nayroo2002 said:

Mine was getting the 'Rave...' cd on the day of release and listening to it with "new" friends.

Never heard from them again

I had a similar experience. I made some new friends at college and one of them was really into No Doubt at the time (this was in 2000) so i thought I'd play 'So Far, So Pleased' for them in my car. A few minutes in, she just gave me a look I'll never forget and quietly open the car door and walked off. I also played Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic album during one of my art lessons at school and I remember the teacher, who was a Prince fan, saying half way through "I'm not feeling it..."

[Edited 11/30/20 2:17am]

LoveSexy cover, Graffitti Bridge (the entire movie), Get Off butt cheeks pants, name chang, playing "Pussy Control" in a room full of non-fans.

and that time took some friends to see Prince at a special concert in NYC's Palladium (1993 or 94?). Prince didnt show up until 1am and gave my least favorite performance that I ever witness lived. Sound was horrid, set list questionable and Prince seemed not into it at all.

Meanwhile me an another "true" Prince fan went back the next day and he gave one of the best concerts I've ever seen. First time I heard Gold.

[Edited 11/30/20 6:53am]

nayroo2002 said:

Mine was getting the 'Rave...' cd on the day of release and listening to it with "new" friends.

Never heard from them again

Deaf and dumb friends...One wonders why they were so offended. Was it P's braids on the cover or the fact that Larry says "God." LMAO.

[Edited 11/30/20 11:20am]

rlittler81 said:

nayroo2002 said:

Mine was getting the 'Rave...' cd on the day of release and listening to it with "new" friends.

Never heard from them again

I had a similar experience. I made some new friends at college and one of them was really into No Doubt at the time (this was in 2000) so i thought I'd play 'So Far, So Pleased' for them in my car. A few minutes in, she just gave me a look I'll never forget and quietly open the car door and walked off. I also played Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic album during one of my art lessons at school and I remember the teacher, who was a Prince fan, saying half way through "I'm not feeling it..."

[Edited 11/30/20 2:17am]

Comparing Prince (unfavorably yet!) to No Doubt...Rolling on the floor laughing my motherfucking tip off. Come on, folks.

I'm pretty sure I signed a lot of highschool yearbooks with some sort of Prince-esque statement or quote. I cringe to think. Having said that, that is probably NOT the most embarrassing thing...

Wherever I am and OTHER PEOPLE are around and "Kiss" is playing and he hits that crazy scream at the end, I look around to see if anybody is frowning or laughing.

He could have left that shit off the song!

Symbol name change. Being at a party and asking the DJ to play something by Prince, he played "Partyman" and the floor cleared in an instant - cue him glaring at me, pointing me out, saying "he asked for this", and "I'll never play that one again." Albums coming out thick and fast and barely making an impression outside of the fan community (Come, TGE, Chaos & Disorder, Emancipation, NPS, Crystal Ball, Rave, NEWS, TRC etc. etc. etc.) Playing some of those albums with other people around and hearing comments like "they're not very good, are they?" and on the whole being in agreement. Having to say "no, he's been Prince again since the year 2000" many, many times. Lots and lots of pictures, especially Lovesexy, Emancipation, and Rave eras.

The first one was the Lovesexy cover. I was 16 at the time. As a fan, I feel like I know what Prince was going for there, but try explaining that to friends.

The name change . . . it wasn't as embarrassing to me as it was to others. I did get a lot of questions though.

Music-wise, even though there were ups and downs, Newpower Soul was the one where I really didn't know why he'd release that. I have since come to like at least 1/2 of that album, and appreciate most of the rest.

Lovesexy for sure. I was SOOO embarrassed buying it because of the cover. I remember tossing the CD book immediately...then regretted it cause I wanted the lyrics. My own fault for being that uptight at the time.

Also the name-change. I worked in a wrecka stow at the time and was constantly defending Prince's genius to my coworkers and customers. Then that news came out and I had no way of defending it cause I even thought he went completely bonkers.

Poplife88 said:

rlittler81 said:

nayroo2002 said:

Mine was getting the 'Rave...' cd on the day of release and listening to it with "new" friends.

Never heard from them again

I had a similar experience. I made some new friends at college and one of them was really into No Doubt at the time (this was in 2000) so i thought I'd play 'So Far, So Pleased' for them in my car. A few minutes in, she just gave me a look I'll never forget and quietly open the car door and walked off.

I've regularly read stories like this on the Org, and there are at least two in this thread alone.

.

These stories basically are stories about bullies. Bullies that reject someone because of their personal musical tastes or eccentricities. Bullies that make you understand that if you ain't gonna be "normal", if you ain't gonna be "cool" by their own standards of "normaleness" and "coolness", if you ain't gonna do what they do, speak like they speak, dress like they dress, act like they act, listen to the music they listen to and so on, you'll be ostracized as a geek and left with the other geeks in geeks limbo.

.

