EddieC said:

Personally, I've got to say I think "One of Us" is tons better--at least in part because the speaker there doesn't come from a position of KNOWING--and the speaker in this song is sure they're right, and is only playing at the What If.

Interesting points. Just curious – what is your take on the meaning "One of Us"? I ask because some people take the song to mean, 'Hey, what if that guy on the bus is God or Jesus? Would be be rude to them or ignore them if they were God?' Maybe not as simplistic as 'you should be nice to everyone because you never know – they might be God or Jesus!,' but something along those lines. My husband, however, says it is a very anti-Christian song, which basically says, 'If God were here today, he'd be no one. Nobody paying him any mind or calling him. 'Cept maybe the pope. No better or worse than any other person on the bus or street. He's really great, alright. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Next.'

I have the song playing now.

It's an mp3. Highs sound a bit weird but the song is quite OK.

I like your reply Payt. I guess I am just not that offended by it at all and I am not Christian by any means. I get where your coming from. In the end I think this is Prince trying to help Hannah put out music that she likes. Pure conjecture but thats how I see it. Good points you made.

religion was created for two reasons: it was created because:- 1. People where scared of what happens after you die - ANSWER more then likely not. 2. Religion was only created for people that believe in Hell. no other reason. However if people want to believe then let them. Dont preach it dont shout it let them believe. If it offer comfort and support to people leave them to it. We live in such a world full of hate and i am really unreligious but i respect peoples beliefs as i have my own. I believe to look after your family and friends and always always laugh. If i have not spent my day laughing and making people smile then i have wasted it. this world is full of too much hate and opinion and nastiness.

Leave people be. I dont believe but i don't preach about it.

Enjoy the music, if you don't like it so what.

However it does show that music can provoke emotion and a talking point... surely that is what we all wanted? and now we are moaning?

lagantest said:

religion was created for two reasons: it was created because:- 1. People where scared of what happens after you die - ANSWER more then likely not. 2. Religion was only created for people that believe in Hell. no other reason. However if people want to believe then let them. Dont preach it dont shout it let them believe. If it offer comfort and support to people leave them to it. We live in such a world full of hate and i am really unreligious but i respect peoples beliefs as i have my own. I believe to look after your family and friends and always always laugh. If i have not spent my day laughing and making people smile then i have wasted it. this world is full of too much hate and opinion and nastiness.

Leave people be. I dont believe but i don't preach about it.

Enjoy the music, if you don't like it so what.

However it does show that music can provoke emotion and a talking point... surely that is what we all wanted? and now we are moaning?

U are missing the Number 1 reason: C O N T R O L

Hmmm... I really like the intro (about 30 seconds). The first verse works, and then the song seems to get a bit lost. Not crazy about the production. Essentially, the intro sets you up for a great song, but the song disappoints, and doesn't stick, so to speak. I have no problem with the lyrics...

nosajd said:

datdude said:

the point i am making is about CONTENT and partiality. though most God haters here are too unaware and proud in their unbelief to admi it, a HUGE part of why they hate this song is because of its content. its been countless threads about him ditching his faith and how "we" want/need nasty Prince back. I don't need a post of the other song i referenced lyrics to make a point i WASN'T making.

I am no God hater, I believe in God, but I don't believe in preaching to 'simple minded' people with this arrogant POV. Write a good f'ing song intead of talking down to people b/c you think your religion is right. Truth is no one 'knows' sh!t about God, but they/we 'believe' what we will. There's nothing wrong with having faith, I'm all for it, but asking 'what if you're wrong' is a sh!tty condescending msg to assume that you're right & I'm wrong based on nothing except your word over mine. There's nothing uplifting about this song, it proposes what if non-believers are wrong, well, what it they're not, as the beginning of the song stated, what if they're right? It's stupid!.

.

My point in posting the lyrics was to back up your argument of content, Hozier has a better song, better written, more emotion, more down to earth & better delivered no matter how many auto-tuned & guitar effects you have in a poorly written song.

