I can't think of any other celebrity in Hollywood right now (male) who is as interesting as Prince. Is there a melgibson.org? A tomcruise.org? Not that I can find. So why are we all here talking about Prince on prince.org (some, apparently, have been here for years). Clearly, a lot of people posting here want to know everything about him, above and beyond his music. Why IS that? Why does this celebrity fascinate more than most?

[Edited 9/17/11 14:54pm]

I think it's precisely because he doesn't put everything out there - twitter about what he ate & where he's at, have a reality show, talk about his love life, reveal personal quirks, explain his lyrics, explain his religion, etc. etc.

There's a speech by John Taylor of Duran Duran (yes, a speech - at UCLA) which apparently no one has watched or gives a damn about, but he talks about how much of a fan he still is of Roxy Music. He talks about the first time he saw Roxy Music on TV, how he yearned to see it over & over again but there was no DVR (or VHS!), how difficult it was to get the record (riding his bike to town), how difficult it was to know anything about them - and that he's glad for it. He's glad he had limited access to them, b/c if he could have satisfied all his desire for them, he would have done so, but THAT, in turn would have burst his bubble of enthusiasm. He talks about how limitation and restriction are good things - after all these yrs, whenever he comes across a limited edition Roxy Music this or that, he still feels that impulse to have it b/c it's rare. He says artists dilute their creative potency and the magnetism they have over their audience when there's no limitation to access.

Btw, at the Q&A session after the speech, Taylor talks about his website (he was the 1st or one of the 1st to have a website to distribute music directly, in the mid-90s). He says he liked "the idea of interacting directly... no, the idea of selling directly to fans," but that it was incredibly difficult to run something like that, plus it seemed however much you offered, it was never enough. So he shut it down. And he went back to the major label model. He also mentioned that it was hard to keep up w/ unofficial internet stuff, b/c in order to make something available on his website, everything had to be approved by so many parties that it was old news by the time he could put it on his site.

Anyway, just something to think about.

hls2000 said:

I think it's precisely because he doesn't put everything out there - twitter about what he ate & where he's at, have a reality show, talk about his love life, reveal personal quirks, explain his lyrics, explain his religion, etc. etc.

There's a speech by John Taylor of Duran Duran (yes, a speech - at UCLA) which apparently no one has watched or gives a damn about, but he talks about how much of a fan he still is of Roxy Music. He talks about the first time he saw Roxy Music on TV, how he yearned to see it over & over again but there was no DVR (or VHS!), how difficult it was to get the record (riding his bike to town), how difficult it was to know anything about them - and that he's glad for it. He's glad he had limited access to them, b/c if he could have satisfied all his desire for them, he would have done so, but THAT, in turn would have burst his bubble of enthusiasm. He talks about how limitation and restriction are good things - after all these yrs, whenever he comes across a limited edition Roxy Music this or that, he still feels that impulse to have it b/c it's rare. He says artists dilute their creative potency and the magnetism they have over their audience when there's no limitation to access.

Btw, at the Q&A session after the speech, Taylor talks about his website (he was the 1st or one of the 1st to have a website to distribute music directly, in the mid-90s). He says he liked "the idea of interacting directly... no, the idea of selling directly to fans," but that it was incredibly difficult to run something like that, plus it seemed however much you offered, it was never enough. So he shut it down. And he went back to the major label model. He also mentioned that it was hard to keep up w/ unofficial internet stuff, b/c in order to make something available on his website, everything had to be approved by so many parties that it was old news by the time he could put it on his site.

Anyway, just something to think about.

^^^^^

What a great answer/response. V. thoughtful and thought-provoking. You said a lot here, but the part that struck a chord with me is that Prince creates the mystery that makes us want to know more, by lack of exposure. I tried the other day to find a song I wanted to purchase as a one off, and it's nowhere to be found, at least online (I may try harder tomorrow, LOL). But the point being, what other artist does this? When someone stand for something (which is why that song is not for sale on the 'net), I want to know more. Anyway, I have to find/watch that Taylor talk...thanks!

Although I'm very interested in Prince, I find Bowie more fascinating. His musical output equals (at least) Prince's and he is a more interesting persona to me.

Because Prince is a mystery man, & likes to remain one. It adds to his persona i guess. not really sure, but then again this is Prince.org its dedicated to Prince, so were going 2 talk about Prince. Doesnt mean he's intresting @ all. Inless your a fan

Mel & Tom both have fan-sites, but I would never visit either because I'm not fans of either, honestly the only "celebrity" I care about is Prince and a few legends

I was already a fan of MJ when I first got to know Prince....

