When i say this im talking about RRLOVE AFFAIR and Screwdriver. To me both these songs are very unprincian. They both are very far from his 80s music, they both are completely not funky. And they aren't mysterious at all. RRLA in my opinion is the kind of song that grows on u and is pretty easy listening. i would be completely satisfied if Prince just released this song like a single and didn't put it on any album. Screwdriver is just embarassing to watch. so cheesie and overall makes Prince look to normal and playfull. Idk bout screwdriver but rrLA felt like Prince trying to appeal to a mainstream audience. the way ik Prince, I imagine having mega orgies in rooms with fires and weird painted women. Not with a animal hat in sneakers singing about a screwdriver(unless he's describing where he's gonna put that screwdriver . so far i actually prefer 20ten to this and definitely perfer the lotus stuff. However, i did recently have a major panick attack and RRLA did calm me down. Anyways what do yall think? Is Prince tired of sounding like Prince? Has Prince lost his mind? Has he run out of ideas ?

I think Prince's music since Musicology has not so much been geared towards non-fans, as it has been geared towards live performances.

His older albums like ATWIAD, SOTT, and so forth had a lot of songs that translated strangely to live performances. Alphabet Street has NEVER sounded the same live as it does on CD, and neither has If I Was Ur Girlfriend or "7".

This is ok as it gives fans the opporutunity to hear reworkings and reimaginations live.

However, songs on his latests albums really don't seem like they'd be that difficult to translate to a live performance. Te Amo Corezon sounds exactly the same live, to me, as does 3121 or Crimson & Clover.

The songs that *do* sound different are songs he deliberately is re-imagining live.

prince used to be about changing sounds constantly, wilst remaining his own

feature sound at the core.

for too long now he's been stuck on the same formula. i think it's great that

he's breaking out of that mold now.

the new band seems to inspire him to do more off the cuff things and not be

so meticulous or planned.

if anything, that is a good thing, in my book.

I think the new song is geared especially towards fans.

It might please some non-fans that are into rock too, but really to be able to appreciate it you need to have some sort of an understanding of his artistry and what type of music he's done in the past. It just has that "and now for something completely different" thing to it. Yeah, he's done a few songs in the past that are similar, but those are hardly in the majority.

I agree with everything I just posted.

I think his form is formlessness, and that's part of the problem he has in achieving mainstream success. Why can't a soul station play a song by a man singing in a soulful voice but with a guitar going on underneath it?

errant said:

Really? RnR Love Affair, Screwdriver, and Same Page Different Book all sit comfortably next to what he's been doing since 2004 to my ears. Which is fine. I like that stuff. We know and he knows he's not going to innovate anymore in his 50s, so he might as well just churn out some solid Prince songs to hang tours on. And I think most of it's been solid.

I gave Musicology another spin a while ago and was surprised

by how much I enjoyed it.

I mean, I didn't enjoy it as much as that time you pissed

Cat Glover off, but still.

imago said:

I think the OP is correct and with R&R Love Affair I think he mostly succeeds. It appeals to a broader audience.

Screwdriver on the other hand? I think he missed on this one. I have no idea who this is supposed to be aimed at. I am not saying this in a snarky way, I just can't figure out who is this track meant to appeal to. It's far too cheesy for a rock audience, and far too rock for a pop or RnB audience, so I am lost as too who or how to promote this thing. I personally find it cringe-worthy and can easily imagine how non Prince fans would react negatively to it.

I think Screwdriver is another instance where Prince is trying and failing to guess at what the general audience is looking for. I think he tends to underestimate the tastes of the general population when he releases "pop" tracks like this.

it's geared only to me and i'm cool with that

'Is Prince's New music geared towards non Prince fans?'

it's geared toward moving in a new direction a little which is a sign of growth. it's not really about the fans for prince at this point (i would guess) i think it feels like he's just out to have some fun. the thing is, he's never ever stopped changing his style has he?

V10LETBLUES said:

I think the OP is correct and with R&R Love Affair I think he mostly succeeds. It appeals to a broader audience.

