I now feel that the time is right to post this essay that I have compiled regarding Princes' death!!

MY THOUGHTS ON PRINCE AND HIS PASSING

First of all, let me state, right from the outset, that, like millions of fans around the world, that I am also mourning the loss of one, if not THE, worlds greatest and most powerful musicians, artists, performers of this century and the last century, and I am also deeply saddened, that the world will never again see the likes of him in our lifetime.

That being said, I would now like to express my honest and sincere thoughts, as to why, in some respects, on the other side of the coin, that his death did not result in any long term feelings and emotions of grief, wailing, endless tears, etc. and loss that are still being felt by millions of fans moreorless 6 weeks or so after his passing(particularly from the female gender, like I am) in me.

I am a female, 58 years old and I am a very emotional and spiritual person who lives in a world of netherworldliness, and have done, moreorless my whole life(Hell, even teachers wrote in yearbooks that I lived in my own fantasy world!!!LOLOLOL). Music has always been a major part of ME, WHO I am, WHAT I am and HOW I am!! Ever since I was a child, music has always kept me ALIVE!! I have lived through so many phases of music(my earliest recollection being the late 60s Flower Power era of Peace, Love and Understanding and Make Love Not War ethos - I must have been only about 9/10 at the time!!), then through Glam Rock,Blues, REAL R & B, country rock, disco/funk, prog rock, punk(not a total fan), even alternate indie, you name it!! It is only the last 20 years or so, that music has taken a total nosedive in my life, for reasons, that I am sure any discerning music lover would instantly know, but I kept my strong love for REAL music performed and recorded by REAL ADULT musicians and championed that cause even amongst all the total trash and garbage that has been forced down our throats over the last 20 years or so!!

Now, lets get onto Prince. When he first came on the scene in the late 70s/early 80s, he blew everyone out of the ballpark!! He was original, ground breaking, knocking down barriers with his sheer edginess, bravadoism, overtly sexual themes, total funked up musicianship, he was dirty, raw, manifested an awesome charisma and possessed this complete netherworldly mystique and enigma that no other musician or artist has done before or after him with the exception of maybe David Bowie, Michael Hutchence and a couple of others!! His music captured my total being in every sense, emotionally, mentally, spiritually and, yes, even physically!! Looking back, in hindsight now, how in God's name he got away with what he did in terms of song lyrics(particularly covering such taboo subjects such as incest, masturbation, threesomes with both genders, even songs about sexual bodily fluids),stage performances, even his imagery and appearence totally captured the imagination of the whole world and how he got away with what he did is beyond the realms of comprehension, but it blew me away and I wanted more of the same and Prince became my whole world and I LOVED HIM!! Even, in the 90s, when he went through his much publicised battles with Warner Brothers and he declared that he was no longer Prince, the name on his contract(or CONtracts as he called them) but wanted the whole world to refer to him by the Symbol and he wrote "Slave" on his face, to express his outward feelings on how he felt he was treated by Warner Brothers and also representing how all other artists and performers are being treated by record companies, Even his drastic change in his music styles and image at that time I got, because it was HIM and it was ADULT and MATURE!! Then in 1996, he finally severed his ties with Warners, and he celebrated his "freedom" from them with his 3-disc Magnum Opus, Emancipation, which, in my opinion was his last TRUE masterpiece!!

