This whole thread is making me smile. Just a few weeks / months ago there were so many threads about people becoming 'bored' with Prince. Suddenly he's got everyone talking and brought out everyone's opinions on quite controversial subjects. Well done Prince.

XNY said:

minneapolisFunq said:

Religion is a terrible thing.

Prince lost his mind.

All due respect, but that doesn't mean anything. Which religions are "terrible things"? All of them? Have you studied all religions or for that matter any religions?

And what is so terrible about it? The whole discipline part? The whole worshipping a deity part? Not all religions have gods, not all religions follow the same structure or commandments.

Sure many religions share familiar ideas like treating others with respect, discouraging murder, theft, hurting one another. Is the good part or the bad part?

And yes, many wars have been fought in the name of religious intolerance. Many more wars have been waged for wealth, power, land, or influence.

This has nothing to do with religion. Religion can inspire good people to do good things, or it can inspire bad people to do bad things. If Prince became an atheist he would still be a control freak. He's using religion as an excuse to close his mind because he wants his mind to be closed, not because religion forces you to do that.

electricberet said:

XNY said:

All due respect, but that doesn't mean anything. Which religions are "terrible things"? All of them? Have you studied all religions or for that matter any religions?

And what is so terrible about it? The whole discipline part? The whole worshipping a deity part? Not all religions have gods, not all religions follow the same structure or commandments.

Sure many religions share familiar ideas like treating others with respect, discouraging murder, theft, hurting one another. Is the good part or the bad part?

And yes, many wars have been fought in the name of religious intolerance. Many more wars have been waged for wealth, power, land, or influence.

This has nothing to do with religion. Religion can inspire good people to do good things, or it can inspire bad people to do bad things. If Prince became an atheist he would still be a control freak. He's using religion as an excuse to close his mind because he wants his mind to be closed, not because religion forces you to do that.

Didn't that happen a while back in 1999 0r 2000 when he started practicing Jehovah Witness philosophy (as well as enforcing vegetarianism on the grounds of Paisley Park)?

ufoclub said:

electricberet said:

This has nothing to do with religion. Religion can inspire good people to do good things, or it can inspire bad people to do bad things. If Prince became an atheist he would still be a control freak. He's using religion as an excuse to close his mind because he wants his mind to be closed, not because religion forces you to do that.

Didn't that happen a while back in 1999 0r 2000 when he started practicing Jehovah Witness philosophy (as well as enforcing vegetarianism on the grounds of Paisley Park)?

Yes, that's around the time he switched from positivity to negativity. But he saw in the Jehovah's Witness philosophy what he wanted to see in it. My great-aunt is a JW and she's the nicest person you'll ever meet. Prince, on the other hand, was looking for an ideology that promoted social control and order and he found it as a Jehovah's Witness. He could have found it elsewhere.

I thought that he was becoming a more "mellow" Jehovah's Witness lately, but these interviews show that isn't the case. He's just putting on a mellow face to the world because he wants to look cool so that people will keep coming to his concerts.

thisisit said:

when his interviews become a threat to national security then maybe i'll be concerned.

this threads gone on for 29 pages with only about a 5% hit-rate of respect for prince, if that.

at no point do most people take responsibility for believing whatever they read despite decades of being warned that print media journalists will rarely print in context.

honestly, what surprises me more than anything else is how prince can even be bothered talking to journalists about anything.

he doesnt need to say a word to sell tickets to his shows, and thats what he seems to be enjoying the most right now is his live gigs.

trust. who do ya? never a journalist.

That's a fairly silly take on it, I'd say. No. 1, it's established that Prince has used his no-recorded-interviews stance to claim that he was misquoted in the past. Domestically with a reporter from an extremely credible news outlet. The outlet stuck by their account of the interview, as I recall, and I believed them.

