Let's change up the absurd narrative on this thread to something better.
It's December 26, and I just queued the song on my Tumblr to post later today.
But listening to the extended version on Spotify just now - it's been a minute since I really sat down and listened to it again.
I think we can agree it's as sparse as it is very 80's Prince. It's a quasi-hybrid of R&B and psychedelic rock, just funky enough to stay on radio and just trippy enough to smoke weed.
The extended portion about halfway in with the drum fills, the guitar, the getting-nowhere-fast approach to the final bits are really indicative of how Prince arranged music later on. While he changed things up in concert, it was in the 90s and beyond that Prince started to play with tag endings, and extended exits from a song opposed to an extended jam (eg: "Why U Wanna Treat Me So Bad" from 1980/1981 tours). He kept extended jams, but the longer fills back to back in songs became more apparent. He even used them to intro songs sometimes, too.
One can also think about the fills on "Take Me With U" or "I Hate U" is lighter instances of him playing with fills in a different way. "God" is a heavier example of taking a song from one place to another, using an almost-vulgar amount of drum fills to go from point A to point Z. "God", the instrumental, is actually one of my least favorite songs for that reason. It starts well as an instrumental, calling out as a slower cousin to things like "Shortberry Strawcake" (Sheila E) or "Yes" (The Family), but then just gets messy. ALC seems to be more structured and eventually gets you to a point. "God" instrumental lacks that structure.
The reworking of "TMGBITW" on The Gold Experience is a good example, compared to the original single of him really going up and down a scale with rhythms to get you back to square one again. The latter fades, whereas the former has a longer and more definite ending. Another great example is how he used the latter part of "Rock N' Roll Is Alive (And It Lives In Minneapolis)" as a tag ending on other songs (notably "Delirious" on Vibe in 1998). ALC kind of predicts that sort of arrangement attitude a decade earlier than it happened.
ALC is still an under-appreciated gem in my opinion. It usually only gets attention this time of year, when in fact it's due a much grander adulation year around.
Related note: On Spotify, anyone notice a static sound on the extended "I Would Die 4 U" at the 3:16 mark? Like someone tuning a radio? WTF?! Sorry, it's the Hodgkin's talking. | 
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