This is now where I can begin to tell you that I do not mourn his physical passing as deeply or as prolonged as the millions of fans do now in these past 6 weeks. In my honest opinion, Emancipation was, as I said before, his last TRUE masterpiece!! To me, he "died" shortly after that, because his music DIED as it was never really the same as it was ever before, it seemed to lack in something, it had no LIFE, no DEPTH, no SPIRIT, no EXCITEMENT no LOVE!! I always felt that, in a lot of respects, he was just going through the motions of recording and bringing out new material and using whatever means to do so, even freebees in newspapers(which to me was sheer desperation) and things were only going from bad to worse down to his last album, Hit&Run 2!! His music, after Emancipation just did not do anything for me, did not move me, did not capture my imagination, did not excite me. nothing!! It was DEAD and LIFELESS!! Plus, the fact that over the past couple of decades, he was making more and more music to appeal to the record buying public which exists now in order to still stay relevant and his art was suffering because it!! Give me Lovesexy or Sign 'O' The Times or Diamonds & Pearls, or any of his past albums anyday!!! I would have preferred for him to stay true to himself and not worry about what was going on now and kept seperate from all the bullshit that was now happening and kept making ADULT, MATURE REAL MUSIC that was befitting of his age!! Sadly, Prince did not pass away on a high, like David Bowie did when he left the world with his magnificent and inspiring masterpiece, Blackstar. Prince left us with yet another CD of nursery rhymnes, Hit&Run 2!!!

Well, now that I have outlined the quality, or lack of it, in his music, I will now cover his live shows!! I dont care how much his live shows over the past 2 decades were heralded as being spectacular events and labelled as being "the greatest show on earth" to me, they were never the same as they were throughout the 80s, and 90s(the first half, at least). There again, they lacked excitement, lacked funk, lacked musicianship and lacked direction!! And things only got worse with the advent of 3rdEyeGirl, Princes' little posse of schoolgirls!! Even before 3rdEyeGirl, his live shows, to me, were a hodge-podge of nothing and a total mess with his sideshows of Godawful female singers such as Liv Warfield, Shelby Johnson, and others who just couldnt carry a note to save their lives and just bellowed and screeched out instead of sung, not to mention all the extra musicians on stage, which made it all seem too much!! The last time, I actually saw Prince live was in 2007 at the 02 in London, as part of his 21 Nights residency and, to be honest, I was BORED!! I thought at the time that all he needed was a troupe of Vegas showgirls and he had a full blown mini Vegas production!! Prince, in that respect, just lost his mojo to me and confirmed it to me that he had definately lost his way over the past 2 decades!! Even then he was just going through the motions of performing with no clear direction or purpose for doing them!! But then, at least with Musicology he went out on tour to promote it, and not just tour for the sake of it!!

So, with everything I have said, is it any wonder why I consider that Prince has died to me, 20 years ago!!?? For the past 2 decades I have refused to acknowledge him as the Prince that I once knew and LOVED!! I have mourned and wept bitterly EVERYDAY his "passing away" since 1996!!

I will always remember and treasure Prince, but sadly not the Prince that he eventually became!!

[Edited 5/31/16 8:22am]

The man has just died! Why would you even bother spending so long writing your opinions. Why don't you just keep them to yourself?

People still dissing him even after his death , sad. Your free to say your opinions.

[Edited 5/31/16 5:07am]

I am in NO WAY dissing Prince!! I count myself as one of his biggest fans, but only of his music and stage shows pre-1996!!

And in my essay I was being EXTREMELY TACTFUL!!

I think your opinions say a lot more about you than what Prince did in the past two decades.

PurpleSpirit319 said:

I am in NO WAY dissing Prince!! I count myself as one of his biggest fans, but only of his music and stage shows pre-1996!!

And in my essay I was being EXTREMELY TACTFUL!!

OK saying dissing might be too much , i apologise for that. Just sad times. One of my all time fav Prince concerts was in 2014 in Manchester. And my first was Lovesexy and that was brilliant too.

[Edited 5/31/16 5:17am]

I dont agree with the opinons - but to each their own, I actually like all his work overall as it all showed growth and change which is what we do as we get older. I really appreciate it all even more now he is not here and hope I learn something more as my appreciation deepens. I loved the older Prince so much - it was refreshing seeing him acting like a gentleman in all he did.

Jesus, I fell asleep reading that. If I can sum up your tl;dr essay: "Prince and his music evolved, but I didn't; I wanted Purple Rain, over, and over, and over again."

I can respect that. Lots of people like you. I hope I can save some people some time from reading your entire diary.

Take care, friend!

