independent and unofficial
Prince fan community
Welcome! Sign up or enter username and password to remember me
Forum jump
Forums > Prince: Music and More > Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince now in paperback
« Previous topic  Next topic »
Page 1 of 6 123456>

This is a "featured" topic! — From here you can jump to the « previous or next » featured topic.

  New topic   Printable     (Log in to 'subscribe' to this topic)
Author

Tweet     Share

Message
Thread started 04/29/04 8:44am

AlexHahn

Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince now in paperback

This full-scale biography of Prince created quite a stir on the org and among Prince fans when it was released in hardcover, and it's just been released in paperback. I've also made changes to my website, www.princepossessed.com, including comments about what Prince's 2004 comeback means for Possessed. The book is now in stores and also available on amazon.com and bn.com.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #1 posted 04/29/04 9:04am

Ronny

Alex,

i wonder if you've read some of the less than positive reviews of your book? A lot of reviews question your sources. The opening situation you describe in the book is particularly questioned.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #2 posted 04/29/04 9:08am

BinaryJustin

Alex,

I clicked on the link to your website and it appears to be down.

Is the address correct?

Thanks,

Justin.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #3 posted 04/29/04 9:09am

Darla

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #4 posted 04/29/04 9:16am

Anxiety

I just read the update on Alex Hahn's site...at least the dude isn't biased. lol
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #5 posted 04/29/04 9:17am

TheBluePrince

avatar

If Prince's 'return' 'comeback' 'resurface' (whatever you wanna call it) was predicted by the author. I believe it would have totally changed the dynamics of the text extensively, even down to the very title of the book. To call it "The Rise and Fall..." surely implies a decline in his career (which has been debated here). Because of Prince's 'commercial' return, it kinda ruins the credibility of the text down to the title of it.

I guess what I'm saying is; Prince is getting the last laugh, all while doing such incredible things in the media nowadays that kinda says "Fuck you!" to all the critics, haters, supposed victims, and bitter ex-associates.

just my couple of cents peace
Blue music
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #6 posted 04/29/04 9:20am

JediMaster

avatar

TheBluePrince said:

If Prince's 'return' 'comeback' 'resurface' (whatever you wanna call it) was predicted by the author. I believe it would have totally changed the dynamics of the text extensively, even down to the very title of the book. To call it "The Rise and Fall..." surely implies a decline in his career (which has been debated here). Because of Prince's 'commercial' return, it kinda ruins the credibility of the text down to the title of it.

I guess what I'm saying is; Prince is getting the last laugh, all while doing such incredible things in the media nowadays that kinda says "Fuck you!" to all the critics, haters, supposed victims, and bitter ex-associates.

just my couple of cents peace


True, except Prince is probably saying "duck you"
jedi

Do not hurry yourself in your spirit to become offended, for the taking of offense is what rests in the bosom of the stupid ones. (Ecclesiastes 7:9)
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #7 posted 04/29/04 9:27am

Anxiety

I think it's a shame that with so much that can be explored in Prince's life and career lately - the whole comeback zeitgeist, the goings-on at NPGMC, Prince's move to Canada, the alleged smoothing-over of his feud with WB - Hahn chooses instead to complain about how P is getting more conservative and likes to write "boring songs about monogamy" (which he was doin' over a decade ago, if ya think about it - check out the b-side of 'Scandalous').

If I had his resources and potential audience and gave two shits about writing an interesting Prince biography, I'd hope I'd get over my own petty opinions and get to the meat.

