Permanent record
The 331/3 series serves up books of vinyl love.

By Jimmy Draper

'Sign o' the Times,' by Michaelangelo Matos

There are certainly easier Prince cornerstones to tackle than Sign o' the Times; 1999 and Purple Rain, debatably better albums with more subtext than the 1987 issue, have, however, already received mountains of coverage over the years. Refreshingly, Michaelangelo Matos's gift is to confound his readers, forcing them to rethink '80s pop politics without getting overly political. To that end, Sign is a profound unearthing of the decade's irony – its unwitting reflection on the '60s; how Sign, despite its reliance on electronics, turned Prince into a rock star – and an examination of pop as art.

Whereas most of us had an older sibling as a musical mentor, Matos had his mom. And she proves to be a consciously cool influence on her son, only 15 years her junior, as she chastises him for wanting Billy Crystal's Mahvelous! with a terse "Get a real album." But as much as Matos contextualizes Sign in his poor Minneapolis upbringing, the book still provides criticism, bending from the album's initial clumsiness to its later-discovered flow. Matos critiques from two standpoints – the 13-year-old kid and the 29-year-old Rolling Stone contributor and Seattle Weekly editor – with a pure love for Sign and for pop music in general. Rather than becoming an energy-draining exegesis, his exploration breathes unexpected life into the record. It's inspired me to drop into Amoeba Music and retaste Sign too. (Ken Taylor)

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ThePurplePeopleEater said:

What part of 'Mo' Reviews' don't you understand?