Should he be?

love

He should be as much as he can if he claims he is. 100% objective is practically impossible however.

Is Per Nilsen entirely objective in his writing on Prince? No.

However, he appears to research meticulously, presenting information carefully and intelligently. He generally expresses his opinions supported by good factual examples, or where good supporting examples are readily apparent with only a little knowledge and thought.

Should he be objective? That's up to him. Personally, I favour his approach.

I actually thought per's book was in some ways the best I ever read on Prince. Like the european guy who did a great couple books on Elvis's work, Per didn't seemed obsessed by the stardom like most english or american journalists. the focus was more on the work and the process it took to create it. I liked it. Poplife is a book by dave hill, probably way out of print but that was just as good in a lot of ways.
After reading per's book I commented to my best friend and prince fan that we were lucky to have such great biographies about prince. He is not old or dead yet. Most great men have way more garbage bios than excellent ones like these two. I think part of this is that the author's of these two works were not totally in awe of their subject. I can't think of anyone else who had these kind of books written at his stage in their lives. Elvis had nothing virtually till he died and it took nearly 20 years for a definitive book to come out on him. It was a lot easier to come out with garbage during that time. So I say, Prince watchers are lucky to have these great books about him.

I have a great deal of respect for Per .I hope he is writing a follow up to DSMR because that book is the BEST Prince book written.

ANJI!!!! Hey you!!!

I think Per's coverage can get a little forced in terms of criticism and balance, and sometimes his interpretations of lyrics can be a little awkward and overly-literal-minded.

Aside from that, I think he's pretty meticulous. From my dealings with him in the past, I find him to be a very open-minded, enthusiastic, and genuinely nice guy. If he fails to be objective at the end of the day, it's not for lack of sincere intentions.









per edit
[This message was edited Thu Mar 4 17:39:07 2004 by Anxiety]

There is no such thing as NOT being objective. All everyone says or does and why is a reflection of who they are.

scififilmnerd said:

Good point.

Apparently his new book comes out in May. Or is this a new edition of an older book?
[This message was edited Thu Mar 4 17:46:12 2004 by freakebear]

Extremely talented writer, well researched and very enjoyable to read...however....he often states opinions as fact, saying this or that is weak when many people would disagree. I guess anyone who spends their life writing about an artist will have strong opinions, I just wish it was stated that way and not as a matter of fact, which I often feel he's doing in DMSR. But yes, it's still by far and away the BEST PRINCE BOOK out there...(uh, in my opinion)...

I particularly like the behind the scenes stuff with Prince's studio helper and very loyal employee, (susan rogers? I should have bought this book.) The times where prince seems childlike vulnerable and insecure and say's "you don't believe in me anymore" is a statement about as human as you can get from Prince and with all the aura of his genius, something i've never gotten from any other Prince book. Also, the revelations on his drug taking and drinking, Prince maintained for years that he was anti-drug, and didn't even drink coffee. for whatever reason he wanted this as his public image and I bought it until Per's book. I argued with my best friend that you don't have to be a druggie to right the way out lyrics that Prince came up with, but this book proves him right. It's ok, brings Prince down to the level of human which is nice.

freakebear said:

Just a new edition - not a new book

Per has said many times that there will not be a DMSR 2 - The second decade due to time and cost.

Do you think Per still likes Prince? Do you think he understands him?

love

Can anyone who says "All My Dreams could have easily fitted Parade and it's hard to see why it was left out" be seen as objective?

Anji said:

Does anyone understand themself, let alone someone else?

Anji said:

I doubt anyone understands Prince, he said as much in I would die for you,"I'm not your woman, I'm not your man etc.." But is think that is why people like prince, the contradictions mirrors contradictions in themselves. All I can say is that this book was the best I'd read on Prince, doesn't mean he understands the guy at all or that I agree with everything in it. It's the most credible and for us adults who really have limited time to keep up with him anymore, it's nice to play catchup with a book like this.
Takes years to get to know anyone and what makes them tick, in my experience, so know he doesn't know him much better than any of us, still you can take some of the anectdotes and get a good idea of where he's coming from.

scififilmnerd said:

True, but on the flip side there is always subjectivity to go along with it.

