Graycap23 said:

Lianachan said:

Based on the evidence of every album he's released in recent years, I'd agree that he appears to be done as a studio act. To my ears, anyway. It has been a long time since he released an album that I could listen to all the way through, without skipping tracks. A new Prince album really used to be something to look forward to, and it would be unlike any of his other albums. I know his next album, if it appears at all, will be 60% identical cheesey ballads, 10% him telling us he's great with the remaining 30% sounding like a poor Prince impersonator.

[Edited 6/19/12 3:04am]

Who are u listening 2 in 2012?

As I said the last time you asked me that:

Mostly Prince, actually. Old stuff, the stuff I like from the more recent albums, out-takes, live shows, etc.., liberally sprinkled with various things from other bands.

Lianachan said:

Graycap23 said:

Who are u listening 2 in 2012?

As I said the last time you asked me that:

Mostly Prince, actually. Old stuff, the stuff I like from the more recent albums, out-takes, live shows, etc.., liberally sprinkled with various things from other bands.

So if Prince is done..........what does that mean 4 other acts?

Graycap23 said:

steakfinger said:

Graycap23 said:

So if Prince is done..........what does that mean 4 other acts?

What would Prince being done or not done as a studio act have to do with any other act? If Prince starts sucking, (the determination of which is purely subjective and belongs solely to the realm of opinion) that doesnt mean everyone else starts sucking, too. So to answer your question, it means nothing for other acts.

Yes - exactly.

Lianachan said:

Based on the evidence of every album he's released in recent years, I'd agree that he appears to be done as a studio act. To my ears, anyway. It has been a long time since he released an album that I could listen to all the way through, without skipping tracks. A new Prince album really used to be something to look forward to, and it would be unlike any of his other albums. I know his next album, if it appears at all, will be 60% identical cheesey ballads, 10% him telling us he's great with the remaining 30% sounding like a poor Prince impersonator.

[Edited 6/19/12 3:04am]

steakfinger said:

Graycap23 said:

So if Prince is done..........what does that mean 4 other acts?

What would Prince being done or not done as a studio act have to do with any other act? If Prince starts sucking, (the determination of which is purely subjective and belongs solely to the realm of opinion) that doesnt mean everyone else starts sucking, too. So to answer your question, it means nothing for other acts.

Interesting answer. I did not think of it in that way.

steakfinger said:

Graycap23 said:

So if Prince is done..........what does that mean 4 other acts?

What would Prince being done or not done as a studio act have to do with any other act? If Prince starts sucking, (the determination of which is purely subjective and belongs solely to the realm of opinion) that doesnt mean everyone else starts sucking, too. So to answer your question, it means nothing for other acts.

The question is a valid one.

If Prince's new music isn't turning you on, what new music is turning you one, and getting you excited?

rdhull said:

People are just looking for that first hit of cocaine high.

Perfect analogy.

lezama said:

rdhull said:

People are just looking for that first hit of cocaine high.

Perfect analogy.

that effect probably plays a large role, but what about the fact that I heard 3121 well before I heard 1999, and i MUCH prefer 1999?

I've been getting through Prince's catalogue pretty unevenly. Along with bits of his newer stuff, I played out 1999, SOTT, Parade, Batman, etc before picking up Purple Rain and before I had even listened to Lovesexy. The point is that there's still some old material that's new to me, and even though I'm beyond the 'first hit' stage, I still prefer the old stuff.

[Edited 6/19/12 9:47am]

lezama said:

rdhull said:

People are just looking for that first hit of cocaine high.

Perfect analogy.

Sure, if a cocaine high lasted about 10+ years straight. But, it obviously doesn't, so this analogy is invalid.

skywalker said:

steakfinger said:

Graycap23 said: What would Prince being done or not done as a studio act have to do with any other act? If Prince starts sucking, (the determination of which is purely subjective and belongs solely to the realm of opinion) that doesnt mean everyone else starts sucking, too. So to answer your question, it means nothing for other acts.

