People,

I saw Usher last night at the o2. I was helping take care of my infant niece and nephew. I was born into the 90's so Ushers music did play a part in my teens.

During the show it became apparent that the loudest cheers were sparked by the fireworks and dance moves rather than music or singing. I was people watching and it struck me that for so many in the audience; the concert experience is about buying into fandom. It's about screaming when asked to and recording the whole thing on your cell phone to publish on facebook. I'm not intentionally disrespecting Usher, but none of this has anything to do with music. If you took away the dancers, lights and fireworks, all that was left was a man singing some mediocre songs in a mediocre way.

I spent most of the concert thinking about Prince. Now Prince; I love. I've seen lots of shows, big and small. I adore him. I come on the org a lot and so often there’s an abundance of negative sentiment about what Prince has ‘lost’.

I don’t think Prince’s music has lost anything. I believe there’s a distinction within Prince fans between those who are (like the people at the Usher show) in love with a package. They want to feel like they did when they danced to ‘Kiss’ in a club. The think about the time they touched a girl and Sexy MF was on MTV. They remember good times in their own lives, often punctuated by Prince’s music. And then there are people who appreciate all the above but are more intrinsically and exclusively interested by the music itself. For these people the greatest thing Prince has ever achieved is the last piece of music that moved them.

For me - it’s the bass on 'Sticky Like Glue', it’s the orchestra on 'Crystal Ball', the bass on 'Wall of Berlin', the vocals on 'Future Baby Mama', the piano on 'All the Midnight's', the guitar on 'Lion of Judah', the percussion loop on 'When Doves Cry', the vocals on 'Solo', the sentiment of 'third eye', the bounce of 'Love', the violin on 'Hallucination Rain'. It’s all these things because these songs move me. I love them, and I love Prince because of them. His hair, his videos, the image: that’s all great too, but honesty, the music is what keeps me interested.

Standing at the o2 last night, I watched people getting excited at the pyrotechnics and I know that they wouldn’t care about the above because the majority are not music lovers. They are pop -culture consumers. There’s a difference. I’m not putting anyone down, or looking down on anyone – we all buy into culture to some extent. But there is a difference between consuming pop culture and loving music.

I believe the disappointment surrounding Princes post Purple Rain output is a direct fall out from people who want Prince to make them feel the way he used to. They want to be swept up in the hysteria. They want to see the videos on TV monitors at the shopping mall. They want a new hairdo and a themed wardrobe with each album. All that stuff is sexy and again - I’m not dissing anyone but I think it’s really clear that Prince just inst interested in that stuff anymore. The only thing consistent about Prince is that he puts out music. He just can’t be bothered with videos, radio and all the rest of it. I think in terms of his studio output at least - he's just bored with playing that game. That may be a shame but it’s just the fact of it. It doesn’t drive him.

Don’t get me wrong - I go clubbing all the time. I would love to hear 'Laydown' this weekend when I’m dancing in London, but it’s not going to happen. Does that frustrate me? A little. Does it actually detract from the music? Not at all. Ill dance to Laydown in my sitting room instead.

I am grateful that Prince is making wonderful music. I believe he's a one off. There is no one like him and so I’m happy to be able to see his shows and listen to his new music. If the music ever gets boring or bad - then I won’t listen.

And Prince – if in any way you do come across this post – please hear me when I say I would love for your fearlessness to transcend your live shows. Sure I love your old stuff but do something for the music lovers. Give me LoTus Flow3r live. Give me 20TEN. Give me all that amazing music you’ve made in the last 10 year – live and loud. You were fearless with the Gold experience shows and with One Night Alone. You were fearless in Monteux in 2009. Go out on the road and play your new stuff. Play acoustic. Play electric. Do what makes you happy. You have given me the best music I’ve ever heard and for that; I love you.

x

Good post, and this is true of a lot of things (just substitute another pop culture item in place of "Prince's music"), including movies:

"They remember good times in their own lives, often punctuated by Prince’s music."

I think this is why I can remember my first impressions of any Prince album at the time it came out (including 1999 or Purple Rain) and thinking some tracks were stellar, and others, not that great. That was before the associations, before the nostalgia.

