Prince is usually called a pop singer. I already made a post asking would people consider him goth, and now I'm asking - would you consider him as underground? I mean, when you think about it - a lot of his songs are not well known to the public, the way he treats his fans, not caring about view counts... what do you think?

Prince is Pop as in Popular, he definately at this moment Popular. I think in the 1980 he/his music even the 'popular' music he was still underground to me

Hmm, thats interesting. Its a peculair case for Prince. He walks the odd line of being a superstar on the levels of MJ and The Beatles, but also has one foot in the artsy fartsy, non-mainstream side as well. He could easily take over the world again if he wanted to like he seemingly did back in 04 with the Musicology era as well as the Superbowl gig, but then he'll also release very non-commercial albums like N.E.W.S. and The Rainbow Children that tend to cater to his cult-like fanbase (which, lets face it folks, major fans like ourselves are the perfect example of a "Cult Following") as well as the elitist music snob circles. So while I wouldn't consider Prince to be an "Underground" figure exactly, I would definitely consider him a 100% genuine artist's kind of artist. And what I mean when I say that is is that hes made what some folks may consider a good amount of VERY questionable decisions regarding how he chooses to go about marketing himself, his music, and his image (The SLAVE era, releasing ATWIAD after PR, Lovesexy's cover, DROPPING THE NAME "PRINCE" IN FAVOR OF GOING UNDER THE MONIKER OF A SYMBOL), but he did all those things stubbornly and to his vision, regardless if he lost a lot of fans and provided more bait for his haters in doing so. Whether we agreed with his choices or not is irrelevant because he chose to go with his own gut instead of other people's. And that to me is a real, true-to-thyself "Artist" in the purest sense of the word. It's really hard for me to find fault with an individual who marches to the beat of their own drum, and Prince is a great example of that individual.

[Edited 4/25/15 5:08am]

kygermo said:

Hmm, thats interesting. Its a peculair case for Prince. He walks the odd line of being a superstar on the levels of MJ and The Beatles, but also has one foot in the artsy fartsy, non-mainstream side as well. He could easily take over the world again if he wanted to like he seemingly did back in 04 with the Musicology era as well as the Superbowl gig, but then he'll also release very non-commercial albums like N.E.W.S. and The Rainbow Children that tend to cater to his cult-like fanbase (which, lets face it folks, major fans like ourselves are the perfect example of a "Cult Following") as well as the elitist music snob circles. So while I wouldn't consider Prince to be an "Underground" figure exactly, I would definitely consider him a 100% genuine artist's kind of artist. And what I mean when I say that is is that hes made what some folks may consider a good amount of VERY questionable decisions regarding how he chooses to go about marketing himself, his music, and his image (The SLAVE era, releasing ATWIAD after PR, Lovesexy's cover, DROPPING THE NAME "PRINCE" IN FAVOR OF GOING UNDER THE MONIKER OF A SYMBOL), but he did all those things stubbornly and to his vision, regardless if he lost a lot of fans and provided more bait for his haters in doing so. Whether we agreed with his choices or not is irrelevant because he chose to go with his own gut instead of other people's. And that to me is a real, true-to-thyself "Artist" in the purest sense of the word. It's really hard for me to find fault with an individual who marches to the beat of his own drum, and Prince is a great example of that individual.

Great post!

He can be both, underground and mainstream superstar, and he´s always been a little bit of both in his decades long career. These days, he is probably more of an underground artist again but with decently priced tickets and good planning he could also fill huge arenas if he wanted to, or he could fill smaller venues and play more obscure stuff like during the ONA tour, and tickets would sell out very quickly, too.

Lyrics or songwise, he can play a setlist that caters to the mainstram or play his lesser known or more esoteric gems for his cult following who are willing to look a bit deeper into his catalog, including his post 90s´ output.

Well Prince has gone underground with this latest Hit and Run tour.