Possibly my favorite line: "Plus, the fact that over the past couple of decades, he was making more and more music to appeal to the record buying public which exists now in order to still stay relevant and his art was suffering because it!!"

Yes, The Rainbow Children was such a blatant attempt at radio friendly sellout. I have to now assume you wrote this tongue in cheek.

Wow, what a ridiculous and disrespectful post but yeah whatever ...

jasopig said:

Possibly my favorite line: "Plus, the fact that over the past couple of decades, he was making more and more music to appeal to the record buying public which exists now in order to still stay relevant and his art was suffering because it!!"

Yes, The Rainbow Children was such a blatant attempt at radio friendly sellout. I have to now assume you wrote this tongue in cheek.

There again I preferred Lovesexy and/or The Symbol album for his attempts at a concept album!! The Rainbow Children was a total mess to me!!

"I have mourned and wept bitterly EVERYDAY his "passing away" since 1996!! All that needed was for him to die, physically in the flesh, which happened on the 21st April, 2016."

How callous! He was a human being with a life of his own to lead. He was not on this earth simply to provide you with entertainment. If you did enjoy even some of his work you should feel extremely grateful to him and all those that supported him for all the work involved in achieving that brilliance. Most people don't achieve nearly so much in their lives.

I don't think of entertainers as dead as soon as they are not doing what I would hope they might or what they did in their youth. I am thankful for anyone who touched my life and wish them peace and happiness in their own no matter how they choose to live it.

BombFunk said:

Wow, what a ridiculous and disrespectful post but yeah whatever ...

Glad I read comments before attempting that wall of text.

Paragraphs are your friend!

"I have mourned and wept bitterly EVERYDAY his "passing away" since 1996!! All that needed was for him to die, physically in the flesh, which happened on the 21st April, 2016."

How callous! He was a human being with a life of his own to lead. He was not on this earth simply to provide you with entertainment. If you did enjoy even some of his work you should feel extremely grateful to him and all those that supported him for all the work involved in achieving that brilliance. Most people don't achieve nearly so much in their lives.

I don't think of entertainers as dead as soon as they are not doing what I would hope they might or what they did in their youth. I am thankful for anyone who touched my life and wish them peace and happiness in their own no matter how they choose to live it.

PurpleSpirit319 said:

jasopig said:

Possibly my favorite line: "Plus, the fact that over the past couple of decades, he was making more and more music to appeal to the record buying public which exists now in order to still stay relevant and his art was suffering because it!!"

Yes, The Rainbow Children was such a blatant attempt at radio friendly sellout. I have to now assume you wrote this tongue in cheek.

There again I preferred Lovesexy and/or The Symbol album for his attempts at a concept album!! The Rainbow Children was a total mess to me!!

Damn! And there was me thinking it is in his top 3 post WB albums... How did I get it so wrong? I guess I have to hand in my membership card.

You can't be expecting people to really cheer you on after a post like that. Rather than rest on his laurels Prince went on to create new stuff even when he may have felt it could not compete with his best albums. He continued to challenge himself and work prolifically, every year of his life. Every Prince album had a few decent/interesting tracks, even in recent years. There is no doubt that Prince's later output was of limited interest to many people; just check the sales figures, but that does not equate creative death.

NorthC said:

Wow. That's an incredibly long way of saying "I didn't like his new music."

LOL yea +1....nothing wrong with opinions or thoughts- to each his/ her own....at least this person knew more about his music up to a point than most mainstream media and folks.

Some things in there could have been said a little better.

It's funny because I was always bored with the Purple Rain live concert (on video) outside of Irresistible Bitch/Possessed, Baby I'm a Star (just antics beyond the song, that;s another song I don't really get into) and the guitar soloing on Purple Rain (pre-song). I thought that all the rest seemed kind of stale and dead. I didn't like the Vegas fancy glittery, boa laden, costumes either. My point is I don't quite understand the exhalted position, and automatic thumbs up all his stuff from the mid 80's gets. I really do believe the age of the listener and attaching the music to their own life is the secret to the worship in some cases.

