Margot said:

ButcherDog said:

I'm trying to figure out the overlap of the name "Camille", being his mocking, "pet name", for Michael Jackson. Quincy Jones said he kept calling Michael that when he they were trying to get him onboard, "BAD", and Prince gave him a gift, that was the box with a feather in it., that scared Jackson.

The way the Camille character morphs and floats all the way from outtakes in 1982 to possibly appearing on Erotic City, then certifiably through Sign O' The Times,The Black Album,Lovesexy on to the Graffiti Bridge/The Cocoa Boyz concept, is a strong argument for Prince's so called, "sick" side.

Either way...the cat was DEEP with it.

I really like to know if Prince had a therapist, because that's THE ONLY BOOK WORTH A DAMN at this point.

Great thread

I think you are on to something...the 'sick' side.

Yeah, wow, a therapist...

"Sick", being Prince's description of his odd sense of inside humor, see: "the Chicken Grease", Old Man persona that first appeared on Tricky...that clearly became the character,"Morris Day, a.k.a. M.D.", the Gorgeous George by way of Little Richard mean muggin', the cough at the beginning of the Raspberry Berry remix, et. al.

It cool to see how the alter-egos overlap (Jamie Starr/Camille/Tora Tora)...there is a wanton side of his stage/studio persona that isn't, "flashing the doe eyes, spinning around stillleto heels like Motherles Child, Raised In The House of Paisley". I feel like this persona especially ran the compound from "The Nude Tour up until the Love Symbol album/settled down with Mayte".

It's always been kind of fun watching this largely introverted, diminutive guy psychologically override as much of the audience as he could with these antics that blur the lines of showbiz/boredom/& his true self.

Always kind of depends on who else is with him if you think about it.

ButcherDog said:

Now, this is an interesting subject.

jfenster said:

RJOrion said:

jfenster said:

RJOrion said:

jfenster said:

RJOrion said:

thats a major stretch and a reach...no where does that song imply anything about a therapist....thats like saying Purple Rain is a song about getting doused with Fanta Grape soda

Fighting with lovers past.....in the violent room

Violent Room most likely refers to a bar or spot that rough people hang out

Reminds me of Joy In Repetition

OldFriends4Sale said:

(The lights go out) the lights go out, the smell of doom
Is creepin' into your lonely room

The bed's on fire
Your fate is sealed
And you're so tired
And the reason is Camille-mille

?????

Margot said:

RJOrion said:

FUNKNROLL said:

RJOrion said:

FUNKNROLL said:

What’s the basis for your assertion? If that’s the case, then who is Spooky Electric?

a Satanic presence...or the so called "Devil" itself

Or, it could be a part of his personality that was 'disowned'

It seems to me that Prince sometimes externalized 'evil'.

RJOrion said:

Margot said:

?????

Camille is Baphomet

Margot said:

RJOrion said:

FUNKNROLL said: a Satanic presence...or the so called "Devil" itself

Or, it could be a part of his personality that was 'disowned'

It seems to me that Prince sometimes externalized 'evil'.

This I can get with. Prince definitely externalized, "evil".

Which was a story arc he utilized throughout his career: the battle between "good vs. evil", "love vs. hate", and campaigned his redemption/devotion/purity.

I mean...he created a "Bad Guy Funk Band" as an artistic outlet for his more straight forward masculine raunchy persona (see: the original Purple Rain script, or Purple Rain) to battle, while quadrupling down on the "troubled/devoted/redemptive/pure/Rude Boy/Love God".

I can't help but see how the rise of New Jack Swing/Hip Hop really threw a monkey wrench in his narrative (see: listen to the original configuration of The Time's "Corporate World" album)

jfenster said:

If Camille is so "evil" how does one explain his attitude in IIIWYG?

I think you're over thinking the Prince-ly definition of "evil", much like, "sick"...it's all the stuff he'd normally leave out of the picture for a Prince project.

Naked on a winged pegasus? Fine. Laying in bed doodling with your booty out? Fine.

Being a love lorned fool? Green light All that "Doe-Eyed Innocent Horniness", fits into The Prince brand.

At the dissolution of The Time, then The Family, then The Revolution...his lack of proteges forced him to seemingly break the fourth wall, and shift personas.
As I said earlier, this shift seems to have started around "Erotic City", which was a b-side (that got way more play than "Take Me With U", in a city like Detroit). The guy was a studio rat, just like George Clinton...always shaping a new project

As far as IIWYGF?

The narcissim and pitched vocals were definitely there.

It's a slick concept for a song, but if somebody said that to me?

#RedFlag

I get the sense that Prince believed in religious concepts other than the JW faith, something more along the lines of the Afro/Carribean/Creole belief system. His extended family had roots in Louisiana

and I wonder if some of that tradition was 'in the air' while growing up?

When he said that his house on Galpin was 'infested' (and not w/vermin), or he talked about Spooky Electric or Satan, this feels different than straight Christianity/JW.

I also think he may have shifted some of his darker instincts to these entities. Camille?

ButcherDog said:

jfenster said:

ButcherDog said:

I think you're over thinking the Prince-ly definition of "evil", much like, "sick"...it's all the stuff he'd normally leave out of the picture for a Prince project.

Naked on a winged pegasus? Fine. Laying in bed doodling with your booty out? Fine.

Being a love lorned fool? Green light All that "Doe-Eyed Innocent Horniness", fits into The Prince brand.

At the dissolution of The Time, then The Family, then The Revolution...his lack of proteges forced him to seemingly break the fourth wall, and shift personas.
As I said earlier, this shift seems to have started around "Erotic City", which was a b-side (that got way more play than "Take Me With U", in a city like Detroit). The guy was a studio rat, just like George Clinton...always shaping a new project

As far as IIWYGF?

