Hello Purple People, first post here so be gentle .

I've been a fan of Prince since I first heard the Minneapolis Sound and I Wanna Be Your Lover in the early 80's. Sadly I lost touch with him when the war with Warners started in the 90s. The way he was portrayed in the media and also the image at that time (Tora Tora) was not very appealing to me. I thought he was inaccessible. I tried to re-connect with him again when I first got a PC in the early 2000's and came across one of his websites but my newness to the web hindered my re-discovery as I wasn't willing to spend money on what seemed like an unknown entity at the time. I remember worrying that the website might be fake and I might be scammed . Anyway, life took over and my interest turned to other things and I moved on but in the back of my mind Prince was an artist who I would one day catch up on.

Sadly his passing in April happened which shook me to the core. I have been amazed at my reaction and have been compelled ever since to fill in the gaps of what I have missed about his life, spirituality, music etc and I am still learning. I've lurked on the boards so far and learned a lot. Old Friends 4 Sale has been fantastic in this respect with his knowledgeable posts about various P eras.

I know a few of the orgers think the new fans are jumping on some sort of bandwagon or its just a passing fad and I dear say it is for some but believe me some of us newbies, oldies, reconnecting truly adore and respect Prince and see him for the human being that he was warts and all and still love him and his music. I for one will not be without him again. His music will be with me forever...

Starrdust505 said:

Hello Purple People, first post here so be gentle .

I've been a fan of Prince since I first heard the Minneapolis Sound and I Wanna Be Your Lover in the early 80's. Sadly I lost touch with him when the war with Warners started in the 90s. The way he was portrayed in the media and also the image at that time (Tora Tora) was not very appealing to me. I thought he was inaccessible. I tried to re-connect with him again when I first got a PC in the early 2000's and came across one of his websites but my newness to the web hindered my re-discovery as I wasn't willing to spend money on what seemed like an unknown entity at the time. I remember worrying that the website might be fake and I might be scammed . Anyway, life took over and my interest turned to other things and I moved on but in the back of my mind Prince was an artist who I would one day catch up on.

Sadly his passing in April happened which shook me to the core. I have been amazed at my reaction and have been compelled ever since to fill in the gaps of what I have missed about his life, spirituality, music etc and I am still learning. I've lurked on the boards so far and learned a lot. Old Friends 4 Sale has been fantastic in this respect with his knowledgeable posts about various P eras.

I know a few of the orgers think the new fans are jumping on some sort of bandwagon or its just a passing fad and I dear say it is for some but believe me some of us newbies, oldies, reconnecting truly adore and respect Prince and see him for the human being that he was warts and all and still love him and his music. I for one will not be without him again. His music will be with me forever...

Welcome!!! I appreciate your point of view and can relate to your journey. I kept buying Prince for a longer period than you, but I have to say that late 1990s - mid 2000s period i found him hard to connect with as well. His music wasn't particularly inaccessible though not as great as before but it was his persona, attitude, and even some unfair press that made him seem so inaccessible. So, even though I got some CDs during this era, I never wore them out and sometimes rarely played them (I'm just now finally getting into my old Crystal Ball CD). No one can tell you your grief is invalid. You have been touched by him too. I hope you are getting to partake of some of the gifts he has left behind for us to enjoy.

gandorb said:

Starrdust505 said:

Hello Purple People, first post here so be gentle .

I've been a fan of Prince since I first heard the Minneapolis Sound and I Wanna Be Your Lover in the early 80's. Sadly I lost touch with him when the war with Warners started in the 90s. The way he was portrayed in the media and also the image at that time (Tora Tora) was not very appealing to me. I thought he was inaccessible. I tried to re-connect with him again when I first got a PC in the early 2000's and came across one of his websites but my newness to the web hindered my re-discovery as I wasn't willing to spend money on what seemed like an unknown entity at the time. I remember worrying that the website might be fake and I might be scammed . Anyway, life took over and my interest turned to other things and I moved on but in the back of my mind Prince was an artist who I would one day catch up on.

Sadly his passing in April happened which shook me to the core. I have been amazed at my reaction and have been compelled ever since to fill in the gaps of what I have missed about his life, spirituality, music etc and I am still learning. I've lurked on the boards so far and learned a lot. Old Friends 4 Sale has been fantastic in this respect with his knowledgeable posts about various P eras.

I know a few of the orgers think the new fans are jumping on some sort of bandwagon or its just a passing fad and I dear say it is for some but believe me some of us newbies, oldies, reconnecting truly adore and respect Prince and see him for the human being that he was warts and all and still love him and his music. I for one will not be without him again. His music will be with me forever...

Welcome!!! I appreciate your point of view and can relate to your journey. I kept buying Prince for a longer period than you, but I have to say that late 1990s - mid 2000s period i found him hard to connect with as well. His music wasn't particularly inaccessible though not as great as before but it was his persona, attitude, and even some unfair press that made him seem so inaccessible. So, even though I got some CDs during this era, I never wore them out and sometimes rarely played them (I'm just now finally getting into my old Crystal Ball CD). No one can tell you your grief is invalid. You have been touched by him too. I hope you are getting to partake of some of the gifts he has left behind for us to enjoy.

Thank you gandorb . I agree with what you said about Prince's persona, attitude and bad press in the 90s. I also agree with you that no one has the right to validate/invalidate anyone's grief or level of fandom. Since that awful day in April, I have been obsessively consuming everything Prince and buying all the vinyls, cd's, dvd's I can get my hands on. It's been bittersweet but uplifting at the same time to see how the man progressed through life and witness his immense talent. Enjoy Crystal Ball, it's a great album. The song Crystal Ball is in my opinion a masterpiece and one of my favourites!!!

sro100 said:

Just wondering who on here is new?

I was a casual fan of his before he died. I liked some of his songs but didn't have any of his albums. I was born in 1986. When I was a kid in the mid-90s, I remember him being known as "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince" and he used the symbol. He also wrote SLAVE across his face. I thought he was a weirdo. I was only 9 years old approximately, so I didn't understand what he was doing and why he was doing it. At some point in middle school, I think, I found out that he was the reason there were parentla advisory stickers because of "Darling Nikki." I also remember reading the book "Reviving Ophelia" and one of the case studies in the book is about a girl who was obsessed with Prince. The only Prince songs I remember from my childhood pre-high school are "7" and "1999." I didn't even realize "7" was his song until right after he died.

--

I became familiar with some of his big hits when I was in high school. As a sophmore, I had a teacher who was a huge Prince fan. She attended his concert when he performed in Seattle that same year (2002). I also become more interested in the 1980s when I was in high school, but I was more interested in Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson than Prince. I probably gravitated toward the Jacksons more because I assumed that Prince's music was explicit (so maybe I was afraid that I might get in trouble for listening to it at home...can't totally remember). Also when I was in high school, there was a new radio station (97.5 The Beat) that came on the scene for a few years in Seattle, and played rhythmic oldies from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and they played some Prince...I loved that station! I remember seeing a billboard near Downtown Seattle for 97.5 The Beat and it had pictures of Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince on it. Overall, though, Prince was not really on my radar.

--

I do remember watching the halftime show for the Super Bowl and really enjoying the performance (I was in college). I didn't remember much about the performance other than that it was really good. I've re-watched it a few times since he died. I also vaguely remember him performing with Beyonce at the Grammys.

--

A few years ago, my now-husband (who was born in 1980), introduced me to the song "Diamonds and Pearls" and I loved it! I tried to make it my ringtone but couldn't figure out how to do it (I have a Blackberry). We got married in July 2015 and I really wanted "Diamonds and Pearls" to be our first dance song, but my husband was convinced that he was singing about loving 2 women. I tried to convince him that his understanding was wrong, but he was stubborn, so I had to choose something else, "You and I" by Stevie Wonder.

--

I remember being in high school or college and being tempted to buy Purple Rain (CD), but I never did. I really wish I had...maybe if I had, I would have been motivated to see him in concert. I so wish I had seen him live. But all I can do is appreciate him now.

[Edited 7/30/16 17:38pm]

[Edited 7/30/16 17:43pm]

Gee, I'm surprised there's people who actually got into his music hardcore and didn't treat him like a week-long hashtag to follow.

Sorry, I guess I'm bitter cause I've been angry since P passed cause I'm the only one in my area who really does give a shit about him.

But yeah, welcome to the fandom you guys/girls

I'm glad to hear there's newbies liking the 90's stuff <3

I seem to prefer the music pre-Purple Rain and the late 80's-mid 90's stuff.

I'm not a newbie (became a fan in 2010) but I have to admit I did take a 3 year break from Prince and didn't come back until February of this year. Or maybe it was March. I think deep down I knew something. But even in that long break from Prince I always had a couple of his songs that I'd download on my phone.

