I get your drift... The magic is more or less gone. Although I must admit that June from HNR gave me some chills. But other than that...

Don't need no reefer... Don't need cocaine...

BELL6983 said:

We all trying to reach that 1st high. And no matter how many times Prince make new albums and we buy them, we still can't reach it.I really don't know how good Prince is anymore or am I stuck in the past?

The last sentence makes no sense, rendering this post pointless...

It's the same with Eminem for people who like(d) him. He came out of the gate so different and so good at what he did that after a few albums you got used to it. It gets to a point where you don't remember what it was like before him. You expect to hear that virtuosity on everything. The truth is that Prince, just like everyone else, has a limited number of interests. After a certain number of albums they begin to repeat themselves, at least lyrically. Most folks know of a time before Prince, but you cannot imagine what it's like to experience him for the first time because you have memories. If some completely unknown but physically attractive dancing teenager had put out AOA or HNR this year this place would be freaking out. AMIRITE?

That guitar still hits me right where it should

The vein isnt tapped yet, however the exploration of the religion and sexuality was alot more fun when we were all younger, and I can see how some themes are just boring at a certain point in time for a 57
year old man whose seen the world and has had his every desire served up many times over.

Makes sense the spiritual realm is where he directs his attention its the only true unknowable thing - he's still sexy tho - that drug ain't gone yet lololol

I remember that first "hit" back in 1979 but it was Dirty Mind that got me hooked. Ever since I've been trying to find that "Purple High" from the 80s but can never reach it. It seems like the only way I can get that feeling now is when I see him live or when I manage to hip a new fan to some of the "old" Prince from back in the day. But yes, it is like a drug!

Pentacle said:

I honestly wish there was a drug or something out there that lets you re-hear a song for the first time again. This with the Lovesexy album would be amazing.

Angelsoncrack said:

It's not Prince that is a drug, it's music.

There are no artists alive that provoke highs as high as they did in teens and young adults in their rise to stardom and just kept them coming over multiple decades.

Does it mean the music is necessarily just a pale reflection of the music of old?

Objectively, no. Emotionally, when you factor all the hormones involved initially both in the artist and his fans and the fact music really does act on the brain sort of like a drug, the imprint of that experience is so strong that at best a new song will evoke that old ancient high.

I do still get terrific highs listening to some songs some day, I get it from a number of artists but few still do it occasionally with new stuff decades after they first started. Songs like Hardrocklover and Clouds should not even be posible at this point, but there they are.

Forget about that pedestal high, go for what you enjoy in the moment, that's how you discovered Prince in the first place.

good metaphor... definitely...

True. He is the music and the drug. The man is like a sonic sponge absorbing the vibes of his environment, the universe, and expressing them through his hands--those occasionally virtuosic hands.

[Edited 10/26/15 21:25pm]

NorthC said:

^Not at all, it makes perfect sense. This post sums up what it means to be a fan. We all want that feeling back of hearing Purple Rain or Lovesexy for the first time and go, Wow! That's amazing! I never heared anything like this!

Yes, those are the first two sentences.

Then: 'I really don't know how good Prince is anymore' - a statement. The OP is confused.

'or am I stuck in the past?' Who knows. And does it matter, for apparently we only get that absolute high once, according to the OP.

The post should have: Maaaan, in the eighties every new Prince album gave me a purple high. But nowadays... Is it me, have I gotten too old to experience that, or is Prince just not that good anymore?

Pentacle said:

Prince used to serve us the best quality Class A drugs from a shiny new sports car: fantastic drugs that got us high like never before...

Nowadays Prince is selling crystal meth from a dark alley. We still buy from him, out of habit and because unfortunately we can't really get any better drugs elsewhere. But, let's face it, we are all still craving the high quality dope from back then.

Bring on the remasters NOW!!!

warning2all said:

BELL6983 said:

Pentacle said:

Yes, those are the first two sentences.

Then: 'I really don't know how good Prince is anymore' - a statement. The OP is confused.

'or am I stuck in the past?' Who knows. And does it matter, for apparently we only get that absolute high once, according to the OP.

The post should have: Maaaan, in the eighties every new Prince album gave me a purple high. But nowadays... Is it me, have I gotten too old to experience that, or is Prince just not that good anymore?

shut up!

Grammar, syntax - it's a bitch, I know.

BELL6983 said:

We all trying to reach that 1st high. And no matter how many times Prince make new albums and we buy them, we still can't reach it.I really don't know how good Prince is anymore or am I stuck in the past?

Astasheiks said:

BELL6983 said:

We all trying to reach that 1st high. And no matter how many times Prince make new albums and we buy them, we still can't reach it.I really don't know how good Prince is anymore or am I stuck in the past?

I stay high off of Prince music from beginning to the present! For some of us he's just as Badd as he ever was!

No its not, its badd, but its not the baddest. Purple Rain is Badder!

[Edited 10/30/15 8:36am]

Don't need no cymbals, no saxophone
Just need 2 find me a style of my own
And I'm high, so high

BELL6983 said:

We all trying to reach that 1st high. And no matter how many times Prince make new albums and we buy them, we still can't reach it.I really don't know how good Prince is anymore or am I stuck in the past?

A lot of recent songs or albums didn't make me go less higher than, PR or Lovesexy back then, so it's a very personal thing I guess, not just Prince.

Also OVERALL I believe age fades away a lot of most people's enthusiasm in regards to just everything, from works of art to love and jobs and so on. I'm trying to fight this a lot and keep a sense of wonder, but still I can feel this sometimes: when u grow older u've seen it all and u're not as easily impressed. Try and watch your favorite childhood's cartoon again: u may still like it but u wouldn't watch it 20 times in 3 months like u did when u were 6.

funkaholic1972 said:

tollyc said:

funkaholic1972 said:

Prince used to serve us the best quality Class A drugs from a shiny new sports car: fantastic drugs that got us high like never before...

Nowadays Prince is selling crystal meth from a dark alley. We still buy from him, out of habit and because unfortunately we can't really get any better drugs elsewhere. But, let's face it, we are all still craving the high quality dope from back then.

Bring on the remasters NOW!!!

This was the best quote for the ages. And I totally agree with the analogy.

Thanks, haha!

It is a bit of a crude analogy, as I still love Prince and follow his career. But his albums have been "HITNMISS" for a very long time now, the gems are still there from time to time but not as frequently as in the eighies and early nineties.

I have to say though I really like his last two offerings Stare and Free Urself. If he manages to produce an album full of songs of this quality and with this type of production, I'd be quite a happy customer.