So the other day, I was thinking... in Prince's recent career, 1997 and 2002, 5 years apart, seem to be structured very similarly.

First, let's look at what came before these 2 years.


1996: Prince launches thedawn.com to stay connected to his internet fans. they are encouraged to participate financially in charity ventures throughout 96/97
2001: Prince launches npgmusicclub.com to stay connected to his fans. they are encouraged to participate financially in buying Prince stuff throughout 01/02

1996: several releases culling Prince's vaults and recent unrleeased output (Chaos & Disorder, Old Friends 4 Sale -- though not released til '99, Girl 6 -- something of a poor man's "best of").
2001: the NPGMC clears the vault of some of Prince's recent material that was floating around that didn't quite gel into albums (a la Chaos and Old Friends), including stuff from High, Peace, and some older material as well, and the WB's "very best of Prince" (also a poor man's "best of").

1996: the year ends with the release of a VERY big album for Prince. Emancipation. though creatively it might seem like the beginning of a major fall for him, he was very proud of it and it did contain a lot of top-notch material.
2001: the year ends with the release of a VERY big album for Prince. The Rainbow Children. though flawed, it's something of a return to form creatively.


on to 97/02...

1997: the first round of lawsuits begins against fan sites.
2002: another wave of lawsuits against fan sites may be beginning.

1997: blissfully in love with his new wife.
2002: blissfully in love with his new wife.

1997: the year begins with Prince touring in support of Emancipation. gradually, new material is replaced with classic tunes
2002: the year begins with Prince touring in support of The Rainbow Children. as the tour progresses, more and more old tunes creep in, though he does stick with promoting The Rainbow Children as his primary goal.

1997: 1800NEWFUNK starts taking orders for albums that are meant to be available only through mail-order.
Kamasutra: an instrumental album
The Truth: a very low-key, very short acoustic set. mostly well-received by fans.
Crystal Ball: a collection of outtakes from the vault, long-awaited by fans, no one knows when/if it's coming out, but it takes a very very long time to arrive and when it does, it shows up at retail outlets before those who've ordered it get theirs.

2002: the NPGMC announces that members will be sent CD's that will only be available to them. titles mentioned:
Xenophobia: an instrumental album.
One Nite Alone: a very low-key, very short acoustic set. mostly well-received by fans.
One Nite Alone LIVE: a live album, long-awaited by fans, no one is sure when/if it's coming out, but it ends up being a retail release as well.


can anyone think of any other similarities?



edit...tide
[This message was edited Sun Nov 24 19:44:18 PST 2002 by AaronUnlimited]

i got one!

1997: i spend all of my time at http://www.togdog.com/ppml
2002: i spend all of my time at http://www.prince.org


1997: i think i've found my true love on said website.
2002: i KNOW i've found my true love on said website.


creepy!

hmpf... not even an "interesting observation, Aaron!" ???


fuck you guys

here i start a meaningful thread about Prince and his music for the first time in... well... ever, and no one says anything. hmpf!

Sometimes I wear mittens.

I just got done reading it!

That is creepy...but well, it's Prince!



I liked it!

PopcornFetus said:

only sometimes? what the hell is wrong with you?

What a sad thread.

2the9s said:

well it is NOW!



btw, like how i jacked my own thread?

AaronUnlimited said:

Sweet!

Aaron that is Very Astute of you in your Observation of Prince's career moves. Cool,I never really thought about this before . Alright. Keep up the Intelligent Banter. It is Highly Appreciated as Boredom sets in quite Easily for Me.

Very engaging observations you have there Aaron

Nicely put together!

I just connected all 4 years!!! :O:O:O

The fans were bitching EVERY ONE OF THOSE YEARS!

When I first saw this thread I thought it was going to be crap, but there are heaps of similarities. I love that kind of stuff if it's done well. Thanks a lot

LaVisHh said:

mysteries of the unexplained...

1997: blissfully in love with his new wife.
2002: blissfully in love with his new wife.

shouldn't it be:

1996 Prince marries Mayte
2001 Prince marries Manuela

Justin said:

or should it be...

1996: Prince marries Mayte
1999: Prince and Mayte re-wed in an untraditional manner
2001: Prince and Manuela "wed" in an unknown manner

Prince doesn't learn from his mistakes I guess. Did anybody link "The Crystal Ball" to "One Night Alone Live"? 3-cd set, possible extra disks. Promised by a certain date, no further info given and no help from the customer service inquiries?

BeautifuliStrange said:

thought about that. however, i wanted to keep it simple. and to fit with the 1997/2002 situations.

1997 - concerned about supporting Prince endeavors to be free from the Slave Machine. Boycotted anything released by WB unless endorsed by Prince. Encouraged frinds to my records on the NPG label. Excited about the future of Prince, his websites, and the music to come.

2002 - concerned about not supporting Prince because he is in fact the Slave Machine. Still boycotting WB relesses but no longer encouraging friends to buy rcords on the NPG label. Don't give a damn about the club anymore. If an "exclusive"a lbum hit P2P or music stores, I'll get it then.

I don't how you can compare Emancipation to TRC.

That's all I have to say about that.

AaronUnlimited said:

You got that one right...


Bam! Door slams shut...

I hope another CB is coming though...

He supposedly recorded (almost) everyday that he wasn't on tour...

I know he has some good tracks that nobody has access to in Paisley..even if they are instrumentals...

At least the "recycled" career moves
are diluted enough to keep us interested.

NGSPW7200 said:

oh! good one! to insult me, you merely had to quote the joke i'd made at my own expense. your wit is astounding.

mr. nelson needs 2 quit pushin the "repeat" button on his life/career, methinx...

bump

live4lovesexy said:

I compared them because they were both pretty big/important albums for him, and sort of set the tone for the following year and the varied, and similar type of releases that followed.

They sound nothing alike, but are his two most important releases in the time since leaving WB.