Good times were rollin'

White, Black, Puerto Rican, everybody just a-freakin'

The last time I was in MPLS, someone asked me "R u Ethiopian?" and I said "No, r u?". Afterwards, I thought to myself that I expereinced a Uptown moment

TKO said:

What? It's one of his best songs

Excellent song

^ a very poor "musicvideo" - though..

Oh hell naw

PeteSilas said:

Uptown...overrated...? What the hell is this blasphemous tomfoolery?

2freaky4church1, if you wanted to put me in a better mood than I was in earlier by getting me to listen to Uptown, all you had to do was say so.

databank said:

"Sure, it is a really good ditty Why?, but that is it. It teaches us about Prince's private world but is a pretty basic funk jam with a nice melody line Why more basic than any other Prince track with a nice melody line? It surely is no masterpiece like Starfish or even Seven Why are they masterpieces? Thieves in the Temple is betta too Why? Says who? Dirty Mind has great tunes Why are they great?, but it is beginner Prince OK, that's an argument: his art had yet to mature, but it could be argued that Emancipation is better than SOTT following that logic. People seem to think that is the best he can do. I don't think so, DM is a fan favorite but usually 1982-1987 albums get more praise. Crazy.

Uptown, we love ya but you are no Purple Rain or 1999. Why not?

.

Uptown is a hippie anthem in the age of post-punk, and this is what makes it such a strong piece. The way Prince merged the ideals of the baby boomers hippie era with the disillusion/frustrations of the generation x that was his core audience was one of his greatest strength at the time, and Uptown illustrates this perfectly. We late X's/early Y's were so angry at our elders for not fulfilling the peace and love ideal they had created, and at the same time we were totally sold to that ideal. That made for a very interesting moment in Western History, and a very interesting generation. Uptown embodies that paradox perfectly

NorthC said:

PeteSilas said:

i thought most of the dirty mind album was lame myself, i know it got rave reviews but i never was crazy about it. dirty mind established him as a bold new artist of the time though and Uptown gave a name to this mythical place in his mind that he created. I've often stated that the great rockers have a vision of an alternate world, you can hear it in elvis' sun sessions just as vivid as you ever will and of course springsteen did plenty of the same.

Ironic thing, it's a known rumor/fact that prince didn't write uptown, morris day did and prince offered him the choice between some money or a recording deal and morris took the deal.

The song Morris (supposedly) wrote was Party Up. Other than that, you're totally right that great artists create a world of their own.

oh, that's right, sorry. that one isn't any better though, prince must have liked it.

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Uptown...overrated...? What the hell is this blasphemous tomfoolery?

2freaky4church1, if you wanted to put me in a better mood than I was in earlier by getting me to listen to Uptown, all you had to do was say so.

maybe it's me, i don't know, it never moved me like when i first heard controversy, Little red corvette, 1999 or even Cool which he wrote for the time. In fact, i always thought the time album was way better.

Sounds to me like you've missed the point of the Dirty Mind album.

Uptown is one of my all-time faves, oddly, for some of the actual reasons you listed. Complexity doesn't always trump simplicity.

jaawwnn said:

Its his own take on Miss You by the Rolling Stones isn't it? Its neither over nor underrated, a small masterpiece and yeah, a funky jam. When he brings in his guitar line in the "crazy, crazy little mixed up Dame" bit, [Edited 12/15/17 10:29am]

THAT PART

so "Uptown" is overrated, now?.... wow.

RJOrion said:

jaawwnn said:

Its his own take on Miss You by the Rolling Stones isn't it? Its neither over nor underrated, a small masterpiece and yeah, a funky jam. When he brings in his guitar line in the "crazy, crazy little mixed up Dame" bit, [Edited 12/15/17 10:29am]

THAT PART

That part, right? to me it's not overrated, I love the lyrics and I'm pretty sure at that time believed wholeheartedly in that philosophy.

