.
Or is Hahn just a by the book lawyer with limited musical knowledge and taste?

I still love Prince's music...but according to Hahn, Prince is a complete shitmonger as a person!

Say it isn't so! And I'll buy the DMSR book and go from there instead.

I need some experienced opinions, please.

I just got the "Possessed" book a few days ago,but I haven't had time to really sit down and read it.I've been scanning a few pages though.Based on what I've read so far,the most interesting segment seems to be the making of the "Dream Factory" album,and the problems Prince was having with Wendy,Lisa and Susannah.WOW!!!

DavidEye said:

that IS an interesting part of the book, but in my opinion, like Prince's career according to Hahn, it's all downhill from there...prepare for a depressing read!
[This message was edited Tue Jun 24 3:05:07 PDT 2003 by mrdespues]

who the hell is alex hahn

This book needs to be forgotten---stop the threads so it dies.

Go read DMSR --you'll feel better afterwards.

origmnd said:

so Prince isn't that bad after all and Hahn just has some sort of vendetta against him because he doesn't make the music he likes best anymore? i guess know one REALLY knows. certainly on stage and record, Prince doesn't seem at all like the person Hahn desrcribes.

.
[This message was edited Tue Jun 24 3:32:21 PDT 2003 by mrdespues]

mrdespues said:[quote]

origmnd said:

If news broke that Prince is really a mass murderer and a fascist would you still derive pleasure from listening to his music?

.

giotto said:[quote]

mrdespues said:

actually, if that were the case, it would shade my interpration of the music from that point on. however, as in the case of things phil spector was involved in...i still would listen...but it would take a lot of the innocence, sincerity and goodness out of the music...it would taint the image of the music in any case.

WHICH IS WHAT I THINK HAHN'S AIM IS. to taint Prince's career with negativity...perhaps it is all true...but I find it hard to believe that someone who has so much joy in his music could be so cold in real life. but i don't doubt the possibility of it.

As with everything. This is one version of the truth.

I think the author was a little harsh on the music output of the 90s, but all in all, I thought it was the most honest book yet.

SquirrelMeat said:

hmmm, and now, with the rave dvd playing as i type this...i'm seeing him, as so many others on the org have attested, in a new light. he isn't a god. he isn't the absolute greatest musician to have lived. he is limited, just like we all can be at times...he definitely seems to have a god complex in certain instances...he is in his own world of what is perfect to him...also as we all can be...but i think what is apparent is that he doesn't always seem to realise that his vision doesn't always go with the rest of us! and i don't think he cares, anyway.

my 2cents as of tonight.


.

[This message was edited Tue Jun 24 6:27:10 PDT 2003 by mrdespues]

The thing is,I've always felt that Prince was a musical genuis but at the same time,I knew he has alot of "issues".Every longtime Prince fan has heard these stories before...about Prince being a control freak,Prince sleeping with alot of women,Prince being an egomaniac,Prince yelling at bandmembers,Prince favoring certain bandmembers over others,Prince not being a good businessman,Prince having financial problems,Prince not crediting others for their artistic contributions to his music,etc etc etc.


I haven't read the book yet (just certain segments of it) but I don't think I'm really gonna be surprised/shocked/upset by what I read.And it's certainly not gonna change my overall opinion of Prince's MUSIC.That's really all that matters,since I don't know Prince personally anyway.

DavidEye said:

indeed...but it IS possible to discern certain things about a person from a distance. you can paint a picture...how different can he be from people you have known throughout your life? how different can he be from yourself at certain times, even. he's just like us...but his lifestyle has made him one of those famous people who often acted like he is above it all.

and this is an attitude which i will never like in a person, personally...perhaps he has his reasons, but doing whatever it takes to get to the top and then sort of throwing it all in...the name change, etc? well who knows what we'd each do in his situation anyway, but i love his music and much of what he has represented artistically...so that's what matters. he's just not as perfect as i thought he was which i guess, is my revelation from this book. i was naive, but prince is something of a master of illusion and he certainly seems to have fooled a lot of people along his road. that and i think, that he bought into his own myth and mystique and kind of lost himself for a while.

but like you said, i don't know him personally...i just like his music.

.
[This message was edited Tue Jun 24 7:07:00 PDT 2003 by mrdespues]

I'm with DavidEye - I knew Prince had all the "issues" detailed in the book, but I wasn't as aware of as many "specifics" as I am after reading the book. I think everybody has a shitty side to their personality, and I think the book did a fair job of all but neglecting any charming or redeeming qualities Prince may have. I think Hahn set out to write a scathing, hypercritical book and he achieved his goal, crappy writing and all.

