Aerogram said:

getfunked said:

One thing I've heard him say a bunch of times is how he doesn't want computers taking over the music industry. Aside from the hypocrisy of this technophobia, there's something else that's bothering about this. Not a lot of people have access to the same opportunities and resources prince has had in his life. Not everyone has access to, or can afford to (timewise or moneywise) buy instruments and equipment, get lessons, or even live in a community that nurtures musicianship. I think he might have forgotten that it's not as easy as just wanting to do it. If he really wants to promote 'real music' then how about putting up some music lessons on youtube or starting affordable music shops, academies, etc. instead of whining at everyone else from his position of privelege.

Besides having the luck of having parents will musical abilities, Prince only had his talent -- he didn't have "resources" besides his determination to learn and succeed. It's ridiculous to complain about his "privilege" -- unless you count the "privilege" of his family desintegrating and Prince landing in the basement of a second family where music was valued (the Andersons). He should now give affordable music lessons because it's unfair that he had the "opportunity"?

Millions of people with different economic means took serious music lessons and played some decent instruments -- are they out there being as celebrated as Prince for their abilities? I don't think so, therefore this is another insane gripe about Prince.

The gripe isn't with Prince. I have no doubt about his talent, and determination. My point is that he goes on about how people should learn to play 'real' instruments. From what I know, he had access to people (parents, teachers, friends) who could help him and provide the facilities to improve his craft with. That's a lot more that most people have access to. All I'm saying is it takes a lot more than just talent and wanting to do something to do it. Sometimes the circumstances just don't allow for it.

KingSausage said:

Someone above made reference to Prince only following trends now. That's such bullshit. Are you forgetting that he doesn't trends, they only follow him? Just like the Isrealites to the Red Sea or whatever? The man shared the truth with us 15 years ago. Right.

I actually LOVED that line! I wasn't true anymore at the time he did that song (it had been true during the 1st 10 years of his career, though, and in a way even if it wasn't true anymore in terms of the music, it was still true at the time in terms of self-distribution of the music, notably thru the internet) but I just totally loved the damn arrogant ego-trip this song was! It was fucking brilliant

databank said:

Aerogram said:

It's no big deal if he does. Why is it supposed to be annoying or upsetting? When he performed at the Billboard Music Awards, it was clear he was one of the few acts that did not lip synch on that stage -- and Let's Go Crazy Reloaded/Fixurlifeup sounded like the best statement to make in the "Art Official Age".

I swear that since audiences started to tolerate lip synching at live shows, we've seen less and less quality on the charts. I know the charts and quality were never synonymous but you could count on some solid acts and now.... Back in 1984, it would have been nearly impossible to take Appolonia 6 on tour due to Apple's non existent singing voice, but today if he wanted and accepted all the assistive singing technology, he could. So today we do have acts that are wildly popular but it's their image and production that are popular. Singing chops and musicianship, especially live but also on record, are not as valued.

Is it good for music as a whole that no one bats an eyelid while this continues and worsens? Sure, there are plenty of great musicians out there, but "art official" acts with backing vocal tracks, uncredited singers, etc. are now accepted whereas in the past Milli Vanili caused a huge stir. We're collectively giving up on what concerts are supposed to be and talent is supposed to mean.

So I repeat -- what's so upsetting about Prince emphasizing that what he plays is what you get? What other philosophy should one of the greatest musicians of all time promote in this day and age? If it's about the fact he's been staying with this message for too long, that might have to do with the fact the practices he's against have only become more accepted.

Let's go back to finding fault with the cover art of his albums if we must absolutely be pissed off about something he did or did not do today, yesterday or last week.

[Edited 8/28/14 16:26pm]

Hmmm..

First, I think Prince needs to address the fact that he writes a lot of bad records. Bad records

with a band. Band records on his own. Bad records with a co-producer. Bad records with a

protege. Bad records with his synthesizers. Bad records with a horn section. A lot of bad

records. Nobody ever bought his songs solely for the musicianship. We bought his songs

because we liked the way his songs made us feel. That's it. Back in the day, right after I

listened to my copy of "Another Lonely Christmas", I'd play "Christmas In Hollis", by Run DMC.

