Can someone please explain to me why "I Hate U" is so revered on the org?

The Gold Experience is in my Top 3 albums but this song I just cannot enjoy, and believe me I have tried.

IMO its cheesy, over the top and the whole courtroom thing is pretty cringeworthy.

What's your opinion?

I Think its a great song...
It was One of my favorite prince songs...
And The Guitar Solo Is Great...

I think its 1 of the strongest song on the album and man, that chorus is pretty fantastic; in my opinion.

COME ON!!!

How can you not feel this song?! And the way he rips the harmonies on this jam?? And the guitar solo at the end???!!! PLEASE!!! THis has got to be one of Prince's best slow jams!! I am hoping that I will one day get to see him perform this song Live!

Eye Hate U has got to be high up on my list of Prince favorites! It's the lyrics that get me!!! I love how he sings about a woman who did him so wrong by sleeping with another for fun... and he hates her for it. Yet, the reason for his hate is that he still loves her and can't get her out of his mind!! Hates her because all he ever wanted was to be with her!! Hates her like a day without sunshine!! DAMN!!!

JDINTERACTIVE said:

agree..

I'm not denying the lyrical content, unfortunately that doesn't make it any better on the ears and it scales 100% on the cheese-o-meter!

Shh.. tears it up!

Come2getheras1 said:

I think the song has a lot of things going for it. The melody and arrangement are strong and the emotional ideas behind the songs are interesting, with the courtroom talk showing clever lyrics (probably very clever and therefore trite to some).

Put it all together, and the overblown dramatics both musically and lyrically make the song sound something like a parody of a pop ballad at times. I recall when it was released listening to it being unmercifully panned by three music guests on BBC Radio 1 because it used every trick in the book, and it therefore sounded like Prince was desperately trying to show off what he can probably do in his sleep. (It was a shame because the stuff they applauded on the same show was mediocre uninspired fare which would inevitably chart because it was fashionable.)

As a result, the emotions described in the song - a sort of strong (now unrequited) possesive love which results in a rather sad hatred (which the lover even thinks of expressing in a form of sexual viloence), sound all the more cliched.

I wonder if Prince had

a.released it early in his career, people would have praised a wonderfully clever, even kitsch, amalgum of the soul ballad from someone so early in his career.

b. chosen to put more subtle ideas to the music, it would have been regarded as classic material by those who are turned off by its cheesiness.

s-u-x.

I think it's one of the more interesting of his super-syrupy mega-ballads...the lyrics are fun, though sometimes the production on the song sends me into a sugar coma.

I don't see what's so syrupy about it. It sounds pretty hardcore to my ears. I have friends who hate R and B music (and I Hate U is definitely a mostly r and b track) but they think this song freakin rocks hard. It does. I don't hear anything sweet about it.

He should have won 777 awards for this song , a true masterpiece

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Im wonderin' mo'& mo' bout chu, giiirl!!

CherrieMoonKisses said:

sorry, i think it's just plain syrupy crap.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Okays, I'll grant U that...it is syrupy but crap?
2 harsh a word 2 describe a melody that poured outta Prince's mind

"Its 2 bad that I HATE YOU!!! Like a day without sunshine...Its so sad that I HATE YOU!!!"

Probably made the girl feel like "Sorry Prince but gotta move on 2 the next!" Its okay Prince, Im on your side!! She should B LOLOLOL

Agree. A very average ballad. Along with We March, its a weak spot on a great album.

The guitar is great, but it sounds dated, even for 1995. Its Prince trying to capture the Internation lover/Do me baby vibe, and failing.

I skip it every time now.

Come2getheras1 said:

I agree with you that Shhh.. is a burner too! But I still gotta give massive props to Eye Hate U. The "cheese factor" I don't hear that at all. I can't listen to either one of those songs just once! The repeat button on my cd player gets a real workout everytime either of these are played.

To me, both songs are synonymous with FIERCE!!

Since you don't like Eye Hate U's courtroom stuff, how do you feel about the whole "flight experience" on International Lover? Just curious.

2 each his or her own...

dated...syrupy...

yeah whatever!!!

i still love it!!! :LOVE:


...thought ya knew!!!...

YEARNIG,HAVEING,WANTING MORE,BEING TAKEN FOR A RIDE AND THEN BEING DROPPED ON YOUR ASS!!! AND JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO GO BACK INTO THE WATER, YEARNING BECOMES NOT THIS AGAIN, HAVEING BECOMES HAD U, WANTING MORE MEANS STILL LOVE YOU BUT FUK-U.

one of his most real guitar solos on here.
the passion,oh the passion

I like it but you gotta admit there's something about it that's similar to Shhh! I am glad they are on the same album though.

RedZRyder said:

I feel the same about that too Redz. I just don't feel that it adds anything to either of the songs.

I Hate U is an overrated song on a very overrated album. But it's very good nonetheless...

i like it because it's an admission of his vulnerability.

The melody is so soulful! Having said that, it's one of the only Prince songs which I think could benefit from a re-recording/covering.

Love this song!!! This is the Prince that I like to hear.His vocal delivery on this tune is stunning.When he sings the line "I never thought that I could feel this wa..ay..aay...",his voice just glides over the melody like melted butter on hot corn on the cob...lol...and I love the bitter,somewhat sarcastic lyrics ("you gave your body to another in the name of fun...hope you had some baby if not,boo-hoo").Prince has done many songs like this in the past (where he plays the hurt,rejected lover),but "I Hate U" is tops.

The musical arangement is equally impressive.I love the dramatic pauses that occur just right before the chorus.The synths are loud and dramatic and the song concludes with one of his finest guitar solos ever.This is soul music at it's highest point.The courtroom segment is delightfully scary,racy and provocative.


Truly a remarkable piece of work!


.
[This message was edited Mon Apr 7 6:44:19 PDT 2003 by DavidEye]

I love this track, the courtroom scene is tacky, but that's Prince!!

It's there with the "floatation device" part of International Lover, and "I'm so cold" portion of Do Me, Baby.

I must admit I simply love this song, though at the time the songs from The Gold Experience started to show up, I preferred "Shhh" - mostly for the way it was performed on "The Beautiful Experience" video. In fact I think that this performance is far superior to the studio version - it just conveys more emotions, if not pain as a matter of fact.

But back to "I Hate U". I really like the melody, the production and the lyrics, surprisingly for Prince in such settings (about a woman doing wrong to a sensitive man), are clever as they really capture the paradox of love and hate relationship.

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned so far the remix version (available on the maxi-single with the song) - in which the spoken part is even longer and even more revealing emotionally (although it does mention Forrest Gump )

all in all, a great song.

Come2getheras1 said:

I kinda figured you'd say that, Come2. I kinda like Prince's theatrics but, I can see that you'd rather he leave the theatrics alone and just sing the darn song!

DavidEye said:

Can I high-five you on that, DavidEye?