Hi, I'm contemplating assembling a 39 tracks playlist and series of blog articles to try and show people the hidden side of P's music, i.e. things you'd never thought he would have done, past his well known hits and the somewhat stereotyped image people have of him and his music.

.

The rule would be one song per year from 1978 to 2016. I'm not sure I'll do it but I thought it could something interesting to commemorate the first anniversary of his passing next April. I already made a list but I don't wanna publish it so not to influence you.

.

Please let me know what you would choose, if not for each and every year at least for the years that you can think of a track for. The rule is just the song should have been made available first on that particular year and no bootlegs. Everything official is allowed: Prince songs, side projects, songs given to other artists, album or non-album, audio or video, TV/radio broadcasts and internet streams.

.

Please keep in mind: I'm not asking for favorite or best tracks, but surprising ones

.

Thx

"My Computer" - It's literally a song about surfing internet chat rooms via AOL in the mid 90s. It even samples the American AOL guys voice. Kate Bush is singing background though I don't remember anyone picking up on that at the time. I can imagine people hearing this at the time, NOT being familiar with AOL and wondering "Why is he singing to his computer?"
Remarkable it was released in 1996 possibly recorded in 1995 when 56k dial up was standard and most people didn't have access to the internet.

"Q in Doubt/Etherial Mix" As good as (if not better) than most house music at the time. One of them might be a kind of (but not really) diss track.

"The Most Beautiful BOY in the world" - Remember the hype when some guy called Eamon put out that song "Fuck it (I don't wan't you back)" Then his "ex" released her own version "Fuck you right back"... Yeah Prince did that 10 years earlier.

"Alexa De Paris" Not exactly what you'd expect from a pop star.

"3 Chains Of Gold" Surely his homage to Queen. The similarities are striking and immediate. I don't think it was ever confirmed, and Prince never spoke on it, but come on...

"I Hate You" - THE anti-ballad.

"Sex in the summer" - Ok, so lyrically it's pretty basic "Prince" BUT - he made a beat from Mayte's ultrasound. Proof positive that Prince heard music in everything.

"Ain't about to stop" - Uncharacteristically aggressive sounding.

"Mr Nelson" - Just not something you'd expect from Prince. It's a dance song essentially but towards the end he's playing Santana style guitar over a dubstep song, with the guitar replacing what would usually be a generic female vocal. Not too shabby for a bloke in his 50s.

"Look at me, Look at you" - Controversial, and I could well be proved wrong in seconds... but I can't think of many ballads where he sings in his lower register?

"Ain't no place like you" - No offence to Mayte, but that album was far superior to her talent as a singer. She pulls this off though.

"Brick House" -- Often over-looked cover.

[Edited 1/6/17 16:17pm]

80 - Sister

81 - Annie Christian

82 - 777-9311

83 - Irresistable Bitch

84 - Shortberry Strawcake

85 - Tamborine

86 - Life Can Be so Nice

87 - Shockadelica

88 - Neon Telephone

89 - Electric Chair

90 - The Sex Of It

I'm not doing outside of those dates because i cant be bothered

Studio Verison of Somebody's Somebody (Very traditional R&B. It didn't become Princey to me until he did the live version)

Aint About to Stop (The most unorganic and forced Prince record that I have heard)

Starfish and Coffee

Diamonds and Pearls

Papa

Cindy C

Billy Jack Bitch

Sex in the Summer

Freaks on This Side

Illusion, Coma, Pimp and Circumstance

2045

Future Baby Mama

Lavaux

Like a Mack

The Daisy Chain

2014- Way Back Home

1985- Paisley Park

1986- Venus Di Milo (instrumental)

Anything from The Rainbow Children (2001)

All of them.

When Doves Cry

Crazy You

Batdance

My Medallion

Silicon

Do U Lie

Graffiti Bridge

Te Amo Corazon

Dance On

North

Shut This Down

U Know

Baltimore

Around The World In A Day

In A Large Room With No Light

2 Nigz United 4 West Compton

Bob George

Blue Light

Under The Cherry Moon

Everywhere

[Edited 1/6/17 15:07pm]

Noodled24 said:

"My Computer" - It's literally a song about surfing internet chat rooms via AOL in the mid 90s. It even samples the American AOL guys voice. Kate Bush is singing background though I don't remember anyone picking up on that at the time. I can imagine people hearing this at the time, NOT being familiar with AOL and wondering "Why is he singing to his computer?"
Remarkable it was released in 1996 possibly recorded in 1995 when 56k dial up was standard and most people didn't have access to the internet.

