There is a lot that I relate to in here about Prince's childhood and how he coped with it. Witnessing the physical altercations between his parents (and it is soul crushing). The visualizations of how he wanted things to be, I would do that at night as I was trying to go to sleep, I called it "imagining my world". His superhero power of flying, that was how I would imagine getting away from the monsters in my life, I'd fly away from them, because anything that bad, that mean, that heavy would not be able to be light enough to fly. Being sent away to live with an aunt in which he wasn't happy in her home - I moved in with an aunt when I was 8. The separation of his parents (the feeling of loss he felt) at age 7, my mom died when I was 7.

He kept saying that he wanted to write about his mom, and that's why so much of it focused on her. At those ages, it all had a huge impact on him, his ability to trust others, his ability to open up to others, his wanting love so much that he fell in love frequently back then. It's really interesting to read this as it relates to psychology. But it's strange to read it and relate to it on so many different levels.

I really wish he had been able to finish this book himself. I'm glad we got what we did, but I really think he planned to take the book in a totally different direction as he went on.

CuddlyBear said:

LoveGalore said:

PurpleBlackmon said: You should know better. Though as someone who has the book already, I can certainly confirm its not what you said it is.

When he died they said he had only completed approx. 50 pages. So where did the rest of it come from?

30, 50 or 80 pages. Not sure which statement is accurate all I know from read twitter, this book is already creating an intense dialog, and much like the music, the "easter egg" theme is all over the pages (i.e. the 1999 original album cover).

TheTruth123 said:

mnfriend said:

Everything was more dramatic back then. And it was 'normal' to stay overnight at your friends house. We were young people with feet outside on the streets everyday, engaging in life, parties, music, friendships. Many of 'us' had no parents in the house, latch key households, no-one home parents not minding the store so to speak....

circa Mpls MN in the early 80's.

Circa everywhere in the 1970s & 80s. Especially any American city.

Agree - ditto suburbs, towns, and in the country. Actual timeline is that Prince turned 20 years old in 1979.

[Edited 11/3/19 7:59am]

Hamad said:

CuddlyBear said:

When he died they said he had only completed approx. 50 pages. So where did the rest of it come from?

30, 50 or 80 pages. Not sure which statement is accurate all I know from read twitter, this book is already creating an intense dialog, and much like the music, the "easter egg" theme is all over the pages (i.e. the 1999 original album cover).

About 30 pages is accurate. It's in the New Yorker article when they were written and when Pipenbring read them. There were discussions too, but no more pages.

benni said:

poppys said:

Hamad said:

CuddlyBear said:

When he died they said he had only completed approx. 50 pages. So where did the rest of it come from?

30, 50 or 80 pages. Not sure which statement is accurate all I know from read twitter, this book is already creating an intense dialog, and much like the music, the "easter egg" theme is all over the pages (i.e. the 1999 original album cover).

I don't have a twitter account/not my thing but I went to look after your post

the close up too short albeit the most spectacular'Sweet Thing' clip with Chaka,

the little clip of Prince making Bryant Gumbolt howl with laughter.....

thanks

[Edited 11/3/19 6:22am]

Hamad said:

poppys said:

About 30 pages is accurate. It's in the New Yorker article when they were written and when Pipenbring read them. There were discussions too, but no more pages.

Thank you

Good place to start because Pipenbring actually wrote that himself. Not an interview or a rehash.

[Edited 11/3/19 8:09am]

mnfriend said:

benni said:

icecreamcastle777 said:

I always knew this, but what really jumped out at me was that the struggles he had in his relationships were clearly tied to the struggles he had with his mother. He even made the contrast to it in his handwritten script for Dreams when he mentioned that Vanity reminded him much like his mother and it sets him off into schizophrenia. Weird as hell that Vanity actually died the same day his mother died. Both on Feburary 15th. His mother was definitely a big factor in the reason he felt more comfortable dating the demure quiet girls who was content to stay at home and didn't give him too much trouble.