The narcissim and pitched vocals were definitely there.

It's a slick concept for a song, but if somebody said that to me?

#RedFlag

But he's a thoughtful and conscientious lover in that song....

We can't overthink these things.

jfenster said:

If Camille is so "evil" how does one explain his attitude in IIIWYG?

I don't think Prince thought this out too far. It was over by 1988/89

If you look at the various pieces I posted where he talks about Camille, you can tell he's playing with the idea, but not really committed to it.

Overall I say Camille represents an uncontrolled side of him.

Camille was connected to that sped up voice(Housequake), not the slowed down voice(Erotic City).

Yet the first(that I'm remembering) of the sped up voice is not the Ballad of Dorothy Parker(March 1986), but ♥ Or $(Kiss B side) recorded July 1985.

Margot said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

(The lights go out) the lights go out, the smell of doom
Is creepin' into your lonely room

The bed's on fire
Your fate is sealed
And you're so tired
And the reason is Camille-mille

?????

from Shockadelica

Margot said:

I get the sense that Prince believed in religious concepts other than the JW faith, something more along the lines of the Afro/Carribean/Creole belief system. His extended family had roots in Louisiana

and I wonder if some of that tradition was 'in the air' while growing up?

When he said that his house on Galpin was 'infested' (and not w/vermin), or he talked about Spooky Electric or Satan, this feels different than straight Christianity/JW.

I also think he may have shifted some of his darker instincts to these entities. Camille?

-

It could also that he wanted to enrich his lyrical approach for all these dark figures.

To not repeat himself in the use of one bad figure.

Yes, he was infected all his life by the direct influence of his roots, that is, his parents.
Mother was a little loose, father held on to the word of god.

He must have had his share of uncertainty when he was younger, referring to the constant feeling of believing in a god, as well as in the good and the evil... And from that point of view, I can follow you with the Afro/Carribean/Creole thought.

Could be.

-

Someone else implied that Spooky Electric and Camille are the same, and I don't think so.

Spooky Electric is no Camille, cause he came first, later on the further developed idea of Camille came about. iirc

-

Vannormal said:

Margot said:

I get the sense that Prince believed in religious concepts other than the JW faith, something more along the lines of the Afro/Carribean/Creole belief system. His extended family had roots in Louisiana

and I wonder if some of that tradition was 'in the air' while growing up?

When he said that his house on Galpin was 'infested' (and not w/vermin), or he talked about Spooky Electric or Satan, this feels different than straight Christianity/JW.

I also think he may have shifted some of his darker instincts to these entities. Camille?

-

It could also that he wanted to enrich his lyrical approach for all these dark figures.

To not repeat himself in the use of one bad figure.

Yes, he was infected all his life by the direct influence of his roots, that is, his parents.
Mother was a little loose, father held on to the word of god.

He must have had his share of uncertainty when he was younger, referring to the constant feeling of believing in a god, as well as in the good and the evil... And from that point of view, I can follow you with the Afro/Carribean/Creole thought.

Could be.

-

Someone else implied that Spooky Electric and Camille are the same, and I don't think so.

Spooky Electric is no Camille, cause he came first, later on the further developed idea of Camille came about. iirc

-

When I think of other singers whom I admire, ie., Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Elvis, I don't see alter egos. Prince's use of alter-egos is very interesting to me. Some of them were necessary in the beginning because his musical output was so prodigious... Jamie Starr, Alexander Nevermind, Joey Coco etc seemed fairly straightforward but SpookyElectric and Camille seemed to go deeper into something else. He seemed, to me, to be pre-occupied w/'God', Good v Evil, the afterlife, (making cerain he 'qualified' to get in),etc., and though he acknowledged 'Jehovah' quite a bit, he often did

not actually live according to those beliefs and I think it caused internal conflict and perhaps some off-loading. Sometimes people project undesirable traits externally.... 'infestations', bad juju, etc.

A bit of homage to Parliament as well. hmm

Vannormal said:

Margot said:

I get the sense that Prince believed in religious concepts other than the JW faith, something more along the lines of the Afro/Carribean/Creole belief system. His extended family had roots in Louisiana

and I wonder if some of that tradition was 'in the air' while growing up?

When he said that his house on Galpin was 'infested' (and not w/vermin), or he talked about Spooky Electric or Satan, this feels different than straight Christianity/JW.

I also think he may have shifted some of his darker instincts to these entities. Camille?

-

It could also that he wanted to enrich his lyrical approach for all these dark figures.

To not repeat himself in the use of one bad figure.

Yes, he was infected all his life by the direct influence of his roots, that is, his parents.
Mother was a little loose, father held on to the word of god.

He must have had his share of uncertainty when he was younger, referring to the constant feeling of believing in a god, as well as in the good and the evil... And from that point of view, I can follow you with the Afro/Carribean/Creole thought.

Could be.

-

Someone else implied that Spooky Electric and Camille are the same, and I don't think so.

Spooky Electric is no Camille, cause he came first, later on the further developed idea of Camille came about. iirc

-

I like this expression

has Spooky Electric ever been described?

Margot said:

I get the sense that Prince believed in religious concepts other than the JW faith, something more along the lines of the Afro/Carribean/Creole belief system. His extended family had roots in Louisiana

and I wonder if some of that tradition was 'in the air' while growing up?

When he said that his house on Galpin was 'infested' (and not w/vermin), or he talked about Spooky Electric or Satan, this feels different than straight Christianity/JW.

I also think he may have shifted some of his darker instincts to these entities. Camille?

I think by the time Prince came along his parents were pretty 'conservatively' religious and bougie as Prince said his family was.

Of course that doesn't mean mom might not have played around with some stuff. Did he say she gave him porno magazines to basically learn about the birds and the bees?