I think in one of his interviews at the time he said he wanted an audience that wouldn't abandon him (his abandonment issues?) if he didn't have a top ten hit and so he wanted to build a strong core audience. He was saying without articulating it, that he wanted to be a cult artist but he was moving away from that in the next three albums and then back to that in the next few, then spending the rest of his career moving back and forth between the two, finally being accepted the legend that he was of course. I didn't hear dirty mind until after purple rain so I was underwhelmed because the myth of it preceeded it. When i heard it and saw the imagery i couldn't help thinking of mainly the young black kids who were just misfits, absolute misfits, and how the aesthetic and subject matter seemed to apply to them. There were some black punkers and I'm sure they saw some of themselves in prince. Most of the ones I've known were cuckoo and I still see some of them, mentally ill and aged. Somehow, they always make me think they were Prince fans even though i never even talk to them. The funny thing is/was, Prince was never really like that. He wasn't that close to white society, never, he was an outsider of any community, no doubt, but he was still a pure product of his own community. I think he veered away from that in those years but he came back around, all the way back, by the 00's or so. He wasn't as wierd as we all thought, he was proud of his culture and loved his people. You don't get that with dirty mind, you get that he was up to something but maybe it wasn't all a real thing. That, probably, more than anything made him put the time together and he put some of the funkiest shit (my opinion) ever put on wax.

It's s shame in 1980 it got zero radio airplay during the day even in Detroit. It was too white for Black stations and white stations didn't play Black artists. Program Directors didn't touch anything from Dirty Mind. Electrifying Mojo played it on his night show and it caught on. Mojo was his own Program Director

SanDiegoFunkDaddy said:

It's s shame in 1980 it got zero radio airplay during the day even in Detroit. It was too white for Black stations and white stations didn't play Black artists. Program Directors didn't touch anything from Dirty Mind. Electrifying Mojo played it on his night show and it caught on. Mojo was his own Program Director

i was only twelve or 13 when it came out and was still a few years from realizing i wanted to be a musician so of course i wasn't following much of anyone. but from what I read, the dirty mind album did establish him as a star in the critics minds and that was the clout he'd need in the next couple years. He also freed himsef up to do many things, with the sex stuff and more importantly, the all important crossover that he was going after. Musically, he was getting into white boy territory. You ever watch the purple rain syracuse live video? you ever see those faces? they look like your average rock fan. Prince said later that he knew a lot of those faces he'd never see again and maybe he was somewhat right but i'm sure many remained fans even if they didn't buy every album. At any rate, i've heard that at the time, Dirty Mind only sold just short of 500,000 and dez dickerson said that WB tried to give him his contract back around that time but he wouldn't take it. (funny huh? 15 years later he couldn't get away from them) and he must have been kicking up some fuss, i remember when controversy came out and was amongst the first albums I listened to all the way through, he seemed to know that people were at least talking about him, and we were, and most of it was bad, he wanted that though.

databank said:

"Sure, it is a really good ditty Why?, but that is it. It teaches us about Prince's private world but is a pretty basic funk jam with a nice melody line Why more basic than any other Prince track with a nice melody line? It surely is no masterpiece like Starfish or even Seven Why are they masterpieces? Thieves in the Temple is betta too Why? Says who? Dirty Mind has great tunes Why are they great?, but it is beginner Prince OK, that's an argument: his art had yet to mature, but it could be argued that Emancipation is better than SOTT following that logic. People seem to think that is the best he can do. I don't think so, DM is a fan favorite but usually 1982-1987 albums get more praise. Crazy.

Uptown, we love ya but you are no Purple Rain or 1999. Why not?

.

Uptown is a hippie anthem in the age of post-punk, and this is what makes it such a strong piece. The way Prince merged the ideals of the baby boomers hippie era with the disillusion/frustrations of the generation x that was his core audience was one of his greatest strength at the time, and Uptown illustrates this perfectly. We late X's/early Y's were so angry at our elders for not fulfilling the peace and love ideal they had created, and at the same time we were totally sold to that ideal. That made for a very interesting moment in Western History, and a very interesting generation. Uptown embodies that paradox perfectly

Plus, it's basically the genesis of it all.
All the side projects, all the B-sides, this is the underground.

Uptown is like SOTT: just wait for the synth pad.
Argh! There's not enough of it!
But that's what minimalism's all about.

No Dirty Mind (and Uptown is one of its pillars) would mean:
no Prince's arte povera ethics, no DIY, no "fuck those 64 channels when all you need is 8",
no "Witness 4 The Prosecution", no "Erotic City", I could tell u all but we'd be here 'til next September.
No "Darling Nikki". No "Am I straight or gay?". Heck, no thematics for Lovesexy.

1999, PR, without DM? It's like a puzzle of Mona Lisa,
and some dumbass lost the piece that's smack right in the center of her sexy grin.

In 1980, after having impersonated the Spandex Latino Smoocher Ice Cream Cones Boy for a while (3615 Pedro, je t'attends sur mon cheval ailé),
Prince finally grins and show his teeth.

And like Jack Frost (or Neo for those still wired to the Matrix), he truly opens his eyes, his ears, sex(es) and heart,
and finally sees the world as it is, and depicts it.

No "Sister"?
No "When Doves Cry"’s divorce subject.
God bless the English Pop for inspiration.

[Edited 12/17/17 6:31am]

Come on 2Freaky, put it on or I feed you lead.
You asked 4 it.

[Edited 12/17/17 5:43am]

Speaking of lead, just try to sing it like he sings it.
Maybe you'll get it, 2JustAFreakin'.
Good times R rollin', that's all.
Ain't overrated in my book!

[Edited 12/17/17 6:15am]

oh that's fucked up, you could have called him a million things that would have been more offensive but not more insulting than Ice Cream Boy.

bonatoc said:

databank said:

"Sure, it is a really good ditty Why?, but that is it. It teaches us about Prince's private world but is a pretty basic funk jam with a nice melody line Why more basic than any other Prince track with a nice melody line? It surely is no masterpiece like Starfish or even Seven Why are they masterpieces? Thieves in the Temple is betta too Why? Says who? Dirty Mind has great tunes Why are they great?, but it is beginner Prince OK, that's an argument: his art had yet to mature, but it could be argued that Emancipation is better than SOTT following that logic. People seem to think that is the best he can do. I don't think so, DM is a fan favorite but usually 1982-1987 albums get more praise. Crazy.

Uptown, we love ya but you are no Purple Rain or 1999. Why not?

.

Uptown is a hippie anthem in the age of post-punk, and this is what makes it such a strong piece. The way Prince merged the ideals of the baby boomers hippie era with the disillusion/frustrations of the generation x that was his core audience was one of his greatest strength at the time, and Uptown illustrates this perfectly. We late X's/early Y's were so angry at our elders for not fulfilling the peace and love ideal they had created, and at the same time we were totally sold to that ideal. That made for a very interesting moment in Western History, and a very interesting generation. Uptown embodies that paradox perfectly

Plus, it's basically the genesis of it all.
All the side projects, all the B-sides, this is the underground.

Uptown is like SOTT: just wait for the synth pad.
Argh! There's not enough of it!
But that's what minimalism's all about.

No Dirty Mind (and Uptown is one of its pillars) would mean:
no Prince's arte povera ethics, no DIY, no "fuck those 64 channels when all you need is 8",
no "Witness 4 The Prosecution", no "Erotic City", I could tell u all but we'd be here 'til next September.
No "Darling Nikki". No "Am I straight or gay?". Heck, no thematics for Lovesexy.

1999, PR, without DM? It's like a puzzle of Mona Lisa,
and some dumbass lost the piece that's smack right in the center of her sexy grin.

In 1980, after having impersonated the Spandex Latino Smoocher Ice Cream Cones Boy for a while (3615 Pedro, je t'attends sur mon cheval ailé),
Prince finally grins and show his teeth.

And like Jack Frost (or Neo for those still wired to the Matrix), he truly opens his eyes, his ears, sex(es) and heart,
and finally sees the world as it is, and depicts it.

No "Sister"?
No "When Doves Cry"’s divorce subject.
God bless the English Pop for inspiration.

[Edited 12/17/17 6:31am]

What's your problem? I mean this in the most cutest way.
There's probably some hidden american dirty meaning?
I think the first two albums he's still an adolescent,
I could have said newspaper boy.
He's already working and making bucks,
and works secretly at his big idea.

Didn't you get the nod to the infamous Ice Cream T-shirt,
the one with the fans around him?

Crack a laugh, goddamn it.

oh i got it amadeus, i got it, i just hope it ain't contageous.

bonatoc said:

What's your problem? I mean this in the most cutest way.
There's probably some hidden american dirty meaning?
I think the first two albums he's still an adolescent,
I could have said newspaper boy.
He's already working and making bucks,
and works secretly at his big idea.