It don't matter who you are, what person you are deep inside, whether you're a decent human being or not. It's that damn cliché in Hollywood movies about the cheerleader captain and the football captain bullying the geeks for no reason at all.

.

What I find remarkable is that the geeks who end-up telling these stories here, who've been victimized and shamed by bullies, end-up siding with the bullies that victimized them. Yes, they were right to ridiculize me, to make fun of me, to reject me. Yes, Prince's music or behavior was not "'normal" or "cool" enough, and yes, I should have known better, and yes, I should have listened to whatever was more popular or acceptable at the time regardless of what I liked or what I identified with. Oooh...! If only I could have been one of them...

.

If nothing else, these kind of threads have shown me year after year that bullies have the last word, with their victims continuously justifying the bullying they've been through and putting the blame on themselves.

.

It's very sad.

.

And even sadder considering that in certain other social circles, being a Prince afficionado always was and still is considered a sign of good music taste and utter sophistication.

.

[Edited 12/1/20 21:15pm]

I never tried to answer for anything Prince did, whether it was go naked on Lovesexy or change his name. In fact, when I was a hairstylist in the 90s, I found this necklace at JCPenney that had a weird shape medallion thing on it. I started tracing it on my reminder cards to some of my clients (who got the joke) and told them I was The Stylist Formerly Known As...

Prince was gonna do what he did, and I defended him or stuck up for him. I got the name change. I understood it. We all did, from his POV. So if someone asked, I was ready, willing n' able to explain it.

I became a Prince fan in 1989. I think I quickly realized in the early 90s that Prince was not as "popular/mainstream" as Queen, Nirvana or other bands "everybody was listening to" at the time. But I kind of didn't care. All my friends knew I was a harcore fan. Since I saw this thread a couple of days ago, I've been thinking about it, but I don't really remember specific embarrassing moments. At least personal ones. I do remember my older brother (who used to be a "proper" fan between 1988 and 1992) listening to the "Come" album on the family stereo and being a bit embarassed when "Orgasm" started playing. Our mother was home.

I was lucky enough to see Lovesexy twice. In both concerts I was all the way in the back, so at the second concert I decided to sneak to the front with my sister--I just had to see Prince up close and was willing to do anything. She disappeared into the crowd and was fine, but a security guard came up to me and asked for proof that I had a seat at the front. I didn't have any proof, so he picked me up and carried me, screaming and crying to the back and I had to go back to my seat in the nosebleed section. What was the most painful was being so close to him and then having all that ripped away from me. I knew I was being a very dramatic teenager, but it hurt a lot, and it was also very embarrassing.

[Edited 12/2/20 13:57pm]

Isabel said:

Isabel said:

I was lucky enough to see Lovesexy twice. In both concerts I was all the way in the back, so at the second concert I decided to sneak to the front with my sister--I just had to see Prince up close and was willing to do anything. She disappeared into the crowd and was fine, but a security guard came up to me and asked for proof that I had a seat at the front. I didn't have any proof, so he picked me up and carried me, screaming and crying to the back and I had to go back to my seat in the nosebleed section. What was the most painful was being so close to him and then having all that ripped away from me. I knew I was being a very dramatic teenager, but it hurt a lot, and it was also very embarrassing.

[Edited 12/2/20 13:57pm]

WOW!

we had the opposite experience in 2010 Berlin when everyone from the back just rushed up to the front.

Security had no chance

BTW, he looked the same, just with short hair...

Isabel said:

After my first copy of Parade got broken, I went to the wrecka stow to get a new one... one of the clerks must have thought I was cute as she came at me all smiles and flirty... and she asked if I needed any help... (at this store the tapes were behind some plastic ad a worker had to get it for you) When I told her what I wanted her smile and flirtyness was gone!

luv2tha99s said:

Watching PR on video with my mom and brothers and then slowly dying as THAT love scene started to happen...

Watching PR with my mother and sister as he performs darling nikki and starts to grind on the damn speaker don't remember if that love scene comes before or after, but I think I left the room for that one.

Isabel said:

I was lucky enough to see Lovesexy twice. In both concerts I was all the way in the back, so at the second concert I decided to sneak to the front with my sister--I just had to see Prince up close and was willing to do anything. She disappeared into the crowd and was fine, but a security guard came up to me and asked for proof that I had a seat at the front. I didn't have any proof, so he picked me up and carried me, screaming and crying to the back and I had to go back to my seat in the nosebleed section. What was the most painful was being so close to him and then having all that ripped away from me. I knew I was being a very dramatic teenager, but it hurt a lot, and it was also very embarrassing.

[Edited 12/2/20 13:57pm]

Oh wow, that really was embarrassing. Did you get close enough to Prince where he saw the whole thing? I think having him see it would have been even more embarrassing.

ThatWhiteDude said:

luv2tha99s said:

Watching PR on video with my mom and brothers and then slowly dying as THAT love scene started to happen...

