I don't think it's fair to bash a book until you've read it and caught mistakes in there.

I know when Bob Spitz wrote his mammoth Beatles book, the fans came at him with both barrels blazing, picking it apart, finding mistakes. He defintitely became defensive and counterattacked, but damage was done. But I think that it's one rock band that the only people who should be writing about them anymore are the people who were a part of it that are still alive. There's way way way too many Beatle books.

As far as Miley and The Bieb goes, their target audience are teenagers who want every piece of memorabilia possible from them, and they're more "rise to fame" stories.

Maybe Prince does have a book in him to write about some parts of his life that he wouldn't be able to convey in a song. I'm sure he has some poems that don't fit in a song whatsoever. Or maybe he'll write some short stories and have them illustrated, and "songs inspired by" that can be made into a new album.

Most autobiographies are one version of the truth. It's one point of view, and doing it from memory is a whole different thing than when you see it for yourself, the way his managers, bandmembers, or family saw him.

Also, here's one: A CD/DVD box set of songs Prince would handpick throughout his career, tell a story about each song, why it's important to him, and do a "Storytellers" songbook style show, and include a book that has notes, lyrics, poems, drawings, and just make it a cool limited edition keepsake. He could just do a re-recording of his songs for the project instead of going to WB and using the original recordings.

Haha, an autobiography.

By Prince.

You must be joking.

Or do you expect him to grow more at ease with himself while he ages, so that the autobiography can be at least as truthfull as the Vault?

Because you might want to read an unauthorized biography to be more sure of teh facts.

E.g. check out the Miles Davis bio and what others wrote.

And how many CD's do we get with the book?

errant said:

There really isn't any point in Prince writing an autobiography. If he did, it would be the most fanciful, factually inaccurate, axe-grinding and pseudo-philosophical agenda-promoting account of his life and career one could ever dream up. You wouldn't know any more about Prince after reading it than before, except to know that he's either a liar or outright insane. And we already have enough evidence of that that he doesn't need to spend the time and effort writing it down for us.

I agree.If he were to write an autobiography,I don't think it would give us the honest insight that we crave.There would be alot of cryptic talk,half-truths,and lack of details.

Maybe Per can be Prince's ghostwriter?

jtfolden said:

I was actually going to recommend Alex Hahn's Possessed: the Rise and Fall of Prince and I see that not only has someone beat me to it but that we have the author posting, as well.

I really don't understand the problems that some people have with this book. Sure, it's not perfect and there's a sizable portion of speculation and supposition, I suppose, but for those fans that want a well-rounded, realistic look at everything I don't think you can do better (and I don't think a book from the man himself would be better, no... you know he'd never tell t like it really was). For long time fans who realize Prince is an actual human being, there's nothing shocking or new here at all, either.

At the time the book was written, I thought the title was pretty apt, too.

So, I highly recommend it. I'd love to see an update covering the years since publication, though!

Thanks. I did do an afterword in a German addition of Possessed in 2005. But candidly for me, my opinions haven't changed since the writing of Possessed.

As for all of the new albums mentioned, many of them I can't even locate on ITunes. A record like 3121 I remember listening to briefly in Borders, finding echoes of old songs but nothing new and certainly nothing catchy.

Of course, whether we like particular records and songs is a matter of opinion. But part of the "fall" argument in the book was that Prince steadily lost both cultural and artistic influence beginning with the release of Grafitti Bridge. That's when he began to follow, rather than lead (starting with the disheartening Tony M. experiment).

For me, part of the "rise" was the cultural influence stemming from his adrogynous aspects, multicultural band, and political statements. Begininning with the Rainbow Children we find someone whose mindset is more like that of George W. Bush than George Clinton -- secretive, authoritarian, hierarchical, and moralistic.

If someone can send me a legal link to the new album, I will listen with an open mind and heart. But the critical reviews I have seen have been at best mixed. The one song I did hear lacked any semblance of a hook or a verse/chorus differentiation, a problem that took hold in earnest some 12 years ago.

Alex

AlexHahn said:

Thanks kindly, Miss. I wish I could report that my views have changed since the writing of the book. Candidly, I don't even know how to access Prince's new music. Would you say it is enjoyable, and do you know where it could had.

As for EyeoftheLotus' comment, I have long ago come to turns with the divisive nature of the book. The reviews on amazon pretty much tell the story, from highly laudatory to scathing.

I think at the end of the day everyone has a right to their subjective views of any piece of art.

However, I will note for Mr. Lotus that Possessed relied heavily on Per's research, and he was a part of the book's preparation. Suffice it to say that he was very comfortable with it.