.

[Edited 11/2/19 19:48pm]

I think it is admirable that he mentioned his mother, whom he clearly loved. I don't get the sense he wanted to talk too much about that relationship in the past, but was willing to 'open it up' in his book.

There was likely some wounding of some kind.

Yes, classy Prince, so respectful of his parents, also done eloquently on Larry King live.

Something else in the book, on his wall, 'You Are What You Think'

(I would cite a page number and more detail, but I think those posts are getting deleted, can't copy out of book)

You are what you think.
I see this as tying into his belief of moral movie viewing, not having negative or maybe violent scenes and images put into his thoughts (I am the same way, refuse horror movie of any kind)

mnfriend said:

RJP1205 said:

mnfriend said:

Yes, classy Prince, so respectful of his parents, also done eloquently on Larry King live.

Something else in the book, on his wall, 'You Are What You Think'

(I would cite a page number and more detail, but I think those posts are getting deleted, can't copy out of book)

You are what you think.
I see this as tying into his belief of moral movie viewing, not having negative or maybe violent scenes and images put into his thoughts (I am the same way, refuse horror movie of any kind)

I loved this too and I would say it before I even knew it was an expression. I love that he believed and lived this...what we feed our physical bodies affects our physical health; what we feed our minds affects our spirit.

You put it much better than I did

I was saying classy Prince respectful to his Father, provided for him I think when he became financially successful, but in this book, or what I will always love about Prince, is his honesty. I think that's why he was so private, because he was also honest. And of course sensitive.
This hw sentence in the book, I'd never seen it before:

'He quoted Bible scripture while blooding a woman's face.'

But of course, isn't this all captured on the film 'Purple Rain' ?

I watched a clip of MTV Hollywood red carpet screening Purple Rain release 1984 (?) Eddie Murphy in the house,

Prince walked that red carpet green faced. He looked stricken.

mnfriend said:

But of course, isn't this all captured on the film 'Purple Rain' ?

I watched a clip of MTV Hollywood red carpet screening Purple Rain release 1984 (?) Eddie Murphy in the house,

Prince walked that red carpet green faced. He looked stricken.

He was nervous about the film's success - it could've derailed his career if not a hit. Alan Leeds has told a great story about the limo ride with Prince, and Prince grabbling his hand and in a shaky, high-pitched voice saying, "what d-d-did he say?" after Big Chick said they were having trouble controlling the crowds in front of the theatre.

*

A little bit of his parents' relationship was part of the film - the fighting, and his Mother wanting to go out and have fun, but his Dad didn't drink or own a gun, and obviously did not kill himself.

violetcrush said:

mnfriend said:

But of course, isn't this all captured on the film 'Purple Rain' ?

I watched a clip of MTV Hollywood red carpet screening Purple Rain release 1984 (?) Eddie Murphy in the house,

Prince walked that red carpet green faced. He looked stricken.

He was nervous about the film's success - it could've derailed his career if not a hit. Alan Leeds has told a great story about the limo ride with Prince, and Prince grabbling his hand and in a shaky, high-pitched voice saying, "what d-d-did he say?" after Big Chick said they were having trouble controlling the crowds in front of the theatre.

*

A little bit of his parents' relationship was part of the film - the fighting, and his Mother wanting to go out and have fun, but his Dad didn't drink or own a gun, and obviously did not kill himself.

Thanks. I don't remember all the details, don't see movies more than a few times, last time 'Purple Rain' was on TV after he passed and I cried like a baby. So I am not watching it again

It's a trip to look back on it so young so naturally private and shy and here is him starring in a movie about himself (mostly) everyone now knowing your business, the fame.

anyway, thanks all for the company everyone I truly enjoyed the book ---

mnfriend said:

But of course, isn't this all captured on the film 'Purple Rain' ?

I watched a clip of MTV Hollywood red carpet screening Purple Rain release 1984 (?) Eddie Murphy in the house,

Prince walked that red carpet green faced. He looked stricken.