Didn't you get the nod to the infamous Ice Cream T-shirt,
the one with the fans around him?

Crack a laugh, goddamn it.

Anybody ever hear the late 90's song that sampled Uptown?

It was a pretty lazy track but it sampled "White black Puerto Rican everybody just a freakin' and for that alone I remember it.

I heard it in a gym, it was like aerobics music. Have google searched but no dice

[Edited 12/17/17 12:50pm]

Didn't I say it is a good song? Du Da, da da da daaa, duh dahh duh duh duh dadada daa. That's it.

It sure is better than Hide The Bone.

PeteSilas said:

SanDiegoFunkDaddy said:

It's s shame in 1980 it got zero radio airplay during the day even in Detroit. It was too white for Black stations and white stations didn't play Black artists. Program Directors didn't touch anything from Dirty Mind. Electrifying Mojo played it on his night show and it caught on. Mojo was his own Program Director

i was only twelve or 13 when it came out and was still a few years from realizing i wanted to be a musician so of course i wasn't following much of anyone. but from what I read, the dirty mind album did establish him as a star in the critics minds and that was the clout he'd need in the next couple years. He also freed himsef up to do many things, with the sex stuff and more importantly, the all important crossover that he was going after. Musically, he was getting into white boy territory. You ever watch the purple rain syracuse live video? you ever see those faces? they look like your average rock fan. Prince said later that he knew a lot of those faces he'd never see again and maybe he was somewhat right but i'm sure many remained fans even if they didn't buy every album. At any rate, i've heard that at the time, Dirty Mind only sold just short of 500,000 and dez dickerson said that WB tried to give him his contract back around that time but he wouldn't take it. (funny huh? 15 years later he couldn't get away from them) and he must have been kicking up some fuss, i remember when controversy came out and was amongst the first albums I listened to all the way through, he seemed to know that people were at least talking about him, and we were, and most of it was bad, he wanted that though.

You have to give Warner Bros credit for putting out Dirty Mind. They were spending a lot of money and not getting back the revenue they had expected. They thought he would be a huge crossover R&B star like Stevie Wonder. Dirty Mind was a complete left turn. Before 1999 came out they threatened to drop him if it wasn't a success. Detroit put Dirty MInd on the map and thats why the Dirty Mind tour performed there 3 times

ya, they really let him get away with murder for a long time. I have to wonder if DM wasn't the critical success that it was what would have happened. His sales weren't that bad or that good in those days. the first album sold 200,000 which for a debut record was expected in those days, his sophomore album almost went platinum which should have encouraged warners but he really took them for a loop with DM. Controversy at least sold a little better. Even in those days though, there were whispers that he was a guy who played music that appealed to blacks and whites. 1999 was the turning point and Prince learned quick, people could threaten him with being dropped off of shit so he threatened his managers that if they couldn't get him a movie they were fired.

SanDiegoFunkDaddy said:

PeteSilas said:

i was only twelve or 13 when it came out and was still a few years from realizing i wanted to be a musician so of course i wasn't following much of anyone. but from what I read, the dirty mind album did establish him as a star in the critics minds and that was the clout he'd need in the next couple years. He also freed himsef up to do many things, with the sex stuff and more importantly, the all important crossover that he was going after. Musically, he was getting into white boy territory. You ever watch the purple rain syracuse live video? you ever see those faces? they look like your average rock fan. Prince said later that he knew a lot of those faces he'd never see again and maybe he was somewhat right but i'm sure many remained fans even if they didn't buy every album. At any rate, i've heard that at the time, Dirty Mind only sold just short of 500,000 and dez dickerson said that WB tried to give him his contract back around that time but he wouldn't take it. (funny huh? 15 years later he couldn't get away from them) and he must have been kicking up some fuss, i remember when controversy came out and was amongst the first albums I listened to all the way through, he seemed to know that people were at least talking about him, and we were, and most of it was bad, he wanted that though.

You have to give Warner Bros credit for putting out Dirty Mind. They were spending a lot of money and not getting back the revenue they had expected. They thought he would be a huge crossover R&B star like Stevie Wonder. Dirty Mind was a complete left turn. Before 1999 came out they threatened to drop him if it wasn't a success. Detroit put Dirty MInd on the map and thats why the Dirty Mind tour performed there 3 times

Uptown is the jam....period.