I'm new to the Prince fandom. I'm 21, have always liked Prince's music, but didn't become a SERIOUS fan until right before his passing. Only then I discovered that he wrote all his music and played all his instruments, I just thought he was a guitar guy up to that point(you can only imagine the thrill I got of seeing Prince behind a drum set, being a drummer myself!!). Then when he passed, and a lot of his performances and songs started going up on Youtube, it was like a door that opened to a whole new world of music. The thing I'm wondering is, when he was alive, why didn't he get credit when it was due?? Growing up, I only ever heard his 80s songs on the radio. I'm talking about the big hits like the Purple Rain stuff, the 1999 stuff, Kiss, etc. I had no idea Sign o the Times or Lovesexy existed. No idea that Diamonds and Pearls or Musicology existed. No idea that he released an average of an album a year. I feel like if I knew about this stuff, I would've hopped on the Prince train a LOOOONG time ago.

Anybody else feel like this?

BillieBalloon said:

Hi and welcome. I'm not sure how you were not aware of D&P since the song Cream was a big hit and he promoted that album quite heavily. Can I ask...what kind of music were you listening to?

I wasn't even born when D&P came out I was born in 1995 Growing up I listened to a lot of classic rock from my dad and also whatever was on the radio. I was definetely more into classic rock, I thought a lot of what was new on the radio when I was a kid (2000's) was pretty bad. Funny enough, my mom was and still is a huge prince fan, even though she never owned a cd from him that I remember seeing. But she was enough of a fan that she saw him in concert about 5 times and apparantley owned some of his stuff on vinyl/cassette.

welcome here, but u are a little late aren't u?.....

the big party is kind of over now, isn't it...

- but of course if u are about to discover his old music right now, then u are going to have a fantastic time (I hope)... cool... Sign O The Times and Lovesexy are among his best music released, but then again there's SO MUCH, incredible...

thedance said:

welcome here, but u are a little late aren't u?.....

the big party is kind of over now, isn't it...

- but of course if u are about to discover his old music right now, then u are going to have a fantastic time (I hope)... cool... Sign O The Times and Lovesexy are among his best music released, but then again there's SO MUCH, incredible...

I have been discovering his music and it's great! I just hate the fact that it takes his death in order for him to get this kind of adoration. And I guess I'm just unlucky when it comes to discovering music! The same thing happened with me and Michael. I want to say a few months before he died, I started getting into his work, and realizing how big he was. And then that same year he passes And with him, I remember hearing only a handful of his songs on the radio before he died, nothing else. No Black or White, no Billie Jean, no Human Nature.

khill95 said:

khill95 said:

I'm new to the Prince fandom. I'm 21, have always liked Prince's music, but didn't become a SERIOUS fan until right before his passing. Only then I discovered that he wrote all his music and played all his instruments, I just thought he was a guitar guy up to that point(you can only imagine the thrill I got of seeing Prince behind a drum set, being a drummer myself!!). Then when he passed, and a lot of his performances and songs started going up on Youtube, it was like a door that opened to a whole new world of music. The thing I'm wondering is, when he was alive, why didn't he get credit when it was due?? Growing up, I only ever heard his 80s songs on the radio. I'm talking about the big hits like the Purple Rain stuff, the 1999 stuff, Kiss, etc. I had no idea Sign o the Times or Lovesexy existed. No idea that Diamonds and Pearls or Musicology existed. No idea that he released an average of an album a year. I feel like if I knew about this stuff, I would've hopped on the Prince train a LOOOONG time ago.

Anybody else feel like this?

Welcome...You are now part of a very special community.

People , from all walks of life, some who have been with Prince since the beginning

some like you have discovered him only after he left the earth...

He never got enough Kudos when he was with us Khill95 becasue The Artistic Contribution just so HUGE and incomparable that it has to be digested...and that takes time..

There are not enough words to describe the Uniqueness of his talent and his presence...

There is however HIS Music.....

He often said "I am Music"

He is....

he left his body behind , In between the C notes and the F sharps..

He is there and he is Fabulous Beyond Compare...

SO happy for you that you have discovered him...

Keep digging in his catalogue and you will have your mind and heart exploded for the rest of your life....

What do YOU dig the MOST about Prince so Far ? WOuld love to know...

Love from Australia

[Edited 10/30/16 5:03am]

Get a good set of headphones or take a long drive and put Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999,Purple Rain, Around the World In A Day, Parade, Sign O the Times, and Lovesexy in and enjoy.

Then find the Sign Concert Movie and enjoy.

I think it often happens with major acts that only a select few of their big hits continue to get played on the radio. Which is a great shame.

As for Prince being the most vigilant of artists in keeping his stuff off YouTube - it was argued for many years on here that the great drawback to his desire for control was that new young fans would not have the opportunity to discover him - and you are proof (of one person at least) that this was true!

anangellooksdown said:

NEW Fans everywhere in my Facebook feed...

^^ Those pics are adorable Lovejunky!!

khill95-Welcome aboard! You are in for a treat learning more about Prince. I have been a fan for a long time, but wasn't keeping up with him all the time over the years, but I always loved him. I too have been discovering alot of his music I have missed over the years through Youtube and I am hearing more fabulous stuff every day.

Lovejunky said:

khill95 said:

I'm new to the Prince fandom. I'm 21, have always liked Prince's music, but didn't become a SERIOUS fan until right before his passing. Only then I discovered that he wrote all his music and played all his instruments, I just thought he was a guitar guy up to that point(you can only imagine the thrill I got of seeing Prince behind a drum set, being a drummer myself!!). Then when he passed, and a lot of his performances and songs started going up on Youtube, it was like a door that opened to a whole new world of music. The thing I'm wondering is, when he was alive, why didn't he get credit when it was due?? Growing up, I only ever heard his 80s songs on the radio. I'm talking about the big hits like the Purple Rain stuff, the 1999 stuff, Kiss, etc. I had no idea Sign o the Times or Lovesexy existed. No idea that Diamonds and Pearls or Musicology existed. No idea that he released an average of an album a year. I feel like if I knew about this stuff, I would've hopped on the Prince train a LOOOONG time ago.

Anybody else feel like this?

Welcome...You are now part of a very special community.

People , from all walks of life, some who have been with Prince since the beginning

some like you have discovered him only after he left the earth...

He never got enough Kudos when he was with us Khill95 becasue The Artistic Contribution just so HUGE and incomparable that it has to be digested...and that takes time..

There are not enough words to describe the Uniqueness of his talent and his presence...

There is however HIS Music.....

He often said "I am Music"

He is....

he left his body behind , In between the C notes and the F sharps..

He is there and he is Fabulous Beyond Compare...

SO happy for you that you have discovered him...

Keep digging in his catalogue and you will have your mind and heart exploded for the rest of your life....

What do YOU dig the MOST about Prince so Far ? WOuld love to know...

Love from Australia

[Edited 10/30/16 5:03am]

The freedom in his music. The fact that he can and did write about whatever the .... he wanted and he never changed that for anything. I love his bending of genres, musicality, singing, wittiness and humor in his lyrics, there's so much! Everytime I listen there's something new, always a new layer to discover. Growing up mostly in the 2000's, and even to today, I was exposed to VERY little music that had this, which is why I didn't start REALLY paying attention to new "what was new on the radio" until a couple of years ago. But even now, a lot of new music is still very dull.

muleFunk said:

Get a good set of headphones or take a long drive and put Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999,Purple Rain, Around the World In A Day, Parade, Sign O the Times, and Lovesexy in and enjoy.

Then find the Sign Concert Movie and enjoy.

I can say I've checked 5 of those things off your list! Have yet to listen to Controversy, Parade, and Lovesexy in their full album forms, only individual songs. And I've yet to see the Sign movie!

gandorb said:

anangellooksdown said:

I'm glad you're enjoying his music. You're young so that's why these guys of the older generation (Prince and MJ) didn't catch your ear before they did. A lot of us grew up with them. Your post makes the important point that although P didn't like YouTube for downloading his stuff, having it up there now has been good for everyone and especially his legacy. Even though at some point we should all pay to watch & own it, I think. It's helped get his artistry out there. You are right that a lot of people didn't really get how talented Prince was until he passed. It is too bad and I guess that's what happens sometimes, people are busy with other things or interests and are aware on some level that this musician is right there in the background, and then this untimely unexpected event happens and brings it all up front. I think there's a big sense of collective guilt about this and for a time anyway, many of us will realize how important appreciating each other is. Let's hope people's memories aren't as short as I think they are...

Welcome! It's never too late to appreciate Prince.Have you tried to turn any of your peers onto Prince?

Nope I don't think anybody in my age group is or would be interested in Prince. There's such a HUGE difference between what he was and what's popular now with my age group. I do keep up with what's going on, but it's not good! Most of what's popular today with my age group is really bad hip hop LOL. In particular, I don't think the "sensitive" or "artsy" aspect of him would go down well with my age group, come to think of it. I can't think of any male music artist today that fits that mold. And what with Instagram and Snapchat being EXTREMELY popular with people my age, with 10 second and 60 second videos, nobody really has the attention span to listen to something like Automatic for 9:00 minutes!

thedance said:

welcome here, but u are a little late aren't u?.....

the big party is kind of over now, isn't it...

- but of course if u are about to discover his old music right now, then u are going to have a fantastic time (I hope)... cool... Sign O The Times and Lovesexy are among his best music released, but then again there's SO MUCH, incredible...

