I vote the first one.

in that case you lose

The Ballad of Dorothy Parker hands down!

This question is like asking which is better, sex or a root canal. While it's subjective, I doubt many people will vote for a root canal.

WDUWM2D is about rejecting a cheat.

TBODP is about cheating to re-spark.

Anybody just watch 'White Lotus', season 2?

LILpoundCAKE said:

in that case you lose

Agreed. The whole post seems trollish. It's like asking, "Call My Name" vs "Adore."

Heifer, sit the fuck down because "Adore" is always going to win.

TrivialPursuit said:

LILpoundCAKE said:

in that case you lose

Agreed. The whole post seems trollish. It's like asking, "Call My Name" vs "Adore."

Heifer, sit the fuck down because "Adore" is always going to win.

I was thinking more like Insatiable vs Scandalous.

neither. bloody mouth

paisleyparkgirl said:

TrivialPursuit said:

Agreed. The whole post seems trollish. It's like asking, "Call My Name" vs "Adore."

Heifer, sit the fuck down because "Adore" is always going to win.

I was thinking more like Insatiable vs Scandalous.

Been there, done that. The Bat always wins.

I love the ballad of dorothy parker. I think what do you want me to do is average Prince, so BDP must win for me.

One song is unique atmospheric and stunning, the other is not so much.

I like "what do you want me to do" a lot, but that line about 'beheaded in other lands' is just
too much cringe for me to handle. It's one of the few lines in his songs that makes me really
cringe, physically. Otherwise I think it's a nice little tune.

"Dorothy Parker" of course. The other song is dreck.

what do you want me to do is one of those 'prince plays passive for his lover' type songs on auto pilot.

homesquid said:

"Dorothy Parker" of course. The other song is dreck.

Sorry you feel that way, I've always felt "What do you want .." was a radio friendly version of Dorothy Parkey.

paisleyparkgirl said:

homesquid said:

"Dorothy Parker" of course. The other song is dreck.

Sorry you feel that way, I've always felt "What do you want .." was a radio friendly version of Dorothy Parkey.

You say that, most obtusely, as if DP couldn't be a radio song. People said that about "Kiss," too. And "When Doves Cry."

giorgio said:

What do U want me 2 do is a beautiful song with a nice vibe, and I can totally get where you’re coming from with the drum sounds and the way it works with the bass, might be all in all a bit more conventional and hence more radio friendly , but Dorothy Parker is such a stone cold classic, hard to compete with.

To be fair to the OP, it's really unfair and illogical to compare anything in the 80s - the golden era - to anything at any other time. THe 90s has more than its share of beauty, value, and consistent quality. But to get into The Free Years™, and try to compare that acrylic production to the warmth and sheer analog fluidity of his music that was made with such abandon and brass balls is a losing battle.

"I see you picked me out from the crowd
Could it be the way I play guitar?"

One of my recent absolute favourites. I always enjoy Dorothy Parker quite a lot, but it's not quite in my top tier.
I hadn't realised how similar the vibe of these tracks was in some ways until I saw this topic.

TrivialPursuit said:

giorgio said:

What do U want me 2 do is a beautiful song with a nice vibe, and I can totally get where you’re coming from with the drum sounds and the way it works with the bass, might be all in all a bit more conventional and hence more radio friendly , but Dorothy Parker is such a stone cold classic, hard to compete with.

To be fair to the OP, it's really unfair and illogical to compare anything in the 80s - the golden era - to anything at any other time. THe 90s has more than its share of beauty, value, and consistent quality. But to get into The Free Years™, and try to compare that acrylic production to the warmth and sheer analog fluidity of his music that was made with such abandon and brass balls is a losing battle.

Not to mention the whole backstory of how the sound of Dorothy Parker came to be. There's a lot of romance to that one.

Genesia said:

TrivialPursuit said:

To be fair to the OP, it's really unfair and illogical to compare anything in the 80s - the golden era - to anything at any other time. THe 90s has more than its share of beauty, value, and consistent quality. But to get into The Free Years™, and try to compare that acrylic production to the warmth and sheer analog fluidity of his music that was made with such abandon and brass balls is a losing battle.

Not to mention the whole backstory of how the sound of Dorothy Parker came to be. There's a lot of romance to that one.

Yeah, and the horn version adds to it, too. Such a great storyline for a song. "Forever In My Life" has that history, too.

I like ´What do you want me to do´ but I would put ´The Ballad of Dorothy Parker´ in the ´what defines Prince´ list. There was NOTHING like that song when it was released. Great chords, lyrics, and beat. One of my fave Prince songs and I believe Miles Davis opened a big smile when he listened to it.

GustavoRibas said:

lurker316 said:

GustavoRibas said:

I like ´What do you want me to do´ but I would put ´The Ballad of Dorothy Parker´ in the ´what defines Prince´ list. There was NOTHING like that song when it was released. Great chords, lyrics, and beat. One of my fave Prince songs and I believe Miles Davis opened a big smile when he listened to it.

Agreed. Dorothy Parker was so fresh and original, like nothing else Prince had ever done, and like nothing anyone else had ever done. It was unique and ahead of its time. In contrast, WDYWMTD is fine — nothing wrong with it. But Prince had clearly “been there, done that” before. For 2004, it sounded a bit dated, not head of its time.

to me, the ballad of dorothy parker was always reminiscent of sly's family affair.

lurker316 said:

Agreed. Dorothy Parker was so fresh and original, like nothing else Prince had ever done, and like nothing anyone else had ever done. It was unique and ahead of its time. In contrast, WDYWMTD is fine — nothing wrong with it. But Prince had clearly “been there, done that” before. For 2004, it sounded a bit dated, not head of its time.

"What Do U Want Me 2 Do?" was a cheeky response to the fanbase.

Get it?