The question is a valid one.

If Prince's new music isn't turning you on, what new music is turning you one, and getting you excited?

The question was how Prince sucking effects other acts, which his suckage/non-suckage does not. Perhaps a different question would be valid. The current quesion, as written, is not.

alexnvrmnd777 said:

lezama said:

Perfect analogy.

Sure, if a cocaine high lasted about 10+ years straight. But, it obviously doesn't, so this analogy is invalid.

As happens with many artists, everything the man has done since PR has been compared to it by the mass public, not to anything before or after it. The act of comparing the work of artists to their most well known or well received (by you) works is analogous to chasing a high. And it happens in all creative fields. The reason cocaine highs don't last 10 years is the same reason critical reception of artists works aren't consistently 5 stars, because its always compared to some standard external to the high or work itself (meaning albums aren't judged in and of themselves as works but in comparison to something prior).

fusk said:

lezama said:

Perfect analogy.

that effect probably plays a large role, but what about the fact that I heard 3121 well before I heard 1999, and i MUCH prefer 1999?

I've been getting through Prince's catalogue pretty unevenly. Along with bits of his newer stuff, I played out 1999, SOTT, Parade, Batman, etc before picking up Purple Rain and before I had even listened to Lovesexy. The point is that there's still some old material that's new to me, and even though I'm beyond the 'first hit' stage, I still prefer the old stuff.

[Edited 6/19/12 9:47am]

I think you miss the point of the analogy. People don't get highs that they want to repeat off of crappy product. The point isn't that there's a consistency in quality throughout the man's catelogue (we all know thats not the case), but that once you have that first great high everything else is a chase to repeat it.

jayARDAHB said:

Do you think he's got another Mountains, I Hate U, Come, And God Created Woman, Morning Papers, Hello, If I Was Your Girlfriend or Little Red Corvette in him? Songs like 17 Days and She's Always In My Hair are treasures from the past and he's written nothing like this in decades!!! Jay

I definitely think he has another I Hate U and Morning Papers in him

alexnvrmnd777 said:

lezama said:

Perfect analogy.

Sure, if a cocaine high lasted about 10+ years straight. But, it obviously doesn't, so this analogy is invalid.

10 years? 1978-1988? You are telling me that, in 1986, you dug Prince just as much as 1984? You mean to say, that you KNEW lovesexy was just as great as Sign O' The Times?

Back in the 80's, people (many many hardcore Prince fans included) were pissing and moaning that Prince had "abandoned his roots". Not many were feeling anything close to a cocaine high. They thought Prince had "lost it". They wanted Purple Rain, 1999, and "the old Prince".

The 90's were even worse. Funny that nowadays people tout the 80's as "untouchable" and even claim to love many 90's Prince albums that were routinely bitched about by Prince fans in the early days of the internet. Believe you me, no one was calling Come genius in 1994.

My point is, many a Prince album aren't appreciated for what they are until years after. So, it's easy to claim that certain eras were "golden" now, but during the time they weren't viewed that way.

Just check out some middle of the road reviews for classic Prince albums. Here is an example:

New Musical Express
April 12, 1986

Sometimes it pisses down in April

I TOOK 'Kiss' as a signal that we were being ushered back into the compressed, airtight funkworld of 'Dirty Mind'. Didn't flip over the song itself - slick metronome sexgospel - but what a relief to hear that funky, flecked, flicking guitar again.

It turns out we're not going back to that springy, spunky sound after all - 'Kiss' is on its own as a throwback to 'Head' and 'Party Up' and 'Do It All Night'. Not that Prince doesn't still have a filthy little mind, of course, just that these days he doesn't speak it quite so economically. It's all mixed he doesn't really know how to express, and that's become a drag.