I find almost all his albums to hit me the same way, a few gems and the rest are not my cup of tea, but interesting just because they add further to Prince's intricate body of work as self expression of his energy, humor, history, and ambitions.

I was just listening to the first disc of Crystal Ball and thinking it had more PERSONALLY AUTHORED scope, skill, and ambition than the entire careers of other pop artists. Just that first disc.

Great post. I agree, mostly.

Great post, and a very interesting read. I feel the same way about Prince in general and his concerts in particular, and I´m really, really grateful that he´s still around, doing his thing like only he can, and making me happy and feel good. Sure, he fucks up in many ways ( website fiascos, expensive tickets, similar setlists etc.etc., you all know what I mean) but,all in all, I think we often take him and the quality of his performances for granted. And in all honesty, regardless of how incosistent his albums sometimes are, and how cringeworthy some more recent songs are, there are still at least three or four very good songs on every album, and maybe two or three that are marred by stupid lyrics but still have somewhat nice music, and a couple of WTF fillers....but still, if you put it in the right perspective and consider the type of music that his peers released or still release at his age ( or better yet, DON´T release due to not being as prolific as Prince), you can´t help but feel amazement and maybe a certain bond between a sometimes moody and quirky artist and his just as moody and quirky fanbase that´s been through the thick and the thin with him.

I think what it all really boils down to is not that we still expect him to rule the radiostations and TV and magazines and have hit after hit but this nagging feeling deep inside some of us, maybe most of us, that there´s still a lot of "stuff in the basement", as Rocky Balboa would have called it, and we all know it´s there, the talent is undeniably still there and the technical skills probably just as strong as ever or maybe even stronger BUUUUUUTT ....he simply doesn´t make use of them, keeps coasting, keeps saying and doing and writing weird things when we all know that there are still dozens, if not hundreds of great songs inside this man.

It´s time to appreciate people while they´re still here, this goes for friends, relatives, buddies....and of course your favorite musicians.

Regardless of all the criticism here in the fan community,and despite all the things I say or write sometimes, I still know that if something should ever happen to Prince, if he wasn´t around anymore, some part of me would be gone for sure, too. There´s a certain distance, a remoteness with other artists, and somehow their lives don´t affect me that much but somehow, Prince has always been and still is and will always be in a totally different league as far as I´m concerned and I know that despite all the stress that I went through to catch his shows sometimes, in the end, it was always worth it and I always left with an undescribable feeling of happiness, especially after those shows with him and Sheila last summer, and I know no other artist could ever fill that void.

And I know that every now and then, when you least expect it, he comes back with a vengeance just when you thought it was over...like he did in 2002 during the celebration at Paisley Park with all those mesmerizing shows and everything that followed in the years after.

If only he could choose his words more wisely and not put his foot in his mouth all the time or write silly lyrics like in ____________ or____________________, or come up with a new scheme to exploit his most loyal fans, or act like a diva 24/7, things would almost be perfect.

[Edited 2/4/11 14:27pm]

This is a fantastically great post, and well written.

Refreshing, even.

.

[Edited 2/4/11 14:30pm]

You most definately hit the nail on the head and articulated my sentiments and I'm sure many other people's sentiments better than I've ever seen anyone on here do.

Jakeasaurus said:

Amazingly high quality post. I enjoyed your thoughts very much and I totally agree with you. Please keep posting on the org for a long time, we need more posts like this.

Co-sign. It´s posts like this that contribue to the quality of this site. MoBeenAzhar should definitely write more.

Nice post. But to be fair, you can't play the O2 without a bit of razzle dazzle. 21 Nights there springs to mind. To me the main shows were crap and the aftershows in the IndigO2 were far more interesting.

It's not like Prince was adverse to dancing, neon pianos, playing basketball and drawing screams from the crowd in his younger years. So maybe don't knock a guy who's doing what's par for the course as a 'pop' star.

The difference is Usher unlike Prince will not progress or evolve from what he's doing now. At least i don't think he's capable of it. Fanbases do evaporate eventually, so i'll be interested what he'll do at that point.