Yeah, I could tell and appreciate Prince's superior musicianship to what was on a Run DMC

song, but if the song wasn't great, I wasn't caring much about how great the guitar part was or

whatever. And that is the same reason why people buy music today that is not necessarily

'real music by real musicians'. Until Prince addresses the formula he uses to translate his

superior musicianship into compositions that make people feel like they relate, he's got no

reasonable gripe against more popular acts that have found their formula. His real music

proposition sounds like sour grapes.

Next you listed a number of criticisms about today's acts that I find to be, excuse me for

saying it, also sour grapes.

Technology isn't a problem. Acts have always used uncredited singers. Since the advent of

recording technology, which by the way, itself was highly controversial, and attacked as being

false, inferior and job-killing to live singers and bands. But if we think in terms of the rock era

from the 1950's until today, there was always something you could point to and label artificial

or untrue, if you wanted to.

In the studio, there have always been hired singers and musicians used to supplement what a

particular act might be missing to complete records. ALWAYS. They did it at Motown. They did

it at Stax. They did it at Phillysoul International. They did it during the swing and big band era.

Can we talk about the fifth Beatle, for a sec, Billy Preston, lol? If you want to have your mind

blown look up The Waters Family and you would be shocked by how many hit records over the

last 50 years or so they are uncredited vocalists on. You mentioned Milli Vanilli. People loved

Milli Vanilli. They still do. Those songs still get airplay. The only problem there was that the

industry's dirty secret was on front street, thanks to a royalty dispute, so the producer threw

those guys, under the bus. The media had a lot of fun with the story, but did the public have a

real problem with it? Not really. There could have been similar complaints agaist C&C Music

Factory and Jodeci. Auto-tune, and I'm not talking about the vocoder-like obvious effect, but

the subtle use that turns Pharrell, Alecia Keys, Jennifer Hudson and others, into a little

something more than they have naturally, is just a continuation of that tradition. The

difference is you get an aproximation of the actual timbre of the Artist's voice instead of a

punch-in or overlay from a different person, altogether on the song. It's actually more genuine

that the tape tricks of yesteryear.

So Prince's 'real music' tagline doesn't have a lot of historical support. It's a bogus position for

someone who all but pioneered synthesis and multi-track technologies, shadow-produced

endless hit records using aliases. A lot of people that worked with Prince still don't know why

their proper credits aren't on his records or in some cases think they hear themselves but

really can't be sure. The last big-name act in R&B that got outed by their producer as not

having performed on their records before Milli Vanilli, was The Time, right? Yet I guess Prince

will always have his defenders.

Aerogram said:

BartVanHemelen said:

.

Yeah, it's not like Prince doesn't spend a portion of his gig triggering samples of songs. Or used the background vocals from the original recordings in live gigs so you suddenly end up hearing Wendy & Lisa.

.

Oh wait...

And don't forget he uses autotune too. You see Bart, us dim witted fans (I know!) are capable on a good day to have an opinion that isn't completely either/or and black and white.

No one said Prince never uses "art official" means but the thing is that he evidently is not dependent on them. It's not a crutch to mask a lackj of talent.

All this bitter, serial criticism for the slightest reason is silly and more than a little petty.

Prince's use of "Art Official" either means that he was a Big Fan of the De la Soul album that used it, and he copied them, or he was unaware of their use of it, and feels he came up with some amazing wordplay that nobody else could have thought of.

I still love most of Prince's new music, but I think his lyrics have been mostly weak the last 7 years or so, and he does seem to copy trends like Auto Tune, and has to throw in some slang language of the day to seem to try to fit in.

KingSausage said:

Someone above made reference to Prince only following trends now. That's such bullshit. Are you forgetting that he doesn't trends, they only follow him? Just like the Isrealites to the Red Sea or whatever? The man shared the truth with us 15 years ago. Right.

what trends are following Prince, or trends he is starting?

OldFriends4Sale said:

funksterr said:

Aerogram said:

It's no big deal if he does. Why is it supposed to be annoying or upsetting? When he performed at the Billboard Music Awards, it was clear he was one of the few acts that did not lip synch on that stage -- and Let's Go Crazy Reloaded/Fixurlifeup sounded like the best statement to make in the "Art Official Age".

I swear that since audiences started to tolerate lip synching at live shows, we've seen less and less quality on the charts. I know the charts and quality were never synonymous but you could count on some solid acts and now.... Back in 1984, it would have been nearly impossible to take Appolonia 6 on tour due to Apple's non existent singing voice, but today if he wanted and accepted all the assistive singing technology, he could. So today we do have acts that are wildly popular but it's their image and production that are popular. Singing chops and musicianship, especially live but also on record, are not as valued.

Is it good for music as a whole that no one bats an eyelid while this continues and worsens? Sure, there are plenty of great musicians out there, but "art official" acts with backing vocal tracks, uncredited singers, etc. are now accepted whereas in the past Milli Vanili caused a huge stir. We're collectively giving up on what concerts are supposed to be and talent is supposed to mean.

So I repeat -- what's so upsetting about Prince emphasizing that what he plays is what you get? What other philosophy should one of the greatest musicians of all time promote in this day and age? If it's about the fact he's been staying with this message for too long, that might have to do with the fact the practices he's against have only become more accepted.

Let's go back to finding fault with the cover art of his albums if we must absolutely be pissed off about something he did or did not do today, yesterday or last week.

[Edited 8/28/14 16:26pm]

Hmmm..

First, I think Prince needs to address the fact that he writes a lot of bad records. Bad records

with a band. Band records on his own. Bad records with a co-producer. Bad records with a

protege. Bad records with his synthesizers. Bad records with a horn section. A lot of bad

records. Nobody ever bought his songs solely for the musicianship. We bought his songs

because we liked the way his songs made us feel. That's it. Back in the day, right after I

listened to my copy of "Another Lonely Christmas", I'd play "Christmas In Hollis", by Run DMC.

Yeah, I could tell and appreciate Prince's superior musicianship to what was on a Run DMC

song, but if the song wasn't great, I wasn't caring much about how great the guitar part was or

whatever. And that is the same reason why people buy music today that is not necessarily

'real music by real musicians'. Until Prince addresses the formula he uses to translate his

superior musicianship into compositions that make people feel like they relate, he's got no

reasonable gripe against more popular acts that have found their formula. His real music

proposition sounds like sour grapes.

Next you listed a number of criticisms about today's acts that I find to be, excuse me for

saying it, also sour grapes.

Technology isn't a problem. Acts have always used uncredited singers. Since the advent of

recording technology, which by the way, itself was highly controversial, and attacked as being

false, inferior and job-killing to live singers and bands. But if we think in terms of the rock era

from the 1950's until today, there was always something you could point to and label artificial

or untrue, if you wanted to.

In the studio, there have always been hired singers and musicians used to supplement what a

particular act might be missing to complete records. ALWAYS. They did it at Motown. They did

it at Stax. They did it at Phillysoul International. They did it during the swing and big band era.

Can we talk about the fifth Beatle, for a sec, Billy Preston, lol? If you want to have your mind

blown look up The Waters Family and you would be shocked by how many hit records over the

last 50 years or so they are uncredited vocalists on. You mentioned Milli Vanilli. People loved

Milli Vanilli. They still do. Those songs still get airplay. The only problem there was that the

industry's dirty secret was on front street, thanks to a royalty dispute, so the producer threw

those guys, under the bus. The media had a lot of fun with the story, but did the public have a

real problem with it? Not really. There could have been similar complaints agaist C&C Music

Factory and Jodeci. Auto-tune, and I'm not talking about the vocoder-like obvious effect, but

the subtle use that turns Pharrell, Alecia Keys, Jennifer Hudson and others, into a little

something more than they have naturally, is just a continuation of that tradition. The

difference is you get an aproximation of the actual timbre of the Artist's voice instead of a

punch-in or overlay from a different person, altogether on the song. It's actually more genuine

that the tape tricks of yesteryear.

So Prince's 'real music' tagline doesn't have a lot of historical support. It's a bogus position for

someone who all but pioneered synthesis and multi-track technologies, shadow-produced

endless hit records using aliases. A lot of people that worked with Prince still don't know why

their proper credits aren't on his records or in some cases think they hear themselves but

really can't be sure. The last big-name act in R&B that got outed by their producer as not

having performed on their records before Milli Vanilli, was The Time, right? Yet I guess Prince

will always have his defenders.

Great reply, lots of truth and wisdom on display here! Totally and completely agree with you.

BartVanHemelen said:

Follow Prince-related hashtags on Twitter and you'll find a dozen people retweeting each other.