KoolEaze said:

He can be both, underground and mainstream superstar, and he´s always been a little bit of both in his decades long career. These days, he is probably more of an underground artist again but with decently priced tickets and good planning he could also fill huge arenas if he wanted to, or he could fill smaller venues and play more obscure stuff like during the ONA tour, and tickets would sell out very quickly, too.

Lyrics or songwise, he can play a setlist that caters to the mainstram or play his lesser known or more esoteric gems for his cult following who are willing to look a bit deeper into his catalog, including his post 90s´ output.

I agree he is a mix of both, maybe that appeals to his Gemini

I think now, he is definately Popular, I mean he might not have 'hit record's and such but he is a Legend, he is well known and respected among artists, actors, musicians, entertainers etc

But his music isn't underground, mainly because I don't think he wants it there.

I think around ONA-Rainbow Children he was 'underground' in a sense, a cult artist,

but after a taste of a reemergence of interest in him, he want mainstream above ground again via Musicology 3121 Planet Earth/21 Night shows

.

I think during the Come - Chaos & Disorder period he as on the edge, not popular, not really underground because he was just in a weird place battling with WB.

KingSausage said:

His career is underground, as in dead and buried.

Trolling doesn't work if A) everyone knows you are just a troll, and B) you aren't very good at it.

zsasz said:

KingSausage said:

zsasz said:

Trolling doesn't work if A) everyone knows you are just a troll, and B) you aren't very good at it.

No trolls here, chump. His career is dead. His album sales are dismal. He's sabotaging his legacy by ignoring his unmatched back catalog. He continues to piss on most everyone in the industry who could help him get big again. These days he's only successful in two ways: 1) sucking up to celebrities at private parties and award ceremonies and 2) playing stale hits shows as a lame nostalgia act that's better confined to Las Vegas.

Yet here you are.

skywalker said:

SoftSkarlettLovisa said:

Would you describe Prince as underground?

.

Hell no!

P is an artist doing just pop/rock hits with an occasional non-hit performance (usually the better ones).

He is certainly not underground as in progressive.

He is just less known to the youth of these days.

1978-82: Even though his image was scandalous and he seemed like a cult star, I wouldn't call him 'underground' since he was placing regular hits on the R&B/Dance charts. Overall mainstream though, yes very underground. Especially with him being controversial and weird but never on pop radio
1984-96: Even with ups-and-downs, still a popular star, very mainstream even with his unorthodox decisions and releases

1997-00: A weird place where he had one foot in the mainstream and one underground

2001-03: Totally underground.. loads of online albums, a religious jazz CD with no promotion, a live album, piano album, focused on musicianship over fame, basically a forgotten star

2004-09: Back to being a mainstream darling

After that, there's a lot of debate about how successful Prince is in the current era

As far as I know he is still alive! Unless you believe that other thread that he died in 1985 and is now a body double named Christopher lol

I would say that Prince used to be experimental if thats what you mean by Underground. Is he experimental anymore? No. He stopped after Lovesexy.

skywalker said:

KingSausage said:

zsasz said: No trolls here, chump. His career is dead. His album sales are dismal. He's sabotaging his legacy by ignoring his unmatched back catalog. He continues to piss on most everyone in the industry who could help him get big again. These days he's only successful in two ways: 1) sucking up to celebrities at private parties and award ceremonies and 2) playing stale hits shows as a lame nostalgia act that's better confined to Las Vegas.

Yet here you are.

Prince is arguably the greatest musician living today. Go ask 100 people who the greatest musician alive is and I doubt Prince's name would even come up.

He's all but forgotten to most people.

No he's not.

Maybe try...

Most successful, very petite, black male, musician, in Minnesota.

Strive said:

skywalker said:

Yet here you are.

Prince is arguably the greatest musician living today.

