squiddyren said:

but you're on a website dedicated to a pop star. sure, there are those with very eclectic tastes hanging about but for the most part you are going to run into folks who like pop music (and i'm including generic rnb in there since that is what most of pop music is these days).

i don't know why peeps are surprised by this. some of y'all forget prince is a pop star and not some obscure indie or folk rocker.

I was introduced to prince.org by tA, and the allure was all about music and what is to be learned...what I can learn from other people, and what other people can learn from me. If I make friends along the way, it becomes even more attractive.

For me, it isn't about the number of threads I start and/or how many people respond to them. It isn't about how popular I am - I got over worrying about that back in high school. And it definitely isn't about insulting other people's tastes in music....If I see a topic I am not interested in, I don't waste my time reading it.

Simply put: it is all about the music - any genre, artistic style, all cultures - and the personalities that go along with the art.

Honestly, I have not posted much lately for two reasons: I'm incredibly busy at work and at home, and I have found most of the threads lately to be rather boring....sorry to say.

Of course, I could step up the the plate and start one.....so part of the onus is on me, too.

NDRU said:

I've been there.

Stymie said:

I miss DavidEye.

heartbeatocean said:

David is not gone, he's SoulAlive.

Stymie said:

I know, I'm just kidding. I still miss DavidEye though.

heartbeatocean said:

I thought you were kidding but I haven't had my coffee yet so I'm not very fast today.

heartbeatocean said:

I have to be careful which discussions I get involved in. It's hard, because I want to comment, but I know where it's going to lead--nowhere good!

NDRU said:

I used to get rather emotional over the Madonna bashers, and then would conduct a boycott of the org. But I've learned to hold up my side of the argument or just avoid those threads.

But really, I like hearing unorthodox opinions so I hope people aren't afraid to speak up.

vainandy said:

That's one of the reasons I like 2 visit this site,
Vainandy,Soulalive and some others speak about songs I don't know or have 4gotten about or I never knew the title of the songs they mention.
Gives me the chance 2 check those songs out.

Also the discussions on older rock bands wich I never got 2 discus at the time they were famous because my friends weren't interested in those bands.

heartbeatocean said:

I think the thing is to realize this is NOT a Madonna, MJ or JJ fansite; it's more general than that, so if you can't bear to hear anything negative about your favourite artist this is not the place for you.

whatsgoingon said:

But some people genuinely enjoy discussing those artists. I agree, the gossip threads can be annoying and pointless. I can appreciate if people have different views and tastes in music, but there's a difference between stating one's opinion or sharing a critical viewpoint and bashing an artist personally. Many of the reactions to M are deeply sexist (i.e. "whores shouldn't be mothers", etc) and that makes me not want to visit this site sometimes.

heartbeatocean said:

Certain artists elicit certain kneejerk reactions that get in the way of any kind of discussion about their music/artistry.

Unfortunately, instead of just ignoring these reactions, the "whores shouldn't be mothers" arguments take over the threads almost every time, leaving any rational discussion about music far behind.

NDRU said:

I'm pretty sensitive, too, and I used to beat myself about it. It's not so much that I get uptight about criticism of other artists, but I really take some personal attacks personally. I just try so hard to respect people.. Well, it might not seem that way, but I really try. I've lost my temper a view times, too. I'm not particularly proud of that, but I make mistakes. And I'm not going to apologize for being sensitive. Actually, it's helped me more than hurt me--it's just that people view sensitivity as weakness, and now I actually view it as a strength. I'm just more than Prince.org, ya know? And the problem with any site is that you are what your posts reflect. Words can sometimes be very misleading--or taken the wrong way. For me, it's very difficult to read a person on any forum. I'm really better reading a person face to face because I can observe the entire person.

I've really been making an effort to post about my other musical interests besides Janet. I've gotten so caught-up in the Janet discussion that I've ignored other artists I'm interested in, too. To tell you the truth, I'm intimidated by posting in this section even though I'm pretty comfortable expressing my views in the Pol/Rel section. I'm really trying to branch-out a bit. I like it here, and I'd like to be accepted even though this is just an internet forum. I think the mistake we make is forgetting there are real people posting these thoughts. Sometimes it's difficult because people's views are so foreign to us.. we forget that there are real, complex people sharing their views--all with different goals and agendas.

I've also told another Janet fan about the Pol/Rel section. This guy is extremely intelligent--extremely. I'm hoping he starts posting there and maybe here as well because he, too, has so many other music interests besides Janet. I'm sure he'd bring a lot to the discussion. But I'm not sure if he has the time; plus he's not a Prince fan. Well he respects him, but he's not a huge fan like I am.

I still think that this is a really interesting forum--regardless of any problems that I might have had.
[Edited 11/5/06 15:38pm]

heartbeatocean said:

http://www.prince.org/msg/3/202263...


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

I didn't know we had a gossip cop. I put in my vote. (small consolation for not being able to vote tomorrow since I screwed up my registration )

I like that this forum mixes more obscure stuff with mainstream items. I've been to other forums where the mainstream isn't prevalent, but the snobbery and elitism there just isn't palatable.

For the most part, this forum is civil. I've learned a lot here and I've gotten into a few things I would have never considered because of this forum.

Isel said:

I can't imagine another artist whose fans would have such diverse and just plain good taste.

NDRU said:

I think it more to do with what peeps get sensitive about. Calling Madonna a "whore" and saying she shouldn't adopt children is extreme. However if someone says she is of very average artist, whose main talent is her image then I don't see what the problem is. Some things are so obvious about certain artist, that even the most ardent fan, unless they are really deluded, shouldn't really be offended.
[Edited 11/6/06 13:24pm]

whatsgoingon said:

yeah, totally agree. It's perfectly valid to say Madonna's not much of a musician, but any number of things you could say about her (like "she's a whore") aren't really relevant to a discussion of the meaning of the song Like A Prayer, or whether it's good musically, or has she made any significant contributions to pop music.

NDRU said:

That is true. But this being a non-Madonna fansite those things are going to pop up. There are certain things you will not say on a fansite that you will say on a non-fansite, regardless the topic.

For instance I think Michael Jackson looks are completely damage, infact I think they have been damaged since the Bad era. Now to most people that is quite obvious, but I will think twice about being so blunt on a MJ fansite, considering many people there think he "looks better than ever" more so now than ever. I think they are deluded myself, but I will try and respect their feelings on their site, but on a non-fansite I think I should be able to be as blunt as that without someone throwing a hissy and getting over-defensive. If they do then they really shouldn't be on this site in the first place.

Having said that I too don't like it when you are talking about someone's music no matter how good or bad it may be and someone goes completely off topic and brings up something completley irrelevent to what we are talking about. But as I said those things pop up all the time whether we like it or not.

Once again I must say this forum has so much diversity and the music knowledge that peeps have is out of this world.