If i'm honest, he might go backwards like his idol whose shoes he asks if it's ok to fill. 'Cause no doubt about it, whether due to illness or not in the last half of his career as a live performer, HE de-evolved.

We all wish for better days.

I Love You, MobeenAzhar.

PERFECT POST (NOT TO MUCH SAID, NOT ANY LESS SAID).

HIS INTEREST NOW IS ABOUT THE MESSAGES HE HAS TO SAY & MAKING MUSIC!!! REAL MUSIC.

VERY GOOD POST, KEEP'EM COMING.

oceancrayon said:

I Love You, MobeenAzhar.

He really writes well, doesn´t he? His unabashed liking of Prince´s more recent shows and music is really refreshing to see on this site. I´m all for constructive criticism but I also see the yin to the yang and vice versa.

Time to dig out a few of this guy´s previous posts:

I love Old Skool Company.

If you don't like it just don't listen.

No need to protest about not purchasing future releases.

It's just boring.

Again and again people on the org talk about the past V the future and in EVERY SINGLE THREAD, the only thing we agree on is that we ALL have different favorites. I love everything from the Rainbow Children through to loTusflow3r. I think it's some of the best music ever made my anyone. It's cool if you don't though. I'm just a bit sick of reading about how dissapointed you are.

I'm not trying to be offensive but perhaps P has out grown you? Maybe he is making EXACTLY what he wants to make. Perhaps he isn't falling short of what you see as greatness because he is achieving what HE sees as greatness, In all our lives, that all we can aspire to do, surely?

I got into P alongside Maxwell, the Fugees, Bjork, Mos Def etc. I'm not an 80s kid. Perhaps I have different expectations from people who were 18 in 1984. I just really hope that when I'm 45, I don't keep complaining about how bad music is and how Amy Winehouse isnt making another 'Frank' and how Bjork is so evil for not making another 'Vespatine.'

A good friend of mine recently said 'People that keep an open mind, never grow old'.

No disrespect.

I was 12 when Purple Rain came out and I immediately liked that album, especially When Doves Cry. And I have fond memories of that time and the music ( Prince, Soul, Funk, early HipHop).

But to see the younger generation appreciate Prince´s music and even appreciate his newer material is a wonderful thing.

I wish there´d be more young contributors to this site instead of all the young groupie-like "I wanna marry Prince" type of orgers.

MobeenAzhar, you should definitely write a bit more....your posts are very refreshing.

KoolEaze said:

Jakeasaurus said:

Amazingly high quality post. I enjoyed your thoughts very much and I totally agree with you. Please keep posting on the org for a long time, we need more posts like this.

Co-sign. It´s posts like this that contribue to the quality of this site. MoBeenAzhar should definitely write more.

Count me three on this one, I totally agree this thread captured me and fed me truth, this is what Prince.org reflects at his best, a fan that appreciates Prince and remind everyone why we do too. I like this thread, I agree you should write more, it makes it more meaningful and it helps us think about why we are putting so many high demands on Prince. He is only human, I may not have been born when Purple Rain came out to go to the tour, but I can turn on his old songs anytime and dance to them, now I love his latest work. His uniqueness will never fade and I cant thank God above all for that.

Keep writing these threads, I hope it inspires others to see it that way as well

firstly, good post as everyone has said. i read the whole thing and didn't feel jaded by the end!

now my two cents: imy experience with prince's music is unparalleled. i am only 23 but i can remember listening to him as a child [my dad dancing and singing controversy loud as all outdoors while bbq-ing]. for me he has always been there, connected with so many memories, though i was too young to really understand it. i just knew i liked what i heard and saw. you mentioned the visual side. for me this is a big part of my affection for him but not the way you mentioned. i recall images as much as i do sounds, if not more so [i am artist/ designer] so looking back on it, the sights of him [clothing, album covers, movies, performances] and its cultural significance entranced me and have stayed with me.