For some reason, Prince seems pretty normal to me

NiceNBreezy said:

I can't think of any other celebrities in Hollywood right now (male) who is more interesting than Prince. Is there a melgibson.org? A tomcruise.org? Not that I can find. So why are we all here talking about Prince on prince.org (some, apparently, have been here for years). Clearly, a lot of people posting here want to know everything about him, above and beyond his music. Why IS that? Why does this celebrity fascinate more than most?

I personally have always thought actors are never as interesting as musicians. Sure there's some actors who have eccentric life style, but their job is to ACT. It's the writers who wrote the script. Actors' job is to memorize the script and be the character. Sure they all have different styles and there's good ones and bad ones, but at the end of the day, they're just part of the movie where there's also director, producer, cinematographer...etc. In other words, actors are replaceable.

Musicians like Prince on the other hand...they write, compose, produce, play instruments, come up with ideas for music video....it's 100% about them. They say what they want through music. Truly one of a kind...

Nobody but us web die hards care about Prince. Its 2011, not the 80's.

Is just because Prince remains a cult singer. Popular things, to achieve the population, don`t have so much content as Prince has. Prince is for a specific public.

Emancipation89 said:

NiceNBreezy said:

I can't think of any other celebrities in Hollywood right now (male) who is more interesting than Prince. Is there a melgibson.org? A tomcruise.org? Not that I can find. So why are we all here talking about Prince on prince.org (some, apparently, have been here for years). Clearly, a lot of people posting here want to know everything about him, above and beyond his music. Why IS that? Why does this celebrity fascinate more than most?

I personally have always thought actors are never as interesting as musicians. Sure there's some actors who have eccentric life style, but their job is to ACT. It's the writers who wrote the script. Actors' job is to memorize the script and be the character. Sure they all have different styles and there's good ones and bad ones, but at the end of the day, they're just part of the movie where there's also director, producer, cinematographer...etc. In other words, actors are replaceable.

Musicians like Prince on the other hand...they write, compose, produce, play instruments, come up with ideas for music video....it's 100% about them. They say what they want through music. Truly one of a kind...

Well, Prince is nothing if not generative. You're right...he does it all, and he's more interesting for it. But he's also interesting because he looks exotic. And his size is interesting. In contrast to his diminutive stature, he has such a 'big' presence, if not influence, in contemporary music.

At his age, he could have joined AARP and retired to an olive farm in the South of France. A lot of others in his high-heeled boots would have done just that. Instead, he just keeps giving (generating new music and touring, etc.). His net worth is reportedly betweeen $150 to $400 million. That's a huge range, but regardless of what that number really is, he's got megamoney. He doesn't have to do any of this. But he's always said that he's 'about the music'. Hopefully (for his fans) he will still be 'about the music' for years to come.

So, we have the passion, the exoticism, and the musical generativeness COMBINED WITH the mystery (restricted access...as the other poster pointed out) that makes us want to know more. I will throw in a few more ideas, one being that his musical risk taking keeps us interested. He said himself that he never wants to repeat a sound he's already explored...and that he intentionally followed Purple Rain with an album that had a different sound. That creative mindset has kept him fresh as ever after all these decades of being in the business. Then there's the soul searching via religion and the fact that he's not settled in a domestic relationship ...

Interesting is a fairly banal word to describe what I am getting at. All I know is, I know it when I see it, and he's got it. With Prince, "What's he going to do next?" is an ever present question. And I love that!

rdhull said:

Nobody but us web die hards care about Prince. Its 2011, not the 80's.

Wonder how big his fan base is these days...someone probably has posted that stat on the org. Pretty sure the web die hards care MORE about him than the average fan bear. Bless their socks!

NiceNBreezy said:

I can't think of any other celebrity in Hollywood right now (male) who is as interesting as Prince. Is there a melgibson.org? A tomcruise.org? Not that I can find. So why are we all here talking about Prince on prince.org (some, apparently, have been here for years). Clearly, a lot of people posting here want to know everything about him, above and beyond his music. Why IS that? Why does this celebrity fascinate more than most?

[Edited 9/17/11 14:54pm]

Well Prince isn't nearly as "interesting" as him Remember Oprah and overlord Xenu?

define "our"

BlackAdder7 said:

define "our"

"Our" refers to myself and others who follow contemporary cultural icons, musical or otherwise. We are the fans who buy the tickets and follow the news. I was mostly thinking of American celebrities...other than Prince, the only other celebrity who comes even close (to my mind) on the 'interesting' scale is Michael Jackson. Thoughts?

NiceNBreezy said:

BlackAdder7 said:

define "our"

"Our" refers to myself and others who follow contemporary cultural icons, musical or otherwise. We are the fans who buy the tickets and follow the news. I was mostly thinking of American celebrities...other than Prince, the only other celebrity who comes even close (to my mind) on the 'interesting' scale is Michael Jackson. Thoughts?

by your definition, Lady Gaga is on the same level.

