SquirrelMeat said:

Anything with synthisised keys or drums can sound dated very quickly.

1999 sound very "of its time".

I think the albums that hold up are the organic sounding albums with lots of real instruments. Sax and strings instead of keys and keys. ATWIAD, Parade, and parts of SOTT.

I agree. Personally, I think Purple Rain sounds a bit ridiculous now because of all the synthesizers. I'm not saying it's bad, just sounds really, really 80s... and not in a good way, I don't think..

[Edited 7/20/11 19:28pm]

BlackAdder7 said:

that's a decision you have to decide for yourself. it's subjective.

I know that Mozart serenade #13 in G is so dated.

Great music is timeless certain renditions may not be.

Cravens said:

I'm kinda aging with the music, so .. Prince's music is in general aging well.

Thing is. Trends come and go. The 1970s are in one day, the 90s are in another day, then come the 1980s, then it's the 00s that are in. Noticed how Prince was suddenly a genius again in the music press as the 2000s rolled on with its 80s retro sounds? His music sounded "original", like the "fountain where the first, clean water sprung". In the 2010s he'll probably be a marginal figure yet again, while Iggy and Cobain will be the fashionable influences, while Prince's music will sound like grandpa' music to the future hip kids and they'll go "Eeeew, that sounds so plastic" at his Linn drums.

In 1999 I think Dirty Mind sounded horribly dated to most non-fans. But five years later, the 1980s were in again and people were using some of the same sounds again, and all of the sudden Dirty Mind sounded ahead of its time. In 2011 Purple Rain sounds old, while Parade sounds in sync with the current trends. In 2018 Purple Rain will be the dog's bullocks again.

Sounding old, dated and aged is only a result of the current consensus of "good taste" and "trends", that is, if the quality of the original music is there, and really whether a sound is "old" or not, is a question of it being present in the current.

Anywhoo.

This is A+ posting. You hit the nail on the head. Whenever we describe music as dated what we really are saying is that it doesn't sound like NOW (whenever now is). I'm sure for must kids almost anything with real instruments sounds dated because there is such a dearth of that now.

On the other hand I would say that music with real instruments sounds less dated than most music because music with real instruments dominated music for so long before the advent of computers.

I never approach music with the thought about whether it sounds dated or not. That doesn't tell me anything about it really. I believe it to be immature to approach music from that angle. Similar to folks who wont watch a black & white movie or a silent film. The past whether in events, music, movies or even tv really broadens your understanding of life and the world.

it's weird how stuff doesn't sound dated when it's live. if all else fails just stick a funky jazz spin on it & bob's your uncle

purple rain will always be a classic. what annoying fans on this site

The1592 said:

SquirrelMeat said:

Anything with synthisised keys or drums can sound dated very quickly.

1999 sound very "of its time".

I think the albums that hold up are the organic sounding albums with lots of real instruments. Sax and strings instead of keys and keys. ATWIAD, Parade, and parts of SOTT.

I agree. Personally, I think Purple Rain sounds a bit ridiculous now because of all the synthesizers. I'm not saying it's bad, just sounds really, really 80s... and not in a good way, I don't think..

[Edited 7/20/11 19:28pm]

blaahhhhhh

ridiculous? It was electric, I'd kill to hear that wicked wild electric sound again

Take a listen to Tricky(the Time Bside) Give me some horns uhh those synths sound lascivious

rusty1 said:

prince's 1980 to 87 period is still legendary. how could u say it's aged terribly. another person who will tell me his 90's stuff is better. what a joke!

Because some people here aren't real Prince fans, they don't get Prince

Considering I'd gone the previous 21 years of my life without listening to any of it, yeah, I said the music's aged really well.

But that's just me.

Some songs and albums do sound like they were from their time. But I find several to be timeless.

The 80's records like Purple Rain, 1999, Parade and even Dirty Mind sound amazing to me even now... but I'm a sucker for 80's music in general.

The 90's albums... I still say real well because I grew up in the 90's and all I have to go on with music was courtesy of Jive records in the last year of the decade... but I can't even go by that. Prince's music defies gravity and the sound of the year in which it was present.

I'd only been around his music for the past 4 years, so I personally have a hard time seeing any of it aging rapidly on my watch... or listen, however that works