NorthC said:

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

my POV is basically the same as yours, PurpSpi.I got into Prince in 1980, when I was 12 years old. like you, Prince TOTALLY BLEW ME AWAY with his musicianship, style & audacity to challenge the "status quo" of music at that time.

.
I too find (found) his music - after 1993, really - to be mostly inferior to ALL of the BRILLIANT music he made between 1978-87.
after he admitted (in about 2000?) that his name change was basically to get out of his contract with WB, I lost my interest in him. he sued websites & put out music inferior to what he had put out in the 80s..

.
the last "Prince" album I bought was "new power soul" & I regret buying that to this day. yes of course Prince is a grown man & can follow (or not follow) whatever religion/belief/movement he wants.I understand that as a uniquely prolific artist who did not want to be confined or limited in his output - albeit, output of lesser quality - it was Prince's right to work with (or not work with) any label or distributor.

.
so then I basically stopped listening to Prince & following him in about 1999.

.
like every other Prince fan, I was shocked & shaken to hear of his passing. I have cried - & continue to cry - when I hear certain songs of his, like "purple rain" or "another lonely Christmas" & a few others. since his passing, I have WORN OUT listening to all of his great music from the 78-87 period. it's almost like I've "rediscovered" his musical brilliance.

.
because I "disconnected" from Prince many years ago.. for me - just like for PurpSpi - I feel his loss not as strongly as many others have. I really feel for those who are still struggling to accept this sad reality. I can imagine how difficult it must be.

.
as much as I miss Prince & appreciate how much he affected & influenced my life.. I am working to content myself with all that excellent music he did make.. & I anticipate listening to the great gems that will eventually be released from this famous "vault" we've heard about for so many years..

PurpleSpirit319 said:

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!!

Do you realize that Prince just passed away on April 21, 2016?!? There are a lot of people on here whose feelings are still raw.

It is my theory that Prince was probably wearing his hair "with that afro" in the natural look simply because: HE DIDN'T FEEL GOOD!!!!!!

I didn't find any part of your post funny, nor did I see any reason for the emoticons. It seems that the only reason you came on this site was to criticize - it would have been much better if you would have kept your judgmental opinions to yourself.

In case you haven't figured it out yet: MOST of the people on this site LOVED the man that called himself "Prince" - even "with that afro".

I found your posts to be very disrespectful.

[Edited 5/31/16 13:57pm]

.......

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]

You make an incredibly great point!! For the past two decades, I was alienated from his older work and reputation as exalted him for. From a 90s kids perspective, if your folks weren't into it, or you hadn't a leaning towards him from the start, or dove into 80s pop music, you were left in the dark while his genius and previous life (essentially) were overshadowed. He blipped on my radar a couple of times. Him, then and now, were just different people. It does make his life even more fascinating, but at the cost of a lot of his uniquely unabashed strengths.

I am grateful either way for him entering my life over the past couple years, at any rate.
It's a little bit haunting for me, because I was in Minneapolis very recently doing music work with a QPOC music event and wanted to reach out to him, because I think he would have been into it & he had acknowledged a seperate forward music community I am apart of. The team I was working with also wanted to possibly visit Paisley Park but then it just didn't happen. I just find it all so strange how close I was to rubbing contact with his enterprises. If I had known earlier how deeply I connected with his story, I probably would have visited the midwest earlier or attended one of his events early on. His ingenuity, artistic pirit and tenacity still inspire me and changed my life over the past month and a half. I don't think I've ever been more aware of my need to create with music that I am now.

Also, I think he might have become disenchanted with the new music industry, beyond his usual critique of ownership in music business. I would be really curious as to how he would have kept all his bravado & insatiable magnatic aura in the current music industry. The trajectory of the music industry has been exponential, SO much has changed involving the depths of genre,the music production game, the media game, the pop scene and more.

In the 90s many factors flipped over in music and left him to spin in circles with his craft, I do enjoy his recent music 96' and on though. As an artistic he's allowed to change and what he was doing was still very quality!! Even if it wasn't like some break-through energy he spiked with in the 80s.

Even then, recently he was also leading a lot of innovative choices as an independent. He was still very ahead when it came to utilizing & rejecting the internet and streaming services which also ties back to ownership. His enigma was still commanding even though he was in a new era.

I'm sure other people are more well-versed on his later life and can trace what might have steered him to this new era, like the introduction of JW, several miscarriages & divorces/seperations, aging, pain management, and new life goals. I still find his later compositions really top notch, they are just different and should be appreciated as such. He was relentless.

