

Certainly from my point of view my regular frustration from Princes music in recent years is that he set the bar for himself and is regularly 'failing' to meet his own standards in depth and quality of new tracks. Put it this way - is it coincidence that the albums Prince put out on the shelf and NEEDED to be attractive are miles more polished, crafted, intricate and generally better than throat-up-front albums of NPGMC, Planet Earth, 20ten...he's coasting/exploiting a reputation. Even at the start of the 90s when the media/companies lived him and he was 'selling out' in some eyes he crafted intricate songs with many delicate layers (even insatiable is multiple-layered) but now he's reverted to drum machines and weird raps/chanting on quite a few tracks/albums (laydown etc).

20ten, whilst being fairly disposable and having a couple of truly awful opening tracks does settle down and have something about it - a glimmer of what he can do IF he wants to put the effort in...and that's they key - why shouldn't every album be the best he can do? And I know it's a case if 'who are you to judge' ...nobody and everybody really.

A good comparison would be Money Dont Matter Tonight vs Act of God

Isn't is odd that we build these people up so high and once they are successful, we try our best to bring them down? Not everyone, but some people do this. When an artist like Prince decides that he wants to write music for the sake of trying to get a certain message across, people have the right to think it is junk. Just like people think the song is genius. Everybody has that right.

Prince does not have to write Purple Rain anymore, he's in a different place. I've always looked at Prince and his music as a journey of sorts... some of the magic carpet rides are funky, some are bumpy! The fact is, for me, there are songs in the past that I didn't think were great in the 80's. The joy of being a fan of Prince is that every song can't please every person. Even if an album has 3,4 or 5 good songs on it, it is worth buying. As a musician, it is cool to get new music to play along to.

For Michael Jordon... he was awesome.

Someone mentioned Larry Bird... I thought he was good for being slow, and not being able to jump very high lol. But I do remember the night Jordon lit up the score board in Boston against Larry!

Still digging 20Ten, as it is my right as an American citizen..... now release it here!

purpledoveuk said:

Put it this way - is it coincidence that the albums Prince put out on the shelf and NEEDED to be attractive are miles more polished, crafted, intricate and generally better than throat-up-front albums of NPGMC, Planet Earth, 20ten...he's coasting/exploiting a reputation. Even at the start of the 90s when the media/companies lived him and he was 'selling out' in some eyes he crafted intricate songs with many delicate layers (even insatiable is multiple-layered) but now he's reverted to drum machines and weird raps/chanting on quite a few tracks/albums (laydown etc).

So basically what you're saying is:

Polished, intricate, multi-layered music = good

Drum machines, rapping = bad

Well, what if Prince has a different opinion?

purpledoveuk said:

20ten, whilst being fairly disposable and having a couple of truly awful opening tracks does settle down and have something about it - a glimmer of what he can do IF he wants to put the effort in...and that's they key - why shouldn't every album be the best he can do?

I'm probably saying this for the hundredth time now... I believe that every Prince album sounds exactly the way he wants it to sound, and I also believe he's put in all the effort necessary to achieve that result. I have no reason to believe otherwise, just because it doesn't sound the way I want it to.

It's impossible for every - or any! - album to be "the best he can do", since there is no definition of what "the best he can do" means.

Every album can and should, however, be what he wants to do.

Purpracer2 said:

Isn't is odd that we build these people up so high and once they are successful, we try our best to bring them down? Not everyone, but some people do this. When an artist like Prince decides that he wants to write music for the sake of trying to get a certain message across, people have the right to think it is junk. Just like people think the song is genius. Everybody has that right.

Prince does not have to write Purple Rain anymore, he's in a different place. I've always looked at Prince and his music as a journey of sorts... some of the magic carpet rides are funky, some are bumpy! The fact is, for me, there are songs in the past that I didn't think were great in the 80's. The joy of being a fan of Prince is that every song can't please every person. Even if an album has 3,4 or 5 good songs on it, it is worth buying. As a musician, it is cool to get new music to play along to.

For Michael Jordon... he was awesome.

Someone mentioned Larry Bird... I thought he was good for being slow, and not being able to jump very high lol. But I do remember the night Jordon lit up the score board in Boston against Larry!

Still digging 20Ten, as it is my right as an American citizen..... now release it here!

I'm guessing you are referring to the 1986 playoffs? Yes, that was a fantastic individual performance by Michael Jordan but I think it is important to remember that Chicago lost that game 135-131 and they were swept in the series 3-0.

[Edited 7/23/10 11:02am]

rialb said:

Purpracer2 said:

Isn't is odd that we build these people up so high and once they are successful, we try our best to bring them down? Not everyone, but some people do this. When an artist like Prince decides that he wants to write music for the sake of trying to get a certain message across, people have the right to think it is junk. Just like people think the song is genius. Everybody has that right.

Prince does not have to write Purple Rain anymore, he's in a different place. I've always looked at Prince and his music as a journey of sorts... some of the magic carpet rides are funky, some are bumpy! The fact is, for me, there are songs in the past that I didn't think were great in the 80's. The joy of being a fan of Prince is that every song can't please every person. Even if an album has 3,4 or 5 good songs on it, it is worth buying. As a musician, it is cool to get new music to play along to.

For Michael Jordon... he was awesome.

Someone mentioned Larry Bird... I thought he was good for being slow, and not being able to jump very high lol. But I do remember the night Jordon lit up the score board in Boston against Larry!

Still digging 20Ten, as it is my right as an American citizen..... now release it here!

I'm guessing you are referring to the 1986 playoffs? Yes, that was a fantastic individual performance by Michael Jordan but I think it is important to remember that Chicago lost that game 135-131 and they were swept in the series 3-0.

[Edited 7/23/10 11:02am]

Oh, yep... he scored 60 points or so and lost. Good memory