minnesoundlvr said:

poppys said:

And I've been asked why I don't post in PM&M much... not that P&R is better, but at least it's somewhat timely. This hyperbolic referendum on The OP is sucking the life out of something that could be a fun thread. Prince consorted with...blahblahblah...R U kidding me?

Since Prince is no longer with us, there is only so much "timely" information to read and post about him. Even new developments, like Melanie's book in which she reflects on Prince, are rooted in the past...and subject to interpretation.

What you call interpretation is what I call idiot games(wo)manship. ESPECIALLY since Prince is no longer with us - its fan fiction. And not good spirited, at all - no laughing. Obviously people use this site differently. I find this conversation to be incredibly shallow.

i found the interview nauseating

poppys said:

minnesoundlvr said:

Since Prince is no longer with us, there is only so much "timely" information to read and post about him. Even new developments, like Melanie's book in which she reflects on Prince, are rooted in the past...and subject to interpretation.

What you call interpretation is what I call idiot games(wo)manship. ESPECIALLY since Prince is no longer with us - its fan fiction. And not good spirited, at all - no laughing. Obviously people use this site differently. I find this conversation to be incredibly shallow.

Using words like "idiot" and "shallow" are decidedly "not good spirited." I do agree, however, that "people use this site differently."

MoBettaBliss said:

i found the interview nauseating

Wow. Why? Is it because he was married at the time?

minnesoundlvr said:

MoBettaBliss said:

i found the interview nauseating

Wow. Why? Is it because he was married at the time?

no

i'd rather not spend my time watching a dude trying to get into someone's pants .... no matter how much i love them as an artist

and she came off as being dumb as a post

sorry... but from the perspective of an "artist" being interviewed... the whole thing was nothing more than self indulgent pointless drivel

MoBettaBliss said:

i found the interview nauseating

I did too...but I find Prince in the early 90"s to be immature ..I once posted how disappointed i was in a song like Hide the Bone ...Sure it is funky and fun but it also seemed so shallow for a mid thirties musical artist ,,,Just my opinion

Also agree 100% with your descriprion of the interview

[Edited 1/5/19 12:57pm]

minnesoundlvr said:

poppys said:

What you call interpretation is what I call idiot games(wo)manship. ESPECIALLY since Prince is no longer with us - its fan fiction. And not good spirited, at all - no laughing. Obviously people use this site differently. I find this conversation to be incredibly shallow.

Using words like "idiot" and "shallow" are decidedly "not good spirited." I do agree, however, that "people use this site differently."

Yeah, well I apologize. We're on to 5 pages of beaucoup back & forth bitchy drivel here.

80tomato said:

onlyforaminute said:

80tomato said:

I did too...but I find Prince in the early 90"s to be immature ..I once posted how disappointed i was in a song like Hide the Bone ...Sure it is funky and fun but it also seemed so shallow for a mid thirties musical artist ,,,Just my opinion

Also agree 100% with your descriprion of the interview

[Edited 1/5/19 12:57pm]

I'm curious what you think the lyrics mean to hide the bone or are you so shallow you can't mentally move beyond the surface meaning of the phrase? Because the lyrics are beyond where he wantz to stick his appendage, granted they are simple and straightforward lyrics.

Enlightment me...

onlyforaminute said:

80tomato said:

I did too...but I find Prince in the early 90"s to be immature ..I once posted how disappointed i was in a song like Hide the Bone ...Sure it is funky and fun but it also seemed so shallow for a mid thirties musical artist ,,,Just my opinion

Also agree 100% with your descriprion of the interview

[Edited 1/5/19 12:57pm]

I'm curious what you think the lyrics mean to hide the bone or are you so shallow you can't mentally move beyond the surface meaning of the phrase? Because the lyrics are beyond where he wantz to stick his appendage, granted they are simple and straightforward lyrics.

Just my own 2 cents, but while Prince may have had more than one meaning to the lyrics, there is no doubt that the sexual innuendo is there front and center...

*

I can't hold it any longer
It's getting harder every day
The need for you is getting stronger
Than my need to play

[Chorus]
Playing hard to get is getting hard to play
How can I be cool falling every day?
Playing hard to get is getting hard to play
How can I resist? Love has got me saying, baby
"Give it up - bang, bang - before it be gone!"
Hide the bone

Oh, when you whisper that you want me
Press your body close to mine
I feel the fire burning and I just wanna surrender
I wanna surrender every time, hey!