Its funny how some people listen to a song as if its written directly to speak to them and others just listen to a song for what it is, a song... from a person they dont know, about a life they don't lead, probably written for an audience that doesn't include them. I dont understand why people take stuff personally. Prince has sung religious songs for 30 years, there's nothing new here. If its not your cup of tea, hit skip.

Giovanni777 said:

Hmmm... I really like the intro (about 30 seconds). The first verse works, and then the song seems to get a bit lost. Not crazy about the production. Essentially, the intro sets you up for a great song, but the song disappoints, and doesn't stick, so to speak. I have no problem with the lyrics...

Exactly this. Which seems to be my biggest issue with many of the 3EG tunes in particular. They fail to fully engage the listener or effectively build up tone and tension. He was such a pro at doing this too! Aah, I know it's just a cover and probably not meant to be taken as a bold musical statment but it's just so stale. Hannah's vocals...I can't even. Many of the tunes with her as leading/co leading vocals stick in my head in such a TERRIBLY ANNOYING WAY. LOL. Sorry, i totally know I am being negative Nelly right now but it's how I feel.

[Edited 3/13/15 9:25am]

donnyenglish said:

Prince does Hannah a disservice by putting her on lead vocals. She is a good drummer and tries hard, so this is not her fault. Prince is supposed to be the gold standard for music, but he puts someone singing lead on his songs that is subpar at vocals. The result is that it really ruins his brand.

He did that for me during the Tony M era.

jjazznola said:

Would you people stop using those idiotic terms like "hater" or "hate" when people disagree with you? If you cannot make a legitimate case or opinion, don't bother but calling others a "hater" for any reason is just plain childish.

[Edited 3/13/15 7:38am]

THANK YOU!!!

Billboard chimes in: http://www.billboard.com/...e-nordeman

I like it. There are some interesting things goin gon with Prince's voice and the music is a little different than what I'm used to from Prince. Yes it's maninstream but it's ok. I had a quick listen to the original (not the whole song) and I can see where he switched it up. It has merit.

Only thing I don't like too much is the extreme switch up where it gets kind of "herky jerky". I'm not a fan of that. Oh and Christian music alwsys makes me feel weird and awkward. I don't like prostylising or whatever that word is.

[Edited 3/13/15 9:56am]

I like the song and I think the production is cool, although I'm still not wild about the straight-rock direction of 3rd Eye Girl. I prefer when Prince blends funk into his rock tunes and 3rd Eye Girl doesn't bring that. There's no 'swing.'

SchlomoThaHomo said:

EddieC said:

It's also an endless circle--you can say it to someone of any faith (or none) about any faith (or none). Religious proposition A might be right... but I believe B, and it might be the right one, and then what about poor you who believe in A. Boom! I DON"T win, no matter how clever I think I'm being. It's a dumb form of argument, but I can't believe how many times I've heard people spout it as if they've just said the most brilliant thing ever.

.

So you're making a bet on a horse--and if it comes in, you win. But what if the other horse comes in? (and what if there's no actual race anyway?)

.

Personally, I've got to say I think "One of Us" is tons better--at least in part because the speaker there doesn't come from a position of KNOWING--and the speaker in this song is sure they're right, and is only playing at the What If. You're damned if you don't agree, and there isn't the slightest possibility that they've chosen the wrong set of things to believe.

.

I'd actually imagined it would sound heavier than it did. I thought I knew where a 3rdEyeGirl version would go, and it didn't, quite. It was okay--as I've said elsewhere, I miss the searching aspect in Prince's religious songs for the last couple of decades, so I've gotten used to the aesthetically-boring (and personally nonresonant) quality of the lyrics. But this fits in with what he does with a religious song now, and it sounded decent. I like Hannah better as a supporting voice (much as I did Lisa and Wendy, honestly), so I probably would have preferred Prince lead throughout, but ... it was okay.