What I think is awesome though is the impact he had in social justice and his generosity. He invested a lot of time into the next generation. That heart and altruistic mind are enough for me to let go of what I desire from him musically. That is of course, if I followed him throughout his career.

[Edited 5/31/16 15:09pm]

mailaccount63 said:

PurpleSpirit319 said:

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!!

Do you realize that Prince just passed away on April 21, 2016?!? There are a lot of people on here whose feelings are still raw.

It is my theory that Prince was probably wearing his hair "with that afro" in the natural look simply because: HE DIDN'T FEEL GOOD!!!!!!

I didn't find any part of your post funny, nor did I see any reason for the emoticons. It seems that the only reason you came on this site was to criticize - it would have been much better if you would have kept your judgmental opinions to yourself.

In case you haven't figured it out yet: MOST of the people on this site LOVED the man that called himself "Prince" - even "with that afro".

I found your posts to be very disrespectful.

[Edited 5/31/16 13:57pm]

Damn, well thanks mailaccount63 for calling out this person.

Your post is wholly rude and insensitive right now. Especially on this forum.

Also people "so not into that afro": get over yourselves!!!!
There should be no shame in going natural, or accepting your natural hair.

I'm not even saying that prince necessarily was suddenly growing into his natural hair but who cares, the man was in a new phase of his life, stop being so judgemental over a grown man's choices. Give him a break.

As someone who comes from a biracial background the critiques on the afro, if you don't like it, that's your personal preference and/or might reveal your feelings towards different hair types, which comes off as racist to me. But then again, maybe you think he genuinely should not rock his natural hair. Either way, it's a shallow comment.

[Edited 5/31/16 15:11pm]

I cannot believe this has been allowed to remain open and has not been directed to the Absurdities thread.

.

[Edited 5/31/16 17:04pm]

I think some people just sexually and romantically invested in Prince more than others, so when he stopped being so sexually charged, the music was no longer sounded great to them.

Iamtheorg said:

nursev said:

I can honestly say that besides Michael Jackson...Prince is the only other artist that I've seen people be so disrespectful towards after his death. I mean he went from being a musical genius to a drug addict in one day n being dead creatively 20 years ago...hurts my heart.

Folks were the same way when he was alive. At least on the org

I just don't get it. Why are haters EVEN on the org? Doesn't make sense. This is for the Prince lovers, not haters. Haters go elsewhere, please. Peace and Love. And Ps. To the other orger hating on Prince hair and dress - the man can wear his hair and dress any way he damn pleases. Show some respect! "Shut up already, damn".

[Edited 5/31/16 18:15pm]

Despite my distaste for the way this post is written, I would have largely agreed with some of its core points about Prince’s post-Emancipation output until recently.

After completing my biography of Prince in about 2000, I found nothing in records like Musicology or 3121 to re-kindle my interest or to dispel my view that Emancipation was his last great work. As far as live performances, I have always had my issues with Prince outside of the aftershow context, so I didn’t find much to keep me on board there either.

However, in the course of re-connecting with Prince and people here in the course of working to update my book, my eyes have been opened somewhat. There is some great material to be discovered. Phase 2 certainly contains some fun stuff, and frankly LotusFlower (the main disc) is quite excellent. Cuts like Boom, Colonized Mind, and Dreamer can’t be discounted as meaningful parts of Prince’s canon.

As far as live stuff, being exposed to the wealth of stuff on YouTube and also the Indigo Nights record has convinced me that the key development in Prince’s career over the last 12 years is that he became quite possibly the best live performer on the planet, and certainly the greatest funk performer that there has even been. His guitar playing has improved markedly, as has his mastery as a bandleader.

So, ultimately I believe the OP quite overstates the case, despite articulating (if it can be called that) a view that some people share in some measure.

PS -- can someone tell me to how to add spaces between paragraphs on the org? Can't seem to figure it out!

[Edited 5/31/16 18:29pm]

PS -- can someone tell me to how to add spaces between paragraphs on the org? Can't seem to figure it out!

Shift+Enter

AlexHahn said:

Despite my distaste for the way this post is written, I would have largely agreed with some of its core points about Prince’s post-Emancipation output until recently.