"Q in Doubt/Etherial Mix" As good as (if not better) than most house music at the time. One of them might be a kind of (but not really) diss track.

"The Most Beautiful BOY in the world" - Remember the hype when some guy called Eamon put out that song "Fuck it (I don't wan't you back)" Then his "ex" released her own version "Fuck you right back"... Yeah Prince did that 10 years earlier.

"Alexa De Paris" Not exactly what you'd expect from a pop star.

"3 Chains Of Gold" Surely his homage to Queen. The similarities are striking and immediate. I don't think it was ever confirmed, and Prince never spoke on it, but come on...

"I Hate You" - THE anti-ballad.

"Sex in the summer" - Ok, so lyrically it's pretty basic "Prince" BUT - he made a beat from Mayte's ultrasound. Proof positive that Prince heard music in everything.

"Ain't about to stop" - Uncharacteristically aggressive sounding.

"Mr Nelson" - Just not something you'd expect from Prince. It's a dance song essentially but towards the end he's playing Santana style guitar over a dubstep song, with the guitar replacing what would usually be a generic female vocal. Not too shabby for a bloke in his 50s.

"Look at me, Look at you" - Controversial, and I could well be proved wrong in seconds... but I can't think of many ballads where he sings in his lower register?

"Ain't no place like you" - No offence to Mayte, but that album was far superior to her talent as a singer. She pulls this off though.

"Brick House" -- Often over-looked cover.

[Edited 1/6/17 16:17pm]

Is about loneliness.

Bob George

Had U

Peach

Tambourine

Dolphin

Days of Wild (studio version)

Annie Christian

Starfish & Coffee

I Wonder U

3 Chains of Gold

Papa

The One U Wanna C

214 said:

Noodled24 said:

"My Computer" - It's literally a song about surfing internet chat rooms via AOL in the mid 90s. It even samples the American AOL guys voice. Kate Bush is singing background though I don't remember anyone picking up on that at the time. I can imagine people hearing this at the time, NOT being familiar with AOL and wondering "Why is he singing to his computer?"
Remarkable it was released in 1996 possibly recorded in 1995 when 56k dial up was standard and most people didn't have access to the internet.

Is about loneliness.

Yes.

You're talking about songs that people might not immediately know was Prince or are outside the bod a bit, right? Off the top of my head:

I Wonder U, There's Others Here With Us, Alexa DeParis, Hallucination Rain, Sleep Around, Around the World in a Day, Something in the Water, Colonized Mind, Way Back Home, Come Back, Don't PLay Me, ONe Nite Alone (piano), Xeonophobia, Dance On, Positivity, She's Always in My Hair, The Truth, 4 the Tears in Your Eyes, Venus DeMilo, Girl, Bob George, What's My Name...

Also, I guess all of N.E.W.S. and Xpectation (though I hate those albums).

herb4 said:

You're talking about songs that people might not immediately know was Prince or are outside the bod a bit, right? Off the top of my head:

I Wonder U, There's Others Here With Us, Alexa DeParis, Hallucination Rain, Sleep Around, Around the World in a Day, Something in the Water, Colonized Mind, Way Back Home, Come Back, Don't PLay Me, ONe Nite Alone (piano), Xeonophobia, Dance On, Positivity, She's Always in My Hair, The Truth, 4 the Tears in Your Eyes, Venus DeMilo, Girl, Bob George, What's My Name...

Also, I guess all of N.E.W.S. and Xpectation (though I hate those albums).

May I ask why? I really love Xpectation.

Agree with some of the above. A few other include

Under the Cherry Moorn

Old Friends 4 Sale

Everybody Loves Me (not saying for positive reasons)

Others Here With Us

Way Back Home (unusual for him to express such private emotions other than heartbreak)

Question of U

Jughead ( )

<<From LovePaisley: 5 Women>>

I played "5 Women" for my boss as we were driving around, he loved it, and asked me who it was. I replied "Prince, of course!"

If you include "live" songs, I've heard him do a rendition instrumental of "Auld Lang Syne" that took me a bit off guard.

This is a great thread idea! Now I gotta go listen to "Jughead" (thanks to gandorb)

Mmmh that's prerry cool, thanks y'all for all the suggestions, some I hadn't thought of and I may really change certain songs thanks to your suggestions!