Watching PR with my mother and sister as he performs darling nikki and starts to grind on the damn speaker don't remember if that love scene comes before or after, but I think I left the room for that one.

I definitely could relate. I remember watching the award show with my family, mother included, when he was performing and did the oh so talked about "ass out pant thing!".....You should have seen my mother's face! She kept shaking her head back and forth, with her mouth opened, like she couldn't believe what he did! ....I remember feeling so embarrassed, because I had made such a big deal that Prince would be performing that night, and then he proceeded to show his naked butt to the world! I don't think I ever lived that one down with them. It only added more fuel to the "what do you see in Prince, and this is guy you're so crazy about?" fire.

Isabel said:

looby said:

ThatWhiteDude said:

Watching PR with my mother and sister as he performs darling nikki and starts to grind on the damn speaker don't remember if that love scene comes before or after, but I think I left the room for that one.

I definitely could relate. I remember watching the award show with my family, mother included, when he was performing and did the oh so talked about "ass out pant thing!".....You should have seen my mother's face! She kept shaking her head back and forth, with her mouth opened, like she couldn't believe what he did! ....I remember feeling so embarrassed, because I had made such a big deal that Prince would be performing that night, and then he proceeded to show his naked butt to the world! I don't think I ever lived that one down with them. It only added more fuel to the "what do you see in Prince, and this is guy you're so crazy about?" fire.

Please tell your mother that those pants had a (Prince) flesh colored liner so he really never did show his true butt to the world.

OnlyNDaUsa said:

Wolfie87 said:

OnlyNDaUsa said:

After my first copy of Parade got broken, I went to the wrecka stow to get a new one... one of the clerks must have thought I was cute as she came at me all smiles and flirty... and she asked if I needed any help... (at this store the tapes were behind some plastic ad a worker had to get it for you) When I told her what I wanted her smile and flirtyness was gone!

Lovesexy, fine. But Parade? Why did she turn hostile with that record in particular? Kiss was huge at the time.

she was not really hostile I was just suddenly less interesting to her I guess... I think it was just she did not like Prince in gengeral.

Oh as to Lovesexy: It was a diffrent record store and I had to ask for it as it was kept out of sight. I think there was a sign maybe?

[Edited 12/6/20 14:24pm]

looby said:

Isabel said:

I was lucky enough to see Lovesexy twice. In both concerts I was all the way in the back, so at the second concert I decided to sneak to the front with my sister--I just had to see Prince up close and was willing to do anything. She disappeared into the crowd and was fine, but a security guard came up to me and asked for proof that I had a seat at the front. I didn't have any proof, so he picked me up and carried me, screaming and crying to the back and I had to go back to my seat in the nosebleed section. What was the most painful was being so close to him and then having all that ripped away from me. I knew I was being a very dramatic teenager, but it hurt a lot, and it was also very embarrassing.

[Edited 12/2/20 13:57pm]

Oh wow, that really was embarrassing. Did you get close enough to Prince where he saw the whole thing? I think having him see it would have been even more embarrassing.

I think he probably would've loved it then-- a gorgeous girl screaming for him. But no, I wasn't close enough. In Mayte's book she says he said to her something like, do you know how many thousands of women are screaming just to get my attention? So yes, I felt even more embarrassed when I read that, but I was young and obsessed at the time.

I made it my mission to see him up close and did a few times after that. I learned my lesson: I would run up front and stay just before I got kicked out, or do everything I could to get tickets up front. And I had a bit more decorum when I was older, but what's the fun in that? It was probably more fun being out of my mind with love for him and being dragged away.

luv2tha99s said:

Isabel said:

I was lucky enough to see Lovesexy twice. In both concerts I was all the way in the back, so at the second concert I decided to sneak to the front with my sister--I just had to see Prince up close and was willing to do anything. She disappeared into the crowd and was fine, but a security guard came up to me and asked for proof that I had a seat at the front. I didn't have any proof, so he picked me up and carried me, screaming and crying to the back and I had to go back to my seat in the nosebleed section. What was the most painful was being so close to him and then having all that ripped away from me. I knew I was being a very dramatic teenager, but it hurt a lot, and it was also very embarrassing.

[Edited 12/2/20 13:57pm]

Aww, that sux. Reminds me of when I saw him in 95 at Glam Slam West. My two buddies shoved their way up front with me right behind. Just when I thought I could move up to where they were a giant man just glared at me and shook his head "NO" lol. I then embarrassingly walked back to where I had come from.

I know, just hang your head in shame and retreat! Also, it's not easy getting past Prince fans. Wow, we are the fiercest on the planet, I'm sure. You try to squeeze past Prince fans in general admission, it is just not happening. Even when I've been right at the front and had to go to the loo quickly, you have to literally show them your passport and proof you were waiting for 9 hours with everybody else in order to get back to your spot. But nothing can beat that excitement of waiting for him. Sigh.