i got older and found myself being one of those pedestrian fans that can't recall anything other than the obvious. it really bothered me for some reason like i felt like i was doing him and myself a disservice. last year, i started digging through my memories, my parent's collection, trying to find what i was clearly forgetting. i found it when i heard question of u for the first time in years. i had one of those reactions that is like five different emotions at once. everything just kinda fell into place as i realized how influential he had been on me, directly or inadvertently. it was like discovering a long lost relative or something. i listened to 20ten not soon afterwards and found myself smiling all the way through. i knew i was getting myself into long endeavor of getting to all i was too young to understand before or just plain missed. i am better person for it. i hope everyone can find someone that taps at their core like that, wherever they may be.

looking back, i find myself grateful that i am a person who can go back through the catalogue and appreciate the journey. seeing him now kinda makes me proud. i have studied artists and it always saddened me that so many of them never seem to evolve artistically and personally. there never seems to be any peace found for some of them, which i was starting to feel like was the fate of all us creative folk. but looking at him, still so full of energy, desire and responsibility to his craft warms my heart and keeps my little creative ship afloat.

seeing him at msg on the 18th for the first time just further solidified my conviction in how special what we have with him is. and though i wish others could see it, i also selfishly covet it. he is oddly so known and not known at the same time. you can still feel like you discovered this gem. thats half the excitement and journey that makes you an enthusiast for life, in my opinion.the unaware will make their way to him eventually and i grin to think of their reactions when they realized what they missed. i have so many moments where i think "man in 02, 04, 07, what was i doing!!!?"

i don't post often but i really dug with what you had to say and had to chime in.

here's to looking forward to the next challenge the man lays out for us.

The year is only more than 2 months old and its one of the best posts I've read all year. Its just about exactly how I feel about Prince and his music. Thank you for posting this MobeenAzhar

You could switch Usher's name out and put in a lot of names on this topic.

Everyone has their reasons for going to a concert. Some people go to a concert just to get into a fight or heckle the guy on stage.

But the question is whether or not you felt something from it. To go sit in a large venue for a few hours, hopefully it's a good experience.

::Ruining the thread in 3....2...1...::

Usher is in the Illuminati.

delirious26 said:

::Ruining the thread in 3....2...1...::

Usher is in the Illuminati.

I totally agree. I have loved all his music over the past few years. I don't play his "hits" much. I listen to Lotus/MPLS, Planet Earth, TRC, ONA, 3121, Musicology, 2010, Chocolate Invasion, etc. I mean I love his eighties output but I was too young then to be into his music anyway.The first real hits I remember would be Batdance and the D&P era. I became a fan of early nineties Prince not the eighties. Batdance came out in 89 but it was the only song from that sountrack I knew. Scandalous did not go over well with an eight year old boy. As the years moved I became a bigger and bigger fan. I worried the hell out of my local record shop when 0(-> was coming out. I was eleven and the store clerk told my mom maybe she should reconsider letting me get this cd because of the song Sexy MF. She gave in and I got the disc. The point is I understand what you are saying. Prince is more a straight ahead musician now. Most of the "show" is gone. Now its kinda take it or leave it if you want. I love his new music and he never really dissapoints me with his music. As far as the live shows. He does need to acknowledge his newer songs. I was listening to one of the Club 3121 shows today and its so refreshing to hear Lolita, Black Sweat, and all the other more obscure/unpopular tracks. Prince does not make bad music now. He will never do another Kiss because well he has accomplished that already. Just take the new songs as they are and you might actually like them. I listen to his music when it comes out with no expectations. You cannot explore an artist work with preconceived notions. He is where he is creatively. His more conservative lyrics dont bother me either. I would rather hear him sing about real love than a song like Head. Its nice to hear someone putting hope and a little bit of responsibility into the things they sing about. I would much rather hear Lolita than some twisted mess like Sister. Some of the way he has changed his older songs make more since to. Sexuality makes much more sense as Sprirituality if you listen to the lyrics. I always liked that song but I like it even more now since it just fits together better.

MobeenAzhar, thanks for that great post. I agree with you completely and I have nothing more to add. I wish there were more posters like you on here.

great post, thanks for sharing. if you could, please share how you became a music lover versus a pop culture consumer. you are so right in differentiating the two. i meet sooo many within your demographic (based on you saying you grew up with Usher's music) who don't seem to understand the difference. again, refreshing post!

Great post, I agree with a lot of what you wrote.

