I enjoy Prince's music more now than I did before he passed and way more before he left Warner Bros.

So many crineworthy things he did and said, the Crystal Ball fiasco, suing fan sites, etc.. For quite awhile I thought he was an insufferable asshole. Before WB he was mysterious and seemed like he had a liberal love for all ("Uptown"). Since he's died I've re-discovered my full passion for his music.

No, I'm not glad he's dead. Like I said this is somethign I hate to acknowledge.

homesquid said:

I enjoy Prince's music more now than I did before he passed and way more before he left Warner Bros.

So many crineworthy things he did and said, the Crystal Ball fiasco, suing fan sites, etc.. For quite awhile I thought he was an insufferable asshole. Before WB he was mysterious and seemed like he had a liberal love for all ("Uptown"). Since he's died I've re-discovered my full passion for his music.

No, I'm not glad he's dead. Like I said this is somethign I hate to acknowledge.

IDK bro. I followed him throughout. Did not agree with everything he said but the man wasn't the music and I kept having a ball with the music. If you get to rediscover the magic of his post-WB music, welcome to the party, ther's no shame

On a sidenote I'm not sure, maybe I misunderstood your OP, but WHY?????? should you be glad he died is something that beats me. Prince wasn't some North Korean dictator who had blood on his hands.

If you love a musician's work and ideas then not, why in the world should you be glad they died????

Like, did you wish he'd die before he did? Because if you did then I won't judge you but I think you need to talk to a professional, because this is seriously sick. And I'm not judging, I'm just saying you need to speak with someone. You can't possibly wish someone dies because you don't like their work no more or you disagree with their ideas. But then again maybe I misunderstood yoiur first post.

I have never stopped enjoying his music. WB years are my favorite. I still enjoy the post WB. I didn't like the vibe of some of the later lyrics (Rainbow Children sexiest commentary) the stunted feel of the lyrics on AOA, H&R phase 1 and 2. So, the less inclusive world POV which is different from his earlier lyrics. Not all of his later music, just some of it.

databank said:

Prince was PRINCE.

He did what the fuck he wanted to do and at the END of the day he did it MY WAY like the old Frank Sinatra song.

TRON said:

databank said:

Like, did you wish he'd die before he did? Because if you did then I won't judge you but I think you need to talk to a professional, because this is seriously sick. And I'm not judging, I'm just saying you need to speak with someone. You can't possibly wish someone dies because you don't like their work no more or you disagree with their ideas. But then again maybe I misunderstood yoiur first post.

If you re-read what he wrote, it is clear that he is not glad that Prince died. There is nothing untoward here. He just had a hard time reconciling some of Prince's actions and beliefs with the enjoyment of his music. That's common. Sometimes in death, all is forgiven. Some of my closest Prince friends had completely written him off, only to have a full-circle return to their love of him after he was gone. It's like letting go of a grudge or bad blood. In the grand scheme of things, all those little or not so little differences start to feel trivial or insignificant compared to the value of a human life. And just like with the death of loved ones in real life, the pain and suffering starts to fade with time and the good memories start to resurface and take their place. Time heals all things... 💗

Yeah like I said I wasn't sure I understood properly. But I've seen such amount of hate towards Prince on this board over the years, people who were really angry at him for his artistic choices in a fashion similar to the way you're angry with the dude who steals your girlfriend or the boss that tyranizes you every day. Quite frankly, I never understood.

TRON said:

databank said:

Like, did you wish he'd die before he did? Because if you did then I won't judge you but I think you need to talk to a professional, because this is seriously sick. And I'm not judging, I'm just saying you need to speak with someone. You can't possibly wish someone dies because you don't like their work no more or you disagree with their ideas. But then again maybe I misunderstood yoiur first post.

If you re-read what he wrote, it is clear that he is not glad that Prince died. There is nothing untoward here. He just had a hard time reconciling some of Prince's actions and beliefs with the enjoyment of his music. That's common. Sometimes in death, all is forgiven. Some of my closest Prince friends had completely written him off, only to have a full-circle return to their love of him after he was gone. It's like letting go of a grudge or bad blood. In the grand scheme of things, all those little or not so little differences start to feel trivial or insignificant compared to the value of a human life. And just like with the death of loved ones in real life, the pain and suffering starts to fade with time and the good memories start to resurface and take their place. Time heals all things... 💗

Yes thank you Tron. You nailed it.

