databank said:

Genesia said:

Of course, they could have been different.

Reply of the year

Hey - people ask, I answer.

thisisreece said:

Prince has some good music videos, such as the videos for Raspberry Beret, Kiss, Sign o the Times, and Cinnamon Girl,

"Sign O The Times" is literally a lyric video. Boring as shit. It feel 70/30 with bad or lame vs. good.

TrivialPursuit said:

thisisreece said:

Prince has some good music videos, such as the videos for Raspberry Beret, Kiss, Sign o the Times, and Cinnamon Girl,

"Sign O The Times" is literally a lyric video. Boring as shit. It feel 70/30 with bad or lame vs. good.

ya, they must have made a mistake when they mentioned that one. i wondered why i never saw it then when i did i saw why. U got the look was a great vid the SOTT movie was critically loved if not financially successful. but.., like anything, everyone has a different opinion. Vainandy used to hate on just about everything post purple rain because it wasn't groundbreaking and was only reiterating r and b from the earlier eras, which is odd when you consider girls and boys and many other fantastically wierd cuts, he may have never been more prolific after purple rain, most artists hit their high point and they start to soften or just lose hunger. Just like champion boxers, they usually go downhill once they climb the mountain, it's the exception that improves.

*"I Wish U Heaven" is Prince idolatry.

*"Kiss" is great.

*"SOT" series is very good with a more dynamic stage presence, set, & tight costumes.

*"Batman" stepped things up, hugely.

*The Symbol album series is pretty awesome, and after that I feel he's at least on par with most of the video-makers.

Much as I love Prince, his videos were often cheap or too self centered on a simple performance. Some of those performance video's worked a treat (Sexualty, Kiss etc), but in general, they weren't great.

My personal Faves are the ones where he at least tried to push the boat out; 'Come On', 'The One', 'Chocolate Box', 'Te Amo Corazón', 'Black Sweat' etc.

SquirrelMeat said:

Much as I love Prince, his videos were often cheap or too self centered on a simple performance. Some of those performance video's worked a treat (Sexualty, Kiss etc), but in general, they weren't great.

My personal Faves are the ones where he at least tried to push the boat out; 'Come On', 'The One', 'Chocolate Box', 'Te Amo Corazón', 'Black Sweat' etc.

The paradox with those videos were they ended up looking bad and corny...

Te Amo Corazon was professionally done but so bland and boring, Black Sweat was ok for it's time... The rest are just cringeworthy to be hones.

jdcxc said:

Prince spoke on his distaste for videos and that they were a necessary evil...it shows.

he was right honestly.

feeluupp said:

SquirrelMeat said:

Much as I love Prince, his videos were often cheap or too self centered on a simple performance. Some of those performance video's worked a treat (Sexualty, Kiss etc), but in general, they weren't great.

My personal Faves are the ones where he at least tried to push the boat out; 'Come On', 'The One', 'Chocolate Box', 'Te Amo Corazón', 'Black Sweat' etc.

The paradox with those videos were they ended up looking bad and corny...

Te Amo Corazon was professionally done but so bland and boring, Black Sweat was ok for it's time... The rest are just cringeworthy to be hones.

Yep, its a thin line.

I still love 'Black Sweat', and my personal favourite video is 'Dolphin', even though its the ultimate 'performance' video. Sometime the emotions shines through more that the visual.

Can anyone give me an example of a truly great music video? Videos like Papa Don't Preach, Sledgehammer, Take on Me, or Thriller. Is this the kind of videos people wanted from Prince? I think his videos just highlighted his greatest strength as a performer. If you look at his movies as just a long form music video then he surpasses them all. UTCM had the beautiful cinematography of Michael Bauhaus.

Although I have to admit that cheap ass video for Paisley Park was almost insulting. Prince was really trolling with that one. It would've been cool to see him work with Julien Temple. I can only imagine the crazy imagery he could conjur up for Prince's music.

lrn36 said:

Can anyone give me an example of a truly great music video? Videos like Papa Don't Preach, Sledgehammer, Take on Me, or Thriller. Is this the kind of videos people wanted from Prince? I think his videos just highlighted his greatest strength as a performer. If you look at his movies as just a long form music video then he surpasses them all. UTCM had the beautiful cinematography of Michael Bauhaus.