I will say though, that go back to 1984, and people would've been saying the exact same things about Prince and other popular acts of the era.

Great post. It's all so true, all the bells and whistles of a show are supposed to enhance the performance, not distract the viewer from a less-than great performance. and the stuff about people being obsessed with the way Prince looks...nail on the head.

NouveauDance said:

Great post, I agree with a lot of what you wrote.

I will say though, that go back to 1984, and people would've been saying the exact same things about Prince and other popular acts of the era.

It is a great original post. But so is this one. And 3 background/co-lead singers and 2 dancers aren't that far removed from it either.

NouveauDance said:

I will say though, that go back to 1984, and people would've been saying the exact same things about Prince and other popular acts of the era.

Actually, it was 1986 and my music teacher used the birthday show that was broadcast to make exactly that comment. That was an interesting discussion in class.

Anyway, I think the original post is good, but it's always been that way. Artists need to be musicians as well as entertainers. I am less interested in the entertaining side if the music side isn't very good. So I was rather bored by Michael Jackson, Madonna and a host of other entertainers (and I saw them at their "peak").

Prince has been trying to stay in the public's eye for the last 20+ years by following current trends in music and pushing entertainment. To me, he still does only that. Luckily, he's quite good at it, but musically it's been less relevant, at least to me.

In order to go big, you always need to make some compromise. Some work out better than others.

To me, Usher isn't interesting. To some that I know, the music really means something.

If Usher puts on a show that people love, more power to him, he's got the mix right for whoever went there. There's too many artists that would die to be able to get the mix right. Even a lot of those "non-compromising" bands that managed to get a small loyal following by staying "true" to whatever it is their fans think is true.

Bottom line, music shows mix in a lot of things and where the balance falls is where it falls. You could have known that Usher wasn't great musically. He is close to what nowadays gets manufactured in those "idol" shows. If you wanted someone that balanced more on the music side, you shouldn't have gone there, just go to the Dap Kings, or Ben l'Oncle Soul, for instance. Find what works for you and spend your money there, it's the only way to shift the balance.

I'm curious to know whether the original poster ever saw Prince at the o2 when he was doing 21 Nights.

I saw two of the shows and I have to say I came away feeling like it was a very empty experience. Both nights he was on stage just under an hour and a half (pretty much the minimum you can get away with), the setlists were tired and he did more call-and-response than actual singing.

I very much felt like I was watching a corporate cash-grab of a show. People were milling about, going to get drinks from the bar, there was little atmosphere to speak of. And looking at his recent setlists it doesn't appear as if much has changed.

MattyJam said:

I'm curious to know whether the original poster ever saw Prince at the o2 when he was doing 21 Nights.

Not that Mobeen can't speak for himself, but yes he did. I know because I know him and I talked to him there lol.

And I couldn't disagree more with your O2 assessment, but each to their own.

Militant said:

MattyJam said:

I'm curious to know whether the original poster ever saw Prince at the o2 when he was doing 21 Nights.

Not that Mobeen can't speak for himself, but yes he did. I know because I know him and I talked to him there lol.

And I couldn't disagree more with your O2 assessment, but each to their own.

Perhaps we witnessed different shows, althought the setlists looked pretty bog-standard most nights so I can't imagine the performances being drastically different.

I've seen Prince on previous tours (once in 98 and twice on the ONA tour) and they were great shows. But the whole 21 Nights thing left me feeling cold. Those kind of big name residencies have no soul and scream of lazy artists buying into corporate cash-grabs.

MattyJam said:

Militant said:

Not that Mobeen can't speak for himself, but yes he did. I know because I know him and I talked to him there lol.

And I couldn't disagree more with your O2 assessment, but each to their own.

Perhaps we witnessed different shows, althought the setlists looked pretty bog-standard most nights so I can't imagine the performances being drastically different.

I've seen Prince on previous tours (once in 98 and twice on the ONA tour) and they were great shows. But the whole 21 Nights thing left me feeling cold. Those kind of big name residencies have no soul and scream of lazy artists buying into corporate cash-grabs.

I saw 5 different main-shows, 4 aftershows....and admittedly some main shows were much better than others. But the better ones were amazing.....