A few things have changed since 'Around The World In A Day', it's true. For starters, there are no printed lyrics, so i don't have to pretend to have given his twee and icky poems my most careful consideration. Then for seconds there's no purple or paisley stuff on the sleeve - just plain ol' black and white narcissim (another throwback to 'Dirty Mind'). Most important, Prince isn't being such a sourpuss primadonna anymore. There I was thinking the little mulatto Amadeus was on the edge of a breakdown and suddenly he's all happy and relaxed and flirty in the 'Kiss' video.

Trouble is, i actually think 'Around The World In A Day' was the better record. For all its neo-psychedelic silliness it had three great songs, which is about three more than 'Parade' has - nothing here as witty as 'Pop Life', as mournful as 'America', or as anguished as 'Condition Of The Heart'. The worst thing about Prince's "maturity', if we can call it that, is that he has given up writing great songs - songs like 'When You Were Mine' - as a matter of course. I mean, if he can find time to bestow a morsel like 'Manic Monday' on four desperate California chicks who will probably never have another hit record in their lives, surely he could craft the odd decent tune for himself.

Prince, instead of writing simple, succinct, sexy songs, is always trying to save the world, which means that he is never content with anything but grandiose 'Sgt Pepper' albums where all the songs run into each onther and vast orchestras make a lot of superfluous noise. He is a master architect of sound but he will show off and spoil it all. His Rundgren-esque technosoup of Sly and Stevie Wonder is beginning to get very predictable.

The LP opens with 'Christopher Tracy's Parade', a typical fanfare for his highness 'Disneyland soundscape and pretty much a follow-through from the ambience of 'Paisley Park'. Who this tracy fellow is I don't know, though going by the closing elegy of 'Sometimes It Snows In April', I would guess that he is a deceased pal of the Minneapolitan midget's.

'New Position' follows with steel drums, a hard pop-funk beat, and yer basic lewd double entendre. Guitarist Wendy picks up for the strange, brief interlude of 'I Wonder U' (performances seem more democratically delegated this time around: P. isn't being such a spoilt-brat autocrat in his studio playpen) which slides swiftly into 'Under The Cherry Moon', title track of the unpromising-sounding flick for which this LP purports to be a soundtrack. I have seen many moons in my time, but never a cherry moon - how about you ? The song is a kind of kurt Weill lullaby co-authored by (Prince Sr ?) John L. Nelson.

Next up, 'Girls And Boys' is an adolescent 'Lady Marmalade' replete with "sauce" French bits and set to the beat of 'Take Me With U'. 'Life Can Be So Nice' bypasses me completely - a highspirited mess - before 'Venus De Milo' trails away at Side One's end as a slight sliver of mood-muzak, grand piano plus sweeping strings and reeds.

Flip the disc and we're straight back into Prince's booming sytnh beat on 'Mountains', which is a pounding Stevie Wonder/ Earth Wind And Fire epic. The Jazzy, smoochy 'Do U Lie ?' is a pleasant and slinky respite from such pomp.

'Kiss' then takes its isolated place in the remorseless parade of overdone semi-ideas, followed by the melodically beguiling 'Anotherloverholenyohead' (yes, it is a stupid title, isn't it). Finally, the showpiece ballad, 'Sometimes It Snows In April' (an even worse title) ends the record on a folksy acoustic noteand mourns the aforesaid departed Tracy. I feel that Prince is, on the whole, best at this most sentimental and foppishly despolate, but this is appalling kitsch and doesn't work at all.

I dunno. Is it possible, or even advisable, to take Prince seriously ? Do I have to watch Dynasty to have an attitude ? I find this record laboured and trite and self-satisfied and won't be listening to it again.

