teller said:

Telly!

Anji said:

Don't yank our chains, Anji.

Anji said:

roflmao! Yeah prince music has fucked me in the backseat many times and also in the front..we found paradise by the dashboard light. But it never was my lifecoach. We just both fucked each other. Many times. Simple. Prince music is one of my musical wives.

Anji said:

my truth is that I never found myself through his music or him..it never guided me on what to do etc. I never said "hmm..what would Prince do in this situation." or "hmm..in this song he talks about ___, maybe that is how I should..."

Supernova said:

The fact that you posted is an achievement in my books, Supernova. And what a compelling statement?! You should know that I have the utmost respect for your thoughts...

Supernova said:

ditto.

Anji said:

Gracias, Anji.

I think it is fine to get inspiration and insight from an artist's music. However, I do think you should be careful to elevate anyone to the status of "life coach". Prince is a human being, and while he may be able to lend you insights, he is also just as likely to make horrible mistakes like the rest of us. If you follow another human being, you are likely to be dissapointed. There is a fine line between learning from a person, and putting them into some worshipful status. You should seek insight and wisdom from all around you, and not trust all of your life's developments to one person.

By no means am I saying that this is what you are doing here Anji, but I do think that many people become way too worshipful of their favorite musicians, actors, writers, etc. I've even been guilty of it myself in the past. It leads to an inevitable fall, when the person you're fixated on winds up making a very human mistake.

rdhull said:

I agree with you to a large extent, Rd and I guess we all have different interpretations of life coach but that's not really an important issue to me. He's not my God but he is a medium that makes me contemplate, and through this contemplation, I find myself finding myself whether I like it or not...

It is a bold statement, one that I don't make lightly, but one that Prince deserves in my life.

(cue the music: Moonbeam Levels)

I don't think I would say Prince was my life coach--that is really reserved for the people that I have had significant interaction with like my folks, friends, mentors, teachers, etc.

However, of all the people that I have never met or interacted with personally, he has had the most influence on me...

I learned my musical vocabulary from Prince. Because of listening to his music, his playing style, his solos, his production techniques, I find myself more able to discuss music in general and identify elements, if not in a technical way, then in an impressionistic way.

I stepped to Prince out of an interest in r&b and funk, and he opened up my ears to other styles like blues and rock... and he even primed me for jazz as a result of his soloing. I realized I loved string arrangements, and really the whole stringed intsrument family as a result of Prince's music.

As far as work ethic, he continues to be a model for me in terms of the passion with which he approaches his work, and all the stories of his commitment and diligence. His wanting to learn all facets of the production process, his wanting to control all facets of the production and distribution of his art, and his diligence in the studio. I would like to bring that same spirit to the work that I do.

As far as culture and imagery, there may have been a time where I thought his fashion sense was cool and interesting but it was too bold for me. I was too deep in the hip hop aesthetic to go with the frills and lace... buuut Prince again demonstrated for me that one's identity did not necessarily have to be defined by societal expectations. That he could be a straight man and dress in the clothes he wore, he could express a sensitivity most often associated with femininity and still get the girl, and he could "be the wrong color and play guitar." Those aren't necessarily paths I'm going to walk down cuz I think we allow celebs a little more leeway than we do ordinary people... but at the very basic, Prince taught that different is good. That you *could* imagine your own world, your own ideals, live in it... and be fulfilled.
[This message was edited Fri Apr 4 10:00:03 PST 2003 by NuPwrSoul]

Anji said:

Thats cool and I respect that . But his music has always been "upfront" if you will to me. Nothing to comtemplate for me. I took it at face value. If there was metaphor to be exposed or contemplated then cool..it was about what message he was trying to convey. Nothing to do with me or teach me etc. Again this is not to say his music did not "effect" me.

.
[This message was edited Fri Apr 4 10:01:37 PST 2003 by rdhull]

JediMaster said:

I agree with you completely, JediMaster! And what a great statement?! You should also know that I have the utmost respect for your thoughts...

