HatrinaHaterwitz said:

rdhull said:

not goth

Then define what is Goth...specifically.

You know what they say... real Goths don't call themselves Goth.

Nor do they explain what Goth is.

That said, no nothing about Prince is truly Gothic. He does wear a couple of things which might fit the Goth tastes, but not because he tries to be Goth.

His music doesn't represent the very dramatic and romanticized essense many "Gothic" music has. Clearly it's pop/funk/rock. Not even Come with it's serious nature.

There are a couple of fashion senses that can be attributed with slightly Goth essense. Which is not done intentionally, rather because Prince does whatever he wants.

Dirty Mind-Controversy Era: There was a very punk rock influence in his look, the animal print, studs, and suits. One album was New Wave at least, and it's an offshoot of Punk. The reason this ties into "Goth" is because Goth started as a subgenre of Punk.

His use of Paisley and Floral: Some Goths like the aethitics of victorian era.

Lace-Sheer-Fishnet: A common thing some Goths wear.

The last two Prince frequently just wears because he knows he's a sexy SOB and likes to look classy.

There is only one single outfit and photoshoot where I think Prince intentionally tried to pull of some of the dark romanticized aesthetics, or at least whoever was directing the photoshoot.

Which apparently, someone made a thread here joking saying he looks like a vampire using this image, and the moderators went ape and took it down for some reason.

Other than that and some other style choices he's had with outfits, there's nothing I would truly attribute Prince to Goth,

[Edited 6/4/17 10:56am]

CherryMoon57 said:

Wlcm2thdwn3 said:

You could never put any label on Prince He did his own thing.

That's the correct answer.

He actually did ALL things. Even Mozart didn't compose ex-nihilo: no one can. Great musicianship is the ability to absorb and digest works, styles and repropose them from a new point of view.
Prince was the greatest absorber of them all.
Good artists copy, great artists steal: Prince was the ultimate thief in the Temple of popular music.

rdhull said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

the COME album lil bitty era could have gone that way
It would have been interesting to see what Prince would do with a Gothic era

I attribute the Come era and ideas art to the Trent Rezner rise

Maybe we should post pics for the thoughtful OP. I also did notice some of the same things you did, OP. He wasn't too far off from other artists of the genre at times.

Steve Parke made him look creepy, not goth.
I can't stand his sessions. He's like the anti-Jeff Katz.

Besides the early 80's, his 89-90's look was probably the most consistant in "goth-esque" styling. Probably due in part to promoting the Batman soundtrack.

LayzieKiddZ said:

Besides the early 80's, his 89-90's look was probably the most consistant in "goth-esque" styling. Probably due in part to promoting the Batman soundtrack.

And yet you're showing us a picture circa '81-'82, and someone who is either your sister or your brother. What's your point?

bashraka said:

OK. A bit. Maybe. Batman '89 was pretty fucking gothic though. Tim Burton etc Prince was many things. He certainly did dark and grim too. I know next to nothing about 'goth'. I'll admit that much.

bonatoc said:

Steve Parke made him look creepy, not goth.
I can't stand his sessions. He's like the anti-Jeff Katz.

One doesn't have to dress in costume and make up to be "Goth". Nor dress in all black either.

I understand some of the parallels made.

[Edited 6/4/17 16:54pm]

bonatoc said:

LayzieKiddZ said:

Besides the early 80's, his 89-90's look was probably the most consistant in "goth-esque" styling. Probably due in part to promoting the Batman soundtrack.

And yet you're showing us a picture circa '81-'82, and someone who is either your sister or your brother. What's your point?

I already posted a picture of 89-90.I don't think the point can be explained further than it already has. The obvious point of the picture was the same stylistic of choices they share coming from the same influence.The guy on the right is an absolute legend and pioneer in his sound, though since he's not pop or mainstraim, there's probably no need for you to know.

Well, stating that Batman is gothic is sort of a given...


— My daughter says you're half-goth.
— It's just the good half.

Not that my input means anything, but no. Goth is more of a musical genre than a look. It's like asking "would you describe Prince as punk?". There are bits in there, but the answer is still no.

morningsong said:

Well after thought I'd say no. Whatever goth is I would think that in order to be one you'd have to exist continuously in that space. You're motivated or gain energy within that space. So though he may have visited a goth mood, it wasn't the place he could exist in.

I think this is a pretty good explanation.

A goth.No but the album he made as dark as he could is most definitely Come. The album artwork is goth and most songs are dark. Prince 1958-1993.

Definitely his absorbing of Victorian Ruffles N Cuffs is somewhat Gothic; definitely his love of lace, which he said resembled romance N grittiness or something EYE think. 1980-81 is definitely Goth, with his short hair N Dirty Mind N Controversy!