Although I have to admit that cheap ass video for Paisley Park was almost insulting. Prince was really trolling with that one. It would've been cool to see him work with Julien Temple. I can only imagine the crazy imagery he could conjur up for Prince's music.

i don't like videos, why even point to a great one, how about we think about how nice it was when we were kids and we saw/felt/heard with our senses and in our brains, not what some people made us lazy with.

I enjoy the musical performances in his videos even if the cinematic value of most of his videos suck. That being said the production values of Black Sweat, Somewhere Here on Earth, Cinamon Girl,Te Amo Corozon, and even to a lesser extent Call My Name are a step up from the crap videos he did in the 90's/ l do like the One video for its cute opening though. I am a film geek but I love music videos that are performance based even if the productions are cheap. The rawness has a charm about it..that being said, 2 the 9. Seven, I hate u suck as videos becuase they are corny. . I want a Prince performance however not a scorsese film (and Bad is still corny even with Scorsese directing it.) Plus what about the Batman video, its no great cinematic marvel but damn if its not entertaining as a performance.

[Edited 4/5/18 22:01pm]

[Edited 4/5/18 22:04pm]

purplerabbithole said:

I enjoy the musical performances in his videos even if the cinematic value of most of his videos suck. That being said the production values of Black Sweat, Somewhere Here on Earth, Cinamon Girl,Te Amo Corozon, and even to a lesser extent Call My Name are a step up from the crap videos he did in the 90's/ l do like the One video for its cute opening though. I am a film geek but I love music videos that are performance based even if the productions are cheap. The rawness has a charm about it..that being said, 2 the 9. Seven, I hate u suck as videos becuase they are corny. . I want a Prince performance however not a scorsese film (and Bad is still corny even with Scorsese directing it.) Plus what about the Batman video, its no great cinematic marvel but damn if its not entertaining as a performance.

[Edited 4/5/18 22:01pm]

[Edited 4/5/18 22:04pm]

batman was great, i like partyman better though and as mentioned, not because of the song, it was a vid where the vid was way better than the song and we'd never see the man that open again, not that i'm aware of anyways.

i guess thieves in the temple was above his normal standards too but I was never crazy about the song itself, (like partyman) in fact, when i heard the demo version, i thought it was far superior and more sincere than the release. You could hear in the demo that Prince might have been basing that off of actually getting fucked over, the release is to slick to hear that rare vulnerability.

lrn36 said:

Can anyone give me an example of a truly great music video? Videos like Papa Don't Preach, Sledgehammer, Take on Me, or Thriller. Is this the kind of videos people wanted from Prince? I think his videos just highlighted his greatest strength as a performer. If you look at his movies as just a long form music video then he surpasses them all. UTCM had the beautiful cinematography of Michael Bauhaus.

Although I have to admit that cheap ass video for Paisley Park was almost insulting. Prince was really trolling with that one. It would've been cool to see him work with Julien Temple. I can only imagine the crazy imagery he could conjur up for Prince's music.

I suppose one's version of "great" is subjective, but (off the top of my head, and in no particular order) perhaps:

Thriller, Beat It, Smooth Criminal

November Rain

F***in' Perfect

Bohemian Rhapsody

Cream, Batman, Partyman, Automatic, Kiss, LRC

Chandelier

Firework

Roses

Born This Way, Bad Romance

[Edited 4/5/18 22:27pm]

Actually I was thinking of Partyman--that video is great for the performance. Batman is good too because it is so absurd (in a good way).

