Here we are in the middle of a flurry of Prince hype with a new tour and new album on the horizon. Prince is getting, arguably, the most mainstream exposure he has had since 1991.
Yet, it seems as if the hardcore "fans" can only bitch and moan about how "he's not doing it right." It's a twisted thing- loving/adoring Prince just as long as he fits into the parameters that you want him to.

Don't get me wrong, the 80's were a great time to be a Prince fan. I tend to think we over romaticize that era, but I will not argue that Prince was at his peak. However, even a brand new corvette has that new car smell only for so long. But that doesn't mean that the engine still isn't a killer or that the paint job doesn't still shine.

What I am saying is that Prince will never be as cutting edge and as groundbreaking as he once was. (What musician who lasts is?) Further more why does he need to be? What does he have to prove? The fact is, he is still the amazingly unique artist that he always has been. There is no one else like him. Yeah he dips into trends now and again, but at the core it is always Prince Music.( Some act like me invented synths in the 80's, but he borrowed a lot from New Wave.) It was always, and still is, Prince music. If you want the originality of the 1980-1988 the go and listen to those albums. They rock. If you want the slimmed down NPG of 1995 then listen to those albums. If you want to go see one of the most dynamic talents in music ever go see the Musicology tour.

The engine of the Corvette is still running fierce , and the red paint job is still shining.

like this statement isn't feedin into the very negativity you speak against....

Good point about synths and new wave. Very big influence on his music but rarely recognised.

he certainly has nothing to prove! but when looking for innovative NEW grooves we look to Prince - in hopes of fulfilling our craving . . .that's all. i'm always playing the older albums!!! always . . . BUT at the same time - i'm hyped that he might just knock us off our seats again . . . regardless what he's doing . . . he's appreciated, even if there's whining going on about it! he's the baddest, no denying!!

I do agree with you. I have not been this excited over Prince in years...it's just so great to see him on TV and watching him get couch time with the talk show hosts. He looks great, he seems very happy and I think it's great that he is reminding people of who he is by playing different songs on different appearances.

After Ellen yesterday I got a couple of calls asking me if "Prince really wrote 'I Feel 4 U' and 'Nothing Compares'"...these are friends who at a time could not stand to listen to me yap about P all day long and are now interested in hearing me RE-EDUCATE them. I have been getting the last laugh all month long and it's not going to stop anytime soon!

I know many here have so many different opinions and I love that we can all share our thoughts...but you all have to admit...this is a great time to be a Prince fan...and if he has to lure old fans in by playing "Kiss" so be it...Prince knows excatly what he is doing.

Finally, I agree about the band. They are seriously the tightest band he's ever had. I cannot wait to see MUSICOLOGY. I missed that last 2 tours (ONA and Hit N Run) due to unexpected circumstances and I sho aint gon miss this tour. I will wear my fanaticism on my sleeve and wear it proudly!

Seriously...I think this is the longest post I've ever written! Looks like after 2 years my ass is finally opening up more!

Peace!

I think there's been less "bitching and moaning" about Prince recently than there has been in a long time. Which I guess is unfortunate for the people who enjoy complaining about the complainers, because now they have to find something new to complain about.

The weather's always a good topic for complaining...it's a shitty day where I am today, what about you?

skywalker said:

Oh... Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Nina Simone and others - who have lived/are living relatively full lives while continuously maintaining arguably cutting edge integrity

skywalker said:

Some people can't or won't realise this.

Sadly enough, Prince will always get the constant criticism from his fans. They just can't grasp the reality that once you've hit the mountaintop ain't no place else to go but down. It's happened to Bowie, Stevie Wonder, The Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, etc. However, their fans seem to enjoy the classic material and seek the innovation elsewhere without making comments like Prince sucks now because 'blah blah blah' . Like Anxiety said, there hasn't been a whole lot of complaining except for one EvilWhite individual who shall remain nameless. But in general, at least for the org, there hasn't been much disdain.

stop the negativity=stop voicing opinions=repression of opinions and thoughts=communism.

are you a communist? if not, let people think and say what they like, just as you think and say what you like.

ConsciousContact said:

Familiarality breeds contempt.

in the case of Prince, this seems to go double round here.

i don't think the majority of us are complaining because we want him to be groundbreaking or cutting edge. just put out some decent music already. i buy everything because i want to continue to support him. but damn. it'a been a real long time since i bought something i played more than once or twice.

Ah SHUDDUP...this is just so....you....COME.

theblueangel said:

Hey you sexy hunk of man you.

pimpdoutt said:

out of curiosity, why do you feel an obligation to support him? If you don't like what you hear, then why buy it? There's plenty of "decent" music elsewhere if you're willing to look for it.
[This message was edited Thu Mar 4 13:23:28 2004 by psykosoul]

This whole discussion is so played out. Complainers are gonna complain, complainers-squared are gonna complain about the complainers, and 2the9s is gonna think everyone is talking about him. And so on and so on. And shoo-bee-doo-bee-doo-bee.

Anxiety said:

But it's fun

psykosoul said:

Like a blood clot.

i wasn't really around in the 80s. i'm 18 and have been a fan for two years.

all i can say is that i'm so dissapointed in prince trying to be mainstream again. the reason i got into prince was because of the rainbow children. i saw him as an independent artist who plays amazing music and no longer care if people know what his doing as long as his doing something new.

my whole perspective of prince has now become distorted. i mean he played kiss on a cheezy american talk show. what happened to the musician?????

monte said:

Kid, relax. What do you think Prince does to make a living? An artist has to promote his/her work to make $$$ to spend $$$ to make more art. Personally I like seeing him on TV doin' his thing. However, you want a musician who is not commerial at all then Prince is not for you. If you'd have been around in the 80's(or even the 90's) you would have seen that a big part of Prince is about the showmanship and the image to compliment and promote the music. Hell, he did the Batman album!!!! Also, he has been on Leno 4 times now-2 of those times doing "Rainbow Children" material so I think your image of Prince may have been distorted to begin with. Cheesy American TV show??? Not a first. Oprah, Arsenio, Letterman, Vibe, Solid Gold, Soul Train, American Band Stand, Saturday Night Live,The Today Show,etc.

Again relax and enjoy the music-it's still amazing and Prince still does his own thing more so than most "musicians" out there.

Mutiny04 said:

so true