FunkySideEffects said:

I never expected him to get so engrossed into the JW faith. I mean I think it's cool that he is exploring his religious side and all, but to give up on sex, swearing, choosing to not sing certain songs ie darling Nikki - it's just not how I expected Prince to end up. It's like the fire & passion in him is... gone.

I like the naughty Prince.

Looking back...really never expected that from our Prince!!! and the Muppet Show

I never expeceted him A- to drop his name and B-to stop being the cutting edge of music.

I always thought he would have the midas touch forever. Prince is one of those artists that I adore, but his genius will always remain with his 1980's recording career. He was untouchable.

I'm surprised at how much Prince has opened up to the media, in the past several years!

Another surprise was Prince appearing on The Muppet Show!

What a delight, in both cases!

TrevorAyer said:

i never expected nps to have the only tolerable songs since the name change ...

i never expected prince to go from being one of the best songwriters to one of the worst .. couldn't he have just gone mediocre? prince clone go away ... bring back talented prince again

NPS was before the name change.

Dave1992 said:

TrevorAyer said:

i never expected nps to have the only tolerable songs since the name change ...

i never expected prince to go from being one of the best songwriters to one of the worst .. couldn't he have just gone mediocre? prince clone go away ... bring back talented prince again

NPS was before the name change.

No it wasn't!

TheEnglishGent said:

Dave1992 said:

NPS was before the name change.

No it wasn't!

I automatically thought you were talking about the change from "" back to "Prince", because I just couldn't imagine anyone would prefer NPS (which is a great album, nevertheless) to classics like TGE, Come and Emancipation.

I'm sorry, it was a bit of a Freudian slip on my part, because I'm such a huge fan of 90s Prince...

gold31 said:

rdhull said:

Muppet Show

Yep. That's a good one.

Co-sign

1/ Getting apart from WB (before 1993 this was unthinkable)

2/ Changing his name back to Prince in 2000 (I thought was forever)

3/Turning into a nostalgia act with mostly old songs being played at concerts, and very few from the last album

4/ Purple & Gold

6/Being so reluctant for so long to release vault material

becoming JW

giving up on the internet/closing NPG website

[Edited 7/10/12 9:05am]

ludwig said:

"Holocaust aside"

The whole JW-thing and the lyrics of TRC were so terribly annoying. I knew that he was religious, but that he became such a dogmatic nutcase was shocking and frustrating.

[Edited 7/8/12 18:37pm]

Those lyrics really hold me from ever calling TRC a truly great album. I like the last few songs on that album, but those atrocious lyrics actually make me angry.

Back to the topic tho: When he fired Wendy & Lisa so soon after that Rolling Stone cover and Parade...I really thought he'd be with them for a very long time.

The name change was surprising and embarrassing. I get why he did it, but it really made him look like a complete loon.

Poplife88 said:

ludwig said:

"Holocaust aside"

The whole JW-thing and the lyrics of TRC were so terribly annoying. I knew that he was religious, but that he became such a dogmatic nutcase was shocking and frustrating.

[Edited 7/8/12 18:37pm]

Those lyrics really hold me from ever calling TRC a truly great album. I like the last few songs on that album, but those atrocious lyrics actually make me angry.

Back to the topic tho: When he fired Wendy & Lisa so soon after that Rolling Stone cover and Parade...I really thought he'd be with them for a very long time.

The name change was surprising and embarrassing. I get why he did it, but it really made him look like a complete loon.

Him becoming a JW was a big shock to me too - but, each to his own.

I'm curious - why do you and Ludwig have such a problem with that particular lyric? Will you explain what it is that makes you "angry"? I'm interested in your interpretation.

The LotusFlow3r.com nonsense.

Religious shackles.

[Edited 7/10/12 12:13pm]

Mindflux said:

Poplife88 said:

Those lyrics really hold me from ever calling TRC a truly great album. I like the last few songs on that album, but those atrocious lyrics actually make me angry.

Back to the topic tho: When he fired Wendy & Lisa so soon after that Rolling Stone cover and Parade...I really thought he'd be with them for a very long time.

The name change was surprising and embarrassing. I get why he did it, but it really made him look like a complete loon.

Him becoming a JW was a big shock to me too - but, each to his own.