No. 2, it's really easy to chalk an unfavorable interview up to misquotes and some agenda by "the media" to make Prince look stupid. But here's the reality: Most traditional print media are so money-strapped right now, they don't have the money to fight a superstar in court over something they made up and published. The Gannett Co., the parent company to USA Today, for example, just announced the pending layoffs of 700 workers. This follows years of buyouts and layoffs and other extreme cost-cutting measures in the print media world. I guarantee you any reporter tasked with interviewing a nutty celebrity like Prince who makes interviews difficult is going to be someone trustworthy, if only to protect his or her newspaper.

No. 3, if you've ever carried an umbrella because of a weather report, changed your diet or exercised more because of a new health study, weighed the safety features of an automobile or other device you considered purchasing, based an entertainment decision on a media review or voted in an election (local or national) -- guess what? You've trusted the work of a journalist. You're welcome.

ThreadBare said:

thisisit said:

when his interviews become a threat to national security then maybe i'll be concerned.

this threads gone on for 29 pages with only about a 5% hit-rate of respect for prince, if that.

at no point do most people take responsibility for believing whatever they read despite decades of being warned that print media journalists will rarely print in context.

honestly, what surprises me more than anything else is how prince can even be bothered talking to journalists about anything.

he doesnt need to say a word to sell tickets to his shows, and thats what he seems to be enjoying the most right now is his live gigs.

trust. who do ya? never a journalist.

That's a fairly silly take on it, I'd say. No. 1, it's established that Prince has used his no-recorded-interviews stance to claim that he was misquoted in the past. Domestically with a reporter from an extremely credible news outlet. The outlet stuck by their account of the interview, as I recall, and I believed them.

No. 2, it's really easy to chalk an unfavorable interview up to misquotes and some agenda by "the media" to make Prince look stupid. But here's the reality: Most traditional print media are so money-strapped right now, they don't have the money to fight a superstar in court over something they made up and published. The Gannett Co., the parent company to USA Today, for example, just announced the pending layoffs of 700 workers. This follows years of buyouts and layoffs and other extreme cost-cutting measures in the print media world. I guarantee you any reporter tasked with interviewing a nutty celebrity like Prince who makes interviews difficult is going to be someone trustworthy, if only to protect his or her newspaper.

No. 3, if you've ever carried an umbrella because of a weather report, changed your diet or exercised more because of a new health study, weighed the safety features of an automobile or other device you considered purchasing, based an entertainment decision on a media review or voted in an election (local or national) -- guess what? You've trusted the work of a journalist. You're welcome.

word!

imago said:

ThreadBare said:

That's a fairly silly take on it, I'd say. No. 1, it's established that Prince has used his no-recorded-interviews stance to claim that he was misquoted in the past. Domestically with a reporter from an extremely credible news outlet. The outlet stuck by their account of the interview, as I recall, and I believed them.

No. 2, it's really easy to chalk an unfavorable interview up to misquotes and some agenda by "the media" to make Prince look stupid. But here's the reality: Most traditional print media are so money-strapped right now, they don't have the money to fight a superstar in court over something they made up and published. The Gannett Co., the parent company to USA Today, for example, just announced the pending layoffs of 700 workers. This follows years of buyouts and layoffs and other extreme cost-cutting measures in the print media world. I guarantee you any reporter tasked with interviewing a nutty celebrity like Prince who makes interviews difficult is going to be someone trustworthy, if only to protect his or her newspaper.

No. 3, if you've ever carried an umbrella because of a weather report, changed your diet or exercised more because of a new health study, weighed the safety features of an automobile or other device you considered purchasing, based an entertainment decision on a media review or voted in an election (local or national) -- guess what? You've trusted the work of a journalist. You're welcome.

word!

Word again.

NuPwrSoul said:

Another oddity: why would he talk about going to the White House, when he has openly opposed participating in elections, opposed voting, has said of the current president (I don't have a dog in that fight)? (And we know he doesn't like paying taxes, which he complains about incessantly in other interviews and songs and only pays after threat)

There *is* an artist-based Creative Coalition that does real lobbying work to ensure proper legal protections of artists in the industry. Prince has never participated. He has never testified before Congress (like other CC members have). He has done NOTHING to challenge or transform the system. He hasn't even attempted to work with other artists to develop any real alternatives.

