Has Prince's music aged well? A lot of 80's stuff sounds quite dated and has aged badly (i.e. "Lets Go Crazy", "I Would Die 4 U", "Raspberry Beret",etc.) if you ask me.

On the other hand, certain songs like "Purple Rain", "If I Was Your Girlfriend", "When Doves Cry", "International Lover", "Gold", "17 Days", "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World", "Scandalous", "Adore", "Thieves In The Temple", "Diamonds & Pearls", etc. I mean yeah, sure you can tell they weren't made today, but they still sound new and fresh. They don't sound that dated to me.

But overall what would you say, has P's music aged well or not?

His music still sounds good, but it all sounds very much of it's time. Purple Rain in particular sounds incredibly dated.. so much so that it's hard for me to listen to it, even though I love the songs.

Even his new music, up to 3121 all sounds very dated, but it's still listenable. The only songs that really don't hold up well are those with lyrics that are outdated (1999, Emale, Ronnie Talk To Russia), but still I think they're good songs. I'm sure a lot of his older music sounds ridiculous to some younger people, though. I'd kinda like to see him rerecord all his WB albums, but given his religious beliefs and 'live in the moment' attitude (and perhaps laziness), it'll likely never happen. He had talked about it in 2001, though.

[Edited 7/15/11 20:07pm]

''Real music by real musicians'' ( ) always ages better imo...

Some of his music ages really well and some not as much, but his songs are doing good, maybe 50/50.

Except for some more 80's sounding songs, I'll always think that Phil Collins has the best well-aging music, it's timeless.

the vast majority of Prince's work is incredibly dated. But it's not like that matters.

There's no "DATED" music. Only good or bad music. A bad song was already BAD back in the day and it's still BAD now, lol

JoeTyler said:

There's no "DATED" music. Only good or bad music. A bad song was already BAD back in the day and it's still BAD now, lol

I'd say generally mediocre songs will sound dated after a while. They were okay back then.

JowiiCoco said:

JoeTyler said:

There's no "DATED" music. Only good or bad music. A bad song was already BAD back in the day and it's still BAD now, lol

I'd say generally mediocre songs will sound dated after a while. They were okay back then.

yeah, but if we're talking about Prince's 80's album, we can only talk about Batman. I agree that songs like Partyman, Trust, Batdance were cool back in the day (I was 6 years old, lol), but now...

the 90's are a completely different story...

JoeTyler said:

JowiiCoco said:

I'd say generally mediocre songs will sound dated after a while. They were okay back then.

yeah, but if we're talking about Prince's 80's album, we can only talk about Batman. I agree that songs like Partyman, Trust, Batdance were cool back in the day (I was 6 years old, lol), but now...

...they're still cool.

I appreciate songs that reflect their own time, whatever that time may be. But I can say that my friends have turned up their noses to songs from For You, Prince, and Dirty Mind for sounding too 'dated'.

But no one I know finds fault with songs from Controversy to Graffiti Bridge - It's only Diamonds and Pearls (with songs like 'Jughead') and after that people I know find dated.

Personally, I appreciate songs that reflect their time.

eyewishuheaven said:

I appreciate songs that reflect their own time, whatever that time may be. But I can say that my friends have turned up their noses to songs from For You, Prince, and Dirty Mind for sounding too 'dated'.

why do they say "dated" when they mean "from a certain era"

I mean, by that logic Beatles' music sounds "dated" as hell but it's still awesome, right?

JoeTyler said:

JowiiCoco said:

I'd say generally mediocre songs will sound dated after a while. They were okay back then.

yeah, but if we're talking about Prince's 80's album, we can only talk about Batman. I agree that songs like Partyman, Trust, Batdance were cool back in the day (I was 6 years old, lol), but now...

the 90's are a completely different story...

All things considered, I don't think Batman is that bad. I like it a lot better than The Black Album.

