Was this ever a topic (here)?

Who is that "schrink in Beverly Hills, (you know the one), Dr. everything'll Be Alright?"

(I'm European,) I have no idea who this is.

And why should anyone ask a schrink, "how much of your time is left?"

-

We're all a bit tired of hearing the song Let's Go Crazy, but damn, what an Atom-bomb of an opener for an album, with the coolest intro ever! Right? (...was listening to it again on headphones...)

Did Prince ever do better? For an album opener?

And the twelve-inch is even more sick!

For those who don't know, "shrink" is American slang for a psychiatrist. It's short for "head shrinker".

Beverly Hills is an affluent town in California where lots of celebrities and wealthy people live.

I may be mistaken, but I don't think Prince is referring to a specific, real-life psychiatrist in that lyric.

Instead, I believe Prince is referring to an archetype. Specifically, he's referring to the type of psychiatrist who caters to the rich and famous, and is more likely to re-enforce their worldview than to challenge it. The type of doctor who will validate your misconceptions, because you're paying them lots of money, rather than correct your misconceptions. The type of doctor who will attempt to solve your problems with pills rather than rooting out their causes.

Thus, when Prince sings, "You know the one", he means "You know the archetype". He’s not referring to a specific doctor who lives in Beverly Hills.

[Edited 1/15/24 22:05pm]

Vannormal said:

overplayed BUT still magnificent

that opening is still incredible, all these years on.

so many good lines in LGC too.

1999 is a song that i do like (esp the second part, which is a bit like the second part of batdance) but rhythmically it feels too metronomic

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

overplayed BUT still magnificent

that opening is still incredible, all these years on.

so many good lines in LGC too.

1999 is a song that i do like (esp the second part, which is a bit like the second part of batdance) but rhythmically it feels too metronomic

Co-sign. LGC is overplayed, but it's still a great song with one of the best opennings Prince ever did.

I also agree that 1999 gets better in the second half. It loosens up and becomes more of an unstructered vamp.

[Edited 1/16/24 15:54pm]

lurker316 said:

Instead, I believe Prince is referring to an archetype. Specifically, he's referring to the type of psychiatrist who caters to the rich and famous, and is more likely to re-enforce their worldview than to challenge it. The type of doctor who will validate your misconceptions, because you're paying them lots of money, rather than correct your misconceptions. The type of doctor who will attempt to solve your problems with pills rather than rooting out their causes.

Thus, when Prince sings, "You know the one", he means "You know the archetype". He’s not referring to a specific doctor who lives in Beverly Hills.

... Prince for sure did visit one...

Honestly, as much as I love the intro to '1999', nohting can beat 'LGC's' intro.

And he never did any better after that imho.

-

One thing though that I always felt missing, is an intro to 'Sign O The Times,' the song.

It should've had some chaos sounds of the era... mentioned in the song.

[Edited 1/17/24 0:51am]

thats why the live version of sott is so good with the intro he adds to it.

one of his best guitar moments IMO.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

thats why the live version of sott is so good with the intro he adds to it.

one of his best guitar moments IMO.

Great point. I wish the studio version had that amazing guitar intro.

As much as I think that LGC is/was overplayed, whenever it comes up, I cannot turn it off. Especially the 12" version. Love the intro, but the outro always makes me stop in my tracks and just revel and appreciate the gift and the brilliance of Prince!!

And I interpret the line as being instead of worrying how much time you have left on this Earth (which is a major anxiety point for most people), it's about focusing on your mind and what you will take will you to the afterlife.

I do tend to find the lyrics hard to take about shrinks and elevators - seems very poignant to me now.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

thats why the live version of sott is so good with the intro he adds to it.

one of his best guitar moments IMO.

Exactly !

Maybe i need to copy paste this and ad it to the studio version.

How to get reid of the crowd noise?

bobgeorge77 said:

As much as I think that LGC is/was overplayed, whenever it comes up, I cannot turn it off. Especially the 12" version. Love the intro, but the outro always makes me stop in my tracks and just revel and appreciate the gift and the brilliance of Prince!!

And I interpret the line as being instead of worrying how much time you have left on this Earth (which is a major anxiety point for most people), it's about focusing on your mind and what you will take will you to the afterlife.

Written by a 26 year old Prince...

amazing!

Vannormal said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

thats why the live version of sott is so good with the intro he adds to it.

one of his best guitar moments IMO.

Exactly !

Maybe i need to copy paste this and ad it to the studio version.

How to get reid of the crowd noise?

The SOTT movie version doesn't have the crowd noise initially. You might be able to use that.

lurker316 said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

thats why the live version of sott is so good with the intro he adds to it.

one of his best guitar moments IMO.

Great point. I wish the studio version had that amazing guitar intro.

You can copy the intro to the "101" remix and paste it onto "Sign O The Times"

[Edited 1/18/24 5:03am]

lurker316 said:

Vannormal said:

Exactly !

Maybe i need to copy paste this and ad it to the studio version.

How to get reid of the crowd noise?

The SOTT movie version doesn't have the crowd noise initially. You might be able to use that.

Great! Thank you for that! Much appreciated.

nayroo2002 said:

lurker316 said:

Great point. I wish the studio version had that amazing guitar intro.

You can copy the intro to the "101" remix and paste it onto "Sign O The Times"

[Edited 1/18/24 5:03am]

You mean the "101" (remix) Sheena easton version?

FrankieCoco1 said:

“Let's go crazy, let's get nuts Look for the purple banana 'Til they put us in the truck, let's go Come on, baby, let's get nuts Yeah, crazy Let's go crazy” It was only last year, when at the cinema watching Sing 2, that I really noticed the lyric about the purple banana. I thought that’s a bit of a throw away, child-like thing but then wondered if it had some deeper meaning. 12 inch was the first version of it I heard back in 1984 in the UK, more cowbell? Anyway, Let’s Go Crazy is in the upper echelon of album openers for me, with I Wanna Be Your Lover, Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999, Sign O’ The Times, The Future, Thunder, Chaos And Disorder, Crystal Ball, Rainbow Children, Musicology, When Eye Lay My Hands On You, Silicon, 3121, Planet Earth, From The Lotus…, Welcome 2 America. Album closers as another topic? [Edited 1/17/24 12:32pm]

I decided to consider that phrase to be a colorful--literally--shorthand expression for "look for that rare thing we all may seek."

>

Think I need a shrink? Don't answer that!

>

Not particularly BTW here, but I enjoyed lurker316's erudite description of "Dr. Everything'llbeallright!"

lurker316 said:

For those who don't know, "shrink" is American slang for a psychiatrist. It's short for "head shrinker".

Beverly Hills is an affluent town in California where lots of celebrities and wealthy people live.

I may be mistaken, but I don't think Prince is referring to a specific, real-life psychiatrist in that lyric.

Instead, I believe Prince is referring to an archetype. Specifically, he's referring to the type of psychiatrist who caters to the rich and famous, and is more likely to re-enforce their worldview than to challenge it. The type of doctor who will validate your misconceptions, because you're paying them lots of money, rather than correct your misconceptions. The type of doctor who will attempt to solve your problems with pills rather than rooting out their causes.

Thus, when Prince sings, "You know the one", he means "You know the archetype". He’s not referring to a specific doctor who lives in Beverly Hills.

[Edited 1/15/24 22:05pm]

100 percent I endorse this comment. You are correct imho.

RODSERLING said:

Always thought to be the Doctor Robert of the Beatles song.The one who gives every little pill you need.

Glad you mentioned this.

I was thinking the same... but thought it would be too far of an idea