.

Just for laughs, when it came to 2010 I realized the most untypical/unexpected Prince song that year was (and by far)... Purple And Gold

.

And I wondered "should I do it?", and then I was like "no fucking way"

.

Now that I've had some of your lists (but please keep posting), here's what I'd come-up with so far and why. Feel free to comment

.

- 1978 I'm Yours - Very unexpected hard rock on a stll pretty typical RéB record, and announcing the upcoming "crossover".
- 1979 When We're Dancing Close And Slow - Iit's really quite unqiue in P's catalogue, super hypnotizing.
- 1980 Uptown - Not a rare song but there was only DM to pick from anbd in the end it's the most unexpected song in the sense that it's pure postpunk, both musically and lyrically.
- 1981 Private Joy - I hesitated with Annie Christian a lot but in the end Private Joy is such a perfect, archetypal bubblegum synthpop track that I elt it showed a side of P's songwriting that isn't so well known.
- 1982 How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore - Who would have thought this would come from Prince in the middle of the cold synthesizer sound of everything he released in 1982, and it's so intimate.
- 1983 Drive Me Wild (Extended Version) - Not much to pick from in 83 anyway, and that one is really fucked-up, super cold mechanical sound (and therefore I picked How Come in lieue of Something In The Water for 82).
- 1984 Chili Sauce - Most people think of it as a filler but it's in fact one of Prince's most daring and experimental songs ever: put some sort of chamber music over a drum machine, a very sad and nostalgic melody at that, and add on it the grossest, most ridiculous dialogue ever. Fucking brilliant!
- 1985 Hello (Long Version) - It's super weird, very hysterical and it's also Prince addressing critics straight in their face. Though Condition Of The Heart or Tamborine would be great candidates too.
- 1986 Venus De Milo (Extended Version) - Well that one's obvious I guess.
- 1987 Ten (The Perfect Mix) - Hard to pick-up one song in all that was released in 1987 but in the end 16 was a super experimental album, basically most of it is Prince making electronic/techno music with real instruments and a jazz-funk sound texture, and it's very dark and agressive, almost a precursor to TBA and unlike anything on the jazz scene at the time.
- 1988 Sticky Wicked - Just because you get Prince, Miles and Chaka on a single song, and it's quite weird and dark, too. But Anna Stesia or Dance On could be obvious candidates, too. I'm not sure...
- 1989 The Scandalous Sex Suite - There were several possible other choices: Batdance of course but it's very famous already, or Vicki Waiting, or The Future, or Sex... But I felt a 20 minutes long luscious sex jam is almost closer to contemporary music in structure than to the R&B in which the song is rooted, and that it would certainly surprise more than one listener.
- 1990 The Question Of U - Super obvious I guess.
- 1991 Heaven Must Be Here - Ingrid's record was among the most avant-garde and visionary things Prince ever did IMHO, and it's super intellectual/arty-farty in the end. Elephant Box could also be a great candidate.
- 1992 Love 2 The 9's - I picked that one because there wasn't much to choose from in 92 anyway, and it was pretty visionnary at the time (I remember!) to make this transition between feminine soul and macho hip-hop, just like that in the middle of a song! However 3 Chains O'Gold would also be a super obvious candidate, so I'm not sure...
- 1993 The Ride - It's like Prince's ultimate blues song, and not something you'd expect him to do with those long super loud guitar solos. Another possible candidate would be Power Fantastic, though, so I'm not sure...
- 1994 2 Nigs United 4 West Campton - It could have been Come, for the horns extravaganza, or Solo for obvious reasons, or Bog George also for obvius reasons, but 2 Nigs is so fucked-up, again unlike anything really, and this bass solo is at the same time virtuoso and totally out there by comparison to your regulat bass solo.
- 1995 Shy - Almost a forey into trip-hop before trip-hop was the hype. I remember that Swiss radio station that only played uncommercial, hip electronic music back then used to play it a lot. That says...
- 1996 My Computer - As suggested by one of you it's a song about computers before computers were everywhere, and it features Kate, and it's an obvious echo to Kate's even more visionary deeper Understanding from 89, and it's like so fragile and poppish at the same time. The Human Body, Dreamin' About U or Soul Sanctuary would be good candidates though.
- 1997 Cutz - Not much to pick from in 97, + Kamasutra is obviously one of Prince's most adventurous records even though he somewhat failed at achieving something. Cutz however is quite close to a true contemporary music piece, while most of the rest tries to emulate classical music, so it's the obvious choice.
- 1998 Crystal Ball - Well no contest here, God knows there was a lot of wonderful material to pick from in 98 (inbcluding What's My Name!) but at the end of the day Crystal Ball is the one.
1999 Old Friends 4 Sale - 5 Woman was suggested a lot and I considered it (as well as Strange But True) but at the end of the day OF4S has this odd 40's movie atmosphere, and those very unusual strings arrangements even by Fischer's standards... Unexpected to say the least! But on the other end that year there was The War, and I'm still not sure because The War is really Prince outside his comfort zone, too.
- 2000 2045 Radical Man - Not much to pick from that year. That song is kind of Prince beating D'Angelo and Questlove at their own nu-soul game, it's a fairly typical Prince track too I'll give you that, but it's the best I could find.
- 2001 Silicon - Well there was a hell of a lot in 2001 but that one is just... weird. Brilliant, dark, hypnotic, groovy. At the same time very much like Prince, but with a little something that makes it not really like him.
- 2002 Here On Earth - Pretty obvious I guess, it was either that one or Breathe.

- 2003 East - Totally obvious too, it's one of the most unexpected things ever done by Prince, particularly the super experimental introduction.
- 2004 Judas Smile - Nothing very original to pick from that year. I thought about Reflection a lot because the lyrics are so intimate, or Dear Mr. Man because it's Prince beating Ben Harper at his own game, but at the end of the day JS is Prince exploring a raggamuffin' beat, it's again very much like him and not that much like him at the same time.
- 2005 Te Amo Corazon - Not much to pick from in 2005. The latino vibe here is quite uncommon for Prince.
- 2006 The Song Of The Heart - Again not much to pick from in terms of unexpected things. In the end Prince doing a Disney cartoon song, and a great one at that, was the best I could find.
- 2007 Chelsea Rodgers - Prince goes disco and kills the dance floor. Obvious choice.
- 2008 Colonized Mind - Very intellectual hendrixian track.
- 2009 Creep - OK 77 Beverly Park was the real ufo that year, but it's more anecdotic. Creep will polarize audiences because lotsa people love Radiohead, but I'm not a big fan of them and to me P's cover kills the original. When it was released I thought "Damn, Prince has turned Creep into Electric Intercourse", which he kinda did BTW!
- 2010 Stratus - Not much to pick-up from in 2010 save Purple & Gold and that was a no go. The live rendition of Stratus that was streamed in late 2010 is really great jazz fusion.
- 2011 Extra Loveable - I know that one polarizes fans a lot but in the end there was nothing really surprising made available in 2011 so I picked it because, contrarily to the rest, I consider it the absolute archetypal Prince song: everything's in there really.
- 2012 Days Of Wild And Loose - Just because it's not every musician that releases... their rehearsals!!! And Prince did it several times. I thought one of those deserved to be included here. But I'm still not sure given that there's another rehearsal in 2013: maybe something from Andy Allo's record instead?
- 2013 Strays Of The World - Another rehearsal but that one was selected because the jazz side of Prince wasn't featured much in that list, and that one is as jazzy as Prince can get.
- 2014 Tictactoe - I would have picked Way Back Home but IDK, I've always felt the song was rodiculously rushed towards its end, that the last 2 minutes of it were missing. Tictactoe is very dreamy, sort of a return to the W&L psychedelia of 85-86, not somehting you'd expect Prince to do.
- 2015 Ain't About 2 Stop or Like A Mack - Haven't chosen yet but that's Prince trying to sound like those young acts from 2015 and you can't have more unexpected than that!
- 2016 Black Sweat Live - If only because it's the last thing ever released in his life. I find it very moving for that reason only, and it's also not something people would expect.

databank said:

Mmmh that's prerry cool, thanks y'all for all the suggestions, some I hadn't thought of and I may really change certain songs thanks to your suggestions!

.

Just for laughs, when it came to 2010 I realized the most untypical/unexpected Prince song that year was (and by far)... Purple And Gold

.

And I wondered "should I do it?", and then I was like "no fucking way"

.

Now that I've had some of your lists (but please keep posting), here's what I'd come-up with so far and why. Feel free to comment

.