JoeTyler said:

eyewishuheaven said:

I appreciate songs that reflect their own time, whatever that time may be. But I can say that my friends have turned up their noses to songs from For You, Prince, and Dirty Mind for sounding too 'dated'.

why do they say "dated" when they mean "from a certain era"

I mean, by that logic Beatles' music sounds "dated" as hell but it's still awesome, right?

Dated can be okay if that album/artist was responsible for defining a certain sound in that period. It's bad when it's just more of the same.

JowiiCoco said:

JoeTyler said:

why do they say "dated" when they mean "from a certain era"

I mean, by that logic Beatles' music sounds "dated" as hell but it's still awesome, right?

Dated can be okay if that album/artist was responsible for defining a certain sound in that period. It's bad when it's just more of the same.

that's it. I just get pissed off when somebody laughs at 1999 and says that it sounds "soooooooo 80's " Then I say: "if you don't care for the past, then you're my enemy, and I usually kill my enemies... "

Prince's music on WB 1978-1995 is time-less,

not dated at all, imo.

I would not like to hear an "updated version" of those albums....

carinemjj said:

''Real music by real musicians'' ( ) always ages better imo...

Some of his music ages really well and some not as much, but his songs are doing good, maybe 50/50.

Except for some more 80's sounding songs, I'll always think that Phil Collins has the best well-aging music, it's timeless.

I'd say Sting.

JowiiCoco said:

JoeTyler said:

yeah, but if we're talking about Prince's 80's album, we can only talk about Batman. I agree that songs like Partyman, Trust, Batdance were cool back in the day (I was 6 years old, lol), but now...

the 90's are a completely different story...

All things considered, I don't think Batman is that bad. I like it a lot better than The Black Album.

The older I've gotten the more I like The Black Album.

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.

I don't think good music ever ages. I can listen to music from the 60's right now like it's nothing. To me, anything Prince did that sounds dated is most likely when he started following trends. More of his music from the 90's sounds dated compared to his 80's stuff imho. Heck, even recently, him using auto-tune is sounding dated already to me [why the fuck did he do that?!? ].....

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.

Eye listen 2 4u and Wanna b ur Lover all the time and in 2011 they sound fresh/cool and funky...Then stick Head on 2day..that sounds like he only released it this week....

JoeTyler said:

There's no "DATED" music. Only good or bad music. A bad song was already BAD back in the day and it's still BAD now, lol

I agree.

All the songs I liked when they came out years ago........I still like.

That's all that counts 4 me.

being dated isn't even a criticism to me. that's why music is recorded in the first place, to encapsulate the zeitgeist of a specific period of time, at least the best music is. if someone can't tune into the spirit of a time long since passed, then that's a criticism of the listener, not the artist. see those pyramids in egypt? they're a bit shit aren't they? so dated!

great music is timeless

Cinnamon234 said:

Has Prince's music aged well? A lot of 80's stuff sounds quite dated and has aged badly (i.e. "Lets Go Crazy", "I Would Die 4 U", "Raspberry Beret",etc.) if you ask me.

On the other hand, certain songs like "Purple Rain", "If I Was Your Girlfriend", "When Doves Cry", "International Lover", "Gold", "17 Days", "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World", "Scandalous", "Adore", "Thieves In The Temple", "Diamonds & Pearls", etc. I mean yeah, sure you can tell they weren't made today, but they still sound new and fresh. They don't sound that dated to me.

But overall what would you say, has P's music aged well or not?

Yes, I would say it aged well especially his ATWIAD - SOTT work

But music really is supposed to sound like the time period it was created.

I Want Nat King Cole to sound like the 50's (does it sound 'dated'? YES is that bad? NO)

I usually never play Prince music mixed with other music, because it just stands alone, the only music I usually mix with Prince music is the proteges

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!

As well as he has

overall not very well. ATWIAD, lotusflower, batman, planet earth and chaos and disorder are the only ones I really listen too any more. I stay up on new music though and to me Prince's music doesnt last very long

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