I don't feel that Prince is mainstream anymore. He certainly isn't "pop" anymore and hasn't been for awhile. At this point, he's either adored by long time fans, that guy from purple rain for casual fans, and barely on the radar for alot of people. musically, I feel he's more developed than earlier in his career, but he certainly has ceased to be commercial from a musical standpoint. Performing live, he's one of the best.

imho.

aardvark15 said:

NiceNBreezy said:

I can't think of any other celebrity in Hollywood right now (male) who is as interesting as Prince. Is there a melgibson.org? A tomcruise.org? Not that I can find. So why are we all here talking about Prince on prince.org (some, apparently, have been here for years). Clearly, a lot of people posting here want to know everything about him, above and beyond his music. Why IS that? Why does this celebrity fascinate more than most?

[Edited 9/17/11 14:54pm]

Well Prince isn't nearly as "interesting" as him Remember Oprah and overlord Xenu?

That's the ONLY time I have ever been mildly 'interested' in what Tom Cruise was up to.

NiceNBreezy said:

aardvark15 said:

Well Prince isn't nearly as "interesting" as him Remember Oprah and overlord Xenu?

That's the ONLY time I have ever been mildly 'interested' in what Tom Cruise was up to.

Well if you get past the fact he believes in an alien came down to Earth and showed the souls of our ancestors 3D movies, he's pretty normal

BlackAdder7 said:

NiceNBreezy said:

"Our" refers to myself and others who follow contemporary cultural icons, musical or otherwise. We are the fans who buy the tickets and follow the news. I was mostly thinking of American celebrities...other than Prince, the only other celebrity who comes even close (to my mind) on the 'interesting' scale is Michael Jackson. Thoughts?

by your definition, Lady Gaga is on the same level.

I don't feel that Prince is mainstream anymore. He certainly isn't "pop" anymore and hasn't been for awhile. At this point, he's either adored by long time fans, that guy from purple rain for casual fans, and barely on the radar for alot of people. musically, I feel he's more developed than earlier in his career, but he certainly has ceased to be commercial from a musical standpoint. Performing live, he's one of the best.

imho.

This is one fan who isn't at all interested in Lady Gaga. Too many feathers and not enough bird, imo. That perf at the VMAs (impersonating a man) was a complete embarrassment.

Back to Prince...I like how you summed everything up. It fits. He continues to evolve musically...and can deliver a whole range of sounds -- from cool jazz to funk to mainstream rock -- and gives the best live shows ever. That's where the money is for most musicians these days (or so I have read), so he's gold for however many more years he wants to perform.

And thank God he's not mainstream.

Javi said:

Although I'm very interested in Prince, I find Bowie more fascinating. His musical output equals (at least) Prince's and he is a more interesting persona to me.

I have been intrigued by Bowie too, just never went down that path. Maybe in another decade or two...

aardvark15 said:

NiceNBreezy said:

That's the ONLY time I have ever been mildly 'interested' in what Tom Cruise was up to.

Well if you get past the fact he believes in an alien came down to Earth and showed the souls of our ancestors 3D movies, he's pretty normal

aardvark15 said:

NiceNBreezy said:

That's the ONLY time I have ever been mildly 'interested' in what Tom Cruise was up to.

Well if you get past the fact he believes in an alien came down to Earth and showed the souls of our ancestors 3D movies, he's pretty normal

Scientology only sounds just as insane as creationism I mean, sane

Emancipation89 said:

aardvark15 said:

Well if you get past the fact he believes in an alien came down to Earth and showed the souls of our ancestors 3D movies, he's pretty normal

Scientology only sounds just as insane as creationism I mean, sane

Creationism has at least some evidence to back it up. Scientology has nothing, but I get what your saying

NiceNBreezy said:

Javi said:

Although I'm very interested in Prince, I find Bowie more fascinating. His musical output equals (at least) Prince's and he is a more interesting persona to me.

I have been intrigued by Bowie too, just never went down that path. Maybe in another decade or two...

He's a fascinating person, apart from his brilliant music. Don't wait one decade or two!

No. 'We' are overrating him because we have boring lives ourselves.

the energy he has 4 art is stunning, he's a sexy beast too which helps

NiceNBreezy said:

This is one fan who isn't at all interested in Lady Gaga. Too many feathers and not enough bird, imo. That perf at the VMAs (impersonating a man) was a complete embarrassment.