I'm curious - why do you and Ludwig have such a problem with that particular lyric? Will you explain what it is that makes you "angry"? I'm interested in your interpretation.

The way I hear it is he is comparing the Holocost to slavery. Two horrific chapters of human history that should not be compared. Period.

Arabia25 said:

2. I was surprised when I first learned of him studying to become and eventually became a Jehovah's Witness. Glad he did because he seems happier and more at peace since he did.

Projections.

Poplife88 said:

Mindflux said:

Him becoming a JW was a big shock to me too - but, each to his own.

I'm curious - why do you and Ludwig have such a problem with that particular lyric? Will you explain what it is that makes you "angry"? I'm interested in your interpretation.

The way I hear it is he is comparing the Holocost to slavery. Two horrific chapters of human history that should not be compared. Period.

I understand why it would be unpolitically correct to do so, because implying one tragedy was worse than an other marginalizes those who were effected by such tragedy.

Wrong or right, you have to admit that it was a ballsy thing to do.

kewlschool said:

Poplife88 said:

The way I hear it is he is comparing the Holocost to slavery. Two horrific chapters of human history that should not be compared. Period.

I understand why it would be unpolitically correct to do so, because implying one tragedy was worse than an other marginalizes those who were effected by such tragedy.

Wrong or right, you have to admit that it was a ballsy thing to do.

But why even attempt to, you know what I mean? They are VERY sensitive events for both sides that I don't understand why even compare the two to begin with. What is the point? They are both tragic events that affected MILLIONS of people. (politically incorrect? I am not so sure about that...more just being insensitive imo).

For him to champion diversity, tolerance and the acceptance of others be it racially, spiritually, or of sexual orientation early is his career and thematically in his albums, to becoming a very narrow minded individual when it comes to those issues now due to his current system of beliefs. He'll give Miles Davis a run for his money when it comes to the "who can be the most cranky musician of all time".

Big Chick

"Security Ensuring Thee"

Paisley4u said:

FunkySideEffects said:

I never expected him to get so engrossed into the JW faith. I mean I think it's cool that he is exploring his religious side and all, but to give up on sex, swearing, choosing to not sing certain songs ie darling Nikki - it's just not how I expected Prince to end up. It's like the fire & passion in him is... gone.

I like the naughty Prince.

Looking back...really never expected that from our Prince!!! and the Muppet Show

I never thought i would see the day that he would cut his hair. I loved his big curls. lol

Hey KingSausage, although I never attended the Celebrations at Paisley Park I've heard about the garage sale before.

I think some people were lucky enough to pick up some of the rarer CDs (like the Hit and Run CD singles for Peace and Daisy Chain etc) but why do you say "creepy, awkward, mysterious" etc?

Was it an odd atmosphere, were there other items more in the personal memorabilia category? What gems/old tat did people manage to pick up? Was it just on tables in cardboard boxes or displayed professionally. Presumably all was cash transaction?

But good choice that would have been something we would never have expected to ever happen.

[Edited 7/11/12 3:08am]

1.The losing of his child

2.The change of name

3.Releasing albums via english newspapers

4.Ignoring Internet and 2.0

5.Ignoring the remasters craze of the late-90's and 00's...

the rest of his career/life (included the "mistakes", the "war" vs Warner, or the "feud" with "fans"-what fans?) seems natural, or at least, not surprising...

[Edited 7/11/12 7:52am]

KeithyT said:

that he would release MPLS & 20Ten and attempt to pass it off as a modern version of the MPLS sound !!.

Apart from that, you lot have covered all the bases.

Maybe add in the fact that he would appear to give not a damn for his legacy by releasing remastered albums and that he would let the standards of his recorded output slip so far downhill.

I never expected his career to last as long as it has. I mean...he's a genius and all. But let's face it - a music career spanning more than three decades is against the odds in a big damn way.

the .org

I never expected Aftershows to now be called AfterJams. Knock it off and go back to using aftershow.

Big Chick

I'd have a say that single biggest surprise 2 me is that the general music loving public has no real idea just how talented Prince really is. Just his list of skill sets along are staggering when u consider the depth of his playing, writing, arranging, producing, and various other skills. This man may never be fully appreciated 4 the sheer vastness of his career and talent. I find it sad on some levels because music lovers are really missing out in my opinion.

There are plethora of things, but this was among the most shocking: