AnnaStesia91 said:

I've noticed that being a younger fan I've always felt like there was a lot of snobbery in the Prince community, especially from completists. I was born like 6 months before Diamonds and Pearls was released. Of course I haven't heard every single solitary thing the man put out and I can't own every piece of material because some things are out of print (and therefore out of my price bracket ) I feel like there is a lack of respect where there could be education and embrace. Also annoyed at the people that act like being poor and a Prince fan makes you less of a fan because you can't own all this rare, expensive shit. sorry for the rant, I've just come across some nasty attitudes and comments on here and on Prince fan pages and I'm thinking like, I'm 25. I couldn't get into Glam Slam at 1 years old and I think the first Prince CD I remember clear as Day is Emancipation. It's nearly impossible to know every piece of knowledge about the man as somebody twice my age, but that doesn't mean I love him any less.

lol I've been a prince fan since his first album, and was content with that up until I found P.org and other sites. I remember finding these sites when I got my first dial-up modem, and was quickly enamored with the fact that I had found people with whom I could commensurate with around Prince. After a few months though, I realized that I liked it better when I didn't know there was a community out there based on a few interactions, and basically come here and other places now to simply glean info and post every now and then if I'm bored.

TL;DR - I quickly gleaned the same thing you mention here. So don't sweat it, just dig him how you dig him and don't sweat the "elitists" cause they will be here forever, cause that's just what they do. I've met some really cool people from here, don't get me wrong. But on the whole, you're analysis is spot on.

AnnaStesia91 said:

I've noticed that being a younger fan I've always felt like there was a lot of snobbery in the Prince community, especially from completists. I was born like 6 months before Diamonds and Pearls was released. Of course I haven't heard every single solitary thing the man put out and I can't own every piece of material because some things are out of print (and therefore out of my price bracket ) I feel like there is a lack of respect where there could be education and embrace. Also annoyed at the people that act like being poor and a Prince fan makes you less of a fan because you can't own all this rare, expensive shit. sorry for the rant, I've just come across some nasty attitudes and comments on here and on Prince fan pages and I'm thinking like, I'm 25. I couldn't get into Glam Slam at 1 years old and I think the first Prince CD I remember clear as Day is Emancipation. It's nearly impossible to know every piece of knowledge about the man as somebody twice my age, but that doesn't mean I love him any less.

F*k em..haters...Keep doin what you're doin..you younger folks are what's going to keep Prince's legacy alive forever! My kids are 21 and I am so glad they love Prince. He's the real deal. Thank goodness he had so much music. So much to learn and discover. We are going to be studing his music for generations. He changed music and went toe-to-toe with the record companies and won. We should be mentoring these newcomers. Prince did..he's the example.

garywobby said:

clairew1975 said:

garywobby said:

I agree about snobbery within these forums, when MJ died the forum I was a regular visitor to then had a sense of togetherness, I've been a member of prince.org for many years and consider it my go to site for Prince news, BUT if I ever comment on a post or reply to someone I'm always met with no comment whatsoever or a sarcastic comment intended to shut me down. It wasn't that long ago that certain members on this forum were sending me org notes asking me to do them copies of rare music for free, which I happily did and paid the postage myself to send these CD's to the USA, but for whatever reason now I am being completely ignored. I don't know or care if this ignorance is because I'm British or because I don't own, or I'm not prepared to pay stupid amounts for, certain rareties but it would be cool to feel some respect within the Prince community here. Also the offer still stands, I will happily copy you CD's of whatever you want, I'll pay for the blank CD's and pay the postage, the reason I'll do this is because I believe that Prince's music deserves to be heard by everybody to fully understand his genius. Let me know what you want and if I've got it then I'll copy it for you.

I don't want a copy of anything, but that's a really cool thing to do, so thank you for offering. I find generally, unless you've been a member for years you rarely get a reply. It's an online fan community, that's what the header ^^^ says, I'm unsure why snobbery has to exist. If you're a fan does it matter when, why & how you became one. P.S. I'm British too

I find 99% of people here on the org are cool. I would not let a few people get you down when most are fine and cool. That's my opinion of course All are welcome new and old. To the bolded part i found that too when i first joined but when you get to know people they will reply to yah . @garywobby If those that don't show you respect back are not worth knowing anyway.

[Edited 8/7/16 14:29pm]

ldmendes said:

F*k em..haters...Keep doin what you're doin..you younger folks are what's going to keep Prince's legacy alive forever! My kids are 21 and I am so glad they love Prince. He's the real deal. Thank goodness he had so much music. So much to learn and discover. We are going to be studing his music for generations. He changed music and went toe-to-toe with the record companies and won. We should be mentoring these newcomers. Prince did..he's the example.

.

.

AnnaStesia91 said:

I've noticed that being a younger fan I've always felt like there was a lot of snobbery in the Prince community, especially from completists. I was born like 6 months before Diamonds and Pearls was released. Of course I haven't heard every single solitary thing the man put out and I can't own every piece of material because some things are out of print (and therefore out of my price bracket ) I feel like there is a lack of respect where there could be education and embrace. Also annoyed at the people that act like being poor and a Prince fan makes you less of a fan because you can't own all this rare, expensive shit. sorry for the rant, I've just come across some nasty attitudes and comments on here and on Prince fan pages and I'm thinking like, I'm 25. I couldn't get into Glam Slam at 1 years old and I think the first Prince CD I remember clear as Day is Emancipation. It's nearly impossible to know every piece of knowledge about the man as somebody twice my age, but that doesn't mean I love him any less.

...some people need to belittle others to feel better about themselves.

AnnaStesia91 said:

I've noticed that being a younger fan I've always felt like there was a lot of snobbery in the Prince community, especially from completists. I was born like 6 months before Diamonds and Pearls was released. Of course I haven't heard every single solitary thing the man put out and I can't own every piece of material because some things are out of print (and therefore out of my price bracket ) I feel like there is a lack of respect where there could be education and embrace. Also annoyed at the people that act like being poor and a Prince fan makes you less of a fan because you can't own all this rare, expensive shit. sorry for the rant, I've just come across some nasty attitudes and comments on here and on Prince fan pages and I'm thinking like, I'm 25. I couldn't get into Glam Slam at 1 years old and I think the first Prince CD I remember clear as Day is Emancipation. It's nearly impossible to know every piece of knowledge about the man as somebody twice my age, but that doesn't mean I love him any less.

Hi AnnaStesia91

As others have suggested, there are always examples of snobbery among a hardcore fan base, regardless of the artist in question.

I'm entering my late thirties and discovered Prince during my early teens in the 1990s. I consumed his work more or less chronologically (starting with Dirty Mind), picked up a copy of Per Nilsen's “Prince: A Documentary” and started seeking out the rarer stuff from there. This was pre-internet, so it was a more solitary experience and you could discover things at your own pace without being belittled. Personally, I was always more attracted to his 80s output, so I've often regretted the fact that I didn't experience it first-hand. I've been listening to his 8/3/1982 show recently (4dafunk) and would have loved to have been there... such a raw and intense performance. From this perspective, fans who were there from the beginning have every right to claim that they experienced something special (of course they did).

That said, I would also have loved to have seen Parliament-Funkadelic circa 76, James Brown with Bootsy in 1971, Miles Davis during his 70s electric period or live at the Plugged Nickel in 1965, Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone at Woodstock, to have ran into an itinerant Robert Johnson or Son House busking in 1930s America, seen Wagner's early performances at Bayreuth and so on. The most that we can do is seek out the documents that these artists left behind.

My advice to young music lovers would be to not allow one artist, however great, to completely dominate your listening habits. Prince was my first musical love and one of his greatest gifts to me was the multitude of musical references in his work (he's a veritable encyclopedia of modern music). Also, there's always great music being made. While every great artist is singular, life produces genius fairly regularly, so keep listening – you may be lucky enough to stumble across the future. Those that do often cherish the experience, so I think that this explains the insular elitism and snobbery sometimes exhibited by long-term fans of a particular artist.

In the end though, the only thing that should matter is your relationship to the works of art that move and inspire you (past or present). The rest is b******t.

I was born in 1998 and didn't know of Prince's existence till 2007. I joined the Org for the first time in 2010 and was treated like shit and was trolled by some idiot calling me a purple cowboy. I joined the Org 2nd time this year and I was way too nervous at first because that's how I am with everything but eventually I stopped giving a shit. Sure, I may not know every Prince B-side, sure I'm a whiner, but I love that man just as much as anybody here. I keep discovering new favorites every week and that makes me adore him even more <3 Plus, a lot of people on this site should never be taken seriously. *cough* Lots of attention seekers and Prince haters claiming to be fans.. *cough*

Btw, this website called Tidido has some rare P stuff, you should check it out I found the early version of the Come album on there a long with some other goodies you can't find on Google music or Tidal.

hw3004 said:

AnnaStesia91 said:

...some people need to belittle others to feel better about themselves.

