What should I do?

I keep telling him it's not that good, but he insists.

[Edited 12/7/12 15:29pm]

prince is living in his own purple shadow... it is hard to shin under all that light

OnlyNDaUsa said:

prince is living in his own purple shadow... it is hard to shin under all that light

"He could do this in his sleep" has become "Can he really do all this in his sleep?"

It's because of the chill video. Prince looks so suave and nuanced, plus he's surroundered by beautiful musicians. Ideal for the flatscreen at Starbuck.

Or maybe I'm just a Prince snob.

This is a track people on the outside can listen and enjoy in the fresh air. It's a great track. It's not meant for the hardcore orgers here, thank god.

If ur a hardcore Prince fan this song might upset you. But i mean, it isn't the worst Prince song ever and it is a happy song. It's not something i'd show to a non Prince fan and it isn't something i would listen to normally but if it popped up on radio id definitly listen to it and sing along with it.

im hardcore and ive been loving rnr since day one.

Well, it's a trend in here to hate on anything that is missing these signature prince details... falsetto screams, roaring guitar, funky riffs, pitched down linn rim, camille, super in your face vocals and on the top of that a catchy hook and minimalistic wdc drums with no bassline. He is doing something more close to lounge this time, yet with some personality and warmth. Calm chill song that lacks the signature prince from his peak period. It's still imo alot better than alot of his releases the last 10 years, and it's not scaring away non prince fans as he usually does. Usually he is just a big freak to people.

Replica said:

riocoolnes said:

If ur a hardcore Prince fan this song might upset you. But i mean, it isn't the worst Prince song ever and it is a happy song. It's not something i'd show to a non Prince fan and it isn't something i would listen to normally but if it popped up on radio id definitly listen to it and sing along with it.

On the contrary, non-fans react very well... too well! "He sings, but not too much. He screams but not too much. He plays the guitar but not too much." is the kind of explanation I'm getting.

RnR Love Affair is Prince, but not too much.

Basically, it's being heard as an exercise in understatement.

I don't care for the song. I couldn't even get through the video.

I know I will be verbally-bashed for having that opinion, but I'm ready.

Aerogram said:

What should I do?

I keep telling him it's not that good, but he insists.

[Edited 12/7/12 15:29pm]

It's not!

Replica said:

Well, it's a trend in here to hate on anything that is missing these signature prince details... falsetto screams, roaring guitar, funky riffs, pitched down linn rim, camille, super in your face vocals and on the top of that a catchy hook and minimalistic wdc drums with no bassline. He is doing something more close to lounge this time, yet with some personality and warmth. Calm chill song that lacks the signature prince from his peak period. It's still imo alot better than alot of his releases the last 10 years, and it's not scaring away non prince fans as he usually does. Usually he is just a big freak to people.

I think he is doing himself on this song. Musically, he's much more than all of those things listed and he has had other songs that had the same "feel" as this one and I'd enjoyed them. It's just something about this song that I don't.

Everything isn't for everyone.

Aerogram said:

riocoolnes said:

If ur a hardcore Prince fan this song might upset you. But i mean, it isn't the worst Prince song ever and it is a happy song. It's not something i'd show to a non Prince fan and it isn't something i would listen to normally but if it popped up on radio id definitly listen to it and sing along with it.

On the contrary, non-fans react very well... too well! "He sings, but not too much. He screams but not too much. He plays the guitar but not too much." is the kind of explanation I'm getting.

RnR Love Affair is Prince, but not too much.

Basically, it's being heard as an exercise in understatement.

This perfectly explains the general public. And sometimes I understand that. Not everyone wants the artists to spray their "holy" sperm in their face for recognition. Prince has done many perfect songs with that kind of attention seeking style. But now he's just being cool. He has doesn't have to prove shit anymore.

unless this song becomes "popular" it is not a "pop" song .. there is a cubical mentality type of audience that seems to genuinely gravitate towards mediocrity .. they seem to appreciate that a musician can play an instrument and don't care if the music puts them to sleep .. they are already sleeping is the likely reason ... there have been plenty of truly mediocre boring paint by numbers bands that have become popular. prince neither has the ability to write a great song or the ability to push his mediocre music into the "pop" category by it becoming popular .. his 2 competent avenues for monetary success are thru nostalgia and feeding his hardcore fans .. he has chosen not to provide anything his actual fan base can enjoy so he is left with the nostalgia route .. i wonder if he can even find success there, considering he is playing so many covers it's not even nostalgia for prince music that is being sold in the ticket price .. so the real question is .. are u andy allo? then this anecdote would make a lot of sense

Aerogram said:

Basically, it's being heard as an exercise in understatement.

Which makesit kind of brilliant in it's own way imho.

I dont understand hate about this song

One of his best in the last few years ..

I like it a lot

Aerogram said:

riocoolnes said:

If ur a hardcore Prince fan this song might upset you. But i mean, it isn't the worst Prince song ever and it is a happy song. It's not something i'd show to a non Prince fan and it isn't something i would listen to normally but if it popped up on radio id definitly listen to it and sing along with it.