Anxiety said:

crappy writing indeed. not to mention a number of inaccuracies that i picked up on..."bono of u2's innovative guitar playing" and all.

sheesh.

.

The book mentions that Prince had a brief affair with Sinead O'Connor! I was laughing when I read that part...lol..

When he is good he is very very good and when he is bad he is horrid.

mrdespues said:

Hahn and his literary garbage(calling it a book is an insult to actual writer's everywhere) is just another example of the lengths people will go to make a buck! From what I've heard (No, I haven't bothered to read it. I will not abuse my intellect with such drivel.) it is mostly stuff that has already been written in other books, he didn't get interviews with any of the main people in Prince's life whom he claims to know sooo much about, and it's tainted with his own personal bias of being on the losing end of a lawsuit involving Prince. He's just Public Prince Hater #1.

I've never been a supporter of book burnings, but if anyone needs a match, let me know!

DeVaniti said:

I only know 1 good book about Prince "Days of Wild". Accurate, few emotional description, a lot of facts.

giotto said:

People still listen to R. Kelly right?

Universaluv said:

.

I love all the people here criticising a book that they haven't even read, and demonizing the author responsible. Thanks for living up to the whole world's expectations of a bunch of Prince fanatics

One thing is for sure, I only come to this site to get a laugh, a pathetic laugh. Oh yeah, how I love Ian (the moderator, right? Where's Ben or LaVishh?) Snip, Snip away...

ian said:

I don't have to smell shit to know it stinks.

Universaluv said:

Damn straight! I can't wait till he gets to Detroit, Aug.1, tickets sold out in less than 30 min.
[This message was edited Tue Jun 24 15:05:57 PDT 2003 by DeVaniti]

ian said:

---
Well Ian I have read the book and I think it is a piece of garbage. I don't have any issues with the stories about Prince being an ass. Most of us have heard some of these stories before.

My issue is with overall poor quaility of the writing.
Mr. Hanh had an opinion and he stuck with it all the way to end of the book. He starts out negative about the music, personal issues and business decisions.

No one not even Prince is capable of having a bad day everyday for 20 years, 365 days of the year with not one good moment.

He is really hard on the 90's output and while Prince's 90 music is not great it is not any different than all of the other shitting music that came in the 90's.

He fails to take into account that all Prince had in his life was music. Once he started to have problems selling records or finding his niche in the nineties. He really started to fall apart and he took it out on his employees and lovers.

I felt kind of bad for him because obviously he did not know what to do or how to ask for help.

I felt a little sorry for the employees because none of them had enough common sense to quit or tell him to fuck off. All of the disgruntled employess hang around for years bitch, moan and wait to be fired.

At no point in the book does Prince hold a gun to anyone's head and force them to continue to work for him.

At no point does Prince hold a gun to the heads of Warner Brothers executives and force them to keep him signed to the label. But, they keep re-signing him and throwing more money into Paisley Park.

I definitly did not feel sorry for Wendy and Lisa. Wendy comes off as a total bitch. In the book she complains that the Revolution has been turned into a overblown funk band during the Parade tour. She grips that they could have been the Beatles.

Well fuck the Beatles. I will take the funk band over that any day. I have a VHS copy of a Parade show and that line up kicked ass and the concert crowd loved it.
It was not her band and you cannot bitch at your boss and expect to remain employed.


Prince may well be an asshole but, what comes around goes around and he has had his share of problems over the last few years. It looks like he has changed his attitude and moved on. It is to bad Mr.Hanh can't move on.


If you want to read a good book about Prince pick up

Pop Life by Dave Hill or DMSR by Per Neilsen.

I would suggest borrowing this book from a friend as I did not want to waste my money.
[This message was edited Tue Jun 24 15:00:52 PDT 2003 by laurarichardson]

giotto said:[quote]

mrdespues said:

Prince is a mass murderer and a fascist???

ian said:

I don't think it's any surprise to find out that Prince is an asshole. He's always been a prick. What kind of a person demands that people aren't allowed to make eye contact with him?

Universaluv said:

---
Yes, people still listen to this creep but, no one appears to be concerned about it. Yet, Prince is the devil at least he waited for his young girls to turn 18.

I get this info from the all knowing Mr.Hahn.

Remember, it is Prince who wants Camels at 3 in the morning, not Hahn. And remember, Hahn did a good thing as a lawyer, representing Uptown, against Princes censorship. And he did it PRO BONO. What the book outlines rather pungently is that that Prince is the number one Ahole in all of popular music.