The only reason why he hates the internet it is because he did not get enough subscribers/purchasers of his horrible excuse of a site LetusFUover. I bet you if he had gotten even 100,000 customers he would be hailing it as a great success.

He also hates the internet because it provides a forum (like this one) for people to openly speak their minds about his music and business decisions. This was the problem with the NPGMC--well that and a divorce which led him to dismantle and and all businesses associated with his former spouse.

He flirted with cellphone delivery of music--remember his deal with Verizon to push "Guitar"? That shit fell flat, though I'm sure he made a pretty penny from licensing, and they gave him a free commercial for an album that he did not promote in America, but instead gave away free in the very (UK) market he was touring.

At the beginning of his "Welcome 2 America" tour--an ambitious attempt to replicate 21 nights in London--he claimed there was new music he wanted his audience to hear. All we heard was "Welcome 2 America" and "Black Muse" and they were both rarely performed. In the meantime, we get the same 30 (not 300) song shuffled, sometimes with interesting and yes reinvented arrangements and solos, but the same songs nonetheless. Oh yeah, and covers. Why someone with over 40 albums worth of material feels the need to play other peoples songs completely boggles the mind, especially when he has gone on record completely dissing any body else's attempt to cover his music.

It goes on and on. His interviews do not clarify. They only contradict, obfuscate, and make him seem even more out of touch. He's right when he says, "I'm a musician... come to the show for that." He still knows how to put on a live show. Too bad he has retreated from doing anything else.

Vendetta1 said:

NuPwrSoul said:

Another oddity: why would he talk about going to the White House, when he has openly opposed participating in elections, opposed voting, has said of the current president (I don't have a dog in that fight)? (And we know he doesn't like paying taxes, which he complains about incessantly in other interviews and songs and only pays after threat)

There *is* an artist-based Creative Coalition that does real lobbying work to ensure proper legal protections of artists in the industry. Prince has never participated. He has never testified before Congress (like other CC members have). He has done NOTHING to challenge or transform the system. He hasn't even attempted to work with other artists to develop any real alternatives.

The only reason why he hates the internet it is because he did not get enough subscribers/purchasers of his horrible excuse of a site LetusFUover. I bet you if he had gotten even 100,000 customers he would be hailing it as a great success.

He also hates the internet because it provides a forum (like this one) for people to openly speak their minds about his music and business decisions. This was the problem with the NPGMC--well that and a divorce which led him to dismantle and and all businesses associated with his former spouse.

He flirted with cellphone delivery of music--remember his deal with Verizon to push "Guitar"? That shit fell flat, though I'm sure he made a pretty penny from licensing, and they gave him a free commercial for an album that he did not promote in America, but instead gave away free in the very (UK) market he was touring.

At the beginning of his "Welcome 2 America" tour--an ambitious attempt to replicate 21 nights in London--he claimed there was new music he wanted his audience to hear. All we heard was "Welcome 2 America" and "Black Muse" and they were both rarely performed. In the meantime, we get the same 30 (not 300) song shuffled, sometimes with interesting and yes reinvented arrangements and solos, but the same songs nonetheless. Oh yeah, and covers. Why someone with over 40 albums worth of material feels the need to play other peoples songs completely boggles the mind, especially when he has gone on record completely dissing any body else's attempt to cover his music.

It goes on and on. His interviews do not clarify. They only contradict, obfuscate, and make him seem even more out of touch. He's right when he says, "I'm a musician... come to the show for that." He still knows how to put on a live show. Too bad he has retreated from doing anything else.

ThreadBare said:

thisisit said:

when his interviews become a threat to national security then maybe i'll be concerned.

this threads gone on for 29 pages with only about a 5% hit-rate of respect for prince, if that.

at no point do most people take responsibility for believing whatever they read despite decades of being warned that print media journalists will rarely print in context.

honestly, what surprises me more than anything else is how prince can even be bothered talking to journalists about anything.

he doesnt need to say a word to sell tickets to his shows, and thats what he seems to be enjoying the most right now is his live gigs.

trust. who do ya? never a journalist.