NuPwrSoul said:

This is along the lines of what I meant by suggesting life coach. As always, NuPwr, respect...

rdhull said:

Again, I agree with you to a large extent Rd. It's always been first and foremost about the music for me, the meaning always came later. I am also under no illusion that Prince was, is and will always be about himself but I do find myself through his music.

Controversy, Around The World In A Day and Graffiti Bridge embody this for me; even through all their flaws, I find its soul interweaving with mine.

(And Camille...)

july said:

I like that reply, July.

NuPwrSoul said:

I have always found this particularly inspiring about Prince. In fact, he remains a powerful role-model for me in many respects (much to the laughter of the uninitiated).

I would never assign one person to be my 'life coach' as you put it, but, like Prince, I have a tendency to take pieces of my hero's philosophies and meld them together to create a belief system I am confortable with. I think making the people we choose to celebrate our role models is a mistake and especially damaging to the celebrity in question.

The other engineers who had worked with Prince at Sunset Sound when I was interning there, all said the same thing about him; Prince is someone who was given to much too soon and it invariably corrupted his sense of reality. I would never want to adopt the life philosophy of someone was has no solid grounding in reality. I enjoy a lot of what he says through his music and lyrics, but his lifestyle and priorities are very different than mine. I can't possibly adopt his belief system, without experiencing his life. Understand?

And what do you mean this is your last post? No it's not.

I really like Prince's music, and while i believe in God myself, i wish Prince would stop pushing it in people's faces.

I would 'respect' him so much more.

teller said:

LMAO Telly!

Jestyr said:

Cool, Jestyr. I understand and completely agree with the bolded statements...

Anji said:

8) smile...

Life's a party...and Prince is my DJ...8)

Nothing Personally in directly.but like My Other Musical Influences I dug the way He layered Styles in his work.I give Him&Michael Jackson a Helluva lot of Props for taking the Road that Sly&The Family Stone were aiming it&knocking it down.they Brought People of All Races,Sexes&backgrounds together&that showed me something.back to Prince:I dug His Reasoning on certain things&the way His Work spoke to Me as a Kid.He was one of Many Influences on My Out-Look of the World.it was truly Great Seeing A Brother Succeed&just being Himself.A Cat like Him&MJ for me Musically were a Journey of the Past,Present&the Future.I respect Prince Work Ethics&also Him Bringing so Many different backgrounds into His Fold.Props to the Past.

teller said:

I agree wholeheartedly with this as well...Prince's work ethic has been THE most inspiring thing to me about him as an artist.

wellbeyond said:

I saw this thread earlier, and I didn't reply yet because I wasn't sure where to start. There's a lot to say, and I've never articulated it before. Thank you, Anji, for prompting me to contribute with your orgnote.

I've been listening to Prince since I was 12. Prince has been a part of my growth into adulthood, far longer than many friends, and people who give me explicit teaching/coaching/feedback. I've never thought of Prince as a life coach. I don't think it is a coincidence, however, that I've followed a similar path in many ways - I'm vegan, I'm Christian, and it's very rare that I cuss anymore. My faith has developed in very strong ways in the last 4 or 5 years, and while Prince appears to be a JW, which I'm not, it's clear his own faith has become increasingly important to him.

My fiancee isn't a fan (she'll put up with me listening to his music, and she likes certain songs) - she's the one who influenced me in all these developments, though, and I find it wonderful that these tend to coincide with Prince's developments. When we became vegan, we read Diet For A New America - soon before I found out Prince had read it. In late 1998, we read The Celestine Prophecy - when we saw Prince in Ghent a few months later, he gave a speech building on the ideas of The Celestine Prophecy, and I later confirmed that he'd read that too. And of course his favorite book is The Bible.

His own Biblical references throughout the years let me know that you could be cool and read The Bible; something that wasn't present for me in trying to fit in with my peer group as a teenager.

I can listen to Prince's music no matter what is going on in my life - there is such a range and variety, that it really is a soundtrack to my life. And lyrics sometimes pop out at me that I'd never heard/thought about before at perfect times. His words have inspired me, as well as challenging me and confronting me at different times.

A few years ago, I read a book called Extraordinary Minds, by Howard Gardner, a Harvard professor I should soon be working with on a project. The book is an analysis of four strong creators.visionaries - Mozart, Freud, Woolf and Gandhi. He looks at the similarities in the four cases, and finds some pretty common features in these four geniuses (genii?). They all had 'unusual' family lives as a child, they all slept around 4-5 hours a night, they all went through phases of creativity followed by 'fallow periods' before a burst of creativity again 10 or 15 years later etc. etc. (I forget many of the similarities - maybe one day I'll re-read it and write a thread)... The whole way through, I was thinking 'this is Prince, this is Prince'. I'm convinced that by any modern criteria of a genius, Prince is one. That doesn't mean I think he's one of the most 'intelligent' (in an IQ sense) people in the world. It means I think he's one of the most talented, gifted, and hard-working. And that is inspiring to me. When I think about my own productivity and creativity, I am blown away by what Prince accomplishes. And while he's not directly communicating with me in a way that other coaches I've had have been able to, I learn a huge amount from who Prince is as a human being.

HE IMPROVED MY ANTICONFORMISTIC SPIRIT...

I think for any fan who's had Prince's music as the background to their life for any significant period of time there will come a point where it will affect your outlook on life in small and large ways. I don't think his music and philosophy does anything less than challenge what you know, and the assumptions behind your thinking - and whether you are receptive to his views or in disagreement, he sets off thoughts and ideas that will ultimately inform your viewpoint.

Two examples from two major themes in his work.

I became interested in his music when I was 15. Like all 15 yr old boys, sex was an overwhelming concern of mine - what was it, how could I get it, was I up to it, was it difficult etc etc. Fear of the unknown. I seriously believe that getting to know Prince's music and lyrics when I did affected my attitudes towards sex, in so much as it placed female satisfaction at the centre of the endeavour. Prince back then to me was a kind of uber-man, the ultimate example of sexual prowess and the secret to his success seemed to me in placing the woman above all else. In retrospect, I was probably displacing my own desires and self esteem on to a potent totem symbol, but if nothing else it helped channel all that testosterone in to a real consideration of what it meant to be manly and what sex might actually entail, change what a "real man" should be about. You know, the images out there for a priapatic teenager are all macho and violent, but who else would promise to "kiss u there, u know right there where it comes." To me it seemed some sort of cosmic secret.

As he said, "u wouldn't drink my coffee if I hadn't served u cream". D&P was the first P album I ever heard.

Secndly, I'm from the UK, we don't generally "do" religion in the same way that the USA seems to. God is not discussed much, and the underlying assumption made whenever you meet someone is that they a) don't go to church, and b) probably only believe in God in some half assed conviniently nebulous way if at all. For me personally, I never drank Prince's coffee, I never bought the religious aspect of his work at all. It doesn't do it for me. However, hearing an artist whose convictions are so genuine at least allows me to challenge my own beliefs in a godless world and refine them. I have the opinion that god for most people is again a projection of a personal ideal onto the chaotic reality, and I see this in some of P's work - ie the religious element usually comes out strongest when his personal relationships are weakest - post Sussanah with Lovesexy, the difficulties in 1997 leading to the stauros JW pronouncements in 98, TRC post Mayte.

I guess those are the two major areas Prince's work has touched upon - sex and religion, and for me personally his lyrics have helped inform my attitudes to both in different ways. Of course ther are many other ways his work has impacted on my views in some way, but I'll leave it there.

So, Prince is a constant so far. Not always telling where to go, but usually offering a different way of getting there.

Prince can coach me anytime.
[This message was edited Fri Apr 4 16:45:20 PST 2003 by KelleyG]

booyah said:

Thanks for your personal contribution, Booyah! (By the way, you should really create that thread regarding: Prince - Genius?)