I'm sorry if you don't agree. I just need to say it. We love Prince because he's raw (or was). The JWs and his new wacky beliefs have made him lame.

I'm not talking about him cleaning up his lyrics. I'm referring to the fact that his songs are now Saltines when they were once fine cuisine (sorry, for the food metaphor, I'm hungry). He doesn't need to be raunchy, just genuine. Genuine emotion. When was the last time you actually believed something he sang? Anything in the last 10 years sound like Adore? Nope. Sometimes it Snows in April? Nope. These aren't dirty songs, they're just geniune.

Anyway, this has been bugging me for years. After hearing Screwdriver, I just needed to say it.

You want him to forget about God? God has been an essential part of Prince music.

Jehovah is God FYI.

kewlschool said:

You want him to forget about God? God has been an essential part of Prince music.

Jehovah is God FYI.

what a rude thread...."ditch Jehovah" wrong on many levels

I personally think his current music is good overall, however his lyrics seem to sometimes lack honesty or strong emotion lately. Perhaps a guarded, somewhat insulated lifestyle from different perspectives can cause that?? And if you want to blame his religion for his music or lameness as you put it, I just don't think that's fair or balanced.

Plus, there are some here that just think Prince's lyrics are just dandy.

Well, I am a non-religious person,

So I kind of agree about: the Jehovah stuff needs to go..

Jehovah witness is a sect imo... and it's really hard for me to "accept" that a very intelligent person like Prince is involved.. I just can't understand it, at first my thoughts were "this is another media stunt", but it was real, and it really surprises me..

But about 'Prince won't produce a great song until he ditches Jehovah': I disagree about that.

"Breakfast Can Wait", is a sexxy song, and I like the production,

and also, the raw style in "Screwdriver" the extended version is amazing too.

therefor, I believe I disagree with you:

Prince is able to produce great music these days - and even to be a little naughty in the lyrics,

I still wish he would jump out of that sect, the Jehovah Witness..

not good from my point of view..

I don't really care about his religion. All I know are that these new tracks are slammin. I also have liked plenty of his stuff since he converted. So I do think he can still produce great tunes while still being a Jehova's Witness. Just so you know Jehova is God and I am thinking he willl ever ditch Him.

You don't think "Reflection" is an honest and genuine song? Also, the man's choice of religious faith should be honored and not criticized. If you choose to be an athiest, that's cool and it should be vice versa. Good music is good music regardless of whether you approve of his spirituality.

other than changes in his lyrics i don't see how his faith has any influence

on the supposed 'quality' or 'lack of quality' in his music.

i don't mind him not cussing anymore. in fact, i enjoy it. if i want raunchy

angry prince i'll go listen to 1993/1995 prince songs.

he's older now and non cussing, non blatant sexual lyrics suit him fine in

my humble opinion.

What nonsense. This reminds me of people who say P won't be great until he curses again or gets nasty again.

(Which ignores the classics he made that weren't vulgar or profanity-laden like for example, "Let's Go Crazy.")

Why is it that folks think he's inspired by his Quazi-Protestant God in LoveSexy, but not his JW God on TRC?

The issue is not what he believes, but that he's writing crap.

Honestly it did bother me a little at first. After all I grew up with Prince and he was as raunchy as they come. That was never the reason I liked Prince. It was always about the music not the image or what religion he practiced.

Now that I'm older I'm glad he's not into cursing anymore. I'm not so sure he's cleaned up the lyrics as far as sex goes though. There's still plenty of songs that reek of sexual metaphors and undertones. BCW is the most recent example. A cleaned up not in your face kind of nasty.

What I mean is sometimes I can't see some of the Jehovah folks really liking some of his lyrics cursing or not. I think of Wendy & Lisa when I say Prince is a "fancy" Jehovah's Witness.

It's always amazing to me how intolerant prince fans can be.

Live and let live.

fuckers

1ststatestereo said:

I'm sorry if you don't agree. I just need to say it. , I just needed to say it.

Too bad we have to read it

"I'm your driver you're my screw!"

okay....