I wouldn't want a 100% objective book. Reporters should be as objective as they can be but a book is supposed to engage you so the same shouldn't be required.

In the end all that matters is whether it rings true to you. Personally, I liked Dance, Music, Sex, Romance. Now, Hahn is another story.

Anji said:

I haven't a clue.


I think Per Nilsen has tried to present an understanding of Prince's musical career, based on the information and opinions he has gathered from people who have known and worked with Prince. Beyond that, I don't think he's claimed to understand Prince.
.

whodknee said:

Uh... Actually, I MEANT to say "there is no such thing as being objective."

Anyways... I liked both Hahn & Nielsen's book, although personally I would have preferred more focus on his personal relationships with bandmembers and such. For instance, it is hinted at in Hahn's book that there was some kind of problem with Boni Boyer, but it doesn't say what it was. Which is maddening, because it makes ya wonder.

Anji said:

I share the opinion that nobody truly understands Prince. Sometimes I wonder if he understands himself. But then, does anybody, really?

I think that Per - like the rest of us - has his favorite Prince period(s) that he still likes, yes.

scififilmnerd said:

Yes, I remember that, why lead someone on like that and not explain. Per said he didn't want a problem like he had with Boni and then didn't say shit. You know dead people should have the respect of at least putting more of the story in there as they cant defend themselves.

I wonder if his sources are really trustworthy. I wish they were. Per does a very nice job providing lots of info about Prince´s recordings and concerts, which is a great thing for us.
Reading about the Black Album, I noticed that Prince is credited fr several bass tracks including the bass solo on ´2nigs united´. I was always wondering if it was reall Prince or Levi, because the slap bass on that album reminds me too much of Levi. And the solo is kind of similar to the SOTT video.
Can somebody help me with some info?
Thanks

mozfonky said:

Even Han's book hinted about Boni's problem but it didn't explain.

I used to like Han's book but I'm starting to resent it now becoz of the simple fact that Han rambles and more focused on the negative side of Prince's storied and never eknowledged any of Prince's positive stories. Plus, some of the stuff in there are gossip-oriented. Insiders quotes are more than the rest which I kinda understand since he wants to spice up somethings

Harlepolis said:

Hahn's book wasn't horrible but their were several things that made the book less credible, simple facts in it were gotten wrong, seems as if it weren't edited properly, but the biggest two things were you knew he had an axe to grind because of his involvement with the legal thing against prince or vice versa whatever it was. Also, the pic of the author in the back did not look like a business like author photo but some sissified, vain image of some fruitcake. On the plus side, there were a few revelations in the book and I like the length, it was a big project, with something like that you can always use your own judgement to seperate the wheat from the chaff.

Do you think Per had idolised Prince at any stage? Do you think he was hurt when Prince sued his business?

love

Anji said:

I haven't a clue.


The UPTOWN press release of May 21 1999 included a statement from Lars O. Einharsson, co-founder and Editor-in-chief, stating that UPTOWN staff members - which includes Per Nilsen - remained 'strong admirers of Prince's music' but they were 'upset about the lawsuit'.

.

Anji said:

But, of course. I think that the reason Per wrote his books was out of admiration and love for his subject. He intended to enlighten both himself and his fellow fans. Everyone benefits - even Prince, because if not for those retrospective insights Per provided us, I think a lot of us would have drifted completely away from Prince years ago. Certainly, I have lost interest in Prince quite a few times in recent years - then I read DMSR and my interest got rekindled. Then I read Hahn's book and my interest got rekindled to the point where I actually joined the Org.

Really. Where is the harm? Like those things were ever intended to make a profit. What, does anyone honestly believe DMSR made Per filthy rich or something?

I think Prince did wrong in suing, rather than appreciating that someone actually cared enough about him to thoroughly research his work. If somebody wrote a book about me and the comics I've created, I would have felt honored. If some facts had been presented wrong I would have been amused. After all, if I wanted every fact and story straight, I could have just provided the author with the information, right?

As for whether Per has downright idolized Prince, I'd say only Per can answer that question.

Anji said:

why is grass green
why is the sky blue
what's the fastest animal on the planet
what is the air speed velocity of a swallow (african)

.....any more questions ?!?!?!?!?!

Why do you think Prince sued Uptown?

love