- 1978 I'm Yours - Very unexpected hard rock on a stll pretty typical RéB record, and announcing the upcoming "crossover".
- 1979 When We're Dancing Close And Slow - Iit's really quite unqiue in P's catalogue, super hypnotizing.
- 1980 Uptown - Not a rare song but there was only DM to pick from anbd in the end it's the most unexpected song in the sense that it's pure postpunk, both musically and lyrically.
- 1981 Private Joy - I hesitated with Annie Christian a lot but in the end Private Joy is such a perfect, archetypal bubblegum synthpop track that I elt it showed a side of P's songwriting that isn't so well known.
- 1982 How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore - Who would have thought this would come from Prince in the middle of the cold synthesizer sound of everything he released in 1982, and it's so intimate.
- 1983 Drive Me Wild (Extended Version) - Not much to pick from in 83 anyway, and that one is really fucked-up, super cold mechanical sound (and therefore I picked How Come in lieue of Something In The Water for 82).
- 1984 Chili Sauce - Most people think of it as a filler but it's in fact one of Prince's most daring and experimental songs ever: put some sort of chamber music over a drum machine, a very sad and nostalgic melody at that, and add on it the grossest, most ridiculous dialogue ever. Fucking brilliant!
- 1985 Hello (Long Version) - It's super weird, very hysterical and it's also Prince addressing critics straight in their face. Though Condition Of The Heart or Tamborine would be great candidates too.
- 1986 Venus De Milo (Extended Version) - Well that one's obvious I guess.
- 1987 Ten (The Perfect Mix) - Hard to pick-up one song in all that was released in 1987 but in the end 16 was a super experimental album, basically most of it is Prince making electronic/techno music with real instruments and a jazz-funk sound texture, and it's very dark and agressive, almost a precursor to TBA and unlike anything on the jazz scene at the time.
- 1988 Sticky Wicked - Just because you get Prince, Miles and Chaka on a single song, and it's quite weird and dark, too. But Anna Stesia or Dance On could be obvious candidates, too. I'm not sure...
- 1989 The Scandalous Sex Suite - There were several possible other choices: Batdance of course but it's very famous already, or Vicki Waiting, or The Future, or Sex... But I felt a 20 minutes long luscious sex jam is almost closer to contemporary music in structure than to the R&B in which the song is rooted, and that it would certainly surprise more than one listener.
- 1990 The Question Of U - Super obvious I guess.
- 1991 Heaven Must Be Here - Ingrid's record was among the most avant-garde and visionary things Prince ever did IMHO, and it's super intellectual/arty-farty in the end. Elephant Box could also be a great candidate.
- 1992 Love 2 The 9's - I picked that one because there wasn't much to choose from in 92 anyway, and it was pretty visionnary at the time (I remember!) to make this transition between feminine soul and macho hip-hop, just like that in the middle of a song! However 3 Chains O'Gold would also be a super obvious candidate, so I'm not sure...
- 1993 The Ride - It's like Prince's ultimate blues song, and not something you'd expect him to do with those long super loud guitar solos. Another possible candidate would be Power Fantastic, though, so I'm not sure...
- 1994 2 Nigs United 4 West Campton - It could have been Come, for the horns extravaganza, or Solo for obvious reasons, or Bog George also for obvius reasons, but 2 Nigs is so fucked-up, again unlike anything really, and this bass solo is at the same time virtuoso and totally out there by comparison to your regulat bass solo.
- 1995 Shy - Almost a forey into trip-hop before trip-hop was the hype. I remember that Swiss radio station that only played uncommercial, hip electronic music back then used to play it a lot. That says...
- 1996 My Computer - As suggested by one of you it's a song about computers before computers were everywhere, and it features Kate, and it's an obvious echo to Kate's even more visionary deeper Understanding from 89, and it's like so fragile and poppish at the same time. The Human Body, Dreamin' About U or Soul Sanctuary would be good candidates though.
- 1997 Cutz - Not much to pick from in 97, + Kamasutra is obviously one of Prince's most adventurous records even though he somewhat failed at achieving something. Cutz however is quite close to a true contemporary music piece, while most of the rest tries to emulate classical music, so it's the obvious choice.
- 1998 Crystal Ball - Well no contest here, God knows there was a lot of wonderful material to pick from in 98 (inbcluding What's My Name!) but at the end of the day Crystal Ball is the one.
1999 Old Friends 4 Sale - 5 Woman was suggested a lot and I considered it (as well as Strange But True) but at the end of the day OF4S has this odd 40's movie atmosphere, and those very unusual strings arrangements even by Fischer's standards... Unexpected to say the least! But on the other end that year there was The War, and I'm still not sure because The War is really Prince outside his comfort zone, too.
- 2000 2045 Radical Man - Not much to pick from that year. That song is kind of Prince beating D'Angelo and Questlove at their own nu-soul game, it's a fairly typical Prince track too I'll give you that, but it's the best I could find.
- 2001 Silicon - Well there was a hell of a lot in 2001 but that one is just... weird. Brilliant, dark, hypnotic, groovy. At the same time very much like Prince, but with a little something that makes it not really like him.
- 2002 Here On Earth - Pretty obvious I guess, it was either that one or Breathe.

