mrgone777 said:

I'm curious what you mean by Prince being "lyrically lazy?" That doesn't make sense to me, unless of course you know the guy and see him "slacking off" on his lyrics? Also Dylan and Cohen are poets, but so was Gil Scot Heron who used the African American dialect to communicate pre-hip hop. Prince is closer to Gil Scot than Cohen and Dylan tradition and there are several songs on AoA and PlecElect with social commentary. So where are you getting "lyrically lazy?"

He means that Prince is lyrically lazy, which he is. His social commentary is misinformed at best and utterly Down's Syndrome-esque at worst. Let's take Marz for example.

Right out of the gate he starts babbling nonsense: Lost my job at Mickie D's 4 giving away 2 much food 4 free But I couldn't watch another black child go 2 school With nothing to eat

How can he give away the food for free if the black children didn't come in and place the order? If they placed an order then they would have had money to pay for it or they wouldn't have placed the order in the first place. So the character is just assuming that if a black child comes into his McDonald's he must be be unable to pay, but the child came in and placed an order anyway?

Prince is taking a real issue, (poverty-induced hunger) and lazily inventing a scenario that doesn't make any sense at all. In fact, the cashier who is giving away all the food for free is racial profiling. He thinks, "This kid came into my McDonald's. He must be hungry. Because he's black that means he's poor. Although he came in to get food, I'll assume that he has no money. You know how black people are."

Ridiculous.

[Edited 3/2/15 12:24pm]

As a writer of social commentary, Prince is a child at best.

steakfinger said:

mrgone777 said:

I'm curious what you mean by Prince being "lyrically lazy?" That doesn't make sense to me, unless of course you know the guy and see him "slacking off" on his lyrics? Also Dylan and Cohen are poets, but so was Gil Scot Heron who used the African American dialect to communicate pre-hip hop. Prince is closer to Gil Scot than Cohen and Dylan tradition and there are several songs on AoA and PlecElect with social commentary. So where are you getting "lyrically lazy?"

He means that Prince is lyrically lazy, which he is. His social commentary is misinformed at best and utterly Down's Syndrome-esque at worst. Let's take Marz for example.

Right out of the gate he starts babbling nonsense: Lost my job at Mickie D's 4 giving away 2 much food 4 free But I couldn't watch another black child go 2 school With nothing to eat

How can he give away the food for free if the black children didn't come in and place the order? If they placed an order then they would have had money to pay for it or they wouldn't have placed the order in the first place. So the character is just assuming that if a black child comes into his McDonald's he must be be unable to pay, but the child came in and placed an order anyway?

Prince is taking a real issue, (poverty-induced hunger) and lazily inventing a scenario that doesn't make any sense at all. In fact, the cashier who is giving away all the food for free is racial profiling. He thinks, "This kid came into my McDonald's. He must be hungry. Because he's black that means he's poor. Although he came in to get food, I'll assume that he has no money. You know how black people are."

Ridiculous.

[Edited 3/2/15 12:24pm]

U actually put that much thought into those lyrics?

Graycap23 said:

steakfinger said:

He means that Prince is lyrically lazy, which he is. His social commentary is misinformed at best and utterly Down's Syndrome-esque at worst. Let's take Marz for example.

Right out of the gate he starts babbling nonsense: Lost my job at Mickie D's 4 giving away 2 much food 4 free But I couldn't watch another black child go 2 school With nothing to eat

How can he give away the food for free if the black children didn't come in and place the order? If they placed an order then they would have had money to pay for it or they wouldn't have placed the order in the first place. So the character is just assuming that if a black child comes into his McDonald's he must be be unable to pay, but the child came in and placed an order anyway?

Prince is taking a real issue, (poverty-induced hunger) and lazily inventing a scenario that doesn't make any sense at all. In fact, the cashier who is giving away all the food for free is racial profiling. He thinks, "This kid came into my McDonald's. He must be hungry. Because he's black that means he's poor. Although he came in to get food, I'll assume that he has no money. You know how black people are."

Ridiculous.

[Edited 3/2/15 12:24pm]

U actually put that much thought into those lyrics?