If I Was Your Girlfriend, Little Red Corvette, and Erotic City stayed with me all these years <3

I was a casual fan as a kid. I am 40. I do recall as a young child being a massive fan of "When Doves Cry". I was not particularly offended by the "artist formally known as prince' stage in his career and liked some his songs in 1990's. However, unfortunately, I did not know much about his later work. I realize now that some point I might have seen the Black Sweat video in 2006, but I have vague memories.

I did start to regain some interest in Prince when i attended the Super Bowl in 2007 (my father worked for the Indianapolis COlts). Anyhow, I was excited that Prince was the half-time show but mostly because of how famous and seemingly reclusive he was. However, i was impressed when I saw the performance (particularly with the medley of Best of You with All Along the Watchtower). At some point after that, I did look him up on youtube, but couldn't find much footage that was still up.

When He died, I felt nostalgic for both the super bowl and my youth, so I started watching Prince footage. I have been in a prince rabbitt hole ever since. I even signed up for tidal and bought "The Truth" album and "the Vault" from the site.

This month, I was a bit bummed to learn about his more conservative (religious-based) views later in life, but his last couple of interviews were reassuring to me because he seemed to have developed a more open minded view on spirituality than previously indicated (he said he was "expanding" I believe and indicated that religion is great but that you shouldn't close your mind to others' view points. . He was a work in progress and was trying to be a decent evolving man. I do have trouble listening to Colonized Mind, Avalanche (he is oversimplifying Lincoln) and the Rainbow Children, but i forgive him. .

As for his music, yes, his later work was hit and miss. But he produced so much music, that even if only 2-5 of his songs on each of his 2000's albums are great, you could still add up all these songs and produce a very good body of work. I love his last album and not for nostalgic or sentimental reasons. It is simply a warm and musically sophisticated (yet light-heartedd) album.

Recently, I listened to his "Black Muse" performance on the Piano and a Microphone tour (youtube) and i was in tears. I am white but worked in inner city schools as a teacher for years. While listening to that song, I kept thinking of how some of my students might have been inspired by that song if they had heard it. His love for his African American background and subculture was probably my favorite aspect of later day prince. HIs friendships with Van Johnson and Tavis Smiley were nice counter points to his friendship with Larry Graham.

I do wish Prince had designated a month or two out of every year to remove his makeup and leave his paisley bubble (go in cognito so to speak and spend time amongst people who don't know nor care that he was Prince). Do missionary work or something. I think it would have benefited his lyrical writing and made him a happier man (and possibly more capable of asking for help with his physical and possibly psychological issues). Just a guess. He could have gone back to his obsessive work habits after that.

[Edited 7/31/16 11:52am]

sro100 said:

Just wondering who on here is new?

Newbie here. My son was a huge Prince fan back in the day. He'd play me some tunes and I'd go "yeah, yeah." Afterall I came of age with James Brown, Hendrix, Parliament Funkadelics, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye etc. etc. I could hear the funky r&b influence - but I didn't take much note in 1982.

We had sightings of Prince when he was married to Manuela. He was around quite a bit but fans and the public were cool about it - so no big deal. In 2007, we were in Las Vegas for one night and by some weird stroke of luck, we got last minute tickets for 3121 at the RIO. I was stunned. I started to get it.

When Prince died I found out before my son (who is now 45 living in Berlin) so I emailed him. He was literally in shock for days. I remembered when I had a huge emotional response to the news of the death of Otis Redding, Hendrix and Marvin Gaye. They were all so young. It felt llike they had provided musical and cultural rites of passage - and when they died, I lost part of my personal history too. Maybe they got me in touch with my own mortality.

In April, I started to wonder why Prince had a huge influence on his fans - so I started doing deep research. The deeper I got, the more I understood.

Big Prince fan now.

[Edited 8/2/16 16:06pm]

RainbowGranny said:

I did sort of. I was a fan of his when I was a teenager but after he passed, I became a hardcore fan and I wanted to discover as much of his music as I could. Now I have a bunch of his music on my ipod, plan on getting a Prince tattoo and plan on visiting PP one day. His music has changed my life

DarlingKris said:

I did sort of. I was a fan of his when I was a teenager but after he passed, I became a hardcore fan and I wanted to discover as much of his music as I could. Now I have a bunch of his music on my ipod, plan on getting a Prince tattoo and plan on visiting PP one day. His music has changed my life

I feel the same way (except I won't be getting a Prince tattoo).