-- Barney Hoskyns

[Edited 6/19/12 16:06pm]

Prince is the best of all time. I keep listening to other great acts for a while, then I come back and realise once and always again that Prince is the best. Nobody is like him, that's like something once in every 200 years that comes to the Earth. He's the baddest ever. Trust me, that's why we been here for fucking mighty long time and love this man.

skywalker said:

Just check out some middle of the road reviews for classic Prince albums. Here is an example:

New Musical Express
April 12, 1986

Sometimes it pisses down in April

I TOOK 'Kiss' as a signal that we were being ushered back into the compressed, airtight funkworld of 'Dirty Mind'. Didn't flip over the song itself - slick metronome sexgospel - but what a relief to hear that funky, flecked, flicking guitar again.

It turns out we're not going back to that springy, spunky sound after all - 'Kiss' is on its own as a throwback to 'Head' and 'Party Up' and 'Do It All Night'. Not that Prince doesn't still have a filthy little mind, of course, just that these days he doesn't speak it quite so economically. It's all mixed he doesn't really know how to express, and that's become a drag.

A few things have changed since 'Around The World In A Day', it's true. For starters, there are no printed lyrics, so i don't have to pretend to have given his twee and icky poems my most careful consideration. Then for seconds there's no purple or paisley stuff on the sleeve - just plain ol' black and white narcissim (another throwback to 'Dirty Mind'). Most important, Prince isn't being such a sourpuss primadonna anymore. There I was thinking the little mulatto Amadeus was on the edge of a breakdown and suddenly he's all happy and relaxed and flirty in the 'Kiss' video.

Trouble is, i actually think 'Around The World In A Day' was the better record. For all its neo-psychedelic silliness it had three great songs, which is about three more than 'Parade' has - nothing here as witty as 'Pop Life', as mournful as 'America', or as anguished as 'Condition Of The Heart'. The worst thing about Prince's "maturity', if we can call it that, is that he has given up writing great songs - songs like 'When You Were Mine' - as a matter of course. I mean, if he can find time to bestow a morsel like 'Manic Monday' on four desperate California chicks who will probably never have another hit record in their lives, surely he could craft the odd decent tune for himself.

Prince, instead of writing simple, succinct, sexy songs, is always trying to save the world, which means that he is never content with anything but grandiose 'Sgt Pepper' albums where all the songs run into each onther and vast orchestras make a lot of superfluous noise. He is a master architect of sound but he will show off and spoil it all. His Rundgren-esque technosoup of Sly and Stevie Wonder is beginning to get very predictable.

The LP opens with 'Christopher Tracy's Parade', a typical fanfare for his highness 'Disneyland soundscape and pretty much a follow-through from the ambience of 'Paisley Park'. Who this tracy fellow is I don't know, though going by the closing elegy of 'Sometimes It Snows In April', I would guess that he is a deceased pal of the Minneapolitan midget's.

'New Position' follows with steel drums, a hard pop-funk beat, and yer basic lewd double entendre. Guitarist Wendy picks up for the strange, brief interlude of 'I Wonder U' (performances seem more democratically delegated this time around: P. isn't being such a spoilt-brat autocrat in his studio playpen) which slides swiftly into 'Under The Cherry Moon', title track of the unpromising-sounding flick for which this LP purports to be a soundtrack. I have seen many moons in my time, but never a cherry moon - how about you ? The song is a kind of kurt Weill lullaby co-authored by (Prince Sr ?) John L. Nelson.

Next up, 'Girls And Boys' is an adolescent 'Lady Marmalade' replete with "sauce" French bits and set to the beat of 'Take Me With U'. 'Life Can Be So Nice' bypasses me completely - a highspirited mess - before 'Venus De Milo' trails away at Side One's end as a slight sliver of mood-muzak, grand piano plus sweeping strings and reeds.

Flip the disc and we're straight back into Prince's booming sytnh beat on 'Mountains', which is a pounding Stevie Wonder/ Earth Wind And Fire epic. The Jazzy, smoochy 'Do U Lie ?' is a pleasant and slinky respite from such pomp.