Was gonna say this too but forgot

garywobby said:

I agree about snobbery within these forums, when MJ died the forum I was a regular visitor to then had a sense of togetherness, I've been a member of prince.org for many years and consider it my go to site for Prince news, BUT if I ever comment on a post or reply to someone I'm always met with no comment whatsoever or a sarcastic comment intended to shut me down. It wasn't that long ago that certain members on this forum were sending me org notes asking me to do them copies of rare music for free, which I happily did and paid the postage myself to send these CD's to the USA, but for whatever reason now I am being completely ignored. I don't know or care if this ignorance is because I'm British or because I don't own, or I'm not prepared to pay stupid amounts for, certain rareties but it would be cool to feel some respect within the Prince community here. Also the offer still stands, I will happily copy you CD's of whatever you want, I'll pay for the blank CD's and pay the postage, the reason I'll do this is because I believe that Prince's music deserves to be heard by everybody to fully understand his genius. Let me know what you want and if I've got it then I'll copy it for you.

I feel the same way here, everybody's got their own little clique and they joke amongst themselves and everybody else doesn't exist to them. It sucks because I have social anxiety, even online and don't want to bother anybody but I really wish I had friends who love Prince as much as I do. My best friend is a fan but on an "enthusiast" level. All the peeps who've messaged me and tried to get close to me haven't done it to share their love for Prince but for "other reasons" and generally don't give a shit what I have to say. It's disrespectful and makes me feel like an object. It's hard for me to make friends and it sucks that even with a strong mutual interest, some people feel more entitled to either ignore you, belittle you, or target you.

DoItAllNight4U said:

I feel the same way here, everybody's got their own little clique and they joke amongst themselves and everybody else doesn't exist to them. It sucks because I have social anxiety, even online and don't want to bother anybody but I really wish I had friends who love Prince as much as I do. My best friend is a fan but on an "enthusiast" level. All the peeps who've messaged me and tried to get close to me haven't done it to share their love for Prince but for "other reasons" and generally don't give a shit what I have to say. It's disrespectful and makes me feel like an object. It's hard for me to make friends and it sucks that even with a strong mutual interest, some people feel more entitled to either ignore you, belittle you, or target you.

.

Target you how?

.

DoItAllNight4U said:

*cough* Lots of attention seekers and Prince haters claiming to be fans.. *cough*

Hi DoItAllNight4U

There are always overt trolls online, but I think that statements such as this risk being equally reductive and belittling. I'm sure that this is not true in your case, but it's far too easy to simply dismiss those whose views differ from our own or that of the general consensus. We should be careful not to hinder valid critical debate. As I said, with the exception of true trolls, if people were truly “haters” why would they be here in the first place? What constitutes a “hater”? I just think that we need to be more welcoming, open and tolerant in our online interactions generally. As you said earlier, there's a tendency for online groups to become a kind of clique, and therefore just echo chambers for our own opinions, which isn't very healthy. Again, I'm not suggesting that this is true in your case, but I see it a lot online and I've probably been guilty of it myself once or twice.

I wouldn't worry about it - you get this kind of attitude in all fanbases. Even if you became a fan 20 years ago you would've faced this from someone sooner or later.

.

There's no ownership on being a fan, and with the internet info and music is more available than ever. Most people don't care when you became a fan, it's like meeting a long lost cousin when you meet a fan - whether they've been a fan for 30 days or 30 years.

[Edited 8/8/16 2:20am]

Ever since Prince's death, I have actually grown closer to the org, even though heads butt and there are clashes in ideology and opinion, its comforting to know so many of us are in same boat and 99% of us are truly mourning the loss of the most incredible performer of the past 40 years. Here at least, one is safe to discuss Prince, talk about his music and share your feelings with like minded individuals who understand where you are coming from.

.

I have actually found the amount of calshing and arguing on my part has decreased and there have been more positive and friendly exchanges of views amongst us all. The death has strengthened us and bought some unity to the Prince fam community, I love it.

.