206Michelle said:

DarlingKris said:

I did sort of. I was a fan of his when I was a teenager but after he passed, I became a hardcore fan and I wanted to discover as much of his music as I could. Now I have a bunch of his music on my ipod, plan on getting a Prince tattoo and plan on visiting PP one day. His music has changed my life

I feel the same way (except I won't be getting a Prince tattoo).

I don't know what I'm getting yet but all I know its going to be Prince related

I've been around since the album 1999 and never stopped being a fan.

So cool to see that Prince has new fans. Welcome!

Cool thread. This is what it's all about.

QueenofCardboard said:

I was a fan in the eighties, but I never went to a Prince concert and now it is too late. I felt a loss when David Bowie died, but at least I saw him in concert, and he died at 69 which isn't such a young age to die. I got out all my David Bowie and listened to it practically non-stop. My family thought I went bonkers. It is the same now with Prince except that there is so much of his music that I hadn't heard yet, that for me it has been almost a new discovery of Prince. Better late than never as you say.

This is me, although I'm finding I kept up with him more than I realized.I'd even seen most of the interviews that are now online. Not all, but apparently I made sure I watched them whenever I could. Same with a lot of the 90s music. He grabbed hold of my heart all those years ago and I didn't even realize it. I am kicking myself that I never went to a concert.

disch said:

Like so many, I loved Prince in the 80s and always respected his talent, but I just didn't connect with what he was doing in the 90s, and then sort of lost touch after that.

His death just completely knocked the wind out of me, and has set me off on a three month obsession. I can't explain it; I haven't had this kind of reaction to any celebrity's death before. But it's really crushing to me that I will never see him live -- at least there are a lot of videos available now. But I feel like his death has actually changed me in some ways, and again, that's been a complete surprise to me.

Again, this is me, although I did keep up a little in the 90s, until about a year ago, when I stumbled across a video of the original Purple Rain recording at First Ave. I tried to find more info about what he was up to, but my short attention span (lots going on) and the lack of a singular website for all his work meant my search didn't yield much. Wish I would have found the org sooner, but I usually steer clear of fansites.

[Edited 8/4/16 13:50pm]

[Edited 8/4/16 13:52pm]

I posted some of this in another thread somewhere, but I fell down a rabbit hole on 4/21 when the music became available on YouTube.

I was in middle school when 1999 and Purple Rain were out. I listened to those tapes at my friend's house and saw the movie and gazed into his beautiful eyes just like (I assume) every other red blooded female who saw him did. I never bought an album of my own, never went to a show, never knew he played all those instruments, never knew he marched into Warner Bros at 19 and refused to let an established producer produce his record, never knew he intentionally integrated his band and audience so all kinds of kids could dance together, never knew he wrote I Feel 4 U, never knew much of it, laughed at the symbol along with the rest of the idiots who didn't get it. Gah. I spent all my money and time and energy on heavy metal. I've beat myself up some over that one. Never hear a song by an artist you don't like, and then do nothing to investigate further. Brilliant. Way to go, self.

So now 3.5 months later and still ALL I want to do is listen to, look at, read about Prince. This board is a great resource but I don't feel like I have a lot to say. There's more to gain listening than talking at this point at least, for me.

For instance, this may be TMI, but I'm a Christian school survivor and very anti-religion. I detest religion. I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority in my beliefs on here. I could listen to Christopher Hitchens talk about religion all day and nod along in agreement. Religious talk, symbols, attitudes all chap my hide immediately. It's hard being in America if seeing a Jesus fish makes your lip curl and someone saying God Bless You pisses you off.

Well, I love Prince. Anybody else singing about God, throwing religious references into everything would turn me off immediately. But, Prince doing it doesn't bother me, somehow. I love the song The Cross even though the only single line that I find agreeable is the one about we all have our problems, some big, some small. But to hear that beautiful guitar, I just think, well we see things differently, huh, Prince? The point that I'm trying to get at is that Prince has fixed my head in some ways. Prince with all his religious references everywhere has innoculated me against my outsized hatred of religion and my continued listening to him is keeping me "fixed." I'm like one of those peanut allergy kids who are treated for this allergy by having to eat a Reeses peanut butter cup a day after they are fed miniscule amounts of peanuts daily and then the doses increased until they aren't threatened by peanut dust any more. Also, all his relentless positivity is rubbing off and helping my attitude generally.