*

Prince was full of the sexual output during the early 90's - Pheromone, Come, Orgasm, The Continental, Get Off, etc. I think he was definitely going through a "hey, I'm still young and sexy" thing at that time.

violetcrush said:

AnnaStesia10 said:

To me, Mel B's interview with his Royal Badness is interesting in that we get to see Prince's moves. His eye contact and mannerisms when he is flirting. To me it is actually humorus. To this day I still have to sike myself out in order to watch it. Don't worry I am not a prude really but I was saying to myself, get a room already. I feel they either did bone or he wanted to bone. Or, maybe some shit went down with him and Mayte at the time and he was like F it, I am gonna flirt big time with hottie Mel B. in an immature way of getting back at her. I can see him doing that. I also felt that during the interview Mel B. was trying to play it cool in a naive way and was thinking what the F is going on is he really doing this shit on camera? Damn. But I feel inside she was freakin' out a little and trying to push those feelings down by trying to be really professional and stick to the questions at hand. Mel B. was and is a Prince fan like all of us, and she was damn lucky that of all the people in the world in 1998 he selected her to interview him. Damn u lucky girl. Overall, I feel we are all lucky too to have this gem of an interview for our viewing pleasure for the Prince info we all so like to hear and for the comedy of it all. Damn entertaining.

It's an amusing interview to me as well. I wasn't sure when it took place but I guessed around '97 or '98 from his appearance. I think he comes across almost child like the way he was nibbling on the earring throughout and playing on the swing set at the end. He seemed much younger than his age at the time and Mel B looked like she was trying to figure him out. My favorite part was when she told him that he sang about sex and his eyes got real big and he insisted that he didn't lol. I think it was one of his more entertaining interviews.

AnnaStesia10 said:

onlyforaminute said:

violetcrush said:

Just my own 2 cents, but while Prince may have had more than one meaning to the lyrics, there is no doubt that the sexual innuendo is there front and center...

*

I can't hold it any longer
It's getting harder every day
The need for you is getting stronger
Than my need to play

[Chorus]
Playing hard to get is getting hard to play
How can I be cool falling every day?
Playing hard to get is getting hard to play
How can I resist? Love has got me saying, baby
"Give it up - bang, bang - before it be gone!"
Hide the bone

Oh, when you whisper that you want me
Press your body close to mine
I feel the fire burning and I just wanna surrender
I wanna surrender every time, hey!

*

Prince was full of the sexual output during the early 90's - Pheromone, Come, Orgasm, The Continental, Get Off, etc. I think he was definitely going through a "hey, I'm still young and sexy" thing at that time.

Having sexual innuendo and being downright shallow are 2 different things. Its called a hook, to get your attention. It worked. Having a deeper meaning beyond the surface isn't shallow. Being incapable of understanding beyond the surface is shallow. But as I said it is a simple basic song it's not a deep song, you'd have a pretty limited thought process not to grasp the entire meaning without having it explained.

Or....you just might be reading way too much into what he intended to be a simple song describing his increasing desire for a particular woman. This is also a common mistake fans make with many of his songs - yes some have a double or deeper meaning, while others are just meant to tell a simple story of one thing or another.

*

Beside his mounting desire for a woman whom he is trying to resist or with whom he is trying to play "hard to get" (presumably while he's getting hard), feel free to indulge me with your take on the deeper message he had in mind with this lyric

*

I do know that when he would play this song during that time he had Mayte doing her gyrating stripper moves all around him, bending over, giving crotch shots, etc. Certainly wasn't a "deep" performance of the song...

AnnaStesia10 said:

To me, Mel B's interview with his Royal Badness is interesting in that we get to see Prince's moves. His eye contact and mannerisms when he is flirting. To me it is actually humorus. To this day I still have to sike myself out in order to watch it. Don't worry I am not a prude really but I was saying to myself, get a room already. I feel they either did bone or he wanted to bone. Or, maybe some shit went down with him and Mayte at the time and he was like F it, I am gonna flirt big time with hottie Mel B. in an immature way of getting back at her. I can see him doing that. I also felt that during the interview Mel B. was trying to play it cool in a naive way and was thinking what the F is going on is he really doing this shit on camera? Damn. But I feel inside she was freakin' out a little and trying to push those feelings down by trying to be really professional and stick to the questions at hand. Mel B. was and is a Prince fan like all of us, and she was damn lucky that of all the people in the world in 1998 he selected her to interview him. Damn u lucky girl. Overall, I feel we are all lucky too to have this gem of an interview for our viewing pleasure for the Prince info we all so like to hear and for the comedy of it all. Damn entertaining.

By this point, Prince knew exactly what he wanted to do with his marketing, and who he wanted to use in order to reach a certain audience or demographic. The Spice Girls were the biggest Pop act at that time - they were everywhere and had the number one song in 30+ countries in 1996. Their first album sold 31 million copies. They were a global phenomenon and the most successful girl group of all time. They were the biggest British pop success since The Beatles, and they dominated the younger demographic.