The appeal and memory of Prince will never die with fans like us who celebrate and keep his memory alive, even the MJ fans are given a run for their money with us, although I can say thgey are really doing a great job too on MJJ Community, lots of love for Michael and Prince there now too.

Geniuses and musical legends attract loyal and great fans too.

I APPLAUD you late comers. I really do. There are so many people who left Prince behind when they found there would be no Purple Rain 2 version of every album. They simply jumped to whatever the radio sold them next. Now, that's their right.

But to be born younger, and never had seen that Purple Rain phenomenom back in the day, and still gravitate towards his music when the radio was becoming an enemy of his music, well.... good on you. I think you and your kind may be the best of the fans because it didn't take the Purple Wash of 84 to capture you.

(Personally, I was Prince fan before Purple Rain, and was excited for Prince during that time, but quite angry at all of the people who were jumping on the band wagon when only earlier they were asking me why I was listening to that 'nigger music')

I'm 36 so I was born during the height of his career but that brought along with it me being too young to specifically remember his music until my jr high and high schools days of the early and mid 90's . I had never joined any of his fan sites ( did not know about them before his passing in April), The only songs that I remember are the vids he had from the 80s and early/mid 90s. By the time came that he got married and even had a child I was finishing high school and focusing on what I was going to do with my life so I was not listening to his music. I had not listened to his music since either Diamonds and Pearls song came out or The Most Beautiful Girl In The World was out (can't remember what years those were but I know it was in the 90s), Until 2 months ago I had never owned a Prince album, I never got to see him live in concert. I did not hear the song Purple Rain until around 2003 and I remember exactly when I heard that song and it stirred something in me that I couldn't believe a guy who could write what I considered at the time some of the cheesiest songs like Little Red Corvette, Let's Go Crazy, or 1999 was capable of a song so captivating and soul stirring as Purple Rain. But I never stopped then to really seek out who or what he was about. I just know that after that anytime someone mentioned Prince I was taken back to the night I heard the song Purple Rain come across my internet radio while I was browsing the internet. Fast forward to April and when he passed I was compelled to learn more about the man behind the song Purple Rain and it has left me discovering a whole host of music I have never heard before.

How long you have been involved on the org does not represent what type of Prince fan you are and there should be no distinction between old users and new users. Prince started his career way before the internet became available to the general public. The org users old and new have a responsibility to the general public because they now represent Prince by keeping his memory alive. The org is where people come to learn about Prince from all around the world and it encompasses many faiths, differing opinions and cultures. Use your responsibility wisely, don't be petty, snarky and rude to other users because you now represent Prince.

ou812Ewokadoodle said:

How long you have been involved on the org does not represent what type of Prince fan you are and there should be no distinction between old users and new users. Prince started his career way before the internet became available to the general public. The org users old and new have a responsibility to the general public because they now represent Prince by keeping his memory alive. The org is where people come to learn about Prince from all around the world and it encompasses many faiths, differing opinions and cultures. Use your responsibility wisely, don't be petty, snarky and rude to other users because you now represent Prince.

The org is where I come to learn from, and have fun with, other people who share my interest in Prince.

I have found that there are some really nice, interesting, knowledgeable, funny, cool people on this org.

Try to focus on them instead of on the jerks.

The jerks aren't worth even a second of your time.

Don't let them ruin the org for you.

People are cliquish at times...

Elders have knowledge about a topic, and folks know each other already..

Sometimes you feel...behind. That feeling can make things worse, or you may have a feeling of being left-out.

I've met some from local Prince group during The Musicology era (when I was a fan)..

Concerts, Opening night at The Regal Cinemas at Perimeter Mall..

Wow.

clairew1975 said:

I'm 41 and still consider myself young (lol). Before April 21 I never felt the need to join fan clubs, I was quite happy listening to Prince's music and sharing his music with my children. I'd read stuff on here over the years (many years) but never "joined" the club - wish I had sooner as I have discovered so much so thank you for that. After April 21 I joined this community as its the only place where I can talk about Prince without eyes glazing over. I'm sure some know what I mean. I came here to grieve. Grieve my childhood and opportunities lost. I never got to see Prince live, one of my biggest regrets. It was on my bucket list before my husband became too ill & I had to take care of him. No I don't have every physical CD in my possession, no I haven't seen everything....but boy, it's been amazing to discover it and I hope those new to discovering Prince are enjoying it as much as I am. What better way to keep his legacy alive than passing one's knowledge down to the next generation. He'd love that I'm sure

Absolutely.

Little strange 'though, I'm 41 and a British Prince fan

If anything the more you don't have the more there is to look forward to

I understand, skimming through many of the comments proves your point. Prince fans are cantankerous. I am 42, have been a fan since I was 7, or so I thought until I came here. Hang in there youngster!

AnnaStesia91 said:

I've noticed that being a younger fan I've always felt like there was a lot of snobbery in the Prince community, especially from completists. I was born like 6 months before Diamonds and Pearls was released. Of course I haven't heard every single solitary thing the man put out and I can't own every piece of material because some things are out of print (and therefore out of my price bracket ) I feel like there is a lack of respect where there could be education and embrace. Also annoyed at the people that act like being poor and a Prince fan makes you less of a fan because you can't own all this rare, expensive shit. sorry for the rant, I've just come across some nasty attitudes and comments on here and on Prince fan pages and I'm thinking like, I'm 25. I couldn't get into Glam Slam at 1 years old and I think the first Prince CD I remember clear as Day is Emancipation. It's nearly impossible to know every piece of knowledge about the man as somebody twice my age, but that doesn't mean I love him any less.

I'm 30, born in 1986. I haven't felt any animosity on here, but it's too bad to hear that you have. One thing I have done is to mention my age/year of birth in some of my posts so that people know because my age shapes my perspective. In other words, I openly admit my ignorance, and I have no problem admitting my ignorance because the ignorance is not my fault since I was born in 1986.

--

For example, I can't possibly understand the full impact of Purple Rain because I WASN'T THERE! I didn't see the movie in theatres. I didn't go to the PR tour. I didn't experience being in middle school or high school during the PR era when teenagers had their walls plastered with photos of Prince or were imitating his fashion. I can't fully understand how innovative "When Doves Cry" was, without a baseline, when it came onto the scene because I wasn't there. What I can understand is that compared to other songs I have heard from 1984, it does sound a lot different. I can watch the movie. I can appreciate his fashion. But I didn't live in the PR era, so my understanding is going to be limited.

--

I think that the experience IS different for younger fans who do not remember Prince in the 1980s (and early 1990s). We love him differently because we weren't there (or were too young to remember) when he was "bigger than life" during the mid 80s. And there's nothing wrong with that.

--

No one chose when he/she was born, so it's not fair to judge people or disrespect people based on their age. (Again, I haven't felt any disrespect, but the original poster did, and I take him/her at his word about that.) The way I see it, everyone has to have a certain level of humility about their Prince fandom. Let me explain. As a younger fan, I have to have a level of humility because I wasn't there/don't remember when P was in his prime. So I can read/view/listen to the music/film/photos/news reports from the 1980s, but I lack the context to fully understand the experience of Prince at that time. At that's okay. I didn't choose to be born in 1986, so I have no fault. But at the same time, the least I can do is admit the limitations of my perspective and seek to listen and learn from those who were there to experience P in his prime. I also understand that Prince's death is going to impact the older fans harder because their childhood and teenage memories and experiences are filled with Prince. The older fans felt like they have lost a part of themselves.

--

At the same time, the older fans (say from ages 40 to 55), who grew up with Prince or were in high school, college, or young adulthood when he was in his prime, have to have the humility to admit that they are getting older, and as a result, they need to help keep Prince's legacy alive by bringing up the younger generation to appreciate him. That younger generation could be your own kids, grandkids, neices or nephews, coworkers, students, or people on Prince.org.

--

The younger generation that wasn't around when he was in his prime are going to experience Prince differently and love Prince differently than the older generation. I'm not here to judge who is the biggest Prince fan. It's not necessary to judge people's level of love or fandom, but let's all understand that we have different perspectives. We should all be listening and talking to each other, learning from each other. It's a two-way street. If people are listening to Prince and having conversations about him, that is a GOOD thing.

ou812Ewokadoodle said:

How long you have been involved on the org does not represent what type of Prince fan you are and there should be no distinction between old users and new users. Prince started his career way before the internet became available to the general public. The org users old and new have a responsibility to the general public because they now represent Prince by keeping his memory alive. The org is where people come to learn about Prince from all around the world and it encompasses many faiths, differing opinions and cultures. Use your responsibility wisely, don't be petty, snarky and rude to other users because you now represent Prince.

AMEN!!!