Favorite songs: I wind up having a new one about every other day. Some faves are Guitar, Black Sweat, Computer Blue(very favorite. That one is like a rock opera in a song. It has chapters. Blows me away). Peach (live after show with Mayte stagediving and pissing him off, specifically). Wonderful Ass, (what a freakin great song). Velvet Kitty Cat. Partyup (War Pigs on a dance floor). Bambi. Cloreen Baconskin. That aftershow cover of Just my Imagination. If a girl answers, don't hang up.

The crying has finally stopped, but I bawled all the time for more than a month. I was bawling at work, tears would start falling out of my head in front of people. This has affected me more than any other celebrity death for whatever reason. It's like the 80s died. (I'm aware what year it is, but that's how it feels to me).

Thanks for being here, Org.

^^ such a great post.

And "If a Girl Answers Don't Hang Up" is so underrated. Classic comedy Prince.

[Edited 8/4/16 15:31pm]

brennaboo said:

I posted some of this in another thread somewhere, but I fell down a rabbit hole on 4/21 when the music became available on YouTube.

I was in middle school when 1999 and Purple Rain were out. I listened to those tapes at my friend's house and saw the movie and gazed into his beautiful eyes just like (I assume) every other red blooded female who saw him did. I never bought an album of my own, never went to a show, never knew he played all those instruments, never knew he marched into Warner Bros at 19 and refused to let an established producer produce his record, never knew he intentionally integrated his band and audience so all kinds of kids could dance together, never knew he wrote I Feel 4 U, never knew much of it, laughed at the symbol along with the rest of the idiots who didn't get it. Gah. I spent all my money and time and energy on heavy metal. I've beat myself up some over that one. Never hear a song by an artist you don't like, and then do nothing to investigate further. Brilliant. Way to go, self.

So now 3.5 months later and still ALL I want to do is listen to, look at, read about Prince. This board is a great resource but I don't feel like I have a lot to say. There's more to gain listening than talking at this point at least, for me.

For instance, this may be TMI, but I'm a Christian school survivor and very anti-religion. I detest religion. I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority in my beliefs on here. I could listen to Christopher Hitchens talk about religion all day and nod along in agreement. Religious talk, symbols, attitudes all chap my hide immediately. It's hard being in America if seeing a Jesus fish makes your lip curl and someone saying God Bless You pisses you off.

Well, I love Prince. Anybody else singing about God, throwing religious references into everything would turn me off immediately. But, Prince doing it doesn't bother me, somehow.

Yes, I totally identify with you on this!!!

I love the song The Cross even though the only single line that I find agreeable is the one about we all have our problems, some big, some small. But to hear that beautiful guitar, I just think, well we see things differently, huh, Prince? The point that I'm trying to get at is that Prince has fixed my head in some ways. Prince with all his religious references everywhere has innoculated me against my outsized hatred of religion and my continued listening to him is keeping me "fixed." I'm like one of those peanut allergy kids who are treated for this allergy by having to eat a Reeses peanut butter cup a day after they are fed miniscule amounts of peanuts daily and then the doses increased until they aren't threatened by peanut dust any more. Also, all his relentless positivity is rubbing off and helping my attitude generally.

Favorite songs: I wind up having a new one about every other day. Some faves are Guitar, Black Sweat, Computer Blue(very favorite. That one is like a rock opera in a song. It has chapters. Blows me away). Peach (live after show with Mayte stagediving and pissing him off, specifically). Wonderful Ass, (what a freakin great song). Velvet Kitty Cat. Partyup (War Pigs on a dance floor). Bambi. Cloreen Baconskin. That aftershow cover of Just my Imagination. If a girl answers, don't hang up.

The crying has finally stopped, but I bawled all the time for more than a month. I was bawling at work, tears would start falling out of my head in front of people. This has affected me more than any other celebrity death for whatever reason. It's like the 80s died. (I'm aware what year it is, but that's how it feels to me).

Thanks for being here, Org.

It is fantastic to see new fans here, your journey ahead will be filled with joy, surprise and fullfillment, but i need to ask a question, and i ask it with all the respect in the world, because the phenomenon intrigues me. I pose this in the most general way possible.

Why does it take an artist dying before people get interested in their music? Was their music not interesting while they were alive?

For example, when Bowie passed away, it was sad to see him go, but I didn't log onto amazon and buy all of his stuff because of it. I made up my mind not to buy his albums years ago, him passing had no effect on that. Yet I see it time and time again when artists pass away, all of a sudden people flock to the stores, flock online, become overnight fans, and to me, it simply makes no sense, the music remains the same regardless of if they are with us, or, not with us. I am very curious about the psychology behind this since it seems to be such a common phenomenon.