That's a fairly silly take on it, I'd say. No. 1, it's established that Prince has used his no-recorded-interviews stance to claim that he was misquoted in the past. Domestically with a reporter from an extremely credible news outlet. The outlet stuck by their account of the interview, as I recall, and I believed them.

No. 2, it's really easy to chalk an unfavorable interview up to misquotes and some agenda by "the media" to make Prince look stupid. But here's the reality: Most traditional print media are so money-strapped right now, they don't have the money to fight a superstar in court over something they made up and published. The Gannett Co., the parent company to USA Today, for example, just announced the pending layoffs of 700 workers. This follows years of buyouts and layoffs and other extreme cost-cutting measures in the print media world. I guarantee you any reporter tasked with interviewing a nutty celebrity like Prince who makes interviews difficult is going to be someone trustworthy, if only to protect his or her newspaper.

No. 3, if you've ever carried an umbrella because of a weather report, changed your diet or exercised more because of a new health study, weighed the safety features of an automobile or other device you considered purchasing, based an entertainment decision on a media review or voted in an election (local or national) -- guess what? You've trusted the work of a journalist. You're welcome.

word X 3!

and a journalist vs Prince? please, no contest.

errant said:

and a journalist vs Prince? please, no contest.

Well that's fairly ridiculous. Clearly it depends on the journalist.

NuPwrSoul said:

Another oddity: why would he talk about going to the White House, when he has openly opposed participating in elections, opposed voting, has said of the current president (I don't have a dog in that fight)? (And we know he doesn't like paying taxes, which he complains about incessantly in other interviews and songs and only pays after threat)

There *is* an artist-based Creative Coalition that does real lobbying work to ensure proper legal protections of artists in the industry. Prince has never participated. He has never testified before Congress (like other CC members have). He has done NOTHING to challenge or transform the system. He hasn't even attempted to work with other artists to develop any real alternatives.

The only reason why he hates the internet it is because he did not get enough subscribers/purchasers of his horrible excuse of a site LetusFUover. I bet you if he had gotten even 100,000 customers he would be hailing it as a great success.

He also hates the internet because it provides a forum (like this one) for people to openly speak their minds about his music and business decisions. This was the problem with the NPGMC--well that and a divorce which led him to dismantle and and all businesses associated with his former spouse.

He flirted with cellphone delivery of music--remember his deal with Verizon to push "Guitar"? That shit fell flat, though I'm sure he made a pretty penny from licensing, and they gave him a free commercial for an album that he did not promote in America, but instead gave away free in the very (UK) market he was touring.

At the beginning of his "Welcome 2 America" tour--an ambitious attempt to replicate 21 nights in London--he claimed there was new music he wanted his audience to hear. All we heard was "Welcome 2 America" and "Black Muse" and they were both rarely performed. In the meantime, we get the same 30 (not 300) song shuffled, sometimes with interesting and yes reinvented arrangements and solos, but the same songs nonetheless. Oh yeah, and covers. Why someone with over 40 albums worth of material feels the need to play other peoples songs completely boggles the mind, especially when he has gone on record completely dissing any body else's attempt to cover his music.

It goes on and on. His interviews do not clarify. They only contradict, obfuscate, and make him seem even more out of touch. He's right when he says, "I'm a musician... come to the show for that." He still knows how to put on a live show. Too bad he has retreated from doing anything else.

Yep,that is so true! Prince hates the Internet because it's something that he can't control.It's bigger and more powerful than him.

ThreadBare said:

thisisit said:

when his interviews become a threat to national security then maybe i'll be concerned.

this threads gone on for 29 pages with only about a 5% hit-rate of respect for prince, if that.

at no point do most people take responsibility for believing whatever they read despite decades of being warned that print media journalists will rarely print in context.

honestly, what surprises me more than anything else is how prince can even be bothered talking to journalists about anything.

he doesnt need to say a word to sell tickets to his shows, and thats what he seems to be enjoying the most right now is his live gigs.

trust. who do ya? never a journalist.