'Kiss' then takes its isolated place in the remorseless parade of overdone semi-ideas, followed by the melodically beguiling 'Anotherloverholenyohead' (yes, it is a stupid title, isn't it). Finally, the showpiece ballad, 'Sometimes It Snows In April' (an even worse title) ends the record on a folksy acoustic noteand mourns the aforesaid departed Tracy. I feel that Prince is, on the whole, best at this most sentimental and foppishly despolate, but this is appalling kitsch and doesn't work at all.

I dunno. Is it possible, or even advisable, to take Prince seriously ? Do I have to watch Dynasty to have an attitude ? I find this record laboured and trite and self-satisfied and won't be listening to it again.

-- Barney Hoskyns

Heh, I don't remember this one, but I remember others like it, from Around The World In A Day on up. It became less and less cool to like Prince every year, starting in 1985.

This guy, Barney Hoskyns, sure did think he was too cool for school, didn't he? You could tell he really thinks highly of his opinion. Too bad he wasn't as clever as he thought he was.

skywalker said:

alexnvrmnd777 said:

Sure, if a cocaine high lasted about 10+ years straight. But, it obviously doesn't, so this analogy is invalid.

10 years? 1978-1988? You are telling me that, in 1986, you dug Prince just as much as 1984? You mean to say, that you KNEW lovesexy was just as great as Sign O' The Times?

Back in the 80's, people (many many hardcore Prince fans included) were pissing and moaning that Prince had "abandoned his roots". Not many were feeling anything close to a cocaine high. They thought Prince had "lost it". They wanted Purple Rain, 1999, and "the old Prince".

The 90's were even worse. Funny that nowadays people tout the 80's as "untouchable" and even claim to love many 90's Prince albums that were routinely bitched about by Prince fans in the early days of the internet. Believe you me, no one was calling Come genius in 1994.

My point is, many a Prince album aren't appreciated for what they are until years after. So, it's easy to claim that certain eras were "golden" now, but during the time they weren't viewed that way.

Just check out some middle of the road reviews for classic Prince albums. Here is an example:

New Musical Express
April 12, 1986

Sometimes it pisses down in April

I TOOK 'Kiss' as a signal that we were being ushered back into the compressed, airtight funkworld of 'Dirty Mind'. Didn't flip over the song itself - slick metronome sexgospel - but what a relief to hear that funky, flecked, flicking guitar again.

It turns out we're not going back to that springy, spunky sound after all - 'Kiss' is on its own as a throwback to 'Head' and 'Party Up' and 'Do It All Night'. Not that Prince doesn't still have a filthy little mind, of course, just that these days he doesn't speak it quite so economically. It's all mixed he doesn't really know how to express, and that's become a drag.

A few things have changed since 'Around The World In A Day', it's true. For starters, there are no printed lyrics, so i don't have to pretend to have given his twee and icky poems my most careful consideration. Then for seconds there's no purple or paisley stuff on the sleeve - just plain ol' black and white narcissim (another throwback to 'Dirty Mind'). Most important, Prince isn't being such a sourpuss primadonna anymore. There I was thinking the little mulatto Amadeus was on the edge of a breakdown and suddenly he's all happy and relaxed and flirty in the 'Kiss' video.

Trouble is, i actually think 'Around The World In A Day' was the better record. For all its neo-psychedelic silliness it had three great songs, which is about three more than 'Parade' has - nothing here as witty as 'Pop Life', as mournful as 'America', or as anguished as 'Condition Of The Heart'. The worst thing about Prince's "maturity', if we can call it that, is that he has given up writing great songs - songs like 'When You Were Mine' - as a matter of course. I mean, if he can find time to bestow a morsel like 'Manic Monday' on four desperate California chicks who will probably never have another hit record in their lives, surely he could craft the odd decent tune for himself.

Prince, instead of writing simple, succinct, sexy songs, is always trying to save the world, which means that he is never content with anything but grandiose 'Sgt Pepper' albums where all the songs run into each onther and vast orchestras make a lot of superfluous noise. He is a master architect of sound but he will show off and spoil it all. His Rundgren-esque technosoup of Sly and Stevie Wonder is beginning to get very predictable.