Because of my overall disappointment in the Purple Rain concert, I avoided seeing the SOTT concert film for a little while on it's first run. I did soon catch it at a university big screen screening, and was so surprised at the solid energy and vibe, the dacning, the costumes. I kick myself for not seeing it at a mainstream theater.

I saw the ONA tour front row center with his guitars at my feet. And it was great! Highlights of intense power were the insturmental buildup of "Xenophobia", the pure joy of the cover of "Sing Simple Song" , funk of "1+1+1= 3" and the first hearing of "Avalanche".

There's been appearances recently with 3rd Eye Girl that did have this rock god demon vibe to them and did have a mood that worked for me. And everyone looked cool, and Prince had this crazy new look. To each his own! I think there are tracks on 20ten that I like as much as some tracks on the mid 80's albums. That I've listened to just as much.

PS, I have not quite grown to appreciate "Emancipation" yet. In fact, I think that the adjectives used to criticize New Power Soul actually apply more to Emancipation 100% . I think many of his later albums beat that one by miles... in my opinion.

"with 3rd Eye Girl that did have this rock god demon vibe to them"...."Prince had this crazy new look"...THIS. After seeing and hearing the "Las Vegas style-suits-horns-polished r&B jazz" for years, the new look and sounds with the 3rd Eye project was a refreshing change. That change/new look reminded me of the 80's Prince.

SPYZFAN1 said:

"with 3rd Eye Girl that did have this rock god demon vibe to them"...."Prince had this crazy new look"...THIS. After seeing and hearing the "Las Vegas style-suits-horns-polished r&B jazz" for years, the new look and sounds with the 3rd Eye project was a refreshing change. That change/new look reminded me of the 80's Prince.

As looks and sound go though, it was probably one his most long lasting. Too long in my opinion. I always thought of it as the mid-life crisis look. And the 3rdeyegirl period seemed to go one forever despite only releasing one mediocre album.

"the mid life crisis look"...lol, yeah I can see your point on that. I think Andy Allo rejuvinated his spirit and vision..He felt younger through her. But I think he was done with 3rd Eye and was ready to move on with Mono Neon.

Actually, I correct myself!! His last and FINAL funked up masterpiece was The War!! My father is in his 80s and totally loves it!!!LOLOLOL

Both him and I also love NEWS as well, so there was some spasmodic gems over the past 20 years!!!

And. beleive it or not, 18 years down the line, I quite like New Power Soul now!! oh well, better late than never!!!

By the way, I never liked Princes' "crazy new look" of recent years with that afro!! It never seemed age appropiate to him!! I would have preferred him to be more like Lionel Ritchie who knows how old he is and dresses accordingly!!

PurpleSpirit319 said:

I would have preferred him to be more like Lionel Ritchie who knows how old he is and dresses accordingly!!

My God woman, ... SMH

PurpleSpirit319 said:

... For the past 2 decades I have refused to acknowledge him as the Prince that I once knew and LOVED!! I have mourned and wept bitterly EVERYDAY his "passing away" since 1996!! All that needed was for him to die, physically in the flesh, which happened on the 21st April, 2016. I will always remember and treasure Prince, but sadly not the Prince that he eventually became!!

That line there is a dagger to those still mourning. You know, some personal issues you can work out in your diary privy to your eyes only. Just sayin...

I uderstand where the OP is coming from even though he comes off as a typical hatin azz. It took his death and revelations that came from that for me to understand where Prince was coming from. Notably, when he was quoted as undersanding Woody Allen continually putting out material year after year to "get periphery stuff out to get to the masterpieces" or something like that. And not only to get to the gems in ones head, but to keep the livelihood flowing in part to be able to help with philanthropy efforts. That was the goal. So stop worrying about the quality after 1996 folks. There was bigger fish to fry than Gold era inspiration works.

.

[Edited 5/31/16 9:41am]