Breakfast Can Wait is about morning sex. He's not married. The lyrics mention "praying" for him.

okay...

Am I the only one who sees some contradictions to the JW lifestyle and strict rules here?

Surely he's slipping some? Any JW's in the house? Am I wrong here?

djThunderfunk said:

"I'm your driver you're my screw!"

okay....

Breakfast Can Wait is about morning sex. He's not married. The lyrics mention "praying" for him.

okay...

Am I the only one who sees some contradictions to the JW lifestyle and strict rules here?

Surely he's slipping some? Any JW's in the house? Am I wrong here?

we all know prince loves walking a fine line between spirtuality and sexuality. nothing new with his music.

1ststatestereo said:

I'm sorry if you don't agree. I just need to say it. We love Prince because he's raw (or was). The JWs and his new wacky beliefs have made him lame.

I'm not talking about him cleaning up his lyrics. I'm referring to the fact that his songs are now Saltines when they were once fine cuisine (sorry, for the food metaphor, I'm hungry). He doesn't need to be raunchy, just genuine. Genuine emotion. When was the last time you actually believed something he sang? Anything in the last 10 years sound like Adore? Nope. Sometimes it Snows in April? Nope. These aren't dirty songs, they're just geniune.

Anyway, this has been bugging me for years. After hearing Screwdriver, I just needed to say it.

and yea the title is a bit harsh jehovah is a name for God. but i think we all know you mean the religion jehovahs witness...i hope

I think Rainbow Children was an outstanding release, and it was very centered on his religous ideas. Good songs leave the listener to make up their mind on what the lyrics mean. Prince is a different artist now compared to when he sang Do Me Baby.

Whatever the reason might be, in the end it's Prince's musical and aesthetic standards that have changed for the worse over the years.

[Edited 2/6/13 23:38pm]

Really?

Because 'Breakfast Can Wait' sounds like a great song to me and many others.

I've had some reservations about Prince's religious beliefs limiting his lyrical content and expression in the past, but I don't feel that's the case with the new material. It sounds fresh and playful.

I guess I read the initial post differently.

I thought OP suggested ditching the Jehovah Witnesses not God in general or religious beliefs.

Although Prince has always explored spirituality, it has not been within a box and within the extreme restrictions of a sect like the JWs.

I too agree that once he is free of the mental, spiritual and creative restrictions that have resulted from him embracing the JWs, his work will be able to flourish more.

I'll never forget how he praised being a "follower" and said he wasn't a leader at one of the post-JW celebrations. That's a problem creatively. An artist can't follow; their psyche has to be independent.

I'll never forget that. It was so disappointing. And in much of music afterward... with the rhetoric he used, I could tell the follower mentality had seeped in too deep.

It's not about reducing the change to a lack of raunchy lyrics, etc. It's about his mind being free. You can be spiritual and free at the same time.

[Edited 2/7/13 5:48am]

He's produced many great songs since converting to his current religion.

As much as I hate religious dogma of any type, it has very little to do with the quality of his work. Doesn't have anything to do with the sound or the playing, or even the subject matter.

I imagine even without Jehovah, by the age of 53 he'd have already dropped most of the swearing and the overly lascivious way of describing how he's going to eat out your pussy (with sound effects).

As far as Prince and feeling that there's a lack of genuine emotion behind his lyrics and studio performances.... well, I've always felt that way. He's always play-acting. You rarely ever get a real emotion out of Prince, but he's good at making you think you are in his songs by making you feel one.

And that includes "Adore" and "Sometimes It Snows In April" ... there are clues that he's fucking with you in them if you care to pay attention.

thedance said:

Well, I am a non-religious person,

So I kind of agree about: the Jehovah stuff needs to go..

Jehovah witness is a sect imo... and it's really hard for me to "accept" that a very intelligent person like Prince is involved.. I just can't understand it, at first my thoughts were "this is another media stunt", but it was real, and it really surprises me..

But about 'Prince won't produce a great song until he ditches Jehovah': I disagree about that.