That's a fairly silly take on it, I'd say. No. 1, it's established that Prince has used his no-recorded-interviews stance to claim that he was misquoted in the past. Domestically with a reporter from an extremely credible news outlet. The outlet stuck by their account of the interview, as I recall, and I believed them.

No. 2, it's really easy to chalk an unfavorable interview up to misquotes and some agenda by "the media" to make Prince look stupid. But here's the reality: Most traditional print media are so money-strapped right now, they don't have the money to fight a superstar in court over something they made up and published. The Gannett Co., the parent company to USA Today, for example, just announced the pending layoffs of 700 workers. This follows years of buyouts and layoffs and other extreme cost-cutting measures in the print media world. I guarantee you any reporter tasked with interviewing a nutty celebrity like Prince who makes interviews difficult is going to be someone trustworthy, if only to protect his or her newspaper.

No. 3, if you've ever carried an umbrella because of a weather report, changed your diet or exercised more because of a new health study, weighed the safety features of an automobile or other device you considered purchasing, based an entertainment decision on a media review or voted in an election (local or national) -- guess what? You've trusted the work of a journalist. You're welcome.

Before folks on here get totally out of control, please remember three things:

1) We actually don't know how much he was already disconnected from the outside world in his allegedly "golden age" in the 1980s - for the simple reason he didn't give interviews back then.

2) I think that what he said about Islamic countries was stupid, although in the second version of the interview, it is far less appaling imo (I still disagree with him though). Anyway, is it as offensive as him writing "slave" on his face because he disliked a record contract he has voluntarily signed just one or two years before?

3) One might like to question the real motivation of those criticising him so massively now. It is not exactly the first silly thing Prince has said or done in his life, you know... So, from what I observe here, the motivation is quite clear: folks still dislike his JW conversion, and now they can have a fieldday because he said something stupid they relate to his religious views. Hey, that's your good right, but at least, you should be open and crystal clear about that imo.

Just my 2 cents...

remko said:

EmancipationLover said:

You know, there are also many reasonable people in the world.

But no one of them has recorded "Sign o' the times"...

You mean Prince is one of the unreasonable people in the world?

Looks like you're right ;-(

I might be, but why does that matter? If I banned every piece of art created by a person with questionable personal behaviour from my apartment, then the place would be fucking empty... At the end of the day, I appreciate the artist for being a great artist, and not for being a good husband, nice friend or whatever. I think this whole "his music is great, so he'd better be decent too" is just some romantic teenage crap, to be very honest.

Is

purplethunder3121
actually Prince?

Militant said:

errant said:

and a journalist vs Prince? please, no contest.

Well that's fairly ridiculous. Clearly it depends on the journalist.

Sure, I guess. The journalist might have to prove how trustworthy he or she is. Prince, on the other hand has proven himself to be 100% untrustworthy. As I said, no contest.

EmancipationLover said:

3) One might like to question the real motivation of those criticising him so massively now. It is not exactly the first silly thing Prince has said or done in his life, you know... So, from what I observe here, the motivation is quite clear: folks still dislike his JW conversion, and now they can have a fieldday because he said something stupid they relate to his religious views. Hey, that's your good right, but at least, you should be open and crystal clear about that imo.

you think it's JUST this? it's not just this, it's the overwhelming accumulation of bullshit over the last 10-15 years.

errant said:

EmancipationLover said:

3) One might like to question the real motivation of those criticising him so massively now. It is not exactly the first silly thing Prince has said or done in his life, you know... So, from what I observe here, the motivation is quite clear: folks still dislike his JW conversion, and now they can have a fieldday because he said something stupid they relate to his religious views. Hey, that's your good right, but at least, you should be open and crystal clear about that imo.

you think it's JUST this? it's not just this, it's the overwhelming accumulation of bullshit over the last 10-15 years.

So you think there has been more bullshit in those last 10-15 years than, let's say, him signing a record contract, then suddenly realising he doesn't like it, starting a pointless war with WB and writing "slave" on his face? Hell, he only needed about one or two years for the latter.