- 2003 East - Totally obvious too, it's one of the most unexpected things ever done by Prince, particularly the super experimental introduction.
- 2004 Judas Smile - Nothing very original to pick from that year. I thought about Reflection a lot because the lyrics are so intimate, or Dear Mr. Man because it's Prince beating Ben Harper at his own game, but at the end of the day JS is Prince exploring a raggamuffin' beat, it's again very much like him and not that much like him at the same time.
- 2005 Te Amo Corazon - Not much to pick from in 2005. The latino vibe here is quite uncommon for Prince.
- 2006 The Song Of The Heart - Again not much to pick from in terms of unexpected things. In the end Prince doing a Disney cartoon song, and a great one at that, was the best I could find.
- 2007 Chelsea Rodgers - Prince goes disco and kills the dance floor. Obvious choice.
- 2008 Colonized Mind - Very intellectual hendrixian track.
- 2009 Creep - OK 77 Beverly Park was the real ufo that year, but it's more anecdotic. Creep will polarize audiences because lotsa people love Radiohead, but I'm not a big fan of them and to me P's cover kills the original. When it was released I thought "Damn, Prince has turned Creep into Electric Intercourse", which he kinda did BTW!
- 2010 Stratus - Not much to pick-up from in 2010 save Purple & Gold and that was a no go. The live rendition of Stratus that was streamed in late 2010 is really great jazz fusion.
- 2011 Extra Loveable - I know that one polarizes fans a lot but in the end there was nothing really surprising made available in 2011 so I picked it because, contrarily to the rest, I consider it the absolute archetypal Prince song: everything's in there really.
- 2012 Days Of Wild And Loose - Just because it's not every musician that releases... their rehearsals!!! And Prince did it several times. I thought one of those deserved to be included here. But I'm still not sure given that there's another rehearsal in 2013: maybe something from Andy Allo's record instead?
- 2013 Strays Of The World - Another rehearsal but that one was selected because the jazz side of Prince wasn't featured much in that list, and that one is as jazzy as Prince can get.
- 2014 Tictactoe - I would have picked Way Back Home but IDK, I've always felt the song was rodiculously rushed towards its end, that the last 2 minutes of it were missing. Tictactoe is very dreamy, sort of a return to the W&L psychedelia of 85-86, not somehting you'd expect Prince to do.
- 2015 Ain't About 2 Stop or Like A Mack - Haven't chosen yet but that's Prince trying to sound like those young acts from 2015 and you can't have more unexpected than that!
- 2016 Black Sweat Live - If only because it's the last thing ever released in his life. I find it very moving for that reason only, and it's also not something people would expect.

Interesting list, Databank. I know the song is rather obscure, but I still think Others Here With Us is extremely differrent than any song he ever did. Given that the orchestration was not finished until 1986, I can understand why you chose Venus.. to represent that year. In fact, to have Venus and Others originally planned for the same album is truly amzing in it's diversity. Even though I like Others, I am glad it was eventually nixed for Parade given that the album is perfect as is.

gandorb said:

databank said:

Mmmh that's prerry cool, thanks y'all for all the suggestions, some I hadn't thought of and I may really change certain songs thanks to your suggestions!

.

Just for laughs, when it came to 2010 I realized the most untypical/unexpected Prince song that year was (and by far)... Purple And Gold

.

And I wondered "should I do it?", and then I was like "no fucking way"

.

Now that I've had some of your lists (but please keep posting), here's what I'd come-up with so far and why. Feel free to comment

.