I thought we were analyzing his lyrical skillz. I never thought about that song until some boob here started talking about Prince's 'social commentary'. It struck me as ridiculous so I grabbed the most recent example I could think of, pasted the first few lyrics and had a look. Immediately they were crap. That doesn't mean I can't enjoy a silly song that sounds good, but when people start making claims that aren't grounded in reality, (Prince is a better lyricist than Dylan, social commentary, etc...) I felt the need to explore those claims and offer proof as to why they were and remain completely baseless using hte most current available work. Prince has ALWAYS sucked at social commentary.

steakfinger said:

Graycap23 said:

U actually put that much thought into those lyrics?

I thought we were analyzing his lyrical skillz. I never thought about that song until some boob here started talking about Prince's 'social commentary'. It struck me as ridiculous so I grabbed the most recent example I could think of, pasted the first few lyrics and had a look. Immediately they were crap. That doesn't mean I can't enjoy a silly song that sounds good, but when people start making claims that aren't grounded in reality, (Prince is a better lyricist than Dylan, social commentary, etc...) I felt the need to explore those claims and offer proof as to why they were and remain completely baseless using hte most current available work. Prince has ALWAYS sucked at social commentary.

Ok......that makes sense.

Graycap23 said:

U actually put that much thought into those lyrics?

I try to put AT LEAST that much thought into anything I consume. Go hard or go home, right? Why half-ass anything?

steakfinger said:

Graycap23 said:

U actually put that much thought into those lyrics?

I try to put AT LEAST that much thought into anything I consume. Go hard or go home, right? Why half-ass anything?

I get that........but if a song doesn't move me, i don't bother with the lyrics.

It's one reason why I've never bothered with Dylan. Dude flat can't sing.

steakfinger said:

mrgone777 said:

I'm curious what you mean by Prince being "lyrically lazy?" That doesn't make sense to me, unless of course you know the guy and see him "slacking off" on his lyrics? Also Dylan and Cohen are poets, but so was Gil Scot Heron who used the African American dialect to communicate pre-hip hop. Prince is closer to Gil Scot than Cohen and Dylan tradition and there are several songs on AoA and PlecElect with social commentary. So where are you getting "lyrically lazy?"

He means that Prince is lyrically lazy, which he is. His social commentary is misinformed at best and utterly Down's Syndrome-esque at worst. Let's take Marz for example.

Right out of the gate he starts babbling nonsense: Lost my job at Mickie D's 4 giving away 2 much food 4 free But I couldn't watch another black child go 2 school With nothing to eat

How can he give away the food for free if the black children didn't come in and place the order? If they placed an order then they would have had money to pay for it or they wouldn't have placed the order in the first place. So the character is just assuming that if a black child comes into his McDonald's he must be be unable to pay, but the child came in and placed an order anyway?

Prince is taking a real issue, (poverty-induced hunger) and lazily inventing a scenario that doesn't make any sense at all. In fact, the cashier who is giving away all the food for free is racial profiling. He thinks, "This kid came into my McDonald's. He must be hungry. Because he's black that means he's poor. Although he came in to get food, I'll assume that he has no money. You know how black people are."

Ridiculous.

da fuq??

steakfinger said:

Graycap23 said:

U actually put that much thought into those lyrics?

I try to put AT LEAST that much thought into anything I consume. Go hard or go home, right? Why half-ass anything?

Not everything is meant to be hyper-analyzed. I used to dislike Bowie's way of writing lyrics because you could never make any larger sense of them, but now that Im older I appreciate it. There's a time for the search for meaning, and there's a time to just relax and let the music speak to your emotions.

mrgone777 said:

SuperSoulFighter said:

lezama said:

steakfinger said:

He means that Prince is lyrically lazy, which he is. His social commentary is misinformed at best and utterly Down's Syndrome-esque at worst. Let's take Marz for example.

Right out of the gate he starts babbling nonsense: Lost my job at Mickie D's 4 giving away 2 much food 4 free But I couldn't watch another black child go 2 school With nothing to eat

How can he give away the food for free if the black children didn't come in and place the order? If they placed an order then they would have had money to pay for it or they wouldn't have placed the order in the first place. So the character is just assuming that if a black child comes into his McDonald's he must be be unable to pay, but the child came in and placed an order anyway?

Prince is taking a real issue, (poverty-induced hunger) and lazily inventing a scenario that doesn't make any sense at all. In fact, the cashier who is giving away all the food for free is racial profiling. He thinks, "This kid came into my McDonald's. He must be hungry. Because he's black that means he's poor. Although he came in to get food, I'll assume that he has no money. You know how black people are."

Ridiculous.

da fuq??

I agree with Lezma on this one, but Dude (steakfinger) is entitled to his opinion and maybe he'd make a more powerful statement about poverty and the working poor if he wrote the song, but offering the "Marz" lyrics as an example of "lazy" Prince writing? Your explanation is presumptuous (do you know the man and what he was thinking about when he penned the tune?) and also comes across as hypercritical; an example of overanalysis with the added problem of beig a little self-centered and out of touch. Prince is a songwriter and there's more to songwriting than 100% accurate portrayals or facts after all songs aren't thesis papers. Also, Prince isn't Joni Mitchell, Bob Marley, Chuck D or KRS-1 or Gil Scot Heron or Dylan or Cohen but in an era of contemporary music characterized by phony patriotism (pop country) and crass self indulgence (most pop and rock) his effort stands out and I applaud him for it. Its nice to see Prince weave social justice threads in his songs and technically perfect execution isn't necessary for me....it is more important that he is on target and if he is authentic about his lyrical commentary. As an African American, I love "Marz" and "Fixurlifeup" and the lines in "aintturninaround" that to me are about self-sufficiency and self-empowerment for African Americans (others two but primarily us). As a "fan" I'm curious what Steakfinger would have Prince do....how could Prince produce "ambitious" lyrics that would "satisfy" you? My tip for the day, lighten up, enjoy this man's music while we are blessed to have him on the earth, healthy and creating.

[Edited 3/3/15 0:16am]

KingSausage said:

Modern-day Prince could never write a song as good and impactful as D'Angelo's The Charade.

Apple.................meet oranges.

Graycap23 said:

KingSausage said:

Graycap23 said:

Apple.................meet oranges.

I'll eat them both. But the orange still has a tougher skin. DID I JUST BLOW YOUR MIND?!?

Not even close.

Graycap23 said:

steakfinger said:

I'm still playing AOA and some of PLEL after a couple of months, that's unusual because by now I'm usually down to a couple of songs, not a whole album and half of another.

iZsaZsa said:

steakfinger said:

He means that Prince is lyrically lazy, which he is. His social commentary is misinformed at best and utterly Down's Syndrome-esque at worst. Let's take Marz for example.

Right out of the gate he starts babbling nonsense: Lost my job at Mickie D's 4 giving away 2 much food 4 free But I couldn't watch another black child go 2 school With nothing to eat

How can he give away the food for free if the black children didn't come in and place the order? If they placed an order then they would have had money to pay for it or they wouldn't have placed the order in the first place. So the character is just assuming that if a black child comes into his McDonald's he must be be unable to pay, but the child came in and placed an order anyway?

Prince is taking a real issue, (poverty-induced hunger) and lazily inventing a scenario that doesn't make any sense at all. In fact, the cashier who is giving away all the food for free is racial profiling. He thinks, "This kid came into my McDonald's. He must be hungry. Because he's black that means he's poor. Although he came in to get food, I'll assume that he has no money. You know how black people are."

Ridiculous.

[Edited 3/2/15 12:24pm]

Prince used to hangout outside McDonald's and smell the food because he didn't have money to buy any. He's singing about being the somebody who would have helped a kid like him. Is that so hard to understand?

BINGO! Well put !ZsaZsa

mrgone777 said:

iZsaZsa said:

steakfinger said: Prince used to hangout outside McDonald's and smell the food because he didn't have money to buy any. He's singing about being the somebody who would have helped a kid like him. Is that so hard to understand?

BINGO! Well put !ZsaZsa

.