But that's just me. shrug
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #8 posted 04/29/04 9:32am

tricky99

avatar

I guess since his profile is higher. U will take the oppurtunity to try and make some more money of the "fallin" superstar. Well i'm not buying your book. Even your lil appendum on the current "rise" of prince is self-serving. So Prince should sing "head" even though he no longer has the same moral views he once had? How stupid is that? If u had any respect for Prince as a man u would not want him to do things that go against his moral views whether u agree with those views or not. I guess for u his entertaining u is more important than his staying true to his beliefs. Pretty selfish of u. If u can't see TRC or N.E.W.S as Prince pushing his musical envelope regardless of whether u like the music or not u really are not really listening objectively. There is absolutely nothing in his prior catalog that prepares one for the totality of what TRC or NEWS presents. That sir is growth. Its just a shame u can't get oustide of your own musical prejudices to hear it. Hopefully in the future a more objective biographer will approach Prince and his work without resorting to narrow adjectives like "rise" and "fall".
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #9 posted 04/29/04 9:34am

NuPwrSoul

Anxiety said:

I think it's a shame that with so much that can be explored in Prince's life and career lately - the whole comeback zeitgeist, the goings-on at NPGMC, Prince's move to Canada, the alleged smoothing-over of his feud with WB - Hahn chooses instead to complain about how P is getting more conservative and likes to write "boring songs about monogamy" (which he was doin' over a decade ago, if ya think about it - check out the b-side of 'Scandalous').

If I had his resources and potential audience and gave two shits about writing an interesting Prince biography, I'd hope I'd get over my own petty opinions and get to the meat.

But that's just me. shrug


yup. "The Fall"? That shit was crazy when it came out, and now it is laughable.

He needs to tack on the word "Fan" at the end of the title cuz that's what his book is about.

Like tricky said... I guess you gonna do your very best to ride Prince's re-rise as much as you can. rolleyes
"That...magic, the start of something revolutionary-the Minneapolis Sound, we should cherish it and not punish prince for not being able to replicate it."-Dreamshaman32
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #10 posted 04/29/04 9:35am

Case

I wrote a review of Possessed for the Metro Times in Detroit. Like Hahn, I was also very disillusioned with Prince's career...but even more disillusioned with the fact that a hack like Hahn has found such extensive work as a journalist. He misspells names, gets facts wrong...and REALLY stumbles when he tries to play music critic.

Alex, baby, I hate to be a prick...but Possessed really made you look bad.


WOW. I just did my first "flaming" ever. And Ive been an Orger since 96!
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #11 posted 04/29/04 9:36am

JC

avatar

AlexHahn said:

This full-scale biography of Prince created quite a stir on the org and among Prince fans when it was released in hardcover, and it's just been released in paperback. I've also made changes to my website, www.princepossessed.com, including comments about what Prince's 2004 comeback means for Possessed. The book is now in stores and also available on amazon.com and bn.com.

surprisingly
no
lyrical
response
to
the
book
in
Musicology
hmmm
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #12 posted 04/29/04 9:45am

Anxiety

I don't want to blast the guy completely - I mean, kudos to him for getting a book published and all - but it's frustrating to see someone who seems very clearly to be a fan, yet can't get over his own "issues" with Prince's direction enough to focus on researching what could be some very interesting, rarely-explored topics. He wants more dirty words and experimentation - great, so do a lot of us - but in the meantime, there's a lot going on and it's not for nothin'.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #13 posted 04/29/04 9:47am

BinaryJustin

Well, I've read some excerpts now and it seems interesting...

I don't have any problem with the book's title if it encompasses the period from Purple Rain to early 2000s. It was a rise and fall. Wasn't it?
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #14 posted 04/29/04 10:04am

madartista

avatar

BinaryJustin said:

Well, I've read some excerpts now and it seems interesting...

I don't have any problem with the book's title if it encompasses the period from Purple Rain to early 2000s. It was a rise and fall. Wasn't it?


I agree. There would be no talk of a "comeback" had there not been a fall out of the mainstream. It's marketing. Big deal. I read the book, and I thought there was a lot of interesting information. I also understand there are 671 viewpoints to every story, and take that into account when reading any biography.
let me come over it's a beautiful day to play with you in the dark
http://elmadartista.tumblr.com/
http://twitter.com/madartista
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #15 posted 04/29/04 10:13am

AlexHahn

I wrote a book that stirs up opinions, and that's fine...I'm used to getting slammed on prince.org, but just to add a little balance, let's recall that the Chicago Sun-Times praised it as the best Prince biography yet....The Village Voice said "An up-to-the-minute biography superior to Dave Hill's 1989 Prince: A Pop Life for its eyewitness accounts."