- 1978 I'm Yours - Very unexpected hard rock on a stll pretty typical RéB record, and announcing the upcoming "crossover".
- 1979 When We're Dancing Close And Slow - Iit's really quite unqiue in P's catalogue, super hypnotizing.
- 1980 Uptown - Not a rare song but there was only DM to pick from anbd in the end it's the most unexpected song in the sense that it's pure postpunk, both musically and lyrically.
- 1981 Private Joy - I hesitated with Annie Christian a lot but in the end Private Joy is such a perfect, archetypal bubblegum synthpop track that I elt it showed a side of P's songwriting that isn't so well known.
- 1982 How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore - Who would have thought this would come from Prince in the middle of the cold synthesizer sound of everything he released in 1982, and it's so intimate.
- 1983 Drive Me Wild (Extended Version) - Not much to pick from in 83 anyway, and that one is really fucked-up, super cold mechanical sound (and therefore I picked How Come in lieue of Something In The Water for 82).
- 1984 Chili Sauce - Most people think of it as a filler but it's in fact one of Prince's most daring and experimental songs ever: put some sort of chamber music over a drum machine, a very sad and nostalgic melody at that, and add on it the grossest, most ridiculous dialogue ever. Fucking brilliant!
- 1985 Hello (Long Version) - It's super weird, very hysterical and it's also Prince addressing critics straight in their face. Though Condition Of The Heart or Tamborine would be great candidates too.
- 1986 Venus De Milo (Extended Version) - Well that one's obvious I guess.
- 1987 Ten (The Perfect Mix) - Hard to pick-up one song in all that was released in 1987 but in the end 16 was a super experimental album, basically most of it is Prince making electronic/techno music with real instruments and a jazz-funk sound texture, and it's very dark and agressive, almost a precursor to TBA and unlike anything on the jazz scene at the time.
- 1988 Sticky Wicked - Just because you get Prince, Miles and Chaka on a single song, and it's quite weird and dark, too. But Anna Stesia or Dance On could be obvious candidates, too. I'm not sure...
- 1989 The Scandalous Sex Suite - There were several possible other choices: Batdance of course but it's very famous already, or Vicki Waiting, or The Future, or Sex... But I felt a 20 minutes long luscious sex jam is almost closer to contemporary music in structure than to the R&B in which the song is rooted, and that it would certainly surprise more than one listener.
- 1990 The Question Of U - Super obvious I guess.
- 1991 Heaven Must Be Here - Ingrid's record was among the most avant-garde and visionary things Prince ever did IMHO, and it's super intellectual/arty-farty in the end. Elephant Box could also be a great candidate.
- 1992 Love 2 The 9's - I picked that one because there wasn't much to choose from in 92 anyway, and it was pretty visionnary at the time (I remember!) to make this transition between feminine soul and macho hip-hop, just like that in the middle of a song! However 3 Chains O'Gold would also be a super obvious candidate, so I'm not sure...
- 1993 The Ride - It's like Prince's ultimate blues song, and not something you'd expect him to do with those long super loud guitar solos. Another possible candidate would be Power Fantastic, though, so I'm not sure...
- 1994 2 Nigs United 4 West Campton - It could have been Come, for the horns extravaganza, or Solo for obvious reasons, or Bog George also for obvius reasons, but 2 Nigs is so fucked-up, again unlike anything really, and this bass solo is at the same time virtuoso and totally out there by comparison to your regulat bass solo.
- 1995 Shy - Almost a forey into trip-hop before trip-hop was the hype. I remember that Swiss radio station that only played uncommercial, hip electronic music back then used to play it a lot. That says...
- 1996 My Computer - As suggested by one of you it's a song about computers before computers were everywhere, and it features Kate, and it's an obvious echo to Kate's even more visionary deeper Understanding from 89, and it's like so fragile and poppish at the same time. The Human Body, Dreamin' About U or Soul Sanctuary would be good candidates though.
- 1997 Cutz - Not much to pick from in 97, + Kamasutra is obviously one of Prince's most adventurous records even though he somewhat failed at achieving something. Cutz however is quite close to a true contemporary music piece, while most of the rest tries to emulate classical music, so it's the obvious choice.
- 1998 Crystal Ball - Well no contest here, God knows there was a lot of wonderful material to pick from in 98 (inbcluding What's My Name!) but at the end of the day Crystal Ball is the one.
1999 Old Friends 4 Sale - 5 Woman was suggested a lot and I considered it (as well as Strange But True) but at the end of the day OF4S has this odd 40's movie atmosphere, and those very unusual strings arrangements even by Fischer's standards... Unexpected to say the least! But on the other end that year there was The War, and I'm still not sure because The War is really Prince outside his comfort zone, too.
- 2000 2045 Radical Man - Not much to pick from that year. That song is kind of Prince beating D'Angelo and Questlove at their own nu-soul game, it's a fairly typical Prince track too I'll give you that, but it's the best I could find.
- 2001 Silicon - Well there was a hell of a lot in 2001 but that one is just... weird. Brilliant, dark, hypnotic, groovy. At the same time very much like Prince, but with a little something that makes it not really like him.
- 2002 Here On Earth - Pretty obvious I guess, it was either that one or Breathe.

