ir7ish said:

Prince wrote, sang, produced and played every instrument in the soundtrack of my life. My older brother liked funk and r&b and so that's what I listened to. When I first heard "Controversy" as a 13-year-old I was mesmerized. But 1999 was my first Prince album that I bought with my own money. I thought I was just buying Little Red Corvette, 1999 and Delirious. I couldn't believe the rest of that album (Free, Lady Cab Driver, DMSR, etc.). I have bought every "album" since.......and countless "12" singles and bootlegs. And rest assured that those boxes of records are coming out now and being played. I owe my longest friendship to Prince (my best friend from high school who also appreciated Prince, and yes today forced us to pick up the phone to talk to each other and walk down memory lane). I have probably been to 20 of his concerts. And Prince did not make it easy to be his fan. Try being a skinny nerdy white kid that liked Prince in the 80's ("you like that faggot?!" "He sounds like a girl...and looks like one"). Then he changed his name to that symbol, and everyone thought he lost it. I tried explaining the fight with Warner Bros to no avail. Then he kept switching the way he sold his music making it difficult to find. But now everyone is applauding him for being way ahead of his time and a revolutionary. Go figure. Frankly, I didn't care how weird everybody thought he was, I just wanted to hear that next piece of music with all of its complexities and hidden messages or multiple meanings. Funny how his songs just became better the more I listened to them. Prince had all the same themes throughout his career - love, sex, God, freedom. What was awesome is that he blended all of them together with his God-given musical genius in a way no other artist has ever done. Interesting how you never hear any "hate" in his music (except for those who restricted freedom of him or others). It just sucks knowing that the spigot is now turned off forever. Now I know how my dad felt when Elvis suddenly died, and my brother who idolized Michael Jackson felt when he died. I know I still have a catalogue of music to listen to, and surely a bunch of unreleased music will come out in the coming years. But there will be no more concerts to go to (sorry I never got you to one my wife, Bonnie) and no more new music to hear. And of course that bucket list item of actually talking to Prince one day is now impossible. It's just brutal. But it is nice to finally hear everyone finally giving him the universal props that he deserved well before he died. Welcome to the dawn, Prince

You sound exactly like me. My first Prince CD was 1999. My Mom bought it for me back in the mid 80s. I couldn't have been more than 7 years old. I'm sure she had no clue what was on it :-0 Neither did I. I was hooked. I took all the heat in middle school and high school for liking him. In grade school I went to a private Catholic School and I was caned because I was caught listening to Purple Rain during lunch. I have all his albums and hundreds of boots. I've seen him too many times to count. Today I am sad and also a little angry at myself. Angry because I wrapped up so much of my life in Prince and didn't create more balance...that's something I have to deal with on my own and I'm sure I'll work it out as I find other passions. But I will always love Prince, cherish the music and remember / be grateful for the opportunities I had to see him preform live.

fix the title to this and maybe I can take it seriously