And as far as how fans have greeted it, here's a post on amazon.com:

"As a hardcore Prince fanatic I was ready to see a halfbaked hatchet job with this book (as other titles have been), but it is EXCELLENT. It is thorough, fact driven, and a pageturner, and NOT a National Enquirer bull**** gossip book."

And another one: "This is a great book for music/entertainment junkies and manages to be truthful, a bit gossipy but never sinks to the level of tabloid trash. A Good Read for the diehard fan or the casual admirer."

And another: "If you're a devoted, got-everything, member-of-npg-online Prince fanatic, skip this book. It paints Prince as a fallible human being, and you don't want to hear that."

And this, from a Prince insider:

"This book hits things right on the nail. From someone who has personally been around the Prince Camp (1994-2001) as a fan and supporter with the hope that Prince would pull out of his self destructive pattern, this is the book to get."
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #16 posted 04/29/04 10:17am

Case

AlexHahn said:

I wrote a book that stirs up opinions, and that's fine...I'm used to getting slammed on prince.org, but just to add a little balance, let's recall that the Chicago Sun-Times praised it as the best Prince biography yet....The Village Voice said "An up-to-the-minute biography superior to Dave Hill's 1989 Prince: A Pop Life for its eyewitness accounts."

And as far as how fans have greeted it, here's a post on amazon.com:

"As a hardcore Prince fanatic I was ready to see a halfbaked hatchet job with this book (as other titles have been), but it is EXCELLENT. It is thorough, fact driven, and a pageturner, and NOT a National Enquirer bull**** gossip book."

And another one: "This is a great book for music/entertainment junkies and manages to be truthful, a bit gossipy but never sinks to the level of tabloid trash. A Good Read for the diehard fan or the casual admirer."

And another: "If you're a devoted, got-everything, member-of-npg-online Prince fanatic, skip this book. It paints Prince as a fallible human being, and you don't want to hear that."

And this, from a Prince insider:

"This book hits things right on the nail. From someone who has personally been around the Prince Camp (1994-2001) as a fan and supporter with the hope that Prince would pull out of his self destructive pattern, this is the book to get."


Ah...but theres STILL no excuse for misspelling Cyndi Lauper's name, saying "Hits 2" doesn't include "Kiss" and calling "He's So Dull" "SHE'S so Dull."
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #17 posted 04/29/04 10:21am

Anxiety

AlexHahn said:

I wrote a book that stirs up opinions, and that's fine...I'm used to getting slammed on prince.org, but just to add a little balance, let's recall that the Chicago Sun-Times praised it as the best Prince biography yet....The Village Voice said "An up-to-the-minute biography superior to Dave Hill's 1989 Prince: A Pop Life for its eyewitness accounts."


Have you posted this information on NPGMC yet? I'd be interested to see what the response from that site and its members would be....
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #18 posted 04/29/04 10:23am

madartista

avatar

Anxiety said:

AlexHahn said:

I wrote a book that stirs up opinions, and that's fine...I'm used to getting slammed on prince.org, but just to add a little balance, let's recall that the Chicago Sun-Times praised it as the best Prince biography yet....The Village Voice said "An up-to-the-minute biography superior to Dave Hill's 1989 Prince: A Pop Life for its eyewitness accounts."


Have you posted this information on NPGMC yet? I'd be interested to see what the response from that site and its members would be....


some of the posts on this thread make it seem like this is NPGMC.
let me come over it's a beautiful day to play with you in the dark
http://elmadartista.tumblr.com/
http://twitter.com/madartista
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #19 posted 04/29/04 10:35am

Anxiety

madartista said:



some of the posts on this thread make it seem like this is NPGMC.