- 2003 East - Totally obvious too, it's one of the most unexpected things ever done by Prince, particularly the super experimental introduction.
- 2004 Judas Smile - Nothing very original to pick from that year. I thought about Reflection a lot because the lyrics are so intimate, or Dear Mr. Man because it's Prince beating Ben Harper at his own game, but at the end of the day JS is Prince exploring a raggamuffin' beat, it's again very much like him and not that much like him at the same time.
- 2005 Te Amo Corazon - Not much to pick from in 2005. The latino vibe here is quite uncommon for Prince.
- 2006 The Song Of The Heart - Again not much to pick from in terms of unexpected things. In the end Prince doing a Disney cartoon song, and a great one at that, was the best I could find.
- 2007 Chelsea Rodgers - Prince goes disco and kills the dance floor. Obvious choice.
- 2008 Colonized Mind - Very intellectual hendrixian track.
- 2009 Creep - OK 77 Beverly Park was the real ufo that year, but it's more anecdotic. Creep will polarize audiences because lotsa people love Radiohead, but I'm not a big fan of them and to me P's cover kills the original. When it was released I thought "Damn, Prince has turned Creep into Electric Intercourse", which he kinda did BTW!
- 2010 Stratus - Not much to pick-up from in 2010 save Purple & Gold and that was a no go. The live rendition of Stratus that was streamed in late 2010 is really great jazz fusion.
- 2011 Extra Loveable - I know that one polarizes fans a lot but in the end there was nothing really surprising made available in 2011 so I picked it because, contrarily to the rest, I consider it the absolute archetypal Prince song: everything's in there really.
- 2012 Days Of Wild And Loose - Just because it's not every musician that releases... their rehearsals!!! And Prince did it several times. I thought one of those deserved to be included here. But I'm still not sure given that there's another rehearsal in 2013: maybe something from Andy Allo's record instead?
- 2013 Strays Of The World - Another rehearsal but that one was selected because the jazz side of Prince wasn't featured much in that list, and that one is as jazzy as Prince can get.
- 2014 Tictactoe - I would have picked Way Back Home but IDK, I've always felt the song was rodiculously rushed towards its end, that the last 2 minutes of it were missing. Tictactoe is very dreamy, sort of a return to the W&L psychedelia of 85-86, not somehting you'd expect Prince to do.
- 2015 Ain't About 2 Stop or Like A Mack - Haven't chosen yet but that's Prince trying to sound like those young acts from 2015 and you can't have more unexpected than that!
- 2016 Black Sweat Live - If only because it's the last thing ever released in his life. I find it very moving for that reason only, and it's also not something people would expect.

Interesting list, Databank. I know the song is rather obscure, but I still think Others Here With Us is extremely differrent than any song he ever did. Given that the orchestration was not finished until 1986, I can understand why you chose Venus.. to represent that year. In fact, to have Venus and Others originally planned for the same album is truly amzing in it's diversity. Even though I like Others, I am glad it was eventually nixed for Parade given that the album is perfect as is.

I agree that it'd have been great but the focus was exclusively on officially released material. I suspect there may exist a version of Others with orchestra since Old Friends was done even though it wasn't on the final config, but who knows...

I've just checked and there IS an orchestra version: http://www.princevault.co...re_With_Us

Raspberry Beret and Manic Monday

for their charming descriptions of the commonplace workaday world

This world doesn't show up that often in Prince lyrics. It's fun to hear these great lyrics, knowing all the while that Prince's own work schedule was anything but typical.

When Doves Cry and Kiss

for no bass line (unusual, even for Prince)

also--

Solo

Hello

Starfish and Coffee

concert covers of A Case of You (First Avenue, 1983), Auld Lang Syne, and Creep, at least in the context of those shows : )