Again, not judging anyone here, it is just something I have found interesting over the decades.

Peace

leadline said:

It is fantastic to see new fans here, your journey ahead will be filled with joy, surprise and fullfillment, but i need to ask a question, and i ask it with all the respect in the world, because the phenomenon intrigues me. I pose this in the most general way possible.

Why does it take an artist dying before people get interested in their music? Was their music not interesting while they were alive?

For example, when Bowie passed away, it was sad to see him go, but I didn't log onto amazon and buy all of his stuff because of it. I made up my mind not to buy his albums years ago, him passing had no effect on that. Yet I see it time and time again when artists pass away, all of a sudden people flock to the stores, flock online, become overnight fans, and to me, it simply makes no sense, the music remains the same regardless of if they are with us, or, not with us. I am very curious about the psychology behind this since it seems to be such a common phenomenon.

Again, not judging anyone here, it is just something I have found interesting over the decades.

Peace

I'll try to answer that one. I was a fan in the 80s, but I didn't buy a lot of music back then and rarely went to concerts. Lost track of him in the 90s (although I worked publishing, so I got what he was doing with the name change) and I was supporting local underground bands back then. My 80s Prince music, which I'd repurchased as CDs, were always in a fairly regular rotation for me. As I said earlier, I'm finding that I did keep up more than I realized or admitted. I think part of my new fandom is that there's so much concert footage availabe and it's made me fall in love with his music (and him!) all over again and even moreso than when I was a teenager in the 80s.

Last year, when a friend posted a link to the original recording of Purple Rain, I rememberd why I was such a fan in the 80s. But there just wasn't much available online at that moment. I admit I took him for granted and probably didn't try that hard, but I do feel that I would have been in the Prince rabbit hole then had I been able to see some of the videos I've seen in the last three months. He had too many short-term websites, rather than one place where we could link to whatever we wanted to know. But he always did things his own way.

In the end, I think his music wormed its way into my soul way back when, never really left me, and when he died it left a whole made deeper by my finally being able to see everything I was missing. It's a regret, but I look forward to appreciating his music from now on.

I've never had this happen with a celebrity death before. The only comparision is that I shed a few tears when Alan Rickman died. But I took an afternoon to watch my favorite movie of his, cried, read a few articles, and that was that. There's just something about the spirituality in Prince's music that seeps deeper than you realize. And I didn't realize it until he was gone, unexpectedly, and until I got hold of all this music he'd been making while I looked the other way.

Hope that makes sense.

I think I got interested after Prince died because of my son. I do have a background in the 1960s/70s music biz and performance so I've always talked music with him. During my mid-life years, I got involved in World Music and I was studying Middle Eastern, Aftro Cuban, Gypsy Jazz and other cultural expressions. I was pulled in that direction at the time so I wasn't too focused on North American pop or pop culture. When Prince died, my son started pointing out all the musical influences Prince brought to his music - and I had no idea. I'm a real jazz/funk fusion fan so Madhouse 8 was where I started. I remembered Prince from the 80s and although I really liked his pop stuff - it wasn't my thing at the time. I felt compelled and I just got pulled into the music and mystery realizing there was a lot to learn and discover, so that's what I'm doing. I'm a 70 year old white woman...which is somewhat odd...but I have ecclectic musical tastes....with my heart in Old Skool R&B and funk.

leadline said:

It is fantastic to see new fans here, your journey ahead will be filled with joy, surprise and fullfillment, but i need to ask a question, and i ask it with all the respect in the world, because the phenomenon intrigues me. I pose this in the most general way possible.

Why does it take an artist dying before people get interested in their music? Was their music not interesting while they were alive?

For example, when Bowie passed away, it was sad to see him go, but I didn't log onto amazon and buy all of his stuff because of it. I made up my mind not to buy his albums years ago, him passing had no effect on that. Yet I see it time and time again when artists pass away, all of a sudden people flock to the stores, flock online, become overnight fans, and to me, it simply makes no sense, the music remains the same regardless of if they are with us, or, not with us. I am very curious about the psychology behind this since it seems to be such a common phenomenon.

Again, not judging anyone here, it is just something I have found interesting over the decades.

Peace

[Edited 8/4/16 20:55pm]

teach49 said:

leadline said:

It is fantastic to see new fans here, your journey ahead will be filled with joy, surprise and fullfillment, but i need to ask a question, and i ask it with all the respect in the world, because the phenomenon intrigues me. I pose this in the most general way possible.