*

So, I would say that Prince was very smart in his decision to have her interview him in 1998. He was going to make the most of it, and use his experience in front of the camera to his advantage. Mel B handled it well for her age and inexperience at that time, but clearly Prince had her like a Deer in headlights. I thought his blatant flirtation was hilarious - a combination of feminine, little boy, and horny man

*

Although, like many of Prince's marketing ideas in the 90's, I don't think the interview did exactly what he may have expected it to do for him in terms of exposure. I don't remember even seeing the DVD or knowing it existed.

violetcrush said:

onlyforaminute said:

violetcrush said: Having sexual innuendo and being downright shallow are 2 different things. Its called a hook, to get your attention. It worked. Having a deeper meaning beyond the surface isn't shallow. Being incapable of understanding beyond the surface is shallow. But as I said it is a simple basic song it's not a deep song, you'd have a pretty limited thought process not to grasp the entire meaning without having it explained.

Or....you just might be reading way too much into what he intended to be a simple song describing his increasing desire for a particular woman. This is also a common mistake fans make with many of his songs - yes some have a double or deeper meaning, while others are just meant to tell a simple story of one thing or another.

*

Beside his mounting desire for a woman whom he is trying to resist or with whom he is trying to play "hard to get" (presumably while he's getting hard), feel free to indulge me with your take on the deeper message he had in mind with this lyric

*

I do know that when he would play this song during that time he had Mayte doing her gyrating stripper moves all around him, bending over, giving crotch shots, etc. Certainly wasn't a "deep" performance of the song...

Well....per princevault.com the lyrics to Hide The Bone were given to Prince by Brenda Lee Eager and Hilliard Wilson. So, I suppose we'd have to ask them about any deeper meaning they had in mind for the song

*

"The original lyrics by Brenda Lee Eager and Hilliard Wilson were developed after Eager gave the lyrics to Somebody's Somebody to her friend Mavis Staples (presumably when she was working on her second album The Voice in 1992). Prince liked the lyrics and put music to it and then asked Eager for more material, which yielded Hide The Bone."

violetcrush said:

AnnaStesia10 said:

To me, Mel B's interview with his Royal Badness is interesting in that we get to see Prince's moves. His eye contact and mannerisms when he is flirting. To me it is actually humorus. To this day I still have to sike myself out in order to watch it. Don't worry I am not a prude really but I was saying to myself, get a room already. I feel they either did bone or he wanted to bone. Or, maybe some shit went down with him and Mayte at the time and he was like F it, I am gonna flirt big time with hottie Mel B. in an immature way of getting back at her. I can see him doing that. I also felt that during the interview Mel B. was trying to play it cool in a naive way and was thinking what the F is going on is he really doing this shit on camera? Damn. But I feel inside she was freakin' out a little and trying to push those feelings down by trying to be really professional and stick to the questions at hand. Mel B. was and is a Prince fan like all of us, and she was damn lucky that of all the people in the world in 1998 he selected her to interview him. Damn u lucky girl. Overall, I feel we are all lucky too to have this gem of an interview for our viewing pleasure for the Prince info we all so like to hear and for the comedy of it all. Damn entertaining.

By this point, Prince knew exactly what he wanted to do with his marketing, and who he wanted to use in order to reach a certain audience or demographic. The Spice Girls were the biggest Pop act at that time - they were everywhere and had the number one song in 30+ countries in 1996. Their first album sold 31 million copies. They were a global phenomenon and the most successful girl group of all time. They were the biggest British pop success since The Beatles, and they dominated the younger demographic.

*

So, I would say that Prince was very smart in his decision to have her interview him in 1998. He was going to make the most of it, and use his experience in front of the camera to his advantage. Mel B handled it well for her age and inexperience at that time, but clearly Prince had her like a Deer in headlights. I thought his blatant flirtation was hilarious - a combination of feminine, little boy, and horny man

*

Although, like many of Prince's marketing ideas in the 90's, I don't think the interview did exactly what he may have expected it to do for him in terms of exposure. I don't remember even seeing the DVD or knowing it existed.

It seems very important to you to dismiss this as "marketing," and to some extent, perhaps you might be right; however, there were any number of ways he could have done that, including a musical or film/video collaboration, for which she seemed to be clamouring.

Instead, (married) he chose to fly her into Minne for "three or four days" and have her conduct this very playful, sensuous "interview." I wonder how long it took him to come up with this plan. BTW, I forget which interview it was-he must have been at least in his forties by then-but he admitted that if he wanted to get next to a woman, in the past, he would just write it into a script (or, in this case, an interview).