My leading source was Alan Leeds, Prince's former manager and a brilliant mind who also worked with James Brown. I was very comfortable with Alan's recollections being accurate factually and also, equally important, accurate in spirit.

My intent was to create a legimate critical biography. Some feel I succeeded, others not. I can tell you that the project was borne of my love -- at one point an obsession -- with Prince's music.

Thanks again for the kind words.

As for the nasty ones -- well, I've blown up at people before too. Some things in life can be outraging. For me, I have gradually but steadily in life tried to refrain from personal attacks, so I will not respond in kind, other than to say that we are people with feelings.

Alex

Miss513 said:

Yeah, no autobiographies. The biography that I enjoyed the most was Alex Hahn's Possessed: the Rise and Fall of Prince. I've been working on one myself for some time.

http://www.apurpledayinde...gspot.com/

[Edited 12/3/10 10:28am]

Thank You!

AlexHahn said:

Thanks kindly, Miss. I wish I could report that my views have changed since the writing of the book. Candidly, I don't even know how to access Prince's new music. Would you say it is enjoyable, and do you know where it could had.

As for EyeoftheLotus' comment, I have long ago come to turns with the divisive nature of the book. The reviews on amazon pretty much tell the story, from highly laudatory to scathing.

I think at the end of the day everyone has a right to their subjective views of any piece of art.

However, I will note for Mr. Lotus that Possessed relied heavily on Per's research, and he was a part of the book's preparation. Suffice it to say that he was very comfortable with it.

My leading source was Alan Leeds, Prince's former manager and a brilliant mind who also worked with James Brown. I was very comfortable with Alan's recollections being accurate factually and also, equally important, accurate in spirit.

My intent was to create a legimate critical biography. Some feel I succeeded, others not. I can tell you that the project was borne of my love -- at one point an obsession -- with Prince's music.

Thanks again for the kind words.

As for the nasty ones -- well, I've blown up at people before too. Some things in life can be outraging. For me, I have gradually but steadily in life tried to refrain from personal attacks, so I will not respond in kind, other than to say that we are people with feelings.

Alex

Miss513 said:

Yeah, no autobiographies. The biography that I enjoyed the most was Alex Hahn's Possessed: the Rise and Fall of Prince. I've been working on one myself for some time.

http://www.apurpledayinde...gspot.com/

[Edited 12/3/10 10:28am]

Hi Alex,

I also think it's pretty cool that you are on this forum.

I have listened to all of the albums released since your book came out - Musicology, 3121, Planet Earth and LotusFlow3r. I have found all of them enjoyable with Musicology and 3121 at the top. Other than that, I don't have access to anything super current.

Would agree that Prince has proven his skill and relevance since your book?

I am also working on a book, born out of my own love for Prince's music. However, I am trying to be as objective as possible. My angle is strictly on his spirituality: http://apurpledayindecemb...gspot.com/

Best,

Miss513

New Blog Entry Up. Describes the book I'm writing on Prince. http://apurpledayindecemb...gspot.com/

AlexHahn said:

As for all of the new albums mentioned, many of them I can't even locate on ITunes.

I don't know if you live in the States, but if so, get down to Target and grab a copy of 2009's "Lotusflow3r". You'll find that it's his best work in a long time.

jtfolden said:

I was actually going to recommend Alex Hahn's Possessed: the Rise and Fall of Prince and I see that not only has someone beat me to it but that we have the author posting, as well.

I really don't understand the problems that some people have with this book. Sure, it's not perfect and there's a sizable portion of speculation and supposition, I suppose, but for those fans that want a well-rounded, realistic look at everything I don't think you can do better (and I don't think a book from the man himself would be better, no... you know he'd never tell t like it really was). For long time fans who realize Prince is an actual human being, there's nothing shocking or new here at all, either.

At the time the book was written, I thought the title was pretty apt, too.

So, I highly recommend it. I'd love to see an update covering the years since publication, though!

Some people have a problem with the "Fall" part of the title. P did not fall anywhere and some of the people that were interviewed claimed they were misquoted. In addtion, since Mr. Hahn sued prince on behalf of Uptown it would appear he had an ax to grind. I would love for P to write a book about his music and just leave out the personal stuff.

laurarichardson said:

Some people have a problem with the "Fall" part of the title. P did not fall anywhere and some of the people that were interviewed claimed they were misquoted. In addtion, since Mr. Hahn sued prince on behalf of Uptown it would appear he had an ax to grind. I would love for P to write a book about his music and just leave out the personal stuff.