On the contrary, non-fans react very well... too well! "He sings, but not too much. He screams but not too much. He plays the guitar but not too much." is the kind of explanation I'm getting.

RnR Love Affair is Prince, but not too much.

Basically, it's being heard as an exercise in understatement.

Perfect way of putting it. It's too bland for my taste. With no memorable hook it's completely ephemeral and forgettable.

I love Prince from his first record to his last. Rock And Roll Love Affair is an excellent song. I love it.

rdhull said:

Aerogram said:

Basically, it's being heard as an exercise in understatement.

Which makesit kind of brilliant in it's own way imho.

And if not brilliant, then subtle, at least. And subtle is new for Prince.

[Edited 12/9/12 20:49pm]

People seem to like it. I guess it's half because it's a safe, bland number that recalls earlier work - and half because they've probably heard very little of Prince in 15 years or so. If they had stuck Guitar or The 1 U Wanna C or any such similar pop tracks on radio it would've received a similar reception no doubt.

NouveauDance said:

People seem to like it. I guess it's half because it's a safe, bland number that recalls earlier work - and half because they've probably heard very little of Prince in 15 years or so. If they had stuck Guitar or The 1 U Wanna C or any such similar pop tracks on radio it would've received a similar reception no doubt.

But I'm happy to expect that now. I have a whole body of work that captures him at his peak. He's moved into the autumn of his life (as am I slowly) and so I expect his music to reflect that. The last thing I want is to have him leaping about doing stuff only a man in his twenties should really do. He'd look daft. Let's choose to ignore Mick Jagger and Iggy Pop who still do this and manage to pull it off somehow. Difference between rock stars and pop stars I guess.

I can understand all the opinions on RnR. Yes he doesn't push the vocals, no there isn't a chorus, yes it has similar keyboard stabs to TMWY. But I actually find the song gets quite dreamy in places in a way that is only Prince. I like the melody, I like the harmonies, I love that there is nothing challenging about the song and more than that I love the fact that it is radio friendly with not a hint of wailing guitar. To me it's a breath of fresh air from an artist that has been stuck trying to please his fans for far too bloody long. I mean, why do I need to hear another bloody bootleg of the same bloody songs for the gazzilionth bloody time? What enjoyment can I possibly get from some terrible recording of another concert or, worse, some hidden boot of a song that should have stayed in the 80s or at least been released back then so there'd be a hint of nostalgia?

I just think people (not you Nouveau, I like you) are bonkers if they think he'd recieve popular recognition if he'd had released, as a single, any of the recent boots/rehearsals. You wanna be a pop star? Well release a pop song. RnR is just that. Mutiny? Extralovable? To quote a telly critic, "Absolutely awful darling."

iloveannie said:

But I'm happy to expect that now. I have a whole body of work that captures him at his peak. He's moved into the autumn of his life (as am I slowly) and so I expect his music to reflect that.

If only!

He's still playing starmaker to barely talented young things or having twins dripping off each arm. Oh for a mature sounding record and lyrics! If by reflect his age you mean tired and running on empty, then yeah I hear that too, but if you mean mellow, reflective and wiser - I'm afraid I can't find a single hint.

I don't hear a breathe of fresh air, it's pretty stale from this end, someone open a window! I hear So Far So Pleased, I hear The 1 U Wanna C, Cinnamon Girl, et all. I don't hear anything different about RNR that he hasn't already ground in to dust.

I'm kind of over having to qualify statements with things like "but I don't want him to sound like.... I don't know... Neil Young?!" or "but I don't want him to sound like he did in the 80s".... Just because one might not like the current song doesn't mean one does not like other recent output - Not saying you are saying this (not you iloveannie, I like you too!), but in general. He put out the remade Extraloveable it was awful. Give those lapdancers and cut-price proteges their P45s!

NouveauDance said:

iloveannie said:

But I'm happy to expect that now. I have a whole body of work that captures him at his peak. He's moved into the autumn of his life (as am I slowly) and so I expect his music to reflect that.

If by reflect his age you mean tired and running on empty, then yeah I hear that too, but if you mean mellow, reflective and wiser - I'm afraid I can't find a single hint.

Yes, unfortunately I agree with that. He's far too talented and has far too much great history to be putting out material and acting the way he does. It's a crying shame for all of us but perhaps he'll have a life-changing moment and mature as a musician and give us what we've come to expect and what he really should be doing.

Perhaps he has too much wealth and therefore too easy a life? The best songs always seem to be those from people who are struggling. Struggling to achieve what I don't know, but hardship and turmoil really seem to enthuse people. For those that have achieved their goals then really one should expect to see wise, comfortable reflection, whether it be in the words of a song or a chat in the park. It's easy for us I guess as we all live relatively normal lives. I hope.

It's so simple to sort other people's lives out for them isn't it? Pity we can't do the same for ourselves

[Edited 12/10/12 4:18am]

u people dont realize, we have already been served the cake..anything else going forward is just icing.....

thepope2the9s said:

u people dont realize, we have already been served the cake..anything else going forward is just icing.....

Who doesn't realise? We all know, we discuss it constantly on here.

Just because everything else is gravy, it doesn't mean we can't tell the chef it tastes like shit.