I wanted to keep a bit of a collection of bad arguments typically employed here to defend Prince's recent music. This way, we can hopefully learn to stray away from using dismissive reasoning whenever someone writes an attack against a new Prince release.

In no order:

1) "People want Prince to make Dirty Mind II, but they need to realize he can't act the way he did in the 80's, cussing and talking about oral sex."

The problem with this argument is that it is rather the other way around. If anything, most fans who criticize Prince's recent releases want him to show maturity rather than dip further into the past. Almost no one seems to actually want him to make another song where he is as explicit as in Sister or swearing as excessively as in Days of Wild. The point of critique concerns lyrical and musical growth and the lackthereof.

2) "People can't expect to be moved by a new album like they were by Purple Rain or Lovesexy. It's impossible for Prince to recapture their youth."

Again, I think this misses the mark too because the fact is that very few seem to have any problem accepting that they won't be brought to tears by a new Prince album the same way they were as teenagers watching his performance of Purple Rain at the '85 AMA's. But just because the experience of a new album can't compare to the experience of past ones from youth, it doesn't follow that the new album itself isn't necessarily still a bad piece of work.

3) "It is simply impossible for Prince to please these fans."

There simply isn't good proof of this. Amongst the harshest critics of Prince's latest work, there has still been an overwhelming consensus about the quality of certain live performances (RRHOF performance of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, SNL performance of Fury), so why should it be assumed that they simply will not allow themselves to enjoy any new album regardless of its quality?

4) "Prince doesn't have to listen to anyone."

Of course he doesn't, but what does that have to do with constructive criticism of his work?

5) "Let's see YOU try to write a song."

I can't. What is your point? If Prince doesn't want his music critically assessed, he shouldn't release it.

6) "If you don't like _______, you're not a real Prince fan."

This presupposes that there is a single criteria by which one can be deemed a Prince fan or not, and what's more, that you accurately know what it is.

7) "Every artist has a prime recording period. People can't expect a new album to be as good as SOTT. You can't punish a new album for not matching that."

No one expects Prince to reach the level of SOTT. No one I've seen dismisses a new album for not being as good. The arguments that have been made concern the general claim that the new albums are simply bad music.

8) "It beats anything else on the radio these days."

Yeah, and the United States government is incredibly fair compared to that of North Korea. So what? It doesn't make it fair in itself. It is an irrelevant fact to bring up. Comparing a bad new Prince album to Justin Bieber and declaring proudly that the Prince album is better still doesn't make that album good.

Feel free to add any more to this list.

[Edited 7/23/10 16:03pm]

9.) "La La La, He He Hee" is about AIDS

[Edited 7/23/10 16:03pm]

PurpleKnight said:

'Unofficial Org Encyclopedia of Repeated Bad Arguments/Dumb Comments'

I'm so vain, I thought this thread was about me.

It's not It's not

Well, I think you've got it all wrong. Most of my close friends that are musicans generally really like every single Prince album, save for MPLS Sound, and New Power Soul. Most of them, and me, simply love most of his output.

Where do we have a problem:

1. Cheating fans with $77 websites.

2. Making fun of said cheated fans by placing 77 tracks on 20Ten to symbolize how he ripped us off for 77 Dollars.

3. Live shows that focus on remake after remake. If we wanted to hear someone singing a bunch of songs somebody else wrote, we would all become Rod Stewart fans.

4. Live shows that have too many featured guests over the years taking too much of the spotlight: Doug E Fresh, Shelby J, (Insert Female Singer Name Here_____), Larry Graham(though he at least is good at playing bass)...etc..

Disclaimer: Some of this post could include sarcasm, humor, or a lack of intelligence by the poster. My mind ranges from dum dum to near genius.