Why does it take an artist dying before people get interested in their music? Was their music not interesting while they were alive?

For example, when Bowie passed away, it was sad to see him go, but I didn't log onto amazon and buy all of his stuff because of it. I made up my mind not to buy his albums years ago, him passing had no effect on that. Yet I see it time and time again when artists pass away, all of a sudden people flock to the stores, flock online, become overnight fans, and to me, it simply makes no sense, the music remains the same regardless of if they are with us, or, not with us. I am very curious about the psychology behind this since it seems to be such a common phenomenon.

Again, not judging anyone here, it is just something I have found interesting over the decades.

Peace

I'll try to answer that one. I was a fan in the 80s, but I didn't buy a lot of music back then and rarely went to concerts. Lost track of him in the 90s (although I worked publishing, so I got what he was doing with the name change) and I was supporting local underground bands back then. My 80s Prince music, which I'd repurchased as CDs, were always in a fairly regular rotation for me. As I said earlier, I'm finding that I did keep up more than I realized or admitted. I think part of my new fandom is that there's so much concert footage availabe and it's made me fall in love with his music (and him!) all over again and even moreso than when I was a teenager in the 80s.

Last year, when a friend posted a link to the original recording of Purple Rain, I rememberd why I was such a fan in the 80s. But there just wasn't much available online at that moment. I admit I took him for granted and probably didn't try that hard, but I do feel that I would have been in the Prince rabbit hole then had I been able to see some of the videos I've seen in the last three months. He had too many short-term websites, rather than one place where we could link to whatever we wanted to know. But he always did things his own way.

In the end, I think his music wormed its way into my soul way back when, never really left me, and when he died it left a whole made deeper by my finally being able to see everything I was missing. It's a regret, but I look forward to appreciating his music from now on.

I've never had this happen with a celebrity death before. The only comparision is that I shed a few tears when Alan Rickman died. But I took an afternoon to watch my favorite movie of his, cried, read a few articles, and that was that. There's just something about the spirituality in Prince's music that seeps deeper than you realize. And I didn't realize it until he was gone, unexpectedly, and until I got hold of all this music he'd been making while I looked the other way.

Hope that makes sense.

I agree - I never have reacted this way to ANY artist before. I didn't even cry/obsess when MJ died, and I was a "fan" of him for years and years.

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For me, it's unexplainable - b/c I do not normally react like this. It is something that I felt drawn to - and his mystique, talent, confidence, - and true gifts he gave to the world - while staying OUT of the spotlight and giving to charities like #yeswecode and using his music to pull politicians together for a meeting were really inspiring for me to learn about in the first few days after his death - and once I did - and watched Purple Rain - it was all over.

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I'm now learning about his life daily - and even follow princesongs.org, and Peach&Black podcast to read and listen about his albums and the development of him as a musician.

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It's not just him as a musician though - it's just HIM... I look at him as a role model of sorts - and I know that he isn't perfect at ALL, and I love that. He didn't try to be perfect either - he was just himself - and in his 30's he went through some interesting times - but I'm in my 30's now and I guess I relate.

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I've always liked Prince, related to his creativity, respected his individuality - but I was caught up at one point in the fascination with "reality" stars (who shall remain nameless) - and when he died it was like a wakeup call for me. Like - WHAT? These people have literally ZERO they are offering the world.

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After watching Purple rain, and the Larry King interview I was just..... HOOKED. I dunno. I can't explain it b/c I didn't respond this way to David Bowie - NOR George Harrison back in 2002 - and I grew up a MAJOR Beatles fan.

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That being said - I watched a zillion things on the Beatles and even own books/mags on them - but I don't know as much about them individually as I do Prince now. Which....... is very odd. I know.

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So, to answer your question - there is no answer - b/c I've literally never been attracted to any stars AFTER they die before (unless they were dead way before I was born, and I discover their music - i.e. the Beatles/John Lennon).

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It's just the Law of Attraction, I guess. What you put out into the world finds you like a MAGNET.

Becoming a fan of his music is one thing and I am definitely late the party. I have more time to download music and watch videos now that I'm retired. There wasn't much info available when he was alive. Then, there's the whole Cult of Personality phenom that is intriguing and usually explodes when there is a sudden death - like Elvis etc. We are a culture that that tends to worship celebrities. The celebrity factor holds more value when there is a sudden stop of recent images, info and music. It's interesting to read about Elvis' fandom after he died. I suspect the same thing will happen with Prince and his fan base - new and old.