Excellent post, and I agree with all of it. The idea that a person would present their faith as the only correct, logical choice, when "faith," by definition, requires the absence of logic, is just absolutely ludicrous to me.

Ummm. No. Faith does not require the absence of logic. You might want to get rid of the dictionary that gave you that definition.

i have to say - and this is alil rare . I like it .

I think this is exactly the type of "cover song " he should do .. something we havnt heard ... and something that he thinks he can make better !

LittlePurpleYoda said:

Billboard chimes in:

http://www.billboard.com/...e-nordeman

^ thanks.

article:


Prince Covers Christian Singer-Songwriter for New Song 'What If'

Always a man with a surprise up his sleeve (was anyone anticipating his first acting credit in years to be on New Girl?), Prince's new song is probably not what you'd expect from the Purple One.

Prince & 3rdEyeGirl Bringing Hit & Run Tour to U.S.

Prince and 3rdEyeGirl released an electric guitar-heavy cover of Christian singer-songwriter Nichole Nordeman's "What If," a song that embraces the closely-knit relationship between doubt and faith.

Nordeman is a regular on the Christian music scene: Not only did she contribute a track to the Music Inspired by the Chronicles of Narinia album, but she wrote a song for VeggieTales called "Sweetpea Beauty." In case you're unfamiliar, VeggieTales is a children's cartoon about anthropomorphic produce who sing and relay morality tales.

Sure, Prince has sang about God and religion for years, but he usually doesn't release studio versions of cover songs -- much less covers of songs by a VeggieTales vet. In short, Prince continues to be awesome. You can listen to the song over here and check out the original version below.

Prince released the song to Louisville, KY, radio, where he's kicking off the U.S. portion of his Hit & Run Tour. That's the only date announced so far, but given the last-minute nature of the European Hit & Run Tour, expect the rest of his U.S. dates to pop up with short to no notice.

[Edited 3/13/15 10:16am]

donnyenglish said:

Prince does Hannah a disservice by putting her on lead vocals. She is a good drummer and tries hard, so this is not her fault. Prince is supposed to be the gold standard for music, but he puts someone singing lead on his songs that is subpar at vocals. The result is that it really ruins his brand.

He has given us so much good music that it is hard to ruin his brand completely, but these kinds of moves late in his career will taint his legacy a bit.

I like the message of the song. I like the music. It is not a masterpiece. But, Prince's decision to put a subpar vocalist on the record means that I will probably listen to it three more times and never listen to it again.

HOw is her bad singing anyone's fault but her own? What a load of shit

pdiddy2011 said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

Excellent post, and I agree with all of it. The idea that a person would present their faith as the only correct, logical choice, when "faith," by definition, requires the absence of logic, is just absolutely ludicrous to me.

Ummm. No. Faith does not require the absence of logic. You might want to get rid of the dictionary that gave you that definition.

Faith in the religious sense is entirely unprovable. You're just supposed to believe it, yes?

lezama said:

nosajd said:

I am no God hater, I believe in God, but I don't believe in preaching to 'simple minded' people with this arrogant POV. Write a good f'ing song intead of talking down to people b/c you think your religion is right. Truth is no one 'knows' sh!t about God, but they/we 'believe' what we will. There's nothing wrong with having faith, I'm all for it, but asking 'what if you're wrong' is a sh!tty condescending msg to assume that you're right & I'm wrong based on nothing except your word over mine. There's nothing uplifting about this song, it proposes what if non-believers are wrong, well, what it they're not, as the beginning of the song stated, what if they're right? It's stupid!.

.

My point in posting the lyrics was to back up your argument of content, Hozier has a better song, better written, more emotion, more down to earth & better delivered no matter how many auto-tuned & guitar effects you have in a poorly written song.