Back to Prince...I like how you summed everything up. It fits. He continues to evolve musically...and can deliver a whole range of sounds -- from cool jazz to funk to mainstream rock -- and gives the best live shows ever. That's where the money is for most musicians these days (or so I have read), so he's gold for however many more years he wants to perform.

And thank God he's not mainstream.

That's it for me, right there ... Prince is not mainstream. And that is what makes him more interesting than all those popular musicians whose songs you can always hear on the radio. His concerts are always amazing and it is interesting that he includes new songs in the setlists which have not been officially released, as he has done in the recent tours in the US and Europe. That, combined with the fact that you never ever know what he is going to do next, sets him off from the rest, imho.

And as a person he is interesting precisely because we don't know much about his personal life and he has always been a bit mysterious. Also he has often done exactly the opposite of what was expected, and he always manages to surprise us with his actions - something which I love.

dJJ said:

No. 'We' are overrating him because we have boring lives ourselves.

He's one of the few whose been so prolific and diverse musically that I could remain 'interested' for years. And I don't say that about too many 'contemporary' musicians. My four cents.

DoffieParker said:

the energy he has 4 art is stunning, he's a sexy beast too which helps

Totally agree. Let's add that to the 'list' of reasons why he is "interesting". He's Sexy!! And sexually ambiguous. We know he's straight, but the androgyny keeps us wondering. LOL...

Dreamer20ten said:

NiceNBreezy said:

This is one fan who isn't at all interested in Lady Gaga. Too many feathers and not enough bird, imo. That perf at the VMAs (impersonating a man) was a complete embarrassment.

Back to Prince...I like how you summed everything up. It fits. He continues to evolve musically...and can deliver a whole range of sounds -- from cool jazz to funk to mainstream rock -- and gives the best live shows ever. That's where the money is for most musicians these days (or so I have read), so he's gold for however many more years he wants to perform.

And thank God he's not mainstream.

That's it for me, right there ... Prince is not mainstream. And that is what makes him more interesting than all those popular musicians whose songs you can always hear on the radio. His concerts are always amazing and it is interesting that he includes new songs in the setlists which have not been officially released, as he has done in the recent tours in the US and Europe. That, combined with the fact that you never ever know what he is going to do next, sets him off from the rest, imho.

And as a person he is interesting precisely because we don't know much about his personal life and he has always been a bit mysterious. Also he has often done exactly the opposite of what was expected, and he always manages to surprise us with his actions - something which I love.

I looked at some videos of old award ceremonies last night and listened to his acceptance speeches. I can't post the links here, since they are on the site-I-cannot-name, but if you haven't seen them, they are priceless. He won THREE American Music Awards -- favorite black single, favorite pop album, favorite black album on January 28, 1985, even beating out Jackson's Thriller that year...Prince's outfit was amazing. The lace eye patch/bandana...I died. . In one of the speeches (not sure which one) he said, "Life for all of us life is death without adventure. And adventure only comes to those who are willing to be daring and take chances." He'll fight mainstream to the end. Amen.

hls2000 said:

I think it's precisely because he doesn't put everything out there - twitter about what he ate & where he's at, have a reality show, talk about his love life, reveal personal quirks, explain his lyrics, explain his religion, etc. etc.

There's a speech by John Taylor of Duran Duran (yes, a speech - at UCLA) which apparently no one has watched or gives a damn about, but he talks about how much of a fan he still is of Roxy Music. He talks about the first time he saw Roxy Music on TV, how he yearned to see it over & over again but there was no DVR (or VHS!), how difficult it was to get the record (riding his bike to town), how difficult it was to know anything about them - and that he's glad for it. He's glad he had limited access to them, b/c if he could have satisfied all his desire for them, he would have done so, but THAT, in turn would have burst his bubble of enthusiasm. He talks about how limitation and restriction are good things - after all these yrs, whenever he comes across a limited edition Roxy Music this or that, he still feels that impulse to have it b/c it's rare. He says artists dilute their creative potency and the magnetism they have over their audience when there's no limitation to access.

Btw, at the Q&A session after the speech, Taylor talks about his website (he was the 1st or one of the 1st to have a website to distribute music directly, in the mid-90s). He says he liked "the idea of interacting directly... no, the idea of selling directly to fans," but that it was incredibly difficult to run something like that, plus it seemed however much you offered, it was never enough. So he shut it down. And he went back to the major label model. He also mentioned that it was hard to keep up w/ unofficial internet stuff, b/c in order to make something available on his website, everything had to be approved by so many parties that it was old news by the time he could put it on his site.

Anyway, just something to think about.

I believe Prince referred to that in an interview this year.

Regarding people wanting any/everything at the click of a mouse, but how satisfying it was when he tracked down an LP.

Perhaps somebody here can track down that interview??