After completing my biography of Prince in about 2000, I found nothing in records like Musicology or 3121 to re-kindle my interest or to dispel my view that Emancipation was his last great work. As far as live performances, I have always had my issues with Prince outside of the aftershow context, so I didn’t find much to keep me on board there either.

However, in the course of re-connecting with Prince and people here in the course of working to update my book, my eyes have been opened somewhat. There is some great material to be discovered. Phase 2 certainly contains some fun stuff, and frankly LotusFlower (the main disc) is quite excellent. Cuts like Boom, Colonized Mind, and Dreamer can’t be discounted as meaningful parts of Prince’s canon.

As far as live stuff, being exposed to the wealth of stuff on YouTube and also the Indigo Nights record has convinced me that the key development in Prince’s career over the last 12 years is that he became quite possibly the best live performer on the planet, and certainly the greatest funk performer that there has even been. His guitar playing has improved markedly, as has his mastery as a bandleader.

So, ultimately I believe the OP quite overstates the case, despite articulating (if it can be called that) a view that some people share in some measure.

PS -- can someone tell me to how to add spaces between paragraphs on the org? Can't seem to figure it out!

[Edited 5/31/16 18:29pm]

Anything to sell your book. You are such a lawyer.

meagemini2 said:

Lets switch up this post til its deleted.Lets face it prince fam many dont know prince past D & P'S.

I skipped over this block of text earlier in the day, but seeing that it merited 75 replied, I figured it was worth a read...

BanishedBrian said:

mailaccount63 said:

BanishedBrian said:

I skipped over this block of text earlier in the day, but seeing that it merited 75 replied, I figured it was worth a read...

....and, what do you think now?.......

He read it and hit himself in the head with a hammer.

CherryMoon57 said:

What a tactless long-winded post. I am wondering what made you come back here in 2011 if you thought Prince didn't have what it takes any longer. Not only do I totally disagree with you (my right as well as yours), but I think your post says a lot more about you as a person than it says about Prince's music.

Prince's music has evolved and changed throughout the years because he followed his inspiration and remained true to his aspirations. He had a lot of integrity and was not commercially driven like many other artists. I do love his early stuff but also feel that his post 90's music has gained a lot of depth and maturity and it certainly takes a musically-trained ear to appreciate it. As for his live performances... If you get the chance, have a look at some of his Montreux 2009 live footages, if you haven't already. They're out there on the internet. Let us know what you think.

The fact that you haven't enjoyed the music he has made in the past 20 years could simply mean that the fast-evolving pace of his creativity has left you behind.

As for his live performances... If you get the chance, have a look at some of his Montreux 2009 live footages, if you haven't already. THIS!

And it is really sad that someone who probably has not written one song in their life had the audacity to malign the genius of Prince. And that to say that one was waiting for his physical passing only is just the lowest human thought I have ever encountered in my life.

dearlybelov3d said:

mailaccount63 said:

Do you realize that Prince just passed away on April 21, 2016?!? There are a lot of people on here whose feelings are still raw.

It is my theory that Prince was probably wearing his hair "with that afro" in the natural look simply because: HE DIDN'T FEEL GOOD!!!!!!

I didn't find any part of your post funny, nor did I see any reason for the emoticons. It seems that the only reason you came on this site was to criticize - it would have been much better if you would have kept your judgmental opinions to yourself.

In case you haven't figured it out yet: MOST of the people on this site LOVED the man that called himself "Prince" - even "with that afro".

I found your posts to be very disrespectful.

[Edited 5/31/16 13:57pm]

Damn, well thanks mailaccount63 for calling out this person.

Your post is wholly rude and insensitive right now. Especially on this forum.

Also people "so not into that afro": get over yourselves!!!!
There should be no shame in going natural, or accepting your natural hair.

I'm not even saying that prince necessarily was suddenly growing into his natural hair but who cares, the man was in a new phase of his life, stop being so judgemental over a grown man's choices. Give him a break.

As someone who comes from a biracial background the critiques on the afro, if you don't like it, that's your personal preference and/or might reveal your feelings towards different hair types, which comes off as racist to me. But then again, maybe you think he genuinely should not rock his natural hair. Either way, it's a shallow comment.

[Edited 5/31/16 15:11pm]

I actually loved him in his Afro. I remarked in that picture thread that he looked like a Messiah who demands complete surrender. And it is very stupid to say 'he didn't feel good' re: his Afro. You do understand that the man had undergone an exceptional growing curve since his Head days. From where he was looking, his hair, his appearance didn't matter (though he always looked fetching). It was the soul. And he had one of the finest souls.

