Off topic comment deleted - l'ange bleu - moderator

This thread.

The song is a tribute to Streetcar Named Desire of some vague sort.

Off topic comment deleted - l'ange bleu - moderator

Prince was not Gay, and if he was, or was some shade of LGBTQ, he wasn't out and this song wasn't written as an out Gay man.

the most offense thing about this song is in fact the hard panning on the drums

I am curious how many posters on this thread were 'of-age' (18-20+) during the 'Roaring 80's?"

• I was around the periphery of that scene for awhile in the US.

The music scene was full of coke, clubs, promiscuity, sexual swinging of all types etc.

Bowie, Jagger were part of that and everyone knew about their sexuality. Prince, too.

The early 80's were a time before AIDS and pretty wild.

• Many of these folks (Bowie and Co) are re-writing history, maybe not proud of their 80's selves. Bowie also married and had a daughter and probably wanted to protect her from his past.

Margot said:

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LoveGalore said:

Margot said:

I am curious how many posters on this thread were 'of-age' (18-20+) during the 'Roaring 80's?"

• I was around the periphery of that scene for awhile in the US.

The music scene was full of coke, clubs, promiscuity, sexual swinging of all types etc.

Bowie, Jagger were part of that and everyone knew about their sexuality. Prince, too.

The early 80's were a time before AIDS and pretty wild.

• Many of these folks (Bowie and Co) are re-writing history, maybe not proud of their 80's selves. Bowie also married and had a daughter and probably wanted to protect her from his past.

The early 80s were not before AIDS and the only reason you'd think that is because Reagan's silence on it was so powerful.

The early 80s were not "before AIDS". Many people at the time didn't think gay men's lives mattered, so it was certainly invisible to the homophobic mainstream to a degree. But the early 80s was solidly AIDS times especially in the major cities where gay people took refuge.

JudasLChrist said:

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LoveGalore said:

JudasLChrist said:

The early 80s were not "before AIDS". Many people at the time didn't think gay men's lives mattered, so it was certainly invisible to the homophobic mainstream to a degree. But the early 80s was solidly AIDS times especially in the major cities where gay people took refuge.

Yup, nail on the head.

• From a medical perspective, I remember our staff meeting in a sunny room @ Stanford where I had my first job as an RN. It was 1982. In a mandatory meeting we were told that something was up; medical experts were trying to figure out what this 'virus' or 'bacteria' was.

There was no judgement, just concern and the feeling of not knowing what was going on.

Questions were,"how is it contracted?", "How shall we, as medical professionals, protect ourselves?"

My recollection was that the medical big-wigs were concerned and anxious because they did not have much information...gay men were not mentioned once. It might have been 'young, healthy men are dying' w/o knowing why or what their sexual orientation was. Very little was known.

Perhaps the mainstream was unaware or not concerned but the medical community was on high-alert.

This is why I mention 'early 80's.'

[Edited 2/6/21 14:38pm]

Those who can properly read a room can deduce that there is a clear reason that this song (along with Extraloveable and Lust U Always) remained unreleased. Nevertheless, the responsibility and preservation of Prince's reputation going forward falls onto the Estate with these releases. Do I think including this song was the wrong choice - no, it's not that great musically and hardly anyone besides the Prince fanbase cares. Do I agree with the usage of the word - absolutely not - for the same reasons I disagree with Extraloveable & Lust U Always (that's not to say those aren't undeniably great songs).

TheKid94 said:

Margot said:

mbdtyler said:

TheBigBang said:

I'll never understand this current need to go back in time and pick apart songs that were written over three decades ago using today's social morays. Also, understand that in "a song about a girl named Blanche and a dude named Stanley," that Prince isn't actually talking as Prince.

I think it's pretty valid to criticize works from that past that involve discriminatory language or content. Homophobia wasn't okay in the 80's just because people threw it around so casually and openly. Slavery wasn't okay in the 1700's just because tons of white folks had them (definitely a more extreme example, but it still stands)

Slavery wasn't ok in Ancient Rome either (well, maybe it was).

LoveGalore said:

Margot said:

• From a medical perspective, I remember our staff meeting in a sunny room @ Stanford where I had my first job as an RN. It was 1982. In a mandatory meeting we were told that something was up; medical experts were trying to figure out what this 'virus' or 'bacteria' was.

There was no judgement, just concern and the feeling of not knowing what was going on.

Questions were,"how is it contracted?", "How shall we, as medical professionals, protect ourselves?"

My recollection was that the medical big-wigs were concerned and anxious because they did not have much information...gay men were not mentioned once. It might have been 'young, healthy men are dying' w/o knowing why or what their sexual orientation was. Very little was known.

Perhaps the mainstream was unaware or not concerned but the medical community was on high-alert.

This is why I mention 'early 80's.'

[Edited 2/6/21 14:38pm]

Thanks for sharing! Yes I can imagine the sexuality being hard to nail down and taboo even if you could. Remember Rock Hudson's death? He was left in the cold by some of his famous friends like the Reagans. The gay community didn't know what was killing us either and AIDS was often mislabeled as any number of comorbidities. The one thing gay men did know is their friends died faster and younger than others no matter what their lifestyle was. And the government let it roll on unaddressed. It cost us millions of lives and set us back a decade.

Margot said:

LoveGalore said:

Margot said: Thanks for sharing! Yes I can imagine the sexuality being hard to nail down and taboo even if you could. Remember Rock Hudson's death? He was left in the cold by some of his famous friends like the Reagans. The gay community didn't know what was killing us either and AIDS was often mislabeled as any number of comorbidities. The one thing gay men did know is their friends died faster and younger than others no matter what their lifestyle was. And the government let it roll on unaddressed. It cost us millions of lives and set us back a decade.

I agree. Reagan was an ass.

• I nursed a number of young gay men. Some chose to die w/o treatment which was basically intubation on a ventilator till you 'got better' only to repeat.

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jfenster said:

So people think Prince never "tried" being a woman?

That's not what being gay or bisexual is.