I absolutely wish he was still alive but sometimes he made it hard to support him. No, he didn't do anything truly bad like sexual assault, etc...but going around with "slave" on his face soon after getting a 100 million dollar contract and attacking fans just sucked some of the joy out of his music. I never stopped buying his music but a lot of the magic was gone. It went from madly in love to strong like. Now I'm in love with the music again.

Again, I hate this realization.

I see what you mean. I actually feel a bit the same. I'm happy to see all those studio outtakes being officially released, for example. I know it took Prince's death for that to happen. So, indirectly, it's almost like I'm happy Prince died, but this is not actually the case. His death made me profoundly sad for weeks/months and, four years later, the world is still a bit more empty and boring without him. Same for Miles almost 30 years after his death. I'm not actively sad they're gone, though. I'm grateful I can still listen to their music.

This is a reminder that: 1) you have to enjoy the moment (i.e. see musicians live while they're alive, call your parents, etc.) 2) human emotions are rarely unambiguous.

I was very honed into Prince as a living being. It felt like watching some kind of blessed fluke; that he he was so creative, prollific, difficult, and allowed / inclined to behave however he wanted. My sense of this informed the music. It was a life force. Even when it was meh, or when no one else was listening, or when he was being impossible, that was all just a part of it. It was like a strange joke, and the same impulse that led him to write Little Red Corvette also led him to change his name to a squiggle, and then he sued his fan sites, and made the npgmc, and kill the npgmc, and on and on.

.

To me, pop music is selling I guess fun, be it sex, youth, funk, or whatever. When I buy the record, I'm paying to take a bit of that artist's essence in to my life, and trying to become a little bit more like them in the process. I think in his later years, Prince was helped by 1. the willie wonka / Dave Chapelle stories that popped up everywhere, which made him seem lovably bonkers, and 2. by the evolution of his guitar playing, which made him seem like a genius. So, a crazy genius. I buy that.

.

After he died, a lot of the fun left. His music now, and especially the vault stuff, feels like relics. I'm hearing sounds of a life that's over, rather than sharing in the unpredictable current of a life that's rolling ahead. Sad to say, but his manner of death plays a roll in this; his life became a cautionary tale, a road not to follow, as opposed to something blessed, or fun.

.

I mean I guess this is too many words to say that, as an experience, it was like being at a great party and not knowing what was going to happen next, and now it's like remembering a great party that happened years ago, and smiling about how crazy things got.

TRON said:

databank said:

Like, did you wish he'd die before he did? Because if you did then I won't judge you but I think you need to talk to a professional, because this is seriously sick. And I'm not judging, I'm just saying you need to speak with someone. You can't possibly wish someone dies because you don't like their work no more or you disagree with their ideas. But then again maybe I misunderstood yoiur first post.

If you re-read what he wrote, it is clear that he is not glad that Prince died. There is nothing untoward here. He just had a hard time reconciling some of Prince's actions and beliefs with the enjoyment of his music. That's common. Sometimes in death, all is forgiven. Some of my closest Prince friends had completely written him off, only to have a full-circle return to their love of him after he was gone. It's like letting go of a grudge or bad blood. In the grand scheme of things, all those little or not so little differences start to feel trivial or insignificant compared to the value of a human life. And just like with the death of loved ones in real life, the pain and suffering starts to fade with time and the good memories start to resurface and take their place. Time heals all things... 💗

Mintchip said:

I was very honed into Prince as a living being. It felt like watching some kind of blessed fluke; that he he was so creative, prollific, difficult, and allowed / inclined to behave however he wanted. My sense of this informed the music. It was a life force. Even when it was meh, or when no one else was listening, or when he was being impossible, that was all just a part of it. It was like a strange joke, and the same impulse that led him to write Little Red Corvette also led him to change his name to a squiggle, and then he sued his fan sites, and made the npgmc, and kill the npgmc, and on and on.

.

To me, pop music is selling I guess fun, be it sex, youth, funk, or whatever. When I buy the record, I'm paying to take a bit of that artist's essence in to my life, and trying to become a little bit more like them in the process. I think in his later years, Prince was helped by 1. the willie wonka / Dave Chapelle stories that popped up everywhere, which made him seem lovably bonkers, and 2. by the evolution of his guitar playing, which made him seem like a genius. So, a crazy genius. I buy that.

.

After he died, a lot of the fun left. His music now, and especially the vault stuff, feels like relics. I'm hearing sounds of a life that's over, rather than sharing in the unpredictable current of a life that's rolling ahead. Sad to say, but his manner of death plays a roll in this; his life became a cautionary tale, a road not to follow, as opposed to something blessed, or fun.

.

I mean I guess this is too many words to say that, as an experience, it was like being at a great party and not knowing what was going to happen next, and now it's like remembering a great party that happened years ago, and smiling about how crazy things got.

Prince was the soundtrack to my life (and continues to be even after he passed with the vault releases, etc.). I followed him since Controversy was released and stuck with him through everything he did/said/didn't do or say. Yes, there were times when I was pissed at him about some silly thing (to me anyway) he did or said, but the music was always there for me. No other musical artist has ever touched my soul the way that his music did. I tried to become a better person through what he taught us with his music- live4love. While he was still with us I always looked to see what he would do next. Sadly, I stopped really following him/the music when he formed 3rdeyegirl as that period of music was pretty heavily guitar oriented and I preferred the keyboards better. Not a fan of screaming guitars here. Life is a bit duller without him around. Even listening to the recently released vault tracks leaves me feeling a bit sad, but this has lessened over time. I was devasted when he passed. Felt like I had lost a true brother.

Like cherry tree flowers, we know that everything is finite. I guess in Prince's case, we really did think he would be with us for a few seasons more. I was a big fan in the 70's and 80's, then took time to concentrate on my children, marriage, and career. I always loved his music though. Once he passed, the shock of it all brought his musical genius back to the forefront for me. No shame in that folks. It lines up with the Joni Mitchell song- you don't really know what you've got 'til it's gone.....

I am going to say something now that is my own opinion (yes, still a free country) but others may not like it. I normally like the music many of the artists made when they are young and struggling. You know, the rough recordings at Woodstock; when you don't have the best guitar yet; when your musical ideas are fresh in your head; and you are paying out the wahzoo for jam session space at some warehouse & you are mad about how much it is costing! In other words, trying to get yourself out there when you are unsure anyone gives a ____. Later on, you have received many awards & kudos, and you are sure of your musical ability and may have become jaded with what the world has to offer. We know Prince sang about that more than once, right?? He knew...

homesquid said:

I enjoy Prince's music more now than I did before he passed and way more before he left Warner Bros.

So many crineworthy things he did and said, the Crystal Ball fiasco, suing fan sites, etc.. For quite awhile I thought he was an insufferable asshole. Before WB he was mysterious and seemed like he had a liberal love for all ("Uptown"). Since he's died I've re-discovered my full passion for his music.

No, I'm not glad he's dead. Like I said this is somethign I hate to acknowledge.

youre not alone.

i went off him quite a bit in recent years.

he wasnt doing his legacy any favours, and he wasnt really releasing anything that great either, sad to say. so while i didnt want him to pass away so soon, id like to think he might have had another TRC in him later down the line for example, if he had lived, im prettty sure prince would have kept on as he had in the last two decades or so, frustrating people, defying expectations, not necessarily for the better, but doing what he wanted lol. RIP.

Mintchip said:

I was very honed into Prince as a living being. It felt like watching some kind of blessed fluke; that he he was so creative, prollific, difficult, and allowed / inclined to behave however he wanted. My sense of this informed the music. It was a life force. Even when it was meh, or when no one else was listening, or when he was being impossible, that was all just a part of it. It was like a strange joke, and the same impulse that led him to write Little Red Corvette also led him to change his name to a squiggle, and then he sued his fan sites, and made the npgmc, and kill the npgmc, and on and on.

.

To me, pop music is selling I guess fun, be it sex, youth, funk, or whatever. When I buy the record, I'm paying to take a bit of that artist's essence in to my life, and trying to become a little bit more like them in the process. I think in his later years, Prince was helped by 1. the willie wonka / Dave Chapelle stories that popped up everywhere, which made him seem lovably bonkers, and 2. by the evolution of his guitar playing, which made him seem like a genius. So, a crazy genius. I buy that.

.

After he died, a lot of the fun left. His music now, and especially the vault stuff, feels like relics. I'm hearing sounds of a life that's over, rather than sharing in the unpredictable current of a life that's rolling ahead. Sad to say, but his manner of death plays a roll in this; his life became a cautionary tale, a road not to follow, as opposed to something blessed, or fun.

.

I mean I guess this is too many words to say that, as an experience, it was like being at a great party and not knowing what was going to happen next, and now it's like remembering a great party that happened years ago, and smiling about how crazy things got.

Same. He was infruriating when he was alive but that was part of the fun of it, seeing how he was going to try and mold the latest musical trend into his own image (and failing half the time, but always in an interesting way), seeing what his latest mad business idea was going to be, checking princevault religiously to see what last night's setlist was... all gone.

I enjoy the reissues and some of the new outtakes have been wonderful, but it's all just retrospective culture.

I respectfully agree to a certain degree. I think this happens with most artists.

George Michael, Whitney Houston, David Bowie, etc. all got more popular after they passed.

As for enjoying the music more? I don't know about that. I might appreciate it more, though.

Like anyone else, Prince had is good side and bad side. Listen to folks like Jill Jones/Morris/Andre and you get a sense that they loved him but acknowledge he was often difficult. Par for the course for a genuis.

As a fan. I remember him mostly as that somewhat awkward goof during 86-87 (where he seemed to get comfortable with himself after the "fame" of PR) but then we saw the slide that started around Lovesexy and really didnt stop till Musicology.

I thought that just judging by the lyrics alone during after TRC (especally starting with 20ten), it seemed he was getting to a good place. He was letting new people in (Hannah, Josh), doing covers, embraseing his role as "elder" (and not trying so damn hard to be hip) but little did we know was losing his battle with addiction.

I was just watching the Amy documentary this weekend for the first time and holy crap what an intimate portrait. Not sure I really want to see it but imagine having video of Prince just being himself to at least get a glimpse of what he was "really" like.

I seperate the artist from the music, so i can enjoy Lovesexy just as much as when it was released.

People change, so if he could sue fans all he wanted, i still enjoy Lovesexy.

muleFunk said:

Prince was PRINCE.

He did what the fuck he wanted to do and at the END of the day he did it MY WAY like the old Frank Sinatra song.

ChocolateBox3121 said:

Lord, I miss that man

It's fairly easy to comprehend (and acknowlegde) in the lyrics of his most famous song.

No?

ChocolateBox3121 said:

Perfect for The Thread starter!

Technically, I sould be "Something About Myself I Hate To Acknowledge"

homesquid said:

I enjoy Prince's music more now than I did before he passed and way more before he left Warner Bros.

So many crineworthy things he did and said, the Crystal Ball fiasco, suing fan sites, etc.. For quite awhile I thought he was an insufferable asshole. Before WB he was mysterious and seemed like he had a liberal love for all ("Uptown"). Since he's died I've re-discovered my full passion for his music.

No, I'm not glad he's dead. Like I said this is somethign I hate to acknowledge.

.

This was me, pretty much. I'm not sure I enjoy Prince's music more now than I did when he was alive, but I definitely went thru a phase of life where I was not as dialed into it as I ever was.

.

Life was getting in the way. Raising my kids, dealing with their lives and being married, etc, took time away from that Prince love, and actually love of music in general, in my life. My music consumption was way down in the period from 1995 thru 2016.

.

But without fail, if he came to town, I got tickets to at least one show... usually two. If there was a Prince release, I bought it. I'd look for singles and B-sides, but not with the fervor that I would have in the 80's. The strange part is that while I was still buying these things, I was not really listening to them. They were getting a quick glance because I didn't really have time to devote to them.

.

But now, my life has changed. My kids are grown. I have my life back, so to speak, as they don't rule most of my days any longer.

.

In the meantime, Prince has died. Something that was quite significant in my life as he has been with me since 1979. Only family has been with me that long. Not my wife. Not my kids. Not my best friend. And no other famous person of any kind. I've covered a lot of ground with Prince "at my side" so to speak.

.

Since he's been gone, the rabid fandom has been re-ignited. I search out things never seen, heard, or read before because I have time to do so.

.

And those things that I had purchased but never really dove into have been one of the best things about the time since he left us. I have the chance to discover the brilliance in those things really for the first time, not re-discover. It's almost as if they were new. So sleeping on some of that stuff has worked out in my favor.

.

So I don't think I enjoy it more now than I did when he was alive. But his death definitely put my attention back into that space. And while I hate that he's gone, I have loved finding unheard material, discovering material that I hadn't spent time with, hearing new stories, and finding out that many, many more people thought of him the way that I did that I never new about.

This is soooo true for me as well. Your post is beautifully stated.

TheLotus said:

.

In the meantime, Prince has died. Something that was quite significant in my life as he has been with me since 1979. Only family has been with me that long. Not my wife. Not my kids. Not my best friend. And no other famous person of any kind. I've covered a lot of ground with Prince "at my side" so to speak.

.