PeteSilas said:

purplerabbithole said:

I enjoy the musical performances in his videos even if the cinematic value of most of his videos suck. That being said the production values of Black Sweat, Somewhere Here on Earth, Cinamon Girl,Te Amo Corozon, and even to a lesser extent Call My Name are a step up from the crap videos he did in the 90's/ l do like the One video for its cute opening though. I am a film geek but I love music videos that are performance based even if the productions are cheap. The rawness has a charm about it..that being said, 2 the 9. Seven, I hate u suck as videos becuase they are corny. . I want a Prince performance however not a scorsese film (and Bad is still corny even with Scorsese directing it.) Plus what about the Batman video, its no great cinematic marvel but damn if its not entertaining as a performance.

[Edited 4/5/18 22:01pm]

[Edited 4/5/18 22:04pm]

batman was great, i like partyman better though and as mentioned, not because of the song, it was a vid where the vid was way better than the song and we'd never see the man that open again, not that i'm aware of anyways.

sonshine said:

lrn36 said:

Can anyone give me an example of a truly great music video? Videos like Papa Don't Preach, Sledgehammer, Take on Me, or Thriller. Is this the kind of videos people wanted from Prince? I think his videos just highlighted his greatest strength as a performer. If you look at his movies as just a long form music video then he surpasses them all. UTCM had the beautiful cinematography of Michael Bauhaus.

Although I have to admit that cheap ass video for Paisley Park was almost insulting. Prince was really trolling with that one. It would've been cool to see him work with Julien Temple. I can only imagine the crazy imagery he could conjur up for Prince's music.

I suppose one's version of "great" is subjective, but (off the top of my head, and in no particular order) perhaps:

Thriller, Beat It, Smooth Criminal

November Rain

F***in' Perfect

Bohemian Rhapsody

Cream, Batman, Partyman, Automatic, Kiss, LRC

Chandelier

Firework

Roses

Born This Way, Bad Romance

[Edited 4/5/18 22:27pm]

Now that I think about it Smooth Criminal and Partyman are both similar in structure and themes. These lone figures wreaking havoc on an exclusive party with MJ the outsider defending himself from potential killers in the club and Prince's Joker who hosts the party and kills all the guests.

206Michelle said:

Prince cared more about his music than the music videos.

.

Where do you lot get this nonsense? The dude MADE VIDEOS for UNRELEASED tracks. Nobody forced him to do so.

.

Sheesh. Logic 101.

lrn36 said:

Can anyone give me an example of a truly great music video? Videos like Papa Don't Preach, Sledgehammer, Take on Me, or Thriller. Is this the kind of videos people wanted from Prince?

.

No, we wanted videos that didn't look like some amateur bullshit. Why do you lot always make up shit? Debate the issue, not the one you made up.

jdcxc said:

Prince spoke on his distaste for videos and that they were a necessary evil...it shows.

.

When did he say so? Dude made videos for unreleased songs. Dude talked to Alan Leeds about the video concept for a song he had just recorded.

sonshine said:

lrn36 said:

Can anyone give me an example of a truly great music video? Videos like Papa Don't Preach, Sledgehammer, Take on Me, or Thriller. Is this the kind of videos people wanted from Prince? I think his videos just highlighted his greatest strength as a performer. If you look at his movies as just a long form music video then he surpasses them all. UTCM had the beautiful cinematography of Michael Bauhaus.

Although I have to admit that cheap ass video for Paisley Park was almost insulting. Prince was really trolling with that one. It would've been cool to see him work with Julien Temple. I can only imagine the crazy imagery he could conjur up for Prince's music.

I suppose one's version of "great" is subjective, but (off the top of my head, and in no particular order) perhaps:

Thriller, Beat It, Smooth Criminal

November Rain

F***in' Perfect

Bohemian Rhapsody

Cream, Batman, Partyman, Automatic, Kiss, LRC

Chandelier

Firework

Roses

Born This Way, Bad Romance

[Edited 4/5/18 22:27pm]

How c'm'on.

"November Rain"? Really?
Do you know what bad did David Fincher to the nineties and the whole
"make-it-look-like-an-expensive-commercial" faze he created?

When you're done with Hollywood, there's this:




https://vimeo.com/22918239





..and this...






..and this one...

https://vimeo.com/79603645





..and this...