Strive said:

he'd need to do something more avant garde than whats been happening lately, and i'd love it. i think prince has it in him to do things we havent heard yet. its a matter of whether he wants to.

let's lock prince and bjork in a room for two weeks and see what happens lololol

kygermo said:

Hmm, thats interesting. Its a peculair case for Prince. He walks the odd line of being a superstar on the levels of MJ and The Beatles, but also has one foot in the artsy fartsy, non-mainstream side as well. He could easily take over the world again if he wanted to like he seemingly did back in 04 with the Musicology era as well as the Superbowl gig, but then he'll also release very non-commercial albums like N.E.W.S. and The Rainbow Children that tend to cater to his cult-like fanbase (which, lets face it folks, major fans like ourselves are the perfect example of a "Cult Following") as well as the elitist music snob circles. So while I wouldn't consider Prince to be an "Underground" figure exactly, I would definitely consider him a 100% genuine artist's kind of artist. And what I mean when I say that is is that hes made what some folks may consider a good amount of VERY questionable decisions regarding how he chooses to go about marketing himself, his music, and his image (The SLAVE era, releasing ATWIAD after PR, Lovesexy's cover, DROPPING THE NAME "PRINCE" IN FAVOR OF GOING UNDER THE MONIKER OF A SYMBOL), but he did all those things stubbornly and to his vision, regardless if he lost a lot of fans and provided more bait for his haters in doing so. Whether we agreed with his choices or not is irrelevant because he chose to go with his own gut instead of other people's. And that to me is a real, true-to-thyself "Artist" in the purest sense of the word. It's really hard for me to find fault with an individual who marches to the beat of their own drum, and Prince is a great example of that individual.

[Edited 4/25/15 5:08am]

I like the you put, pretty much sums it up.

annadaggs said:

kygermo said:

Hmm, thats interesting. Its a peculair case for Prince. He walks the odd line of being a superstar on the levels of MJ and The Beatles, but also has one foot in the artsy fartsy, non-mainstream side as well. He could easily take over the world again if he wanted to like he seemingly did back in 04 with the Musicology era as well as the Superbowl gig, but then he'll also release very non-commercial albums like N.E.W.S. and The Rainbow Children that tend to cater to his cult-like fanbase (which, lets face it folks, major fans like ourselves are the perfect example of a "Cult Following") as well as the elitist music snob circles. So while I wouldn't consider Prince to be an "Underground" figure exactly, I would definitely consider him a 100% genuine artist's kind of artist. And what I mean when I say that is is that hes made what some folks may consider a good amount of VERY questionable decisions regarding how he chooses to go about marketing himself, his music, and his image (The SLAVE era, releasing ATWIAD after PR, Lovesexy's cover, DROPPING THE NAME "PRINCE" IN FAVOR OF GOING UNDER THE MONIKER OF A SYMBOL), but he did all those things stubbornly and to his vision, regardless if he lost a lot of fans and provided more bait for his haters in doing so. Whether we agreed with his choices or not is irrelevant because he chose to go with his own gut instead of other people's. And that to me is a real, true-to-thyself "Artist" in the purest sense of the word. It's really hard for me to find fault with an individual who marches to the beat of their own drum, and Prince is a great example of that individual.

[Edited 4/25/15 5:08am]

I like the way you put that, pretty much sums it up.

skywalker said:

KingSausage said:

zsasz said: No trolls here, chump. His career is dead. His album sales are dismal. He's sabotaging his legacy by ignoring his unmatched back catalog. He continues to piss on most everyone in the industry who could help him get big again. These days he's only successful in two ways: 1) sucking up to celebrities at private parties and award ceremonies and 2) playing stale hits shows as a lame nostalgia act that's better confined to Las Vegas.

Yet here you are.

Yes, here we are. Because some of us are capable of appreciating aspects of the man's work without sycophantically worshipping everything he shits through his purple pantaloons. It is possible & I'm sure there are other aspects of your life where you apply a similar approach. Perhaps you enjoy vegetables, but not all of them? Frankly, there's quite a bit of Prince's output over the last two decades that's not suitable to be fed to pigs.

While Prince is going out every show playing Hits only he can never be considered underground.

Unpopular != underground.

fnksoul said:

KingSausage said:

zsasz said:

Trolling doesn't work if A) everyone knows you are just a troll, and B) you aren't very good at it.