The LP opens with 'Christopher Tracy's Parade', a typical fanfare for his highness 'Disneyland soundscape and pretty much a follow-through from the ambience of 'Paisley Park'. Who this tracy fellow is I don't know, though going by the closing elegy of 'Sometimes It Snows In April', I would guess that he is a deceased pal of the Minneapolitan midget's.

'New Position' follows with steel drums, a hard pop-funk beat, and yer basic lewd double entendre. Guitarist Wendy picks up for the strange, brief interlude of 'I Wonder U' (performances seem more democratically delegated this time around: P. isn't being such a spoilt-brat autocrat in his studio playpen) which slides swiftly into 'Under The Cherry Moon', title track of the unpromising-sounding flick for which this LP purports to be a soundtrack. I have seen many moons in my time, but never a cherry moon - how about you ? The song is a kind of kurt Weill lullaby co-authored by (Prince Sr ?) John L. Nelson.

Next up, 'Girls And Boys' is an adolescent 'Lady Marmalade' replete with "sauce" French bits and set to the beat of 'Take Me With U'. 'Life Can Be So Nice' bypasses me completely - a highspirited mess - before 'Venus De Milo' trails away at Side One's end as a slight sliver of mood-muzak, grand piano plus sweeping strings and reeds.

Flip the disc and we're straight back into Prince's booming sytnh beat on 'Mountains', which is a pounding Stevie Wonder/ Earth Wind And Fire epic. The Jazzy, smoochy 'Do U Lie ?' is a pleasant and slinky respite from such pomp.

'Kiss' then takes its isolated place in the remorseless parade of overdone semi-ideas, followed by the melodically beguiling 'Anotherloverholenyohead' (yes, it is a stupid title, isn't it). Finally, the showpiece ballad, 'Sometimes It Snows In April' (an even worse title) ends the record on a folksy acoustic noteand mourns the aforesaid departed Tracy. I feel that Prince is, on the whole, best at this most sentimental and foppishly despolate, but this is appalling kitsch and doesn't work at all.

I dunno. Is it possible, or even advisable, to take Prince seriously ? Do I have to watch Dynasty to have an attitude ? I find this record laboured and trite and self-satisfied and won't be listening to it again.

-- Barney Hoskyns

[Edited 6/19/12 16:06pm]

Don't really get your point. The glorifying of Prince's 80s albums is a result of his later output. Who could have known that Prince would have never been able to reach the quality of his 80s album in the future ever again?

Are his best albums of the 80s untouchable? No, of course they are not. Even his so called masterpieces do have imperfections.

I wouldn't call "Come" genius in any way even until this day. It's not bad considering his all around output of the 90s, but that's it.

funkomatic said:

Don't really get your point. The glorifying of Prince's 80s albums is a result of his later output. Who could have known that Prince would have never been able to reach the quality of his 80s album in the future ever again?

Are his best albums of the 80s untouchable? No, of course they are not. Even his so called masterpieces do have imperfections.

I wouldn't call "Come" genius in any way even until this day. It's not bad considering his all around output of the 90s, but that's it.

It's called revisionist history.

From, at least, 1985 onwards there have been fans that have yearned for "old Prince" and they way things "used to be". Point being....some fans are always unhappy with Prince's current output and in 2012 it's no different.

[Edited 6/20/12 8:38am]

NeonCraxx said:

And LotusFlow3r didn't get all of the love it's getting now during 2009.

I remember it getted bashed repeatedly on here.

here's a serious question for you older fans (of which I am one) don't you think it may be that you're getting old as well as Prince and that that may be why you aren't getting moved as easily? I've wondered it about myself. I've heard so much music in my life that it seems that it's all the same shit now. I can't stand nearly any music from the past 25 years or so and I listen to Prince (or Bruce or just old music) to feel something. I don't think music will ever hit me like Purple Rain/Thriller, Born to Run etc.., etc.., again. The things that do move me are usually much more deep than stuff that moved me as a kid, stuff like Johnny Cash's Hurt or Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke. Songs I may have liked but definitely wouldn't have understood at 14.

