garneren said:

The one album that truly divides fans.

TrivialPursuit said:

LoveGalore said:

TrivialPursuit said: You're serious? I would not expect that from you! It's the antithesis of plastic/acrylic production, I'd think you would have loved it.

I. Fucking. Hate. It.

I have tried and tried and tried to listen to it, get a new perspective on it. Something about it truly makes me upset and pissed that he did it. I don't care about the narrator's voice.

(Plot twist: it's not Darth Vader, like y'all are sayin'. Darth spoke through a machine that helped him breath. Prince slowed down his voice. The differences are clear.)

Moreover, it's the fucking dogma. OMG just shut up already about the accurate understanding of law and all that shit. It's nothing more than a Jehovah's Witness promo. I don't care how he frames it, that's what it is. It's dogma.

And while he touched on religious things in the past, it was always more nuanced. Sure, there were more pointed things like "God" or the Lord's Prayer in "Controversy," but it was still almost treated like a pastiche. It was religious tinged, like "Anna Stesia," "The Ladder," "Purple Rain, "Free" (a favorite), "Still Would Stand All Time," or even "Moonbeam Levels."

He mixed God and sexuality, and I get that. I trully understood what his thinking was on it. To have sex, and have those open, uninhibited feelings of love and bliss and pleasure are the highest form of feeling we can have on earth to that of being in God's presence. And even then, it pales when/if we ever are eventually in the presence of God.

But The Rainbow Children isn't nuanced. It's preachy, uncompassionate, it's "my way or the highway." Because anyone in the storyline that isn't a rainbow child or a follower or whatever is rubbish. Like Prince said, "you can cut that how you want, but it's the truth." No, Prince, it's your truth.

I think about Wendy & Lisa, and how they had to deal with Trevor Horn's homophobic ass, then circled back around to Prince with his bullshit post-Rainbow Children.

And yeah, I can appreciate the production. It's not acrylic, which is odd since he started that with Emancipation five years before. The organic, trippy, LSD-inspired trip on it; I really can. But man, I can't get past his words and lyrics. For a man who used to promote things like a utopic Uptown full of of acceptance, positivity, live and let live, he certainly made a 180º on The Rainbow Children.

It's a Karen record - you do what I say, cuz this is how it should be, periodt! He channeled his inner-slightly-inconvenienced-white-women vibe on it.

It's dogma - only if you don't respect it. If you don't respect it then regardless of how it framed or who the messenger is, you'll always cringe at that ideal or the stance being taken. The Rainbow Children work is an affirmation - not a preachy this way or no way law but a disdain for the message makes it preachy regardless. The Cross IS preachy, period. The ONLY way we fix this is the Cross.

It also might bug you that Prince is the one saying "this is who I am" when he appeared to be preaching spitituality over organized religion. As someone raised by a pastor and doesn't subscribe to organized religion, the idea the Rainbow Children is preachy is laughable. Actually, the majority of what Prince is saying on that record would be considered blasphemy by christians.

The christian Prince is on this record is NOT a "Karen" matter of fact, I understand you're passionate about your dislike here, but watch that comparison please. Comparing this record to a "karen" which to me defines as a social terrorist, it goes well beyond what is necessary for respectful discourse. There are people that believe in Jesus that do not subscribe to any Karen behavior.

I have no love for it. Hate the religious lyrics and find the music dull.

Polo1026 said:

LoveGalore said:

udo said:

TrivialPursuit said:

I hate it.

.

Great elaboration!

I see your reasons are quite weak though.

Listen again!

Keep reading, bubba. If I haven't gotten into that mess after 20 years, I'm not going to at this point.

TrivialPursuit said:

LoveGalore said:

TrivialPursuit said: You're serious? I would not expect that from you! It's the antithesis of plastic/acrylic production, I'd think you would have loved it.

I. Fucking. Hate. It.

I have tried and tried and tried to listen to it, get a new perspective on it. Something about it truly makes me upset and pissed that he did it. I don't care about the narrator's voice.

(Plot twist: it's not Darth Vader, like y'all are sayin'. Darth spoke through a machine that helped him breath. Prince slowed down his voice. The differences are clear.)

Moreover, it's the fucking dogma. OMG just shut up already about the accurate understanding of law and all that shit. It's nothing more than a Jehovah's Witness promo. I don't care how he frames it, that's what it is. It's dogma.

And while he touched on religious things in the past, it was always more nuanced. Sure, there were more pointed things like "God" or the Lord's Prayer in "Controversy," but it was still almost treated like a pastiche. It was religious tinged, like "Anna Stesia," "The Ladder," "Purple Rain, "Free" (a favorite), "Still Would Stand All Time," or even "Moonbeam Levels."

He mixed God and sexuality, and I get that. I trully understood what his thinking was on it. To have sex, and have those open, uninhibited feelings of love and bliss and pleasure are the highest form of feeling we can have on earth to that of being in God's presence. And even then, it pales when/if we ever are eventually in the presence of God.

But The Rainbow Children isn't nuanced. It's preachy, uncompassionate, it's "my way or the highway." Because anyone in the storyline that isn't a rainbow child or a follower or whatever is rubbish. Like Prince said, "you can cut that how you want, but it's the truth." No, Prince, it's your truth.

I think about Wendy & Lisa, and how they had to deal with Trevor Horn's homophobic ass, then circled back around to Prince with his bullshit post-Rainbow Children.

And yeah, I can appreciate the production. It's not acrylic, which is odd since he started that with Emancipation five years before. The organic, trippy, LSD-inspired trip on it; I really can. But man, I can't get past his words and lyrics. For a man who used to promote things like a utopic Uptown full of of acceptance, positivity, live and let live, he certainly made a 180º on The Rainbow Children.

It's a Karen record - you do what I say, cuz this is how it should be, periodt! He channeled his inner-slightly-inconvenienced-white-women vibe on it.

I agree with everything here. And I still like it. It's a (deeply) flawed masterpiece.

Polo1026 said:

It's dogma - only if you don't respect it. If you don't respect it then regardless of how it framed or who the messenger is, you'll always cringe at that ideal or the stance being taken. The Rainbow Children work is an affirmation - not a preachy this way or no way law but a disdain for the message makes it preachy regardless. The Cross IS preachy, period. The ONLY way we fix this is the Cross.

It also might bug you that Prince is the one saying "this is who I am" when he appeared to be preaching spitituality over organized religion. As someone raised by a pastor and doesn't subscribe to organized religion, the idea the Rainbow Children is preachy is laughable. Actually, the majority of what Prince is saying on that record would be considered blasphemy by christians.

The christian Prince is on this record is NOT a "Karen" matter of fact, I understand you're passionate about your dislike here, but watch that comparison please. Comparing this record to a "karen" which to me defines as a social terrorist, it goes well beyond what is necessary for respectful discourse. There are people that believe in Jesus that do not subscribe to any Karen behavior.

I actually don't need tips on how to view things or have an opinion, but your effort is honorable.

It is a Karen record because he came across, quite frankly, as a religious terrorist. As noted in other replies, the misogyny, anti-Semitism, fundamentalism, etc. is incredibly off putting and more than a 180 from Prince. And I never said Christians were Karens, although you're making me doubt that.

And how is it that it's okay for Prince to say "this is who I am," but suddenly I'm the bad guy for not liking that? Sorry not sorry, but my de facto stance is not to be blindly woo'd by everything ol' boy said or did. How am I the disrespectful one because I call it dogma? What a hypocritical point of view. Not unlike Prince's views on The Rainbow Children.

You can wave your PK flag all day, but I too was raised in a similar household. The independent Baptist church I was raised in was created by my grandfather (whose name I carry) and 4 other families. They found Southern Baptists too laxed in their way of doing things, and set out to create an even more conservative church. I was practically born in the aisle between the offering and the benediction. So don't come to me as if you have some unique POV. That church, by the way, still stands, with an even bigger building, owns literally half the block, and has a religious school attached to it. I've watched them buy every house on the block that someone sold, only to tear it down, and pave it for parking and storage. It's a monolith of gluttony and excess, which is ironic considering their conversative suffer-to-serve messaging.

There is no Christian Prince. There's a Jehovah's Witness Prince. And before that it was Seventh Day Adventist Prince; almost as bad but at least he was openly eating pussy and fucking. JW's aren't Christians. They're fucking insane.

homesquid said:

nosajd said:

I love the album. It’s quite an album full of different genres. His sense of humor does peek here and there. There’s a lot of truths on here hard to swallow and people don’t often like the truth, or their interpretation of it anyway. It’s a solid album. I am not religious at all, though I was raised religious, this album doesn’t bother me in that way. To each their own. I’m glad you’re rediscovering it, enjoy!

What exactly are these truths and how exactly are they hard to swallow? Your post implies that you have some privileged understanding of The Truth™ and folks who don't see it your way have only a flawed "interpretation" of it. Prince didn't know the literal meaning of the word truth and I'm guessing you don't, either. The real world is on fire and magic is neither real or helpful. It's escapism. Astrology, numerology, the Akashic Records, and "manifesting" are not real. Those childish flights of fancy are no different than the logical fallacies and terminal lack of critical thinking skills that have people following QAnon and believing the COVID-19 vaccine either makes you magnetic or gives you 5G internet. It's the same bullshit that has the New Age crowd joining the Far Right on matters of vaccination. Lyrically the album presents the innane ramblings of a philosophical dilettante. Musically it's a very enjoyable attempt to do something with a D'Angleo sound. Aside from the smeary and muddled lead guitar playing (and lyrics), it's a fun listen. To say he phoned the lead guitar in would be putting it charitably. In the end, people like what they like. If you like it, great. My tolerance for the cult of personality mystical hero worship bullshit is wearing very thin, however.

onlyforaminute said:

LoveGalore said:

onlyforaminute said:

LoveGalore said:

onlyforaminute said:

I understand people dont like the lyrics, but, musically, is one of his strongest ever. As a musician, he was at the top of his game, and there are some strong songs there too.

I was never sue if he was talking about gay children, or the children of gay parents though. Who did he want to rise up?

lavendardrummachine said:

lavendardrummachine said:

I was never sue if he was talking about gay children, or the children of gay parents though. Who did he want to rise up?

Oh, here you go again.

Musze said:

luv4u said:

I like it. Just not that darth vader voice.

This.

I spoke to someone on the phone recently who sounded like Darth Vader. It wasn't his voice. Just heavy breathing.

Some people need to get in shape!

It's not really a Darth Vader voice.

Instead, try to imagine a wookie that speaks english.

[Edited 1/8/22 9:39am]

TrivialPursuit said:

Polo1026 said:

It's dogma - only if you don't respect it. If you don't respect it then regardless of how it framed or who the messenger is, you'll always cringe at that ideal or the stance being taken. The Rainbow Children work is an affirmation - not a preachy this way or no way law but a disdain for the message makes it preachy regardless. The Cross IS preachy, period. The ONLY way we fix this is the Cross.

It also might bug you that Prince is the one saying "this is who I am" when he appeared to be preaching spitituality over organized religion. As someone raised by a pastor and doesn't subscribe to organized religion, the idea the Rainbow Children is preachy is laughable. Actually, the majority of what Prince is saying on that record would be considered blasphemy by christians.

The christian Prince is on this record is NOT a "Karen" matter of fact, I understand you're passionate about your dislike here, but watch that comparison please. Comparing this record to a "karen" which to me defines as a social terrorist, it goes well beyond what is necessary for respectful discourse. There are people that believe in Jesus that do not subscribe to any Karen behavior.

I actually don't need tips on how to view things or have an opinion, but your effort is honorable.

It is a Karen record because he came across, quite frankly, as a religious terrorist. As noted in other replies, the misogyny, anti-Semitism, fundamentalism, etc. is incredibly off putting and more than a 180 from Prince. And I never said Christians were Karens, although you're making me doubt that.

And how is it that it's okay for Prince to say "this is who I am," but suddenly I'm the bad guy for not liking that? Sorry not sorry, but my de facto stance is not to be blindly woo'd by everything ol' boy said or did. How am I the disrespectful one because I call it dogma? What a hypocritical point of view. Not unlike Prince's views on The Rainbow Children.

You can wave your PK flag all day, but I too was raised in a similar household. The independent Baptist church I was raised in was created by my grandfather (whose name I carry) and 4 other families. They found Southern Baptists too laxed in their way of doing things, and set out to create an even more conservative church. I was practically born in the aisle between the offering and the benediction. So don't come to me as if you have some unique POV. That church, by the way, still stands, with an even bigger building, owns literally half the block, and has a religious school attached to it. I've watched them buy every house on the block that someone sold, only to tear it down, and pave it for parking and storage. It's a monolith of gluttony and excess, which is ironic considering their conversative suffer-to-serve messaging.

There is no Christian Prince. There's a Jehovah's Witness Prince. And before that it was Seventh Day Adventist Prince; almost as bad but at least he was openly eating pussy and fucking. JW's aren't Christians. They're fucking insane.

I don't care about your personal feelings about the record or about Prince. I simply think you should mind labeling him or this album a "Karen" which is a social terrorist in my opinion and a danger to black people in America. Don't think you can just use the term, which is a serious and important term, to attack something you don't like. There is no attack from Prince on Rainbow Children, he is affirming ideals that he continued to affirm thereafter. What is a PK flag? is it similar too the race card? Define please. Also, if you are a PK, then why didn't you have a more nuanced criticism? Because you didn't at ALL attack the statement I made that the record would be considered blasphemy by christians! It's actually counter to the traditional views of christianity that has been preached, lets spend time exegeting scripture and verse if you'd like, but I digress. Have a wonderful day - let's make peace. This is Prince's "Karen" record that attacks ererything and everyone and sends them to hell! I think differently. "When the lines blur every boy and girl, how we gonna make it in this brave new world? Love 4 Oneanother."

nayroo2002 said:

It's not really a Darth Vader voice.

Instead, try to imagine a wookie that speaks english.

[Edited 1/8/22 9:39am]

Or Barry White on some serious downers.

Polo1026 said:

Polo1026 said:

I don't care about your personal feelings about the record or about Prince. I simply think you should mind ....[don't care snip]

Nor do I care what you think about me. But it would do you and your sense of peace well to mind yourself and not try to manage me or anyone else here, nor try to dictate what you think I should believe or think. That's a terrorist, if I ever heard one.

Stop getting all butthurt over something that, frankly, ain't got shit to do with you: that being someone else's free thought and opinion based on their experiences. Like you're some Princeologist or enlightened hippy? Sis, sit down.

You act like you created the fucking record yourself, all up in your feelings about it. (Plot twist: ya didn't, Blanche. Ya didn't!)

The. Album. Blows.