The family dynamics are covered in the film "Purple Rain", but it's interesting that he addressed it through the lense of a young adult man in the film. In reality, the dynamics that he experienced happened as a child. In the film, he also addressed the fact that he was conflicted on who he was. Was he like his father (in which he hit Apples), or was he more like his mother. He addressed that dichotomy in his book, too. If it was difficult, as a young man, to go through those experiences, and the impact it had on him, imagine just how much more difficult it was as a child to go through those experiences and try to make sense of the world around him. It's hard enough to deal with as an adult, but as a child, it's extremely confusing, because you love both parents, and at the same time, you aren't sure how you should feel about those parents and their actions. It makes "love" all the more confusing after you grow up, because you were definitely given mixed messages as a child as to what "love" meant. But Prince seemed to figure it out very well.

Edited it to add: It's interesting the characters that he developed for the film too. I see Morris Day almost like his mother - carefree, wanting to go out and have fun, not concerned about the responsibility. And the Kid, like his dad, centered on the spiritual, more responsible. The "fighting" between the two characters (the altercations between his parents). It's almost like he is showing the two sides of who he believed he might be based upon the personalities and dynamics of his parents and their relationship.

[Edited 11/3/19 16:03pm]

benni said:

Found a gem in the book! The first car he bought with some of his record deal was a 1977 Datsun 200SX. (Later the company rebranded itself as Nissan) I had a brand new 200SX in 1979, blue as well. Dont you think it is ironic that the model was a SX? Just add a letter...

Well, anyhow, really enjoyed all the pics I had never seen before, and I loved the weight of the paper they printed it on, and so many other things. I really feel they did a pretty good job on it, considering there was so little completed by P when he left us. I know that some day I will pull it off my bookshelves and it will be a celebration of a life, but right now it tugs on my heart, and I am putting it up 4 now. Have a great new week everyone.

Found this on the internet as being part of the original Purple Rain script

80tomato said:

80tomato said:

Found this on the internet as being part of the original Purple Rain script

Provide an actual source - sounds like (really terrible) fan fiction. Man, this thread's gone downhill fast.

[Edited 11/4/19 6:05am]

Two questions:

1. Why do you think all the pictures of Owen Husney are missing from Prince's 1977 photo book?

2. Do You think it was the Sometimes it snows in April we know today, that was already supposed to be on For You (as mentioned on p. 267)? Or maybe it was only a line Prince was fond of that evolved into a whole different song in 1985? (See the two unrelated songs called "The Max", and I'm sure there are other incidents like this in Prince's catalogue, but can't name them right now.) Are there any interviews by Wendy & Lisa about the creation of the 1985 version they supposedly co-authored?

kindofblue said:

Two questions:

1. Why do you think all the pictures of Owen Husney are missing from Prince's 1977 photo book?

2. Do You think it was the Sometimes it snows in April we know today, that was already supposed to be on For You (as mentioned on p. 267)? Or maybe it was only a line Prince was fond of that evolved into a whole different song in 1985? (See the two unrelated songs called "The Max", and I'm sure there are other incidents like this in Prince's catalogue, but can't name them right now.) Are there any interviews by Wendy & Lisa about the creation of the 1985 version they supposedly co-authored?

well, a couple of notes later, it says that there is an early version of 'sometimes it snows'
in the lyrics notebook for "for you" (circa 1976-1977) so it's probably at least in part one
of those songs he had knocking about for a decade or so before revisiting it.

TheTruth123 said:

I think it’s great that Prince kept all this stuff. Shows he cared about himself and knew who he was.

A lot of times keeping stuff can mean, you want to see what you were like when you were younger, how much you changed, stayed the same. Or a reminder of what the times were like.

.
It is interesting looking at things I have still from my pre teen/teen years. I have a drawing-journal of things. I draw his symbol back in the 90s when he announced it. I designed my own.