I mostly agree with what njin said. My comment about punk refers to the current state of the genre. I do not consider bands like The Cure, Jane's Addiction, The Pixies/Frank Black, or The Smashing Pumpkins to be punk in any way, shape, or form. Also, I was having a bad day and was angry with some of my "punk rock" friends that day, so take it with a grain of salt.

I've known several punk old-timers that have loved Prince's early-80s records. HC folks included.

The punkiness on those records comes from the drums and the bass (or synth bass on some songs). It's definitely not just a funk groove that's driving them. The "punk" term has been applied to so many different type of bands that I don't see why at least some songs from "Dirty Mind", "Controversy" and even some "1999" era material wouldn't apply. You can call it "New Wave" if you want to, but I think some of Prince's material was actually edgier than most bands associated with the new wave phenomenon.

A lot of people associate punk mostly with those bands that are closer to metal, but that's hardly the only form of music that's been called "punk".

novabrkr said:

I've known several punk old-timers that have loved Prince's early-80s records. HC folks included.

The punkiness on those records comes from the drums and the bass (or synth bass on some songs). It's definitely not just a funk groove that's driving them. The "punk" term has been applied to so many different type of bands that I don't see why at least some songs from "Dirty Mind", "Controversy" and even some "1999" era material wouldn't apply. You can call it "New Wave" if you want to, but I think some of Prince's material was actually edgier than most bands associated with the new wave phenomenon.

A lot of people associate punk mostly with those bands that are closer to metal, but that's hardly the only form of music that's been called "punk".

Right. The feeling was DEFINITELY punk-ish with Prince's stuff especially between Dirty Mind and 1999.