Nah, this thread would have been deleted by now. wink
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #20 posted 04/29/04 10:35am

Handclapsfinga
snapz

NuPwrSoul said:

Anxiety said:

I think it's a shame that with so much that can be explored in Prince's life and career lately - the whole comeback zeitgeist, the goings-on at NPGMC, Prince's move to Canada, the alleged smoothing-over of his feud with WB - Hahn chooses instead to complain about how P is getting more conservative and likes to write "boring songs about monogamy" (which he was doin' over a decade ago, if ya think about it - check out the b-side of 'Scandalous').

If I had his resources and potential audience and gave two shits about writing an interesting Prince biography, I'd hope I'd get over my own petty opinions and get to the meat.

But that's just me. shrug


yup. "The Fall"? That shit was crazy when it came out, and now it is laughable.

He needs to tack on the word "Fan" at the end of the title cuz that's what his book is about.

Like tricky said... I guess you gonna do your very best to ride Prince's re-rise as much as you can. rolleyes

amen.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #21 posted 04/29/04 10:36am

Handclapsfinga
snapz

Anxiety said:

madartista said:



some of the posts on this thread make it seem like this is NPGMC.


Nah, this thread would have been deleted by now. wink

falloff
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #22 posted 04/29/04 10:39am

AlexHahn

I had to chuckle when I noticed that this point -- "If I had his resources and potential audience and gave two shits about writing an interesting Prince biography, I'd hope I'd get over my own petty opinions and get to the meat" -- was made by the MODERATOR! I'm swimming upstream when even the moderators are accusing me of having "petty opinions." biggrin
[This message was edited Thu Apr 29 10:40:40 2004 by AlexHahn]
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #23 posted 04/29/04 10:44am

madartista

avatar

Anxiety said:

madartista said:



some of the posts on this thread make it seem like this is NPGMC.


Nah, this thread would have been deleted by now. wink


yeah, that part is true.
let me come over it's a beautiful day to play with you in the dark
http://elmadartista.tumblr.com/
http://twitter.com/madartista
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #24 posted 04/29/04 10:45am

Anxiety

AlexHahn said:

I had to chuckle when I noticed that this point -- "If I had his resources and potential audience and gave two shits about writing an interesting Prince biography, I'd hope I'd get over my own petty opinions and get to the meat" -- was made by the MODERATOR! I'm swimming upstream when even the moderators are accusing me of having "petty opinions. biggrin


I'm not "accusing" - I'm just stating an opinion. As a moderator, I welcome you or anyone who has something to share, and I am pleased to feature your book on the org's homepage for people who are interested in getting a copy. As a member of this site and a fellow writer, I have absolutely no qualms with stating my opinions about what you've written, just as I'd hope others would take on the same balance of support and criticism with my writing.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #25 posted 04/29/04 10:46am

Handclapsfinga
snapz

mr. hahn, i just got done goin through all the reviews of your book over on amazon.com...seems like there's some rather negative stuff bein said on it as well.

hmm
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #26 posted 04/29/04 10:52am

laylow03

post deleted
[This message was edited Thu Apr 29 10:56:48 2004 by laylow03]
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #27 posted 04/29/04 10:55am

Case

Exactly. A biography CAN'T have a bias or a score to settle...otherwise it doesn't count as a bio. You CAN criticize and still be objective---Chris Andersen's bio's always do this.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #28 posted 04/29/04 10:59am

BinaryJustin



Calm down! Its only a book!

We can be civil, can't we?
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #29 posted 04/29/04 11:02am

PaisleyPark

AlexHahn said:

And another: "If you're a devoted, got-everything, member-of-npg-online Prince fanatic, skip this book.
It paints Prince as a fallible human being, and you don't want to hear that."


I agree with that, i think there's an interesting look into his life as a human being.
I really believe there is a very tragic, sad and lonely side to his person and the
complications and turmoil of relationships did influence his career in a negative
way. I can't help but finding there's a whole lotta truth in there.

I find Prince a sublime artist but i don't think i want to know him as a friend.
neutral
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Page 1 of 6 123456>
  New topic   Printable     (Log in to 'subscribe' to this topic)

This is a "featured" topic! — From here you can jump to the « previous or next » featured topic.

« Previous topic  Next topic »
Forums > Prince: Music and More > Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince now in paperback