Lastly, like you, I never even heard of this interview until after April 21, 2016. When I found it, I could not stop watching it for quite a while and, to this day, I still watch it periodically. For some reason, it takes me to a happy place. Initially, I had a similar reaction to AnnaStesia's. It was like the closest thing to watching Prince in "pimp" mode. I agree with your assessment that Melanie was "like a deer in headlights." Prince seemed intent on blowing her mind. Clearly, she was out of her depth intellectually, especially during the word association game, but P never once pointed it out (except maybe during her Romeo/Rapunzel gaffe). He couldn't let that one go!

[Edited 1/5/19 17:01pm]

poppys said:

minnesoundlvr said:

Using words like "idiot" and "shallow" are decidedly "not good spirited." I do agree, however, that "people use this site differently."

Yeah, well I apologize. We're on to 5 pages of beaucoup back & forth bitchy drivel here.

Apology accepted. TBH, I think some orgers are WAY too deep. Some of us just come on here when we have a bit of time to spare and just have a bit of mindless, "shallow" interaction. I don't mean, mindless "mindless," but I mean, sometimes I just want to relax and take in a dose of purple tea here on the org.

muchtoofast said:

Mel was newly engaged and two months pregnant during this interview so sleeping with a virtual stranger probably wasn’t on her mind. She looked to me to be trying to rein him in a bit, asking him non-sexual questions like birthday celebrations etc. She wasn’t yet a drug addicted sex fiend.

You mean the same "virtual stranger" whose security detail that she stormed past to meet? IMHO, she seemed to be flirting (right along with him) the entire time, especially with her "Romeo, Romeo" antics on the swing set. I sat amazed almost to the point of paralysis the first time I watched it. At first, I only saw the first part and I could not rest until I tracked down the rest of it.

[Edited 1/5/19 17:03pm]

minnesoundlvr said:

violetcrush said:

By this point, Prince knew exactly what he wanted to do with his marketing, and who he wanted to use in order to reach a certain audience or demographic. The Spice Girls were the biggest Pop act at that time - they were everywhere and had the number one song in 30+ countries in 1996. Their first album sold 31 million copies. They were a global phenomenon and the most successful girl group of all time. They were the biggest British pop success since The Beatles, and they dominated the younger demographic.

*

So, I would say that Prince was very smart in his decision to have her interview him in 1998. He was going to make the most of it, and use his experience in front of the camera to his advantage. Mel B handled it well for her age and inexperience at that time, but clearly Prince had her like a Deer in headlights. I thought his blatant flirtation was hilarious - a combination of feminine, little boy, and horny man

*

Although, like many of Prince's marketing ideas in the 90's, I don't think the interview did exactly what he may have expected it to do for him in terms of exposure. I don't remember even seeing the DVD or knowing it existed.

It seems very important to you to dismiss this as "marketing," and to some extent, perhaps you might be right; however, there were any number of ways he could have done that, including a musical or film/video collaboration, for which she seemed to be clamouring.

Instead, (married) he chose to fly her into Minne for "three or four days" and have her conduct this very playful, sensuous "interview." I wonder how long it took him to come up with this plan. BTW, I forget which interview it was-he must have been at least in his forties by then-but he admitted that if he wanted to get next to a woman, in the past, he would just write it into a script (or, in this case, an interview).

Lastly, like you, I never even heard of this interview until after April 21, 2016. When I found it, I could not stop watching it for quite a while and, to this day, I still watch it periodically. For some reason, it takes me to a happy place. Initially, I had a similar reaction to AnnaStesia's. It was like the closest thing to watching Prince in "pimp" mode. I agree with your assessment that Melanie was "like a deer in headlights." Prince seemed intent on blowing her mind. Clearly, she was out of her depth intellectually, especially during the word association game, but P never once pointed it out (except maybe during her Romeo/Rapunzel gaffe). He couldn't let that one go!

[Edited 1/5/19 17:01pm]

Nah, I don't think Prince was in a position at that point to do a film production as he was no longer tied to a major label, and Mel B was tied to her group, so I don't think doing a video with him solo would have worked out. Also, Melanie was, I imagine, quite busy with the Spicie's appearances during that time. That word association game was beyond hilarious. He was deep into studying the JW by this point, so he was clearly giving her some words typically associated with religion. When he gave her the word cross, and she said, "when signals get "crossed" you just have to shake your head like, really??! And yes, the "Romeo, let your hair down" comment w/ his correction was hilarious. Too freakin' funny.