Please inform us how the employees inside will manage to hand out free food to someone WHO IS NOT INSIDE.

BartVanHemelen said:

iZsaZsa said:

steakfinger said:

He means that Prince is lyrically lazy, which he is. His social commentary is misinformed at best and utterly Down's Syndrome-esque at worst. Let's take Marz for example.

Right out of the gate he starts babbling nonsense: Lost my job at Mickie D's 4 giving away 2 much food 4 free But I couldn't watch another black child go 2 school With nothing to eat

How can he give away the food for free if the black children didn't come in and place the order? If they placed an order then they would have had money to pay for it or they wouldn't have placed the order in the first place. So the character is just assuming that if a black child comes into his McDonald's he must be be unable to pay, but the child came in and placed an order anyway?

Prince is taking a real issue, (poverty-induced hunger) and lazily inventing a scenario that doesn't make any sense at all. In fact, the cashier who is giving away all the food for free is racial profiling. He thinks, "This kid came into my McDonald's. He must be hungry. Because he's black that means he's poor. Although he came in to get food, I'll assume that he has no money. You know how black people are."

Ridiculous.

[Edited 3/2/15 12:24pm]

Prince used to hangout outside McDonald's and smell the food because he didn't have money to buy any. He's singing about being the somebody who would have helped a kid like him. Is that so hard to understand?

I wonder if the McDonald's story is a romantic, american dream legend, or not.

I'm sure he happened to him once, but I can't imagine the kid, tears in his eyes, daily pressing his nose on the outside clim vent, just to smell melted shortening.
It is a fact that a fast food restaurant, whatever the brand, lays a stench of cold grease on a quite large perimeter around it.
It doesn't quite smell "good" from the street.

iZsaZsa said:

BartVanHemelen said:

.

Please inform us how the employees inside will manage to hand out free food to someone WHO IS NOT INSIDE.

How about putting an Egg McMuffin in a bag, walking to the door, through it, and putting it into the hand of some hungry soul who is loitering outside. Then going back to work, or like Prince sings, getting fired if you get caught doing it. [Edited 3/4/15 8:10am]

.

Yeah, because usually nobody is hanging around a Mickey D's right?

.

Are you SERIOUSLY claiming that McDo staff can spot hungry people who can't afford their meals and then go out and hand food to them?

BartVanHemelen said:

BartVanHemelen said:

iZsaZsa said:

BartVanHemelen said: How about putting an Egg McMuffin in a bag, walking to the door, through it, and putting it into the hand of some hungry soul who is loitering outside. Then going back to work, or like Prince sings, getting fired if you get caught doing it. [Edited 3/4/15 8:10am]

.

Yeah, because usually nobody is hanging around a Mickey D's right?

.

Are you SERIOUSLY claiming that McDo staff can spot hungry people who can't afford their meals and then go out and hand food to them?

That would be a 100% yes.

BartVanHemelen said:

iZsaZsa said:

BartVanHemelen said: How about putting an Egg McMuffin in a bag, walking to the door, through it, and putting it into the hand of some hungry soul who is loitering outside. Then going back to work, or like Prince sings, getting fired if you get caught doing it. [Edited 3/4/15 8:10am]

.

Yeah, because usually nobody is hanging around a Mickey D's right?

.

Are you SERIOUSLY claiming that McDo staff can spot hungry people who can't afford their meals and then go out and hand food to them?

You should see the state-of-the-art equipment they use to detect them.
It's frightening.

bonatoc said:

BartVanHemelen said:

.

Yeah, because usually nobody is hanging around a Mickey D's right?

.

Are you SERIOUSLY claiming that McDo staff can spot hungry people who can't afford their meals and then go out and hand food to them?

You should see the state-of-the-art equipment they use to detect them.
It's frightening.

It isn't that serious. Most Mcdonald's are located in neighborhoods where they get basically the same customers on a regular basis. After a while, u know the customers from the non customers, especially if u are in certain areas. The non customers stick out like a sore thumb. I worked at my uncles stores when I was in highschool. We all knew who wasn't there 2 buy food.