This one made the Guggenheim, for crying out loud:

[Edited 4/6/18 2:56am]

The "Sign O' The Times" video was influential on this one:


https://vimeo.com/95605794

Never really cared about music videos.

They only really exist as a marketing tool.

I've never seen a video that improved a song. I always avoid them where possible.

I've never heard a song that needed a music video.

BartVanHemelen said:

lrn36 said:

Can anyone give me an example of a truly great music video? Videos like Papa Don't Preach, Sledgehammer, Take on Me, or Thriller. Is this the kind of videos people wanted from Prince?

.

No, we wanted videos that didn't look like some amateur bullshit. Why do you lot always make up shit? Debate the issue, not the one you made up.

Um, the op said that one person said his videos were boring and could've been made better. That could mean anything from subject matter, approach, or production values. There was no clear consensus on what made a music video great and that's why I asked the question. He also said that Prince could've made a more cinematic experience which is why I said if you take his movies as long form videos he beats them all.

Unfortunately Prince videos were a bit like his record sleeve art... He just used the same few people that he liked, mostly worked "in-house", and did it quickly... and they weren't that great.

.

Occasionally there's a more pro looking one, like Te Amo Corazon... but not exactly clever concepts!!

.

His last great video was probably I Wish You Heaven (Probably his best, IMO)

[Edited 4/6/18 10:09am]

Michael Jackson & Madonna had Prince beat on the video front. That being said though, my favs by P were Theives In The Temple, Insatiable & The Greatest Romance Ever Sold. It was refreshing in that video to see another woman besides Mayte opposite him.

Yes, I think they could have been different/better...

The 1999 ones were perfect coming out of the late 70s early 80s when videos were still simplistic, 1999 showcased some signs he was watching himself more and looking at how movies could impact his videos. 1999 Little Red Corvette & Automatic(the one that stretched into acting)

When Doves Cry was the next step. Even though we had the movie, I was disappointed with the videos for the other singles, just being from either the movie or the tour. I could deal with that if he shot a video or two for B sides like Erotic City & 17 Days.

ATWIAD since it was such a drastic direction, he should have released more videos. Raspberry Beret was perfect. I love America, Pop Life, Hello Conditon of the Heart Paisley Park could have had some wonderful accompanying videos

PARADE, the hands down best era 4 Prince video, Kiss Mountains Girls & Boys Anotherlover... all perfect

He dropped the ball with SOTT. U Got the Look was a great video

Lovesexy... Glam Slam was a great video I Wish U Heaven was good, Alphabet St was interesting, but you can tell it was just thrown together

The Batman videos were good

There were cool videos scattered throught his career after. NOTHING from Rainbow Children...

OldFriends4Sale said:

Yes, I think they could have been different/better...

The 1999 ones were perfect coming out of the late 70s early 80s when videos were still simplistic, 1999 showcased some signs he was watching himself more and looking at how movies could impact his videos. 1999 Little Red Corvette & Automatic(the one that stretched into acting)

When Doves Cry was the next step. Even though we had the movie, I was disappointed with the videos for the other singles, just being from either the movie or the tour. I could deal with that if he shot a video or two for B sides like Erotic City & 17 Days.

ATWIAD since it was such a drastic direction, he should have released more videos. Raspberry Beret was perfect. I love America, Pop Life, Hello Conditon of the Heart Paisley Park could have had some wonderful accompanying videos

PARADE, the hands down best era 4 Prince video, Kiss Mountains Girls & Boys Anotherlover... all perfect

He dropped the ball with SOTT. U Got the Look was a great video

Lovesexy... Glam Slam was a great video I Wish U Heaven was good, Alphabet St was interesting, but you can tell it was just thrown together

The Batman videos were good

There were cool videos scattered throught his career after. NOTHING from Rainbow Children...

Agreed. What about 7? It had high production values with miniature models and matte paintings. Dolphin also had a unique look with Prince and NPG all lined up in a row and camera locked off while zooming in and out. D & P, Cream, Gett Off, and Money Don't Matter were all solid videos. Prince just seem to favor performance videos over high concept ideas.

BartVanHemelen said: