The Prince faithful who have truly earned their stripes (that is, those who have been there since before Purple Rain and did not jump ship in the 90s) can remember when Prince was mainstream. He was on MTV and the radio regularly. Everyone heard of new releases when they came out. The records were in all the stores. Those days have been gone for some time. I, for one, do not miss them. Mainly because Prince was not mainstream when I got into his art. I was there from square one. By the time Dirty Mind arrived, he was the new underground rock genius that was on the verge of taking the mainstream by storm. With 1999, he did just that.

However, I do look back on the times when you had to be 18 to buy his record in some stores - thats if they even carried it. He only had a few singles that could get airplay and he was not filling arenas or auditoriums; just the club circuit. There was no mad rush for concert tickets or fickled undeserving, greedy fans. There were few inaccurate rumors (other than he was gay) that follow any celebrity of note. When I went to a gig, there were mainly true fans that followed his career and knew the music.

If you remember these days and compare them to the media glut of Purple Rain, you can say which was more fun for a real fun. While I did enjoy the success and increased attention (it made me look even more hip because I took a great deal of flack for beig a fan in the early days when it wasnt cool), I did not like having to wade through the 14 year old white girls that hoped on the purple bandwagon simply because he was "so cute" in the video. I hated sitting in the rafters when there we industry insiders filling up the front rows of every show (thank you, NPGMC!).

With his much publicized departure from the music industry and the origin of the NPGMC, Prince was more of an exclusive and acquired taste for the hardcore fan base. Nothing exemplified this more than that amazing 7 days at Paisley Park called Xenophobia. It was just us. No one else knew or cared. And that was alright.

The line on the Prince career adventure now is that he is making a move to get back on the mainstream. Perhaps. One thing that has always been consistent with Prince is that you never really know until it happens. If he does make a "comeback", it may not be the same for us - the faithful. Sure, we will see him on TV more often and hear him on the radio, but will it be the same? NPGMC should save many of the priviledges and advantages of being a devoted fan. But the music that Prince makes is always good - even if no one buys it except us. THerefore, I do not miss the mainstream days. It doesnt matter as long as Prince is doing what he wants to do.
[This message was edited Tue Mar 2 11:44:50 2004 by NPGLOVER]
[This message was edited Tue Mar 2 11:45:21 2004 by NPGLOVER]

119 views and not one reply!??!

Well, here is a reply.

I understand what you are writing, makes for fairly interesting reading.

But does it really matter???? If you like his music and his art, does it matter is whether he is mainstream or not, so long as you can get to listen/watch it???

I mean there is an arument that this tour is just to make money - maybe, but you now he needs it really. I think that Prince fans have been and continued to be spoiled, the man has a rare talent and an incredible output, good and bad - however it is distributed enjoy it, if you enjoy it, if not, don;t buy it.

Mainstream, it's about the money and the fame! In this day an age of the fickle music industry, wherever he finds the mainstream it won't last long.... so he'll make some money and go back to being what he has been in the last few years, just underground or internethidden!

I was there in the early days too - I have supported him since Dirty Mind - but I feel no exclusivity or right to claim I know the 'real' Prince - he's an artist with an extraodinary talent, and that's it!

Chasing said:

I think it is the same point that I made. I make no suggestion of exclusivity. If it even existed, it was because the rest of the world was not hip to Prince until 1999 album. Those of us already there where just there and then watched as everyone arrived to the party late on the Purple Rain bandwagon. I said it doesnt matter as long as Prince is free and doing what he wants - I have a preference though. I liked the underground days. I like the limited exposure since it favors the hardcore fan base that was the sole support for Prince since no one else cared or knew about his newer music.
[This message was edited Wed Mar 3 8:28:37 2004 by NPGLOVER]

Well, I am a P fan since....let's say a couple of years or less. I ain't got all his records and there are a million songs I have not heard, and a million facts I dont know. I want Prince to get back to the spotlight, not only cause he deserves some shine, but so the world can discover how incredible he is and what they been missing.

So why would a hardcore fan want to keep Prince for him/herself? Why do a hardcore fan want to prevail a lot of people from discovering the man and enjoying his music? Do I have less rights to enjoy P's music because I was not around in the Dirty Mind days? Am I guilty for not having been born in the Dirty Mind days?

I thank God I got into Prince thru a friend a couple of years ago, and I am still discovering his music now. The joy I feel listening to his records and his music...I can't explain. Why would I want to take that feeling away from anyone? Au contraire, I want the world to discover Prince (those who weren't around back then, or re-discover him those who got lost in the way) and feel the same way I do.

Bottom line, I want Prince to get back to the spotlight (only if it does not affect his music) and get the recognition he deserves. 2004 is the year, he's got everything to make a comeback, it's now or never.

DaIllest said:

No one is saying that young fans wo were not around for the pre Purple Rain era shuld be deprived. I am not saying that the return to the mainstream is not good. I simply remember how good it was then for fans like me.

Where are the people that filled the arenas on the PR tour now? THe bangwagon stopped and they got off. Ask them wat Princ eis doing and they might recall the most beatuful girl in the world single - most will only recall PR. Its all good. I am simply pointing out the fond memories of those that were there from the beginning and never left. The good ol days, I suppose. All come and get back on the Prince bandwagon when it comes to your town - but when he doesnt curse or strip or grind the brass bed or jack off the guitar or do splits, we will see who is really left on the wagon.

DaIllest said:

That's a damn good point you make here...

Being a fan of P for about 20-plus years now, I can remember the days when "discovering" his music was so liberating...kind of like finding a 50 dollar bill on the street. Knowing that it once had belonged to someone else, but it's yours now, and you were free to do with it what you wished. That's what I liken this ride to...

I believe no one was ever in it from "the beginning" literally, but have been in it from THEIR beginning!! Byt that, I mean that everyone found Prince when they needed to, and when they were SUPPOSED to. I don't believe that anyone was ever a "bandwagon" fan. They became enamoured with P's music, and simply didn't need it anymore when they "jumped ship" as someone put it. For me, I've been through too much in my life that has some attachment to how Prince's music helped me through it, and that doesn't not allow me to simply lose interest. I'm what they call a "lifer", no matter if he's in the mainstream or not.

But, I can acknowledge and appreciate peoples desire for him to be "mainstream" again. I believe that they only want others to experience the joy they have had listening to the music...whether it's on MTV...the radio...or in their own personal CD players. There is nothing like the excitement of watching other people's reaction to Prince for the first time. Seeing them fall in love with it is what I believe the importance of P becoming popular again means.

Just my 2 cents.

Strike

ThirdStrike said:

ok, but you mean to say that you have not seen people post in this site that they dug Prince in the 80s after seeing Purple Rain and MTV and then ditched him in the 90s when the hits were fewer, the mainstream exposure went down, and he went independent? Of course there are bandwagon fans. There always has been for every artist. Some people listen and buy top 40 adn radio material only. THat is why it is the primary marketing channel for music today.

Why doesnt he sell the units and fill the stadiums as he once did? Because a good number of those people that were there for PR are not there anymore. They move on to whatever is popular on the radio now. Prince has addressed this very subject onstage and in interviews.

And the beginning is the For You album and the Soft n Wet single. For most of the world that didnt hear of him in Mpls when he was playing proms and little nightclubs, there is a distinct beginning. As it is with every artist: the first record releaed to the public. I am old enough to have bought that album when it was released so I consider myself a fan from the beginning.
[This message was edited Wed Mar 3 13:00:18 2004 by NPGLOVER]