Its funny how some people listen to a song as if its written directly to speak to them and others just listen to a song for what it is, a song... from a person they dont know, about a life they don't lead, probably written for an audience that doesn't include them. I dont understand why people take stuff personally. Prince has sung religious songs for 30 years, there's nothing new here. If its not your cup of tea, hit skip.

If that's how you read my post then so be it, no further discussion with you is neccessary regarding this horrid song. I will indeed hit skip to this nonsense.

SchlomoThaHomo said:

pdiddy2011 said:

Ummm. No. Faith does not require the absence of logic. You might want to get rid of the dictionary that gave you that definition.

Faith in the religious sense is entirely unprovable. You're just supposed to believe it, yes?

Something being unprovable is not at all the same as requiring the absence of logic.

To your question, faith is why you [can] believe it when you can't necessarily "prove" it. There are many logical reasons for a person to have faith.

Decent first few seconds but as soon as Prince's voice breaks into the falsetto it just becomes a mess from there on in !! I love Prince's falsetto but not when he kinda deliberately breaks/bends into it from his lower register - it sounds like he's semi yodling - he did this all over the Planet Earth album which IMO is by far his worst album vocally (SHOE being a brilliant exception).

Lyrics aside this is just an MOR mess !

[Edited 3/13/15 10:35am]

BartVanHemelen said:

This is MOR crap that none of you would give one fuck about if Prince wasn't involved.

.

2020 said:

promoting Christianity by fear....please

Its a great uplifiting song! For those that get it great! For the others...welcome to the org

.

We get it. It's you that didn't get it.

Oh dont worry there we all get you quite well mr troll...move along

Calling someone simple-minded to get your point across is a questionable tactic.

However, people that insult "Christianity" in their displeasure of the song's overall messages aren't standing on any higher ground.

Sometimes it seems folks get so bent out of shape due to Prince's "Christian" messages. Why does it bother folks so much when all they have to do is change the song or radio dial? Even if they don't do that, just believe [or not believe] what it is they believe [or not believe] and move on. Why does it matter so much that Prince tries to spread what he believes? Its easy to cut his music off or not attend his concerts.

Further, many people on the org seem to get SO upset when people who believe in God (including Prince) express as much.

I suppose some people can be pretty condescending with their expression of faith, but some people react act as though other peoples expression of faith (belief in God) is a personal affront (or a direct insult) to them.

It's like some people desperately don't want to believe in the Christian God, but don't want anyone else to either.

pdiddy2011 said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

Faith in the religious sense is entirely unprovable. You're just supposed to believe it, yes?

Something being unprovable is not at all the same as requiring the absence of logic.

To your question, faith is why you [can] believe it when you can't necessarily "prove" it. There are many logical reasons for a person to have faith.

Isn't it illogical to believe something that can't be validated?

SchlomoThaHomo said:

pdiddy2011 said:

Something being unprovable is not at all the same as requiring the absence of logic.

To your question, faith is why you [can] believe it when you can't necessarily "prove" it. There are many logical reasons for a person to have faith.

Isn't it illogical to believe something that can't be validated?

There are many forms of validation. If you're just talking scientifically, that's just one form of validation.

Example: You believe your parents love you. (Anyone, not specifially you.) But, how do you prove your mother loves you? How do you prove your father loves you? You can't - scientifically. You validate it by actions, feelings, memories, etc. And that belief is faith. Nothing illogical about it.

pdiddy2011 said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

Isn't it illogical to believe something that can't be validated?

There are many forms of validation. If you're just talking scientifically, that's just one form of validation.

Example: You believe your parents love you. (Anyone, not specifially you.) But, how do you prove your mother loves you? How do you prove your father loves you? You can't - scientifically. You validate it by actions, feelings, memories, etc. And that belief is faith. Nothing illogical about it.

U really are comparing those 2?

Your parent can show u many acts of Love thru DIRECT interaction.

What dierect interaction do u have with God outside of your mind & thoughs that u attribute 2 that God?