No trolls here, chump. His career is dead. His album sales are dismal. He's sabotaging his legacy by ignoring his unmatched back catalog. He continues to piss on most everyone in the industry who could help him get big again. These days he's only successful in two ways: 1) sucking up to celebrities at private parties and award ceremonies and 2) playing stale hits shows as a lame nostalgia act that's better confined to Las Vegas.

very harsh i would say...his career certainly isnt dead...prince might act like a dick sometimes but he is a musicial legend...he is still one of the biggest live draws in the world...his live shows are acclaimed and rightly so...his last album...art official age went top ten all over the world and was the biggest selling album in the world the week it was released...with very little promotion...not bad for someone who is finished i would say..

of course his sales are not what they were but then no one sells like they used to...the fact he hasnt had a hit song for a long time and the fact he is in his mid 50s are the main reason he doesnt hang around the top of the album charts like he used to...he has his hardcore fanbase and they are worldwide which is something that is missed here...not that many artists are truly known worldwide...

remember he WAS the biggest pop star on the planet...what makes you think he wants to try and go back there ?...i am sure he would like a hit record but i get the impression he doesnt really want to do the work required to have one..he doesnt do much promotion anymore..not like someone like madonna does...so it aint gonna happen without that...i would love for him to chill out with his attitude to modern media like youtube because it is hurting his legacy with younger people...hopefully that will happen eventually.

his career has always been interesting and one thing we can all say is none of us know what he is going to do next..

I can dig that!

blackbob said:

KingSausage said:

zsasz said: No trolls here, chump. His career is dead. His album sales are dismal. He's sabotaging his legacy by ignoring his unmatched back catalog. He continues to piss on most everyone in the industry who could help him get big again. These days he's only successful in two ways: 1) sucking up to celebrities at private parties and award ceremonies and 2) playing stale hits shows as a lame nostalgia act that's better confined to Las Vegas.

very harsh i would say...his career certainly isnt dead...prince might act like a dick sometimes but he is a musicial legend...he is still one of the biggest live draws in the world...his live shows are acclaimed and rightly so...his last album...art official age went top ten all over the world and was the biggest selling album in the world the week it was released...with very little promotion...not bad for someone who is finished i would say..

of course his sales are not what they were but then no one sells like they used to...the fact he hasnt had a hit song for a long time and the fact he is in his mid 50s are the main reason he doesnt hang around the top of the album charts like he used to...he has his hardcore fanbase and they are worldwide which is something that is missed here...not that many artists are truly known worldwide...

remember he WAS the biggest pop star on the planet...what makes you think he wants to try and go back there ?...i am sure he would like a hit record but i get the impression he doesnt really want to do the work required to have one..he doesnt do much promotion anymore..not like someone like madonna does...so it aint gonna happen without that...i would love for him to chill out with his attitude to modern media like youtube because it is hurting his legacy with younger people...hopefully that will happen eventually.

his career has always been interesting and one thing we can all say is none of us know what he is going to do next..

Well said Blackbob. From my own perspective, there were definitely periods where being a fan of him felt rather 'underground'...the mid nineties had a very strange vibe about them and without huge media exposure or chart hits, being aware of his activities as a renegade artist felt like a very alternative (almost grungy) activity. Those sweaty club nights with Mayte were far removed from the artist who released 'Kiss'.

Just before 2004, again, Prince's career was in the doldrums commercially so it could be argued being aware of him was rather an underground activity once more.

I don't mind him being underground, for that's where he started...like any genuine artist. He started from nothing and wasn't thrust on us like people are these days. I've spent most of my life being a Prince fan and therefore underground to a large extent..it's not a mainstream thing to be a huge fan and hasn't been for a long time. I worry about him being underappreciated though - that's a different thing altogether.

blackbob said:

not that many artists are truly known worldwide...

.

Nonsense. Plenty are.

.

remember he WAS the biggest pop star on the planet...

.

No he wasn't.

.

what makes you think he wants to try and go back there ?...i am sure he would like a hit record but i get the impression he doesnt really want to do the work required to have one..

.

So you admit that he wants to be a pop star.