100PercentSweet said:

Definitely his absorbing of Victorian Ruffles N Cuffs is somewhat Gothic; definitely his love of lace, which he said resembled romance N grittiness or something EYE think. 1980-81 is definitely Goth, with his short hair N Dirty Mind N Controversy!

None of this is true.

Its edwardian and some elements of punk. There is nothing goth.

rdhull said:

100PercentSweet said:

Definitely his absorbing of Victorian Ruffles N Cuffs is somewhat Gothic; definitely his love of lace, which he said resembled romance N grittiness or something EYE think. 1980-81 is definitely Goth, with his short hair N Dirty Mind N Controversy!

None of this is true.

Its edwardian and some elements of punk. There is nothing goth.

Prince was steampunk before steampunk was even a thing.

Laydown said:

A goth.No but the album he made as dark as he could is most definitely Come. The album artwork is goth and most songs are dark. Prince 1958-1993.

You're right. In Batman, goth is actually the main decorum, not something that Prince embraced on purpose. But yeah the Sagrada Familia, the black and white shots, not to mention the epitaph-like dates... It's the closest he went to the gloomy and dark aspects of goth.
"Solo", in particular. But still, I don't think it's goth per se. It's more about the morbid mood that pervases the whole album.
Furthermore, it would be unjust to goth to just reduce it to mere death fascination, or a depressive state. As it would be unjust to Prince to reduce him to a single label, considering how much skins he's been in.

Genesia said:

rdhull said:

None of this is true.

Its edwardian and some elements of punk. There is nothing goth.

Prince was steampunk before steampunk was even a thing.

That more than anything lol

Can't be dealing with these more-goth-than-thou types spouting what Goth 'is'. Goth has gone through a lot of transformations over the years, and what most people would consider as the 'true' goth (trad goth) is just a small part of a huge subculture today.

To me, Prince incorperated aspects of trad goth into his fashion at times (graffiti bridge) and more romatic/victorian goth in the Come era. His music sometimes delved into genres often associated with goth or that are often put under that umbrella, but he also experimented in a LOT of other styles.

I think he just dipped his toes in the water basically. He never fully went in for a specific look. He was just Prince.

It could be said however that Prince is very appealing to goths, myself and friend's included that are alternative and enjoy his music as well as his fashion sense, even if it wasn't always strictly 'goth'- that outlandish, different aesthetic is very appealing to us.

He never CONSCIOUSLY did goth. People are just projecting what little they 'think' they know about goth onto him.

NightGod said:

Not that my input means anything, but no. Goth is more of a musical genre than a look. It's like asking "would you describe Prince as punk?". There are bits in there, but the answer is still no.

Yeah. Ultimately it has to be the entire music that represents the genre. There's never been one consistent album were Prince has fit the Goth genre in terms of sound.

Though I love Come and it's one of my favorites because of it's instrumentation and raw unapalogetic sexuality, the instrumentation and arrangement in it is so good it's clearly Funk/Soul.

100PercentSweet said:

Definitely his absorbing of Victorian Ruffles N Cuffs is somewhat Gothic; definitely his love of lace, which he said resembled romance N grittiness or something EYE think. 1980-81 is definitely Goth, with his short hair N Dirty Mind N Controversy!

The similarities are definetly romantic in nature. Goth is obviously heavily romanticized. In general I think people who put an emphasis on anything romanticized will share some of the same cues and naturally be drawn to the same thing visually.

In Graffiti Bridge he obviously paid homage to New Romantic era of music too with his make up.

As for Dirty Mind and Controversy, he was already predisposed to edgy behavior and drew from the same influence and attitude.

[Edited 6/5/17 18:04pm]

bonatoc said:

Laydown said:

A goth.No but the album he made as dark as he could is most definitely Come. The album artwork is goth and most songs are dark. Prince 1958-1993.

You're right. In Batman, goth is actually the main decorum, not something that Prince embraced on purpose. But yeah the Sagrada Familia, the black and white shots, not to mention the epitaph-like dates... It's the closest he went to the gloomy and dark aspects of goth.
"Solo", in particular. But still, I don't think it's goth per se. It's more about the morbid mood that pervases the whole album.
Furthermore, it would be unjust to goth to just reduce it to mere death fascination, or a depressive state. As it would be unjust to Prince to reduce him to a single label, considering how much skins he's been in.

The Batman era imagery definetly tries to set the atmosphere. It's very alluring too.

It's with the Batman era that Prince expanded his look for Graffiti Bridge. He still kept the lace and sheer, the dark colors, and largely monochrome scheme. Which is why he does have a Goth-esque appearence there. Just added a bit of leather in there.

[Edited 6/5/17 16:03pm]