A dozen people? Interesting, because we just hit over a thousand members on the LOVE4ONEANOTHER group I moderate on Facebook. A group that only began after the weekly Spreecasts a year ago.

I could name you well over 50 active Prince fans on Twitter just off the top of my head. If I thought about it more, I could name you hundreds.

Sorry, wrong again.

Militant said:

BartVanHemelen said:

Follow Prince-related hashtags on Twitter and you'll find a dozen people retweeting each other.

A dozen people? Interesting, because we just hit over a thousand members on the LOVE4ONEANOTHER group I moderate on Facebook. A group that only began after the weekly Spreecasts a year ago.

I could name you well over 50 active Prince fans on Twitter just off the top of my head. If I thought about it more, I could name you hundreds.

Sorry, wrong again.

What is it with this Bart guy, did he phone Prince with some idea and he said NO.

Aerogram said:

No one said Prince never uses "art official" means but the thing is that he evidently is not dependent on them. It's not a crutch to mask a lackj of talent.

.

And who'll be the judge of that? Oh yeah, that would be you, someone who posts a snarky reply whenever anyone dares to criticize Prince.

KingSausage said:

I don't think criticizing Prince for his addiction to saying "real music" is bitter, trite, etc. My point in starting this thread is that he is and should be above this shit.

.

On top of that: "show don't tell". But that's a bit hard when you spend plenty of time triggering samples and loops, use a bunch of backup singers, play covers, play medleys, play jams instead of actual songs, play audience games, etc.

.

Note how most of that shit wasn't present in Prince's 1980s gigs? You know, the actually legendary ones?

Militant said:

BartVanHemelen said:

Follow Prince-related hashtags on Twitter and you'll find a dozen people retweeting each other.

A dozen people? Interesting, because we just hit over a thousand members on the LOVE4ONEANOTHER group I moderate on Facebook. A group that only began after the weekly Spreecasts a year ago.

I could name you well over 50 active Prince fans on Twitter just off the top of my head. If I thought about it more, I could name you hundreds.

Sorry, wrong again.

.

Wow, fifty.

.

And here's me thinking that Twitter having one server simply to process all tweets by Justin Bieber fans was a lot.

BartVanHemelen said:

Militant said:

A dozen people? Interesting, because we just hit over a thousand members on the LOVE4ONEANOTHER group I moderate on Facebook. A group that only began after the weekly Spreecasts a year ago.

I could name you well over 50 active Prince fans on Twitter just off the top of my head. If I thought about it more, I could name you hundreds.

Sorry, wrong again.

.

Wow, fifty.

.

And here's me thinking that Twitter having one server simply to process all tweets by Justin Bieber fans was a lot.

Read it properly. Not just part of the post. You know, you like to say things like that to people, so perhaps take your own advice.

50, off the top of my head. Hundreds, if I took some time to think about it. Thousands, if I went on Twitter and looked.

Here you go, I'll help you out.

https://twitter.com/search?f=realtime&q=%23ArtOfficialAge&src=typd


The idea of Prince being successful really hurts your heart for some reason, doesn't it? Well, I've got news for you. This album is going to be incredibly successful. On top of that, it'll likely be very good too. Too bad that doesn't fit into your hateful tirades of what he's about.

Oh, and we're actually over 1300 members in the LUV4ONEANOTHER group on Facebook now, that isn't an open group, and people have to be approved to join. All huge fans, all active on social media. So that puts your theory in the dust.

KingSausage said:

I don't think criticizing Prince for his addiction to saying "real music" is bitter, trite, etc. My point in starting this thread is that he is and should be above this shit. There are artists out there who don't make "real music." We all know that. The world knows that. But Prince should just ignore those artists because they are flies to him. It's like Godzilla taking time to talk about how tanks are shit and rifles don't fire real ammunition or something. You're above this, Prince. Given the general lack of interest in his new albums, the only reasons people care about him are 1) nostalgia, and 2) because they know he puts on a great live show and is a stellar musician. He doesn't need to keep talking about real music. Does he feel the need to stomp on the Britney Spearses of the world? If so, why? Just play some good fucking music, don't talk about how good your music is, and don't obsess over other people's shitty music. Does he think tripe like Pretzlbodylogicderp is better than other tripe just because it's "real"? That's not the metric he should be using. [Edited 8/29/14 6:15am]

I think real music = actual musicianship, and it needs and deserves its champions more than ever as we acknowledge sonic fakery is only becoming even more commonplace on stages around the world, and not just in pop music. Even though he's made statements about real instruments, he's obviously programmed plenty of "real" music himself -- so this part of the "debate" of what constitutes real music is pointless and it's also perfectly normal that he has a preference for the traditional instruments that require actual live dexterity and can't be pre-set note by note -- no matter how much talent it takes to program well.

So sue him for being a bit of a crusty old music teacher, it's not like music today doesn't need an elder stateman or two. I don't see why it's a bother to some, maybe they're being crusty old fans.

BartVanHemelen said:

Aerogram said:

No one said Prince never uses "art official" means but the thing is that he evidently is not dependent on them. It's not a crutch to mask a lackj of talent.

.

And who'll be the judge of that? Oh yeah, that would be you, someone who posts a snarky reply whenever anyone dares to criticize Prince.

Criticism is more than alive and well at the Org, or you would have been muzzled a longtime ago over your 15 years knocking everything Prince does or does not do.

As for me fancying myself a taste arbitrer, I don't have your boundless faith in my own absolute rightness, I'm never "100% convinced" -- I think it's so much smarter to say you're 80 % or 90 % convinced when you're speculating and have no way to know for sure. There's scores of Prince songs I dislike I just don't see why I should repeatedly remind others of what I don't like -- and hey I'll even allow for a little self-doubt, cuz maybe I don't know and understanding everything under the sun?

so basically we can all agree that prince has 1300 fans .. glad that is settled .. maybe his new records will debut at number 1 (since they are being included free with your next box of pancake mix at the grocery store)

I totally agree with and support him shitting on these new so-called "artists" that don't make real music, the stations that promote the hell out of them, and the labels that sign them because they can make them the cheapest product possible for the biggest profit.

.

However, with Prince, he turns around and sometimes makes the same type of bullshit that they make, copies their style, attempts to rap like them, sings in that Bore-oncy style of "singing a rap" that so many new artists do, uses their slang, and so on and so on and so on. When he does this, it makes him look like a total hypocrit who is bitter because he's not successful doing what they do, nor accepted by their crowd, which is the mainstream crowd and mainstream used to be what he was a part of and he used to be very successful in it. So when he flops at his attempts of trying to fit in and gain their acceptance, then he turns around, once again, and shits on them because they're not capable of making real music and he is, which is true. But if he really felt so strongly about making real music and shitting on those that don't make it, then why sell out and try to copy them and fit in with them? Hell, if he would turn the damn radio OFF, he wouldn't even be aware of their presence or what they're making and could focus totally on making his type of music for his fans.

.

.

.

[Edited 8/30/14 8:44am]

vainandy said:

I totally agree with and support him shitting on these new so-called "artists" that don't make real music, the stations that promote the hell out of them, and the labels that sign them because they can make them the cheapest product possible for the biggest profit.

.

However, with Prince, he turns around and sometimes makes the same type of bullshit that they make, copies their style, attempts to rap like them, sings in that Bore-oncy style of "singing a rap" that so many new artists do, uses their slang, and so on and so on and so on. When he does this, it makes him look like a total hypocrit who is bitter because he's not successful doing what they do, nor accepted by their crowd, which is the mainstream crowd and mainstream used to be what he was a part of and he used to be very successful in it. So when he flops at his attempts of trying to fit in and gain their acceptance, then he turns around, once again, and shits on them because they're not capable of making real music and he is, which is true. But if he really felt so strongly about making real music and shitting on those that don't make it, then why sell out and try to copy them and fit in with them? Hell, if he would turn the damn radio OFF, he wouldn't even be aware of their presence or what they're making and could focus totally on making his type of music for his fans.

.

.

.

[Edited 8/30/14 8:44am]

Poor Prince -- either he's accused of being a stale artist stuck in the past or he's faulted for his latest attempt at updating his sound. But this is also the guy that did not want real horns early on and that did all this Linn programming, so when he tries to update his sound, he does have a solid electronic heritage to build on. I agree some of this attempts were disastrous to say the least but we'll see how it goes for AOA.

KingSausage said:

I think Prince focuses way too much on the "real music" thing. For years now he's been bragging about how he creates real music and the radio doesn't play real music and nobody else makes real music blah blah blah. This attitude even crops up a lot here on the Org and in the comments of Prince fans elsewhere (check out the iTunes reviews of AOA). The real music thing needs to stop. There are plenty of artists making real music. Bilal, the Antlers, Trampled by Turtles, Queens of the Stone Age, Ryan Adams, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, etc, etc. Many genres, many artists making real music. To focus so much on real music vs. music that is not real (i.e. whatever top 40 garbage the kids listen to these days) is a waste of time. Frankly, Prince should be above this. Why is he worried about competing with garbage music? Play in the big leagues, Prince. Quit aiming down. Nobody thinks your music isn't real. Stop worrying about talking about how real it is, and start worrying about making music good enough to honor your legacy. [Edited 8/28/14 3:03am]

I think his point is that you don't hear real music on the radio. I don't know that any of the artists you listed above are played on terrestrial radio.

I think Prince wants his message to reach those who listen to pop radio. Many of those are young people who are the musicians of the future. He wants that bar raised, so that music improves over the next few years.

No one can argue that pop music has improved since the 80's. No one can dispute that, in fact, it's way worse than it was 30 years ago. That's a fact.

And it's a fact in part because we now have almost two generations that were raised not on the complex music of 60's and 70's, but on the simplistic rap and four-chord pop of the last 20 years or so.

Pop music will remain bad as long as the song-writing is bad. And the song-writing will remain bad as long as the writers have no grounding in complex chord progressions and musical theory.

Many people regard "Sign O' the Times' as Prince's best album. Go get the sheet music for that album some time and study the chording and progressions Prince came up with on songs like "Sign O' the Times", "Strange Relationship" and "Adore". Admire how Prince went from an F major to an F minor in the chorus of "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man". And for what it's worth, this album is simple compared to what Prince did in "Parade".

This is where I think Prince is coming from.

Let's say the Fight Club hasn't been dismantled after the movie ended and we're in that cave and Bart and Militant have a fight. Who do u say wins? Now that's something I'd like to watch

RodeoSchro said:

databank said:

Let's say the Fight Club hasn't been dismantled after the movie ended and we're in that cave and Bart and Militant have a fight. Who do u say wins? Now that's something I'd like to watch

Militant. your talking about Bart Simpson right.

[Edited 8/30/14 13:26pm]

[Edited 8/30/14 13:26pm]

I for one do not want to hear any more songs about Music, parties, or himself.

KingSausage said:

RodeoSchro said:

I think his point is that you don't hear real music on the radio. I don't know that any of the artists you listed above are played on terrestrial radio.

I think Prince wants his message to reach those who listen to pop radio. Many of those are young people who are the musicians of the future. He wants that bar raised, so that music improves over the next few years.

No one can argue that pop music has improved since the 80's. No one can dispute that, in fact, it's way worse than it was 30 years ago. That's a fact.

And it's a fact in part because we now have almost two generations that were raised not on the complex music of 60's and 70's, but on the simplistic rap and four-chord pop of the last 20 years or so.

Pop music will remain bad as long as the song-writing is bad. And the song-writing will remain bad as long as the writers have no grounding in complex chord progressions and musical theory.

Many people regard "Sign O' the Times' as Prince's best album. Go get the sheet music for that album some time and study the chording and progressions Prince came up with on songs like "Sign O' the Times", "Strange Relationship" and "Adore". Admire how Prince went from an F major to an F minor in the chorus of "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man". And for what it's worth, this album is simple compared to what Prince did in "Parade".

This is where I think Prince is coming from.

Excellent post. Thank you! That would be great if the bar could be raised for pop music. I think I'm trying and failing to express what I'm thinking on this thread. To me, even if Prince's output for the past 16-17 years has been rather spotty, his amazing run from 1980 to 1995 or 1996 has earned him the right to ignore the goings-on of shitty pop radio. Perhaps he does simply want people to listen to better music. But in holding his own music up in contrast to that garbage, he puts it all on the same plane. It's just not on the same plane. This doesn't bother me because I'm a naysayer. It bothers me because I love Prince's music and it saddens me that he even thinks about shit artists. It's like when a good friend dates a fucking bowser when he should be getting good ass.

Exactly! At this stage in HIS game, he should be LEADING the pack, not following it! And everybody seems to know that BUT him. Which is so frustrating because I keep hoping for something to go...

at any moment.