I have faith that Prince can record some amazing music. When Bowie got old and near the end of his recording career he recorded some great albums. Heathens, Hours.. and Reality. Being a long time Bowie fan also! remember to treasure the greats while they are still publicly performing.

petes2 said:

here's a serious question for you older fans (of which I am one) don't you think it may be that you're getting old as well as Prince and that that may be why you aren't getting moved as easily? I've wondered it about myself. I've heard so much music in my life that it seems that it's all the same shit now. I can't stand nearly any music from the past 25 years or so and I listen to Prince (or Bruce or just old music) to feel something. I don't think music will ever hit me like Purple Rain/Thriller, Born to Run etc.., etc.., again. The things that do move me are usually much more deep than stuff that moved me as a kid, stuff like Johnny Cash's Hurt or Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke. Songs I may have liked but definitely wouldn't have understood at 14.

Maybe, but then again, where are all the "new"/younger fans?

All Prince has done for the past 10+ years or so is trying to copy the 80's version of himself. He can still write great songs and still is an excellent musician (of course), but the producer in him got stuck in the 80's.

EvilAngel said:

petes2 said:

here's a serious question for you older fans (of which I am one) don't you think it may be that you're getting old as well as Prince and that that may be why you aren't getting moved as easily? I've wondered it about myself. I've heard so much music in my life that it seems that it's all the same shit now. I can't stand nearly any music from the past 25 years or so and I listen to Prince (or Bruce or just old music) to feel something. I don't think music will ever hit me like Purple Rain/Thriller, Born to Run etc.., etc.., again. The things that do move me are usually much more deep than stuff that moved me as a kid, stuff like Johnny Cash's Hurt or Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke. Songs I may have liked but definitely wouldn't have understood at 14.

Maybe, but then again, where are all the "new"/younger fans?

All Prince has done for the past 10+ years or so is trying to copy the 80's version of himself. He can still write great songs and still is an excellent musician (of course), but the producer in him got stuck in the 80's.

I'm very convinced that it's got something to do with age. I can only speak for myself, but when you get older you don't have much time to listen to music. I remember spending days and night locked in my room listening to Prince. I feel asleep with headphones, woke up and listened the whole day to his songs. I think it's the sort of things every teenager does and gets inspiration from. Wasn't it for Prince's funk style, and I was a teenager now, I'm sure I'd be a fan of Gaga or anybody else. Prince is an oldies act, and unless you like that specific music, you will not be drawn to him. He's no longer mainstream.

HonestMan13 said:

EvilAngel said:

petes2 said:

here's a serious question for you older fans (of which I am one) don't you think it may be that you're getting old as well as Prince and that that may be why you aren't getting moved as easily? I've wondered it about myself. I've heard so much music in my life that it seems that it's all the same shit now. I can't stand nearly any music from the past 25 years or so and I listen to Prince (or Bruce or just old music) to feel something. I don't think music will ever hit me like Purple Rain/Thriller, Born to Run etc.., etc.., again. The things that do move me are usually much more deep than stuff that moved me as a kid, stuff like Johnny Cash's Hurt or Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke. Songs I may have liked but definitely wouldn't have understood at 14.

Maybe, but then again, where are all the "new"/younger fans?

All Prince has done for the past 10+ years or so is trying to copy the 80's version of himself. He can still write great songs and still is an excellent musician (of course), but the producer in him got stuck in the 80's.

could you clarify what you mean by "the producer in him" got stuck? Not sure what that means. I think in the 90's his stuff was very, very polished but not quite as good as his best 80's work. I have to say I loved, just loved his piano ONA and have loved many, many songs he's done so I never really pay too much attention to how much of an edge he lost because that's all subjective anyway. I haven't heard anything to compare to his 1999 work, sott or parade but he still puts out great songs at least to my ears. 3121 had some good songs, musicology but lotus and planet didn't really do much for me. Then again, we have many people on here who think lotus flower was brilliant, I didn't hear much on it and that girls portion was just nothing short of bland.

