It's not something I tell everybody and when I do, I don't go into too much detail. A bit about how I don't like everything he does and how he used to be better in the studio and now often it's better live and a bit about how I have lots of CDs/tracks of diverse origins. Save for perhaps two friends over the last 15 years, I have not shared his music and those friends did not become fans though one (a music critic/concert organizer) told me proudly that someone was going to sing a cover of Condition of the Heart at his cabaret night, adding "it's a start".

The few times I've had deeper discussions, I generally argued that even if you don't like his voice, his personality, his antics, many of his arrangements, even none of the styles Prince has explored, you still have an artist that came up with countless melodies and arrangements and then often recorded everything himself. That he has done this so extensively for so long sets him apart in music history. And then there is Prince live -- almost everyone I know is aware Prince is legendary live.

I'd say being a Prince fan now is cooler than it used to be. After UTCM it was somewhat semi uncool to be a fan. SOTT brought it back then Lovesexy's cover lost it, and he's popped up once in a while ever since the name change and other antics further cimented his reputation as a wacky narcissist. Then there was the Musicology comeback, that was big. I didn't discuss it with my friends, they came over to show me Prince on the cover of their newspaper with the rave review and everything.

As far as I'm concerned, Prince has graciously evolved to secure his place in music history, and he's done it by letting the music speak for him. Can you imagine if Prince was one of those celebs that keeps the world abreast of his trials and tribulations?

[Edited 11/22/14 12:25pm]

My 2,5-year-old son is screaming along in the car to The Breakdown.

djThunderfunk said:

databank said:

Those threads always baffle me

WHO in the world do u guys hang out with???

Or is it an American perception of Prince as some kind of weirdo that we don't have in Europe?

I'm really puzzled!

It is certainly rare for me to meet a Prince fan. Usually the best I can hope for is respect for his legacy tempered with ignorance of all but the hits.

Most think he's a weirdo even if they do like some of his music. They're shocked when they see stellar performances like the Super Bowl Half Time or R&RHOF jam.

It is what it is.

I think the perception is really different in Europe, then. People of course only know the hits as well but the notion that he's a freak faded away in the 90's and anyway was mostly shared by dummies before that (I remember that 30+ dude who was still at the university and living with his mom and dating only hi skool student who used to make fun of me by saying Prince was a prick and Purple Rain was the only decent album he ever recorded back when I was myself in hi-skool, that kinda crowd, or that GF I had in hi skool who'd never opened a book in her life, see). Possibily the fact that most people didn't understand the sulfurous lyrics and that we never had all those controversies about We Are The World, Sugar Walls and Darling Nikki here in Europe helped. The symbol thing was by far the thing that shocked people the most here I guess, and still many found it kinda funny. Being American and being somewhat of a hipsters pet artist, Prince was always mostly respected here, I mean just everyone in the French show-buisiness was raving about Prince on TV so I guess it had to mean something for people. But honestly I've never hid the fact that I was a fan and I think the last negative comment I've ever heard about Prince was maybe in 1994. Ever since some people would tell me they don't dig his music but that was merely a musical taste thing and by no means a way to dis him. On the other hand I don't exactly evolved in a normal crowd my whole adult life, but still...

Ask me to put on some Prince when they come over?

FragileUndertow said:

KoolEaze said:

I tend not to speak about him with casual friends or colleagues. They wouldn´t understand anyway

Its my private joy, though any one close to me knows im a fan

Yep. But I get alot of shade from others...it is hard being a Prince fan. Always has been...

Jamzone333 said:

FragileUndertow said:

Its my private joy, though any one close to me knows im a fan

Yep. But I get alot of shade from others...it is hard being a Prince fan. Always has been...

I say the opposite........it help 2 weed out the clones.

I think when hipster went pop, or pop went hipster, most people in Europe could admit that Prince has some sort of talent, and very few would say he's a freak. But most people don't know that he is capable of more than writing and singing classics like Purple Rain, Kiss and 1999. People don't know that he is a multi instrumentalist that can create a whole album that sounds like a band all by himself, that he is a very underrated guitarist, and that his songs can be so different that Kate Bush and Bjork sound more similar than he does to himself sometimes. Wedding Feast, SEXY MF and Do You Lie are so different, if it wasnt for his voice, it would be impossible to hear that it's the same artist on all tracks.