When you are younger, you are easier to impress.

Think about it. How old were you when "purple rain" hit? A young adult? A teenager? Just a kid? When you become an adult people tend to become more cynical. When you are younger everything seems more fresh, more magical, and it has a bigger impact/influence on you.
For many of us Prince's albums were the soundtrack to our lives and that is something no new album he ever creates can compete with.

Let me put it this way- If you were 13 years old and your 1st concert and 1st Prince album was "Musicology" would you like it better than "Purple Rain"? I am a teacher and all of my teenage students really dig "Musicology", and they will argue with me to the death about how it's better than what they call "cheesy 80's sounding 1999 or Purple Rain". Now do I take offense to that? No. I understand it. "Musicology" is their "Purple Rain" it is their "Diamonds and Pearls."

Obviously "Musicology" hits me differently those albums. Your response to anything, an album especially, is shaded by your previous life experiences. A lot of people tend to forget that when they offer up their critique on music.

why?....because time tells.....

That's a very interesting view that I believe is very true! When someone is young he is still very impressionable, when you're older you are like "I've seen this all before". Thanks for sharing, Skywalker!

What's to admit - it's all about personal opinion.

You think Musicology is orgasm-inducing? - GREAT!

I think it ranks WAYYYYY down the list of Prince albums, it's treading water, heard it all before, doesn't make me feel like wanting to listen to it when there is so much more great music I'm digging at the moment.

Is that Prince-hating? No, it's just my opinion about an the album.

Like the saying goes - Opinions are like ass-holes, everybody has one.

NouveauDance said:

word

I think we're missing Skywalker's point, though, and spending a lot of time ranking and prioritizing.

YES, it's all personal opinion. And I NEVER think of any of you as "Prince-hating." If you hate Prince and you're spending time on a message board with people with potentially unhealthy addictions to Prince, you've got to be even more screwed up than we are! We are, each in our own way, "Prince experts"...constantly recommending to each other what he does right and wrong at every turn, each one of us cheering him on to return to a "standard" that is, frankly, different for each of us and based solely on whatever period we consider to be his best.

Bravo on an interesting and intelligent observation and post, Skywalker!

Keith/Kacey

skywalker said:

I definitely agree with your logic.

Very good observation. I would also argue that with each new Prince song/album we become a little more jaded. Which is a natural phenomenon that sits outside of the quality of the music. Some of u go on and on about all the other great music u are listening to that u find more relavent than prince. However if this music is "new" that in itself gives it a leg up on someone u are very familar with. Think how often in a relationship u can become complacent with the person u are with (no matter how attractive or what not) and find yourself attracted to someone else who isn't even as attractive but are "new" to u. To act as if this doesn't come into play in your perception of Prince's music is to be unrealistic.

now, i like musicology but...let's not get carried away. i don't know if you are suggesting that musicology is p's best but if you are...stop. sike, i'm just playin'. if you dig it that much that is great!

Time upon a once, when Rave came out people were totally raving about it, and now what?

Get it? Got it? Good!

I see your point. People are hell bent on P doing another "Purple Rain" or "SOTT" and that's so unfair to P. No Musicology is not his greatest, but not his worst. I just don't think people realize that artists got to keep changing and growing. I was like 14 when PR came out and it was great for that time period. But honestly at 34, I don't want to hear another PR if my life depended on it. It's nice to hear some nice and refreshing...

I think its a great album, 1 of his best


but i've only listened 2 12 albums so what would i know

andykeen said:

Your opinion might change once you've listened to all of his albums.

...nice little avvie you've got there by the way.

r1ghteousone said:[quote]

andykeen said:

Your opinion might change once you've listened to all of his albums.
quote]

I've been keeping pace with his albums since '89 (I was 13 at the time), and I've got to put Musicology in the top 5...maybe even top 3.

the point of the post (to me) wasnt baout how good the album is or is not. its how to a youth the album will probably seem more magical. ie to the older fans 1999 is THE statement etc. but to the new youth musicology is great and the old stuff is just that, old, and thus out of date etc. its quite funny how panned musicology is by people on the org, but according to this guy, his students reckon prince has done a bang up job on creating a "current" album!

but what do they think of the song itself, musicology? surely they cant think thats new!

I'd like to know what young people think about this album as well. Most of us have a huge history of prince music that doesn't necessarily taint our judgement, but certainly makes it hard to be unbiased. Even harder for those of us that have heard the outtakes...in other words we know what he is capable of...STILL.

I like Musicology, but it is certainly not one of my favorites by a long shot. But I was sort of able to remove myself a bit and judge it on its own and with the current stuff that is out there...which it beats most...but not all. I can see his new disk as being special for someone young and without the history. It has all of the elements that make a good P disk...right down to the special effects and strange transitions between the songs.

I liked both the Slaughterhouse and CHocolate Invasion...and think that they are really the best he has done in a long time. Then again my perspective is that of one who had heard...what...just supercute...and got to hear all of these songs in their current arrangements...all at once. I was blown away. Where as those of you who had heard them being gradually released over a 2 year period...it's understandable that you would not get the same reaction as I and a few of my friends did.

history effects perspective most of the time.

I Understand. I have Always Had like a Real Thrill when Anticipating a NEW Prince album. I have Always been like well Now I am Playing his New Work all the Time. I happen to Love Musicology. It's Really Fresh and Young. I Loved Rainbow Children. When ATWIAD came out I thought...Wonderful. With Parade I said Masterpiece. Each and Every album even Better and More Exciting than the Last. And all New. I Like the Fact Prince Tries Alot of New Styles and Directions. I LOVe the SYMBOL album for All the Different Styles he Created. I Loved Emancipation cause he did Covers for the FIRST time... Being a Prince fan is Fun..Prince Always Creates the New. Prince is Fun. I Enjoy his Style and Maybe this is Why I feel So Deeply Emotional Around Him... Prince just ALWAYS Makes me Happy. Even when Crying it is Not of Sadness but of EXTREME JOY . He just well if you are one who Truly get's Involved with the Music well Prince just hits your G-Spot. Hits ya Nerves. Makes Ya Feel so Intense. It is Sex through Music and it is like a Spiritual /Sexual Release of Calm/Come... This is What Prince's Music Does to Me...The Music is the Best...It is Incredibly Sexy.. Going to a Prince Concert for me is a Real Turn-On . It's such a Great feeling. It's like havingIncredibly Great Sex. Prince is the Master who Plays All the RIGHT Chords and who Strokes it Like No Other Can!

I was about 7 in 85' & up unitl the year 2000, Purple Rain was all I knew. My first time seeing Prince live was at the MUSICOLOGY taping & I've heard not all, but more than 7 or 8 of Prince's albums & I think MUSICOLOGY is classic material. It can't be compared to his music from before, differerent era, different style, different type of Music, different everything, times change & so did Prince, and it's funny some songs on this album actually does pick up from his previous style. When Prince mentions '4 the true funk soldiers', I think he was talking about & dedicating this line to some of the loyal fans he can never seem to please one way or another. This new album is great for these times and the timing couldn't had been better & although I haven't heard all (again) to say it's his best, any album that has me on rewind & has songs that stays lingering on my mind that is so addicting to not just me, but MANY others, is an above average album that others artists & albums just cannot touch (especially) after all this time. This album reaches a point some haven't & I am comparing to other artists. Sometimes I think had the critics bashed the album all over the place, those who say it is bad, would've been saying it's good. Later on we might be seeing more & more type threads saying, 'Musicology is 'actually' a GREAT album'...you'll see. At this moment, I'm listening to '1999' for the first time & lovin' it JUST AS WELLll!!!
[This message was edited Wed May 5 19:12:22 2004 by Starmist7]

skywalker said:

then what would you say about those of us, like myself, who were either infants or toddlers when pr went down and p was in his main heyday?

your message isn't jivin too well cuz it don't cover everyone.

Musicology is not his best, but it is one of his better albums.

A solid **** album.

His very best albums don't need rating as they're all *****, eg Sign, Parade, Dirty Mind.

Not really. I became a fan in the first half of the 90s when I was still a teen. However, around the mid 90's and later I was already firmly understanding that his 80s output was far better than his current records.

But a good point nevertheless. Explains why I like "Chaos & Disorder" so much too. That for me was, well, sorta his prime as a personal influence in own my life.

I dont think it has anything to do with age or being impressionable.

I think for some fans who've been there since the beginning (it must seem like one hell of a long ride), it may be like this. The fans who picked up For You back in '78 and fell in love with the mans music may think that it was their youth that was guiding their love of the man and not the actual music. That they may have got caught up in the PR hysteria.

One thing you cant get away from is the fact that it is almost universally recognised in all kinds of music circles, by critics and fans alike, that Princes 80's stuff was far superior to his 90's & current work. It is a cliche almost, but like most of them, its only a cliche because its true.

Listening to Musicology, I don't hear any guitar solo that turns me on as much as that in say I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man. I dont hear any pop songs as good or as spunky as the likes of say When U Were Mine or Little Red Corvette. Whilst its got some great funky stuff on it, none of it compares to Head, Erotic City, A Love Bizarre or any of the amazing pop/funk he produced years back. No love songs that come close to Condition of the Heart of Nothing Compares 2 U. And I dont hear any slow jams that even compare with say Do Me Baby or Adore. I like Musicology. I think its a solid, varied, and accomplished album, and I DO think its worthy of the current praise its getting. However I fell I know music, and Prince music, enough to put together an informed opinon about his new stuff.

BTW some of his most recent & 90's records are among my favourites (One night alone, The Rainbow Children, The Truth, The Gold Experience), but none of these can oust the bulk of his 70's & 80's stuff from my record player for too long.

Novabreaker said:

Same here.

I became a fan in 1991, and soon gravitated towards the 80s work.

In fact my fandom probably peaked with Emancipation and New Power Soul, and the latter is the album that brings the most personal memories for me from that time in my life.

Those albums to New Power Soul were the albums that were FRESH out in my youth, but I still regard the 80s output as his best work as an artist.

I understand everyone has a personal opinion, and darn, they sure are entitled to it, but I find it hard to find the rationale when I hear that people say Musicology, or Emancipation, or Rave is amongst their top 3 Prince albums.

Opinion's vary through time. My personal top 25 of Prince albums changes from time to time. It depends on what mood I'm in, where I am, who I'm with, what I'm doing. Sometimes I'm in a Parade mood, or a Lovesexy mood and I'll spin those records numerous times. Then afterwards leave 'em untouched for months and months. But I'm not afraid to say that his work between 2001 and 2003 (The Rainbow Children, Xpectation and NEWS) is among the best he's ever recorded. Musicology is a good album, but I don't think it will hit my personal TOP10, not now, probably never. TOP 15? Yes sir.

I remember not liking SOTT when it first came out and I Didnt even buy lovesexy until 91 or so. now those are 2 of my favorites. I hated Batdance, now that song jams on my cd player all the time. Musicology is a good album, maybe 10 years from now i will consider it a great album. I do think it is one of his best since the early 90s, far better then Rave, but i still think his masterpiece is still out there and thats what keeps us coming back. We are just harder to please in our 30s than we were in our teens.