Screwdriver on the other hand? I think he missed on this one. I have no idea who this is supposed to be aimed at. I am not saying this in a snarky way, I just can't figure out who is this track meant to appeal to. It's far too cheesy for a rock audience, and far too rock for a pop or RnB audience, so I am lost as too who or how to promote this thing. I personally find it cringe-worthy and can easily imagine how non Prince fans would react negatively to it.

I think Screwdriver is another instance where Prince is trying and failing to guess at what the general audience is looking for. I think he tends to underestimate the tastes of the general population when he releases "pop" tracks like this.

Idk how people on here can call it a masterpiece lol. They are just caught up in the moment if they think that.

I listened to screwdriver twice, and i'm not sure... It's not bad, but it is not great. To be honest - I liked the video more than I liked the song

Prince, can I get a poster of you on all fours? Please?

[Edited 1/23/13 17:12pm]

i think we as orgers tend to over analyze what a non prince fan might think of his output.

just recently i met someone who works in music but isn't a big prince fan. however, he

does snap up his records whenever he comes across one in a bargain bin or when he's

allowed to bring home a copy from work.

the last album he got was "20Ten" with the newspaper since he's subscribed to it and he

said he thinks it's a good album and he listened to it a lot.

he even went so far as to check out a few of the albums he missed during the 00s just

because he enjoyed 20Ten so much.

i was like

so i showed him my discography and put some of the stuff he'd never even heard of

on a usb stick. he's been listening for the past month now and almost daily i get a

message saying how he enjoys this or that song. stuff like "super cute" "dance 4 me"

"boom" etc etc.

i think the main problem is still, indeed, that he doesn't actually REACH an audience

anymore. once exposed to his music i've found that even people who claim to hate

him quickly learn to love a lot of his stuff.

but when radio is restricted to these rediculous formats and doesn't play a song on

the basis that it doesn't neatly fit into a certain slot, i guess that is inevitable.

Nope. And I can't see how these new tracks are 'unprincey'. He's stamped all over 'em. And of course his music is gonna grow and change with him. Evolution of an artist...

Great replies so far.

I'm in the camp that finds SD cringe worthy and RnR bland.I don't know who these songs are aimed at, but with the press attention they're getting more non-fans are hearing it and today i saw a status on my feed that read "so, prince returns after years of doing nothing with by far, the worst song of the year so far!" and linking SD.

My lady hates it too. Its him having fun, sure, but so was Black Sweat, Alphabet St, Housequake, DMSR etc, yu know?

I worry for his public image if this is what he's gonna be promoting.

Oh dear the inevitable backlash at SD has already blossomed into "fact." Tsk Tsk.

SD is a good rocker. I'm surprised by people who don't like it. What next, you all will hate vanilla cones too?

As much as some people bash pop radio, i sincerely doubt some even listen to it. Because as bad as some may think it is, there is no way in hell, pop radio in the US will Play SD. Remember, they care about ratings. They care about listeners tuning in to hear their commercials. SD will drive folks away in droves. No way pop radio will embrace this here. No way in hell.

I think Prince stopped aiming high a long time ago. He tends to shoot low and mostly shoots himself on the foot when he panders.

riocoolnes said:

They both are very far from his 80s music

that would be because Prince, anyone who listens to Prince, music in general, and basically the whole universe, including the calender, is very far from the 80s.

the 80s are over, time to move on. i personally like the new stuff, why would i want to hear him copy what he did 30 years ago?

RRA said:

Oh dear the inevitable backlash at SD has already blossomed into "fact." Tsk Tsk.

SD is a good rocker. I'm surprised by people who don't like it. What next, you all will hate vanilla cones too?

I hate vanilla. I like Screwdriver.

now what?

No need to make songs geared towards us (prince fans)

He already has us like puddy in his hand....

.

[Edited 1/24/13 12:10pm]

prince's music has changed subtly in the last 3 years, from being (right from the beginning) aggressively imposing to more 'hi, you intrigued? come closer if you're interested'. he has definitely lost his anger (or removed it from his music).