"Breakfast Can Wait", is a sexxy song, and I like the production,

and also, the raw style in "Screwdriver" the extended version is amazing too.

therefor, I believe I disagree with you:

Prince is able to produce great music these days - and even to be a little naughty in the lyrics,

I still wish he would jump out of that sect, the Jehovah Witness..

not good from my point of view..

Yes, but as much as many Prince fans don't like the personal, religious choice of one of their favorite artist, the point is, it's not our place to make those personal choices/decisions for them, whether you have prejudice feelings against the religion of their choice or even if you think that choice affects their creative, music skills or output. The choice to leave/or move away from it, will have to be left up to the individual, not because of some fan's selfish desires or beliefs.

You don't have to like their choice, but you can either accept it, respect it or move on.

[Edited 2/7/13 7:06am]

So he 'ditches Jehovah' to make this 'great song' for you..then WHAT??

I hope Prince will never think that that is the answer to his problems.

Move forward...the reward is great.

A TRUE Friend will help You become a Better Person.

Let this thread be gone.

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not all-powerful.

Is he able, but not willing? Then he is an flaming arsehole.

Is he both able and willing? Then evil cannot exist?

Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

God is either not real OR not worth two squirts of your least-favorite bodily fluid, so there's no need to get upset. There's really nothing there.

Now that we've solved that age-old mystery sufficiently enough to empty out all churches forever, we can get on to talking about music.

I believe that Prince's new jamz are as good anything he's done since the demise of his so-called Golden Age. I am thoroughly enjoying them.

The god stuff is fact, the music stuff is opinion. Good day.

I've said this before, and will say it again:

1. Prince has always been about a Christian G-O-D.

It's always been in your face and been present in live performances (long winded dialog with "God" as the centerpiece to the Purple Rain tour), and in his lyrics/music since, at least, 1981. Christian bible thumping was ALL over the Controversy album/tour/cover.

People typically say things like "Well, back then it was a more all inclusive dogma/vibe." Yeah, what if you weren't/aren't a Christian? Was it easier to ignore Prince's rock n' roll sermonizing about Jesus in the 80's? I don't think so. To me, his faith is not much different in how it affects me as a listener/fan.

2. Prince has always been about fucking.

Some of Prince's most sexual lyrics are found on The Rainbow Children album. His ode to being a Witness.There NEVER was a time when Prince didn't sing/write about sex in the most steamiest sense. I'll say it again..NEVER. He stopped swearing. That's it.

About Prince and 4 letter words.

Let's be honest: In the 80's Prince said a few well placed curse words here and there. In the early 90's he started swearing A LOT more. On record and live. Watch a Prince concert from 1990, then watch Act II. Everyother word is "fuck" in the 1993 shows. Then, in the late 90's, he cut out swearing. It was gradual. As late as 2000 he would still say ass and damn.Then, he started altering song lyrics live in concert. Sometimes he doesn't though. Sometimes he does both.

When Prince played "Gett Off" on the 2000 hit and run tour, he reverted back to singing the lyrics "positions" and not "scriptures". In fact, on the same tour (when he was JW) he still performed "Darling Nikki" complete with onstage humping moves.

Does he alter song lyrics now? Yes. Sometimes, I am not sure why. Take the lyric change on "DMSR"

Then: "Wear lingerie to restaraunts."

Now: "Get busy in the middle of a a restaraunt."

You tell me which is "dirtier": Wearing a corset to Applebees, or fucking in the middle of Applebees?

Bottom line: Prince, by in large, the same as he's ever been. He's got 2 sides, and they're both friends.

[Edited 2/7/13 8:26am]

[Edited 2/7/13 8:26am]

you cant make him ditch jehova ...

because God name is jehova ....

God is too important to him for him to ditch....

we all need to have God in our life ...to walk the faith in love

music got nothing to do with jehova

how can jehova make his music rubbish >>> or not producing a great song

its what the man does with the music himself not jehova

dont take it out on jehova ....

[Edited 2/7/13 8:32am]

Breakfast Can Wait is a bonafide jam. All that sexy talking and singing, nobody is thinking about Jehovah's Witnesses while listening to that. Here's another, The Gingerbread Man from a few years back. The songs are slamming all the same.