Oh come on now, we can't help when we're born, or when someone dies. Fucker.

I enjoyed their enthusiasm in discovering Prince. I'm .....older, and I still discover artists or bands that I missed over the years, and it's a thrill to just dive into their stuff, and consume it all. And with Prince material, it's sooo vast, the OP has decades ahead of them hearing new stuff the rest of us already know about.

OP: Visit PrinceVault.com. It can be a wealth of information on any group, song, concert, outtake, etc. Even I, a bonafide Prince expert, reference it often.*

*That last sentence might be exaggerated.**
** It's exaggerated.

Welcome..so much to learn..there's no one like him and there won't be anyone like him ever again...his music is to last for generations and its are our responsbltu to pass it on and not keep it to ourselves..be careful, he's addicting.

Welcome! I have been a fan since I was 16 and I'm 26 now. Still discovering stuff from him everyday but I'm having so much fun and I know you will too. Don't forget to check out the movies he did too

My son's 11 and is slowly getting into Prince, so you're never too young...He's been wearing a multi-coloured 'Plectrum Electrum' T-shirt which his friends really like - so now he's influencing them too.

.

His initial favourite was 'Sexy MF' (for the horns) but his current jam is 'Billy Jack Bitch'. He rather enjoys spotting lyrics from other P tracks in various songs (so, 'I Wanna Be Your Lover' in 'My Name is Prince', and 'BJB' in 'I Hate U').
.

Long car journeys are fun, with us playing 'Guess the Prince Track' just from the introduction. The great thing is that there are SO MANY tracks, we can occupy ourselves for hours!

.

Welcome onboard khill95! You just reminded me of my own early Prince years... I remember those endless hours spent listening to the 1999 album or Around The World In A Day and Sign O' The Times... marvelling at the richness and complexity of the sounds and wondering how one could include so much in one single song... I also love his later stuff, and the great thing with Prince is that his work is so diverse that there always something to match your mood or phase in your life... As years go by, I am also discovering new things about his music or listening to something old in a new way, it is all very multi-dimentional, and he has never stopped to amaze me... I hope there will be many more like you who will be in one way or the other be guided towards Prince's wonderful musical universe. Enjoy!

[Edited 10/30/16 15:18pm]

khill95 said:

I'd love to read your reviews of songs and albums as you hear them right now.

Lovejunky said:

khill95 said:

I'm new to the Prince fandom. I'm 21, have always liked Prince's music, but didn't become a SERIOUS fan until right before his passing. Only then I discovered that he wrote all his music and played all his instruments, I just thought he was a guitar guy up to that point(you can only imagine the thrill I got of seeing Prince behind a drum set, being a drummer myself!!). Then when he passed, and a lot of his performances and songs started going up on Youtube, it was like a door that opened to a whole new world of music. The thing I'm wondering is, when he was alive, why didn't he get credit when it was due?? Growing up, I only ever heard his 80s songs on the radio. I'm talking about the big hits like the Purple Rain stuff, the 1999 stuff, Kiss, etc. I had no idea Sign o the Times or Lovesexy existed. No idea that Diamonds and Pearls or Musicology existed. No idea that he released an average of an album a year. I feel like if I knew about this stuff, I would've hopped on the Prince train a LOOOONG time ago.

Anybody else feel like this?

Welcome...You are now part of a very special community.

People , from all walks of life, some who have been with Prince since the beginning

some like you have discovered him only after he left the earth...

He never got enough Kudos when he was with us Khill95 becasue The Artistic Contribution just so HUGE and incomparable that it has to be digested...and that takes time..

There are not enough words to describe the Uniqueness of his talent and his presence...

There is however HIS Music.....

He often said "I am Music"

He is....

he left his body behind , In between the C notes and the F sharps..

He is there and he is Fabulous Beyond Compare...

SO happy for you that you have discovered him...

Keep digging in his catalogue and you will have your mind and heart exploded for the rest of your life....

What do YOU dig the MOST about Prince so Far ? WOuld love to know...

Love from Australia

[Edited 10/30/16 5:03am]

Nice and kind of you

Welcome to the world of Prince. We are all glad that you discovered what is likely to be the soundtrack to the rest of your life. Prince's catalog is huge. The amount of unreleased material is massive. Happy hunting and ENJOY.

khill95 said:

Lovejunky said:

What do YOU dig the MOST about Prince so Far ? WOuld love to know...

The freedom in his music. The fact that he can and did write about whatever the .... he wanted and he never changed that for anything. I love his bending of genres, musicality, singing, wittiness and humor in his lyrics, there's so much! Everytime I listen there's something new, always a new layer to discover. Growing up mostly in the 2000's, and even to today, I was exposed to VERY little music that had this, which is why I didn't start REALLY paying attention to new "what was new on the radio" until a couple of years ago. But even now, a lot of new music is still very dull.