*

I would guess that Prince's intention was for many people to see this interview and the video, but he had no big distributor to really get it out there. He also released it a full year after the interview and live performances. Again, the business side was very lacking during this time.

violetcrush said:

minnesoundlvr said:

It seems very important to you to dismiss this as "marketing," and to some extent, perhaps you might be right; however, there were any number of ways he could have done that, including a musical or film/video collaboration, for which she seemed to be clamouring.

Instead, (married) he chose to fly her into Minne for "three or four days" and have her conduct this very playful, sensuous "interview." I wonder how long it took him to come up with this plan. BTW, I forget which interview it was-he must have been at least in his forties by then-but he admitted that if he wanted to get next to a woman, in the past, he would just write it into a script (or, in this case, an interview).

Lastly, like you, I never even heard of this interview until after April 21, 2016. When I found it, I could not stop watching it for quite a while and, to this day, I still watch it periodically. For some reason, it takes me to a happy place. Initially, I had a similar reaction to AnnaStesia's. It was like the closest thing to watching Prince in "pimp" mode. I agree with your assessment that Melanie was "like a deer in headlights." Prince seemed intent on blowing her mind. Clearly, she was out of her depth intellectually, especially during the word association game, but P never once pointed it out (except maybe during her Romeo/Rapunzel gaffe). He couldn't let that one go!

[Edited 1/5/19 17:01pm]

Nah, I don't think Prince was in a position at that point to do a film production as he was no longer tied to a major label, and Mel B was tied to her group, so I don't think doing a video with him solo would have worked out. Also, Melanie was, I imagine, quite busy with the Spicie's appearances during that time. That word association game was beyond hilarious. He was deep into studying the JW by this point, so he was clearly giving her some words typically associated with religion. When he gave her the word cross, and she said, "when signals get "crossed" you just have to shake your head like, really??! And yes, the "Romeo, let your hair down" comment w/ his correction was hilarious. Too freakin' funny.

*

I would guess that Prince's intention was for many people to see this interview and the video, but he had no big distributor to really get it out there. He also released it a full year after the interview and live performances. Again, the business side was very lacking during this time.

Exactly!! Hence the low-budget interview. And in spite of her ties to the group and her label, that didn't stop her from floating the idea of a collaboration when they were on the playground.

minnesoundlvr said:

muchtoofast said:

minnesoundlvr said:

You mean the same "virtual stranger" whose security detail that she stormed past to meet? IMHO, she seemed to be flirting (right along with him) the entire time, especially with her "Romeo, Romeo" antics on the swing set. I sat amazed almost to the point of paralysis the first time I watched it. At first, I only saw the first part and I could not rest until I tracked down the rest of it.

[Edited 1/5/19 17:03pm]

Like another poster above, I found this interview cringeworthy. We’ve all known that person who has to be validated by every person in the room of the opposite sex and that is what Prince came off as to me. He had never seemed that way before so I was just stunned. Not only that he seemed self-conscious and uncomfortable and I felt second hand embarrassment for him. The way he ran in the gravel with his high heels, and she has a big ole butt and he’s tiny and I can’t even imagine them having sex lol. This was not sexy to me.

If the YouTube comments are a gauge, you and the poster above are in the minority. One person said it was "like watching a first date." And when he careened around peeking at and commenting on her big "bum," telling her that "brothers love" that, I almost fell out of my chair. She was blushing profusely.

[Edited 1/5/19 17:47pm]

minnesoundlvr said:

minnesoundlvr said:

muchtoofast said:

minnesoundlvr said: Like another poster above, I found this interview cringeworthy. We’ve all known that person who has to be validated by every person in the room of the opposite sex and that is what Prince came off as to me. He had never seemed that way before so I was just stunned. Not only that he seemed self-conscious and uncomfortable and I felt second hand embarrassment for him. The way he ran in the gravel with his high heels, and she has a big ole butt and he’s tiny and I can’t even imagine them having sex lol. This was not sexy to me.

If the YouTube comments are a gauge, you and the poster above are in the minority. One person said it was "like watching a first date." And when he careened around peeking at and commenting on her big "bum," telling her that "brothers love" that, I almost fell out of my chair. She was blushing profusely.

[Edited 1/5/19 17:47pm]

Prince was doing his best to throw her off her game, no doubt. This was always his "schtick". He did it all the time with journalists/reporters too. I didn't look at the talk on the playground as excessively flirty - I looked at it as just banter back and forth. The Romeo/Rapunzel bit came out because she was standing way up on the platform looking down at him.

*

I will say he looked seriously tiny there. You really got a glimpse of how small he actually was. Mel B looked gigantic next to him. He looked "elfin". Still cute, but incredibly small.