In addition, we don't know about the bullshit going on in his head in the 1980s simply because he didn't speak about it. But someone who conceived and filmed the "Graffiti Bridge" movie cannot be completely free from bullshit imo.

ufoclub said:

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

It is a threat to national security!!! That looney bird is talking about he's going to take his babbling to the White House. I don't want him and ESPECIALLY that Larry Graham, ANYWHERE NEAR my President.

You've seen that footage of Obama at the Prince performance clapping his hands, right? I forget which show that was... but Oprah was there.

Yeah, I've seen it. It was the 2005 NAACP Awards, I think. Not many back then knew Prince was losing his everloving mind nor that Black man named Obama would be President of the United States.

Time has significantly changed all that.

.

[Edited 6/26/11 11:46am]

EmancipationLover said:

Before folks on here get totally out of control, please remember three things:

1) We actually don't know how much he was already disconnected from the outside world in his allegedly "golden age" in the 1980s - for the simple reason he didn't give interviews back then.

2) I think that what he said about Islamic countries was stupid, although in the second version of the interview, it is far less appaling imo (I still disagree with him though). Anyway, is it as offensive as him writing "slave" on his face because he disliked a record contract he has voluntarily signed just one or two years before?

3) One might like to question the real motivation of those criticising him so massively now. It is not exactly the first silly thing Prince has said or done in his life, you know... So, from what I observe here, the motivation is quite clear: folks still dislike his JW conversion, and now they can have a fieldday because he said something stupid they relate to his religious views. Hey, that's your good right, but at least, you should be open and crystal clear about that imo.

Just my 2 cents...

You make some excellent points, especially #1 and #2, and you've made me consider a few points I hadn't before and I thank you for that.

#3 though, in my opinion, is far too much of a blanket statement and is patently unfair. Yeah, no doubt there ARE some people here who are guilty of what you accuse. But not everyone fits your profiling. Perhaps you have some personal reason/s stemming from your own life and experience that causes you to suspect all people of kneejerk reaction based on religious prejudice, I don't know?

Some people are merely expressing their thoughts after years of progressively accumulating stupid moves and ridiculous things Prince has done or said, and your own statement: " It is not exactly the first silly thing Prince has said or done in his life, you know..." supports what I'm saying in that regard. You can only fill a cup so much til it overflows.

[Edited 6/26/11 12:05pm]

This may be true, but, if so, I'd really like him to release something he really believes in, since The Rainbow Children is by far his best record in many, many years. One may agree with the message or not, but musically is a masterpiece.

Regarding the concerts, his "halfhearted sound" doesn't prevent him from making some of the best shows of his career, according to many. I don't think these shows can be simply disqualified as an easy way to make money playing greatest hits to casual fans. Not every fan has to be an orger, and they also have the right to enjoy Prince live. But even for "harcore fans", these shows seem to be quite impressive, even if some surprises in the setlist would be thanked.

electricberet said:

Seems to me that Prince's main problem in terms of selling music is that he no longer believes in the message of personal freedom that made him so popular in the 80s. His recent attempts to make sexy but not-too-dirty pop music sound halfhearted because they are. His heart wants to release The Rainbow Children: Part II as his next album, but that's not going to pay the utility bills at Paisley Park regardless of the state of the music industry. So he gets up there and sings the old songs without believing the words. Most of the people going to the concerts don't know the difference anyway.

I wonder how many of those unreleased music videos in the vault are for weird fundamentalist religious songs that Prince knows nobody wants to hear.

[Edited 6/25/11 17:06pm]

NouveauDance said:

"It's fun being in Islamic countries, to know there's only one religion. There's order. You wear a burqa. There's no choice. People are happy with that."

That is probably the most pathetic and disheartening thing I've ever read from Prince.

What a fucking cretin.

copy that! 'dre

Prince sabotages himself time and time again. The interviewer should be able to record it. What is the difference between Prince going on the radio/tv to do interviews? The radio and tv media outlets edit interviews all the time. No wonder most of the entourage has left & wishes not to deal with anything concerning the matters of Prince.