Redisabsurd said:

https://www.youtube.com/w...SlFlxZqjvU

The sun set in the west this mornin'
4 I know, I know L.A. is callin'
Bad news, Steve said, and people are talkin'
They say your kingdom is fallin', yeah
They say U lost your fire
When another musician U hired
Little do they know, U wouldn't have passed go
Unless they could take U higher, yeah

The sun set in my heart this afternoon
4 2 friends of mine got stuck in the snow
In Uptown when winter's alarmin', oh
Cocaine becomes charmin'
But U talk about things U don't know 'bout
I know, no matter how pleasant your past was
Green and white return 2 blue
U're happy as long as your last buzz
And then U think U want something new, yeah

The sun, the sun set in my mind this evening
4 someone who said they would die 4 me
Sold some, they sold some more pictures and all my little memories
Chump change is 2 unravel the mystery, ah ha
But life is no fun, life ain't no fun without fantasy
Some things are better left unsaid
And some people are better left untrusted
Maybe, maybe, maybe it'll all make sense when I'm dead
When I'm dead

Old friends 4 sale
Get'em while the gettin' is hot
Watch out, they'll kiss U until they get what U got
And they'll show U the friends that they're not
Old friends 4 sale

CherryMoon57 said:

https://www.youtube.com/w...SlFlxZqjvU

The sun set in the west this mornin'
4 I know, I know L.A. is callin'
Bad news, Steve said, and people are talkin'
They say your kingdom is fallin', yeah
They say U lost your fire
When another musician U hired
Little do they know, U wouldn't have passed go
Unless they could take U higher, yeah

The sun set in my heart this afternoon
4 2 friends of mine got stuck in the snow
In Uptown when winter's alarmin', oh
Cocaine becomes charmin'
But U talk about things U don't know 'bout
I know, no matter how pleasant your past was
Green and white return 2 blue
U're happy as long as your last buzz
And then U think U want something new, yeah

The sun, the sun set in my mind this evening
4 someone who said they would die 4 me
Sold some, they sold some more pictures and all my little memories
Chump change is 2 unravel the mystery, ah ha
But life is no fun, life ain't no fun without fantasy
Some things are better left unsaid
And some people are better left untrusted
Maybe, maybe, maybe it'll all make sense when I'm dead
When I'm dead

Old friends 4 sale
Get'em while the gettin' is hot
Watch out, they'll kiss U until they get what U got
And they'll show U the friends that they're not
Old friends 4 sale

Oh, this hurts so much. I am all in tears now and I am still hurt why somebody would talk so disrespectfully about someone who gave his all.

Redisabsurd said:

CherryMoon57 said:

https://www.youtube.com/w...SlFlxZqjvU

The sun set in the west this mornin'
4 I know, I know L.A. is callin'
Bad news, Steve said, and people are talkin'
They say your kingdom is fallin', yeah
They say U lost your fire
When another musician U hired
Little do they know, U wouldn't have passed go
Unless they could take U higher, yeah

The sun set in my heart this afternoon
4 2 friends of mine got stuck in the snow
In Uptown when winter's alarmin', oh
Cocaine becomes charmin'
But U talk about things U don't know 'bout
I know, no matter how pleasant your past was
Green and white return 2 blue
U're happy as long as your last buzz
And then U think U want something new, yeah

The sun, the sun set in my mind this evening
4 someone who said they would die 4 me
Sold some, they sold some more pictures and all my little memories
Chump change is 2 unravel the mystery, ah ha
But life is no fun, life ain't no fun without fantasy
Some things are better left unsaid
And some people are better left untrusted
Maybe, maybe, maybe it'll all make sense when I'm dead
When I'm dead

Old friends 4 sale
Get'em while the gettin' is hot
Watch out, they'll kiss U until they get what U got
And they'll show U the friends that they're not
Old friends 4 sale

Oh, this hurts so much. I am all in tears now and I am still hurt why somebody would talk so disrespectfully about someone who gave his all.

Exactely. Prince wasn't just some sort of disposable convenience. He was a person with a story and emotions, and like everyone of us he deserved some respect, especially at this time. I'm sorry this made you cry though

Iamtheorg said:

I didn't have the patience to get through that huge block of text.

Judging from the comments, I'm glad I didn't.

I am pretty sure there are other threads where you could have posted your 'Views!!' tho.