RainbowGranny said:

Becoming a fan of his music is one thing and I am definitely late the party. I have more time to download music and watch videos now that I'm retired. There wasn't much info available when he was alive. Then, there's the whole Cult of Personality phenom that is intriguing and usually explodes when there is a sudden death - like Elvis etc. We are a culture that that tends to worship celebrities. The celebrity factor holds more value when there is a sudden stop of recent images, info and music. It's interesting to read about Elvis' fandom after he died. I suspect the same thing will happen with Prince and his fan base - new and old.

Interesting - I've never gotten into Elvis history - I do know all of his songs and have in passing seen a few movies - but never looked into it. I guess you're right though - there is still a HUGE following of him.

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I just googled and found this: "Some scholars go so far as to cite the “tension between the masculine and feminine facets of his image” as the sole reason Elvis served as such a “compelling” sex symbol in the first place" (http://fansconf.a-kon.com/dRuZ33A/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Elvis_CookFinal.pdf)

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That sound like someone we know?

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Maybe the reason some people strike us so much afterwards is their ability to speak to all of us at a raw-human level where "masculine" and "feminine" exist in the same space - and when they die, and we realize that cultural influence is gone - we almost want to soak up what they gave the world and continue to carry the legacy on... I dunno, that's probably just me rambling. HA! But - yea.

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Interesting stuff indeed.

pandaleka said:

sro100 said:

And what are you digging the most of?

I'm slowly making my way through and digesting his discography. I'm a big fan of his 90s work--Come, Love Symbol, Graffiti Bridge, and what I've heard of Emancipation. The last several days I've really been digging "Pink Cashmere" and the One Night Alone album.

Living in Minneapolis I've been taking advantage of all the Prince events, it's so fun. I'm very thankful to be where it all started in the aftermath of his passing.

always look up the background info on the songs, the history makes it so much more interesting
Pink Cashmere rel in the 90s but recorded in the mid 80s

I don't think a lot of celebrities are aware of the psychology of true followers and true believers - but I think Prince did. A lot of his communication was symbolic and disseminated by carefully planned visual images - poses, appearances, staging, clothing, photos etc. Symbolism and metaphor are powerful tools and I believe Prince got it.

Christ developed his biggest following after his death. That often happens to celebrities as well. Christ spoke in parables. Prince used metaphor and his own unique stories in line with the culture. He wouldn't always tell us directly. He pointed to a direction and we tried to solve the puzzle by asking "What did he meeeaaan?" He also seemed to understand the power and responsibility of having a "following" and I think he wrestled with it. Toure said Prince thought he could point his followers to JW. But I think he had a falling out with Larry Graham and JW - because he seemed to be going back to the eastern mystical stuff during the last 2 years. I'm just an observer - but I think there are parallels between Elvis fans and Prince fans. Anyway - it's interesting to think about when I listen to music or read articles and biographical material.

The same with me although I have to admit I was respecting him for more than a decade. My favourite pieces were Musicology and IIWYG.

PCEANDBWLD said:

RainbowGranny said:

Becoming a fan of his music is one thing and I am definitely late the party. I have more time to download music and watch videos now that I'm retired. There wasn't much info available when he was alive. Then, there's the whole Cult of Personality phenom that is intriguing and usually explodes when there is a sudden death - like Elvis etc. We are a culture that that tends to worship celebrities. The celebrity factor holds more value when there is a sudden stop of recent images, info and music. It's interesting to read about Elvis' fandom after he died. I suspect the same thing will happen with Prince and his fan base - new and old.

Interesting - I've never gotten into Elvis history - I do know all of his songs and have in passing seen a few movies - but never looked into it. I guess you're right though - there is still a HUGE following of him.

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I just googled and found this: "Some scholars go so far as to cite the “tension between the masculine and feminine facets of his image” as the sole reason Elvis served as such a “compelling” sex symbol in the first place" (http://fansconf.a-kon.com/dRuZ33A/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Elvis_CookFinal.pdf)

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That sound like someone we know?

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Maybe the reason some people strike us so much afterwards is their ability to speak to all of us at a raw-human level where "masculine" and "feminine" exist in the same space - and when they die, and we realize that cultural influence is gone - we almost want to soak up what they gave the world and continue to carry the legacy on... I dunno, that's probably just me rambling. HA! But - yea.

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Interesting stuff indeed.

It's not rambling. You make a great point about androgyny and it's value! And to think we lost Bowie and Prince in the same year. And Freddie Mercury is gone. Someone has to step up to the plate!