The last 10 or so threads have many good points expressed on both sides of the "Prince" debate that I can't quote all of them. Thanks for the many thoughtful comments by all.

I have followed Prince's career for damn near 30 years and every so often Prince is going to do something or say something crazy as Hell. If you don't know that by now I really don't know what to tell you.

I think this is BS compared to real messes like Crystal Ball and LotusFlow3r.com. I have been pleased with his ventures but I recognize and understand that many were not and I respect your side of the story. I will continue to support the man but if he did something to me that I thought was not to my liking I would stop buying the product. When he stops getting money for so called half-assed CDs and projects then he will up his game or retire.

pepper7 said:

This whole thread is making me smile. Just a few weeks / months ago there were so many threads about people becoming 'bored' with Prince. Suddenly he's got everyone talking and brought out everyone's opinions on quite controversial subjects. Well done Prince.

^ cool!

RubyButterfly said:

EmancipationLover said:

Before folks on here get totally out of control, please remember three things:

1) We actually don't know how much he was already disconnected from the outside world in his allegedly "golden age" in the 1980s - for the simple reason he didn't give interviews back then.

2) I think that what he said about Islamic countries was stupid, although in the second version of the interview, it is far less appaling imo (I still disagree with him though). Anyway, is it as offensive as him writing "slave" on his face because he disliked a record contract he has voluntarily signed just one or two years before?

3) One might like to question the real motivation of those criticising him so massively now. It is not exactly the first silly thing Prince has said or done in his life, you know... So, from what I observe here, the motivation is quite clear: folks still dislike his JW conversion, and now they can have a fieldday because he said something stupid they relate to his religious views. Hey, that's your good right, but at least, you should be open and crystal clear about that imo.

Just my 2 cents...

You make some excellent points, especially #1 and #2, and you've made me consider a few points I hadn't before and I thank you for that.

#3 though, in my opinion, is far too much of a blanket statement and is patently unfair. Yeah, no doubt there ARE some people here who are guilty of what you accuse. But not everyone fits your profiling. Perhaps you have some personal reason/s stemming from your own life and experience that causes you to suspect all people of kneejerk reaction based on religious prejudice, I don't know?

Some people are merely expressing their thoughts after years of progressively accumulating stupid moves and ridiculous things Prince has done or said, and your own statement: " It is not exactly the first silly thing Prince has said or done in his life, you know..." supports what I'm saying in that regard. You can only fill a cup so much til it overflows.

[Edited 6/26/11 12:05pm]

O.k., maybe I've been a bit strict: #3 does not apply to all of his outspoken critics, but to a fair percentage of them imo. And no, this speculation is not too much derived from an experience from my own life, rather from the experience of being on the org for 6 1/2 years.

I still find it odd: people go ballistic over this (admittedly strange) interview, but seem to give him a pass on the disorganized craziness of the early Symbol years. I think there is no other era in Prince's career where he was perceived as mad by so many people (I still dig the music from the era though). In terms of bad decisions and self-indulgend moves, it will be hard to top the 1993-1995 period for Prince, even if he gave 10 more odd interviews in 2011.

muleFunk said:

The last 10 or so threads have many good points expressed on both sides of the "Prince" debate that I can't quote all of them. Thanks for the many thoughtful comments by all.

I have followed Prince's career for damn near 30 years and every so often Prince is going to do something or say something crazy as Hell. If you don't know that by now I really don't know what to tell you.

I think this is BS compared to real messes like Crystal Ball and LotusFlow3r.com. I have been pleased with his ventures but I recognize and understand that many were not and I respect your side of the story. I will continue to support the man but if he did something to me that I thought was not to my liking I would stop buying the product. When he stops getting money for so called half-assed CDs and projects then he will up his game or retire.

Thing is, until Prince finds a revenue model to his liking, sounds like there won't be much product to buy. Unless it's chocolate candy bars, ill fitting t-shirts, and books of photoshopped pictures.