noflashagain said:

Totally relieved, especially after that line in the LA concert about "Close your mind. Open the Bible," the one sour note in an otherwise glorious show.

This whole ablum really makes me feel more comfortable with his politics. For the most part, he seems to have stuck the JW stuff on the backburner in favor of good ol' humanism.

The part about "ain't no sense in voting" (or whatever the exact lyric is) is far more offensive to me in 2004 than any of the preachiness has been for quite awhile. If we don't get Bush-Cheney out now, can you imagine the world we'll live in four years from now?

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The part about "ain't no sense in voting" (or whatever the exact lyric is) is far more offensive to me in 2004 than any of the preachiness has been for quite awhile. If we don't get Bush-Cheney out now, can you imagine the world we'll live in four years from now?

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I love Mr. Man... it's clever. Somebody (obviously someone who is uninformed) had the nerve to call Dear Mr. Man "album filler". Album filler??? you have to be kidding me! There's only 12 songs on Musicology, so why in the world would Prince need "filler" in the first place? It's obvious that each song was carefully selected to be included on the album... and with only 12 tracks selected, filler could not possibly have been an option. It's the lyrics that sets this song apart and makes it special.

Glad to see that other fans can recognize that.

Jarret said:

I think you're missing the meaning in the message.

Huh? Race vs. Avalanch - lyrically I'll take the attitude in Race any day. In fact, Avalanch is one Prince song I just can't listen to.

alandail said:

Why? Avalanche is among the best songs of his career, if you ask me. Is it the Abraham Lincoln line that bothers you? He WAS a racist, so what? I mean, I get his point, but as a white man it doesn't make me mad or upset...in fact, I thought it was thought-provoking. Of COURSE Abraham Lincoln was a racist by today's standards!!! The point being that African American figures in history are often glossed over while we have our children pay homage to old white men who weren't really good people, despite the good that they might have accomplished while in political office.

I don't know. I fucking ADORE that song. Definitely my favorite of that year...and Dear Mr. Man is SO wonderful to hear!! Great lyrics - who knew he had it in him? I'll admit, I sure didn't!

D-d-down with H-I-S-T-O-R-Y and all this BS propagandi
Keepin U from me and me from U as we grow
I don't wanna know (I don't wanna know)
Why those before us hated each other

I'd rather believe they never did
I'd rather believe (I'd rather, I'd rather believe)
That there's hope 4 a kid

He was not or never had been in favor
of setting r people free
if it wasn't 4 the 13th Amendment
we woulda been born in slavery
He was not or never had been in favor
of letting us vote so u c...
Abraham Lincoln was a racist

Huh? Race vs. Avalanch - lyrically I'll take the attitude in Race any day. In fact, Avalanch is one Prince song I just can't listen to.

psykosoul said:

I agree...Race is a beautiful and funky song. Avalanche is a bore about some dead President from 150 years ago. When is the song about Zachary Taylor or James Garfield going to come out? Prince can sing about whatever he wants, but most of us find Avalanche to be a drag.

Look at the contrast - the first song is positive - it's about everyone getting along. How does the second song fit in that context? The issue was far more complex than his lyrics suggest. Read through this

http://www.ashbrook.org/p...uelzo.html

And get a better perspective than Prince has given.

alandail said:

Thats pretty much the whole TRC album for me (pearls before swine is also a pleasant song...basically a big FU to everyone who went to the celebration and was a bit disturbed with the content)....thank god that chapter is over for now, although I suspect after this tour he could go back to his hating ways...

psykosoul said:

Exactly, he doesn't say "dont vote" etc , he says there is no use in voting because they are all the same. He is lamenting the fact that casting a vote will note chang a thing.

bkw said:

Which, I repeat, is a silly and dangerous thing to believe in 2004 in the United States. I'm not missing any "meanings" or "messages", thanks.

alandail said:

I see what you're saying about the positive and negative tones. But compare the delivery of the two songs:

'Race' an upbeat, poppy number with lyrics that are nostalgic of the utopia of the rose-colored view of Uptown where everybody roams free being who they want to be dancing in harmony...etc. Not saying there's anything wrong with the message, but he's been there done that with 'Uptown', 'Paisley Park', etc.. But the fact of the matter is that 10 years later after 'Race' was released we still don't get along as human. So there's really no specific "statement" he trying to make there.

But 'Avalanche', with the solemn tone of the piano and the melancholy vocals and the first verse actually gives one something to think about. Abraham Lincoln, the president who freed the slaves was a racist? That's a bold ass statement and it's broken down why he feels that way. So that one holds more weight with me than 'Race' because it seems thought provoking. In 'Avalanche' he actually sounds knowledgeable of that "B.S. Propogandi" he touched on in Race. As a result of those lyrics you obviously did some follow-up. Mission accomplished.
[This message was edited Wed Mar 31 21:04:12 2004 by psykosoul]

psykosoul said:

Right, but even after doing the followup, I still can't agree with the lyrics. And I prefer the lets find a way to utopia journey message. The "I have a dream" message. The more people you get motivated to just fix the problems and make things work, the better off everyone is. But sitting around complaining about stuff that happened before anyone here was born and pointing fingers of blame when the reality then was more complex than the simplistic view being presented suggests.

Jarret said:

I think you're missing the meaning in the message.

alandail said:

But you can't fix problems without knowing what caused them, can you?

Jarret said:

Well, if the political system works for you then great. But there are some folk out there with reasonable doubts about it. It's just refreshing to know that Prince is at least aware of current socio-economic problems.
[This message was edited Thu Apr 1 14:41:10 2004 by psykosoul]

i like the song. but what i don't like about it is the same thing i don't like about of his more political stuff, say, over the past 5 years or so.


it's all pop-politics, innuendos taken out of context, myth, or blanket statements. i often get the sense that he gets an idea in his head (usually someone putting it there) where with most people you could have a debate about the subject, and that particular detail/trivia may come up as part of an overall conversation, but with Prince it's all "i don't care what you say, THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT AND I CAN'T ENTERTAIN ANY OTHER OPINIONS OR OTHER IDEAS ON THE SUBJECT BECAUSE OF THIS ONE MINUTE DETAIL I'VE MANAGED TO WRAP MY BRAIN AROUND"... at which point in a conversation, the rest of the group would slowly back away and avoid.


and yeah, his political lyrics are often clever, but little else. even a surface examination of many of them will lead to the listener saying "yeah, that's a clever turn of phrase, but really makes no sense in context of that issue"

alandail said:

But you can't fix problems without knowing what caused them, can you?

psykosoul said:

You can have reasonable or major doubts about the political system, but it's still the one we've got. Would you rather try to change it or just hope it goes away?