NeonCraxx said:

HonestMan13 said:

I remember it getted bashed repeatedly on here.

Well I was on another site, "thedawnexperience" and they had NOTHING nice to say about it, so I could only imagine what was said on here. On the other hand, I was fucking loving it and bought it on the first day. I listen to every Prince album as it is. I'm not looking for another Purple Rain. [Edited 6/20/12 20:46pm]

there's a thread on here about there not having been a new album in 2 years and I said...

Why should he release a new CD, so 'his fans' can listen to it 300 times on the first day and declare it a failure then shelve it. Then 5 years down the line recant and say how much they love it and it's almost a classic.

I agree with the original poster, Jay.

the last really exciting Prince albums were Come & The Gold Experience.

those were really exciting to me, and that was 17-18 years ago.

and now, Prince is a free artist??

- damn no great ALBUM came out of that.

I am disappointed,

should I or

I dunno if it's all an age thing... I'm a younger fan, and the stuff that moves me is mostly from the 80s. There's some gold in the later decades and the 80s definitely aren't perfect, but... well, here's the story.

The first albums I listened to were 3121 and Purple Rain. I chose those two because I wanted a sample of then and now. As a listener who showed up decades late to the party, I took the opportunity to form an opinion of the music without becoming fixed on the 'classic sound'. Neither album grabbed me (but I actually liked 3121 a bit more than Purple Rain!) It mostly sounded pretty cheesy and bland to me. Some stuff was novel. For example, I remember thinking Black Sweat was pretty good, but mostly because it was an impressive effort to acknowledge the Neptunes. As a song on its own, I thought it was listenable, but man, the Neptunes do it so much better.

Months later I listened to SOTT (friends kept on insisting Prince was great), and I thought it was interesting, but again, it didn't REALLY stick with me. Any time I'd hear the late 80s-90s stuff I always thought it was terrible, with all these samples and awkward raps and stuff... Just incredibly bizarre choices that were novel but not good. At this point I'd listen to Come and think it was pretty bad.

Then I fiiiinally got around to listening to 1999, and again a lot of it was bizarre and novel, but also really really good! And all of a sudden tons of other albums were really really good too! My thoughts on SOTT go from 'pretty neat, I didn't know Prince was this strange' to 'GENIUS!!!' Parade, Prince, Dirty Mind, Controversy, Love Symbol, are all filled with super strong music. Basically my opinion of everything Prince went waaaay up.

But with each album I discover my love for, I get one of two distinct feelings in my gut. I either think, oh wow, this album (or these songs) is really great too!! What a find!!', or I think 'deep down I know this music isn't very good, but I need new Prince Music 'cause I played out the other stuff I know, so I'll take it.' I got the latter feeling while listening to Come, for example. There are some tracks I like, but I can't shake the vibe that it's really for Prince fans only - anyone else would (perhaps rightly?) say that the music is unremarkable.

The point of all this is that the songs that I really, honestly like usually come from earlier in Prince's career. The gold isn't exclusively in the 80s, but that's definitely the richest decade. That's my experience, anyway, which I hope will be an interesting perspective for some people here. It's difficult to answer a question like, 'how does the music from then and now compare?' when you only have one perspective that's clouded with a lot of nostalgia and other biases. I'm of course not saying I'm bias-free and my opinion is the most level-headed. In fact I think the most interesting discussions on here are the ones where lots of people give their opinions on this stuff, because all the different perspectives help to get a more accurate picture of things... y'know?

tl;dr

[Edited 6/20/12 22:08pm]

[Edited 6/20/12 22:09pm]