EXACTLY.

I don't know what is supposed to constitute this supposed "fall", either. Some say the public thought he was weird because of the name change. Well, the public always thought he was weird. Some say his musical quality went down. I say that's bullshit and entirely subjective to personal tastes.

If I recall, Alex opened the book with some exaggerated tale of Prince drinking too much and having to go to the hospital. Big freakin' deal, he freaked out on Ecstasy in the 80's and it caused him to cancel a whole album that was already past the production line.

The title was just sensationalism and inaccurate, and it doesn't reflect the fact that post-2004, Prince's career has been better than ever. I doubt he could have sold out 21 nights in the SAME arena even during his 80's post-Purple Rain peak.

Alex, you say that Prince's fall is a loss of artistic influence. I could not disagree more. People like Pharell/The Neptunes, and even Timbaland have spent large chunks of their careers imitating Prince. The likes of Justin Timberlake and Nick Jonas went as far as hiring ex-NPG bandmembers in the hopes of catching just a little of that purple magic. And these are artists of the past decade and present. Hardly a sign of someone not influencing people.

errant said:

There really isn't any point in Prince writing an autobiography. If he did, it would be the most fanciful, factually inaccurate, axe-grinding and pseudo-philosophical agenda-promoting account of his life and career one could ever dream up. You wouldn't know any more about Prince after reading it than before, except to know that he's either a liar or outright insane. And we already have enough evidence of that that he doesn't need to spend the time and effort writing it down for us.

Even if this were true, which I think it certainly would be, it would still be a mighty interesting read! I'm sure Prince would have his own, as of yet, unpublished stories about all kinds of famous folk he's crossed paths with and would dish dirt, even if it was through bitchy doublespeak and backhanded compliments!

laurarichardson said:

Some people have a problem with the "Fall" part of the title. P did not fall anywhere and some of the people that were interviewed claimed they were misquoted. In addtion, since Mr. Hahn sued prince on behalf of Uptown it would appear he had an ax to grind. I would love for P to write a book about his music and just leave out the personal stuff.

Oh God. So much has been written on this damn board about that four letter F-word in the book's title!

He "fell" - it happened, to pretend there has been no fluctuations in Prince's career is to feign ignorance beyond belief. There was a "fall" in his public, critical and commercial performance, this is fact because record sales are there in b&w. Reasons aside, Chaos & Disorder and Rave did not sell as well as Purple Rain - that's a fall, of sorts.

Many would also say there was a decline ("fall") in quality of output, as well as in it's commercial status, but this is much more a matter of opinion.

To have a "fall" does not mean this fall is final. I think the 00's have shown Prince's commercial status is far from fallen, several #1 albums, huge tours and peer/critical kudos.

Fall. It can (still!) be a scary word for some!

[Edited 12/22/10 14:20pm]

NouveauDance said:

errant said:

There really isn't any point in Prince writing an autobiography. If he did, it would be the most fanciful, factually inaccurate, axe-grinding and pseudo-philosophical agenda-promoting account of his life and career one could ever dream up. You wouldn't know any more about Prince after reading it than before, except to know that he's either a liar or outright insane. And we already have enough evidence of that that he doesn't need to spend the time and effort writing it down for us.

Even if this were true, which I think it certainly would be, it would still be a mighty interesting read! I'm sure Prince would have his own, as of yet, unpublished stories about all kinds of famous folk he's crossed paths with and would dish dirt, even if it was through bitchy doublespeak and backhanded compliments!

laurarichardson said:

Some people have a problem with the "Fall" part of the title. P did not fall anywhere and some of the people that were interviewed claimed they were misquoted. In addtion, since Mr. Hahn sued prince on behalf of Uptown it would appear he had an ax to grind. I would love for P to write a book about his music and just leave out the personal stuff.

Oh God. So much has been written on this damn board about that four letter F-word in the book's title!

He "fell" - it happened, to pretend there has been no fluctuations in Prince's career is to feign ignorance beyond belief. There was a "fall" in his public, critical and commercial performance, this is fact because record sales are there in b&w. Reasons aside, Chaos & Disorder and Rave did not sell as well as Purple Rain - that's a fall, of sorts.

Many would also say there was a decline ("fall") in quality of output, as well as in it's commercial status, but this is much more a matter of opinion.

To have a "fall" does not mean this fall is final. I think the 00's have shown Prince's commercial status is far from fallen, several #1 albums, huge tours and peer/critical kudos.

Fall. It can (still!) be a scary word for some!

[Edited 12/22/10 14:20pm]

Well said.