MotownSubdivision said:

Dasein said:

Wait - your smart alecky post is a contradiction. Is it obvious that working with Prince in recent years
doesn't mean what it meant back in the 80s, or is it a "good look for any current act to collab with
someone of his caliber and status"?

My contention is that it would be a good look for a recording artist to have recently recorded with
Prince to a few; but the Weeknd working with Prince in 2016 would not have been the same as Prince
collaborating with George Michael in 1987, for example, which is when it would have been a big ass
good look!

Think about it: what recent acts who have been intimately associated with Prince recently have
benefitted ultimately and consistently from said relationship? It's a different ball game these days!

It's not contradictory at all. I actually agreed with what you said but your basis for why a current act like Weeknd performing with a veteran act like Prince is superficial. The only reason such a collaboration wouldn't have been the same as it would have been in the 80s would have been because the 80s was the zenith of Prince's popularity and commercial success. So what if Prince was old and his heyday was 30 years prior? It still would have been Prince whose reputation would have spoken for itself. Also when did I say that any acts today associated with Prince greatly and consistently benefited said acts? I simply stated that performing with Prince would have been a good opportunity for them to share the stage with such a prominent figure who shares their line of work. Based on your logic, it sounds like you're saying that acts past their commercial peaks have no business performing alongside the present day acts. Needless to say, that "reason" is nonsensical if that's what you're really implying. [Edited 12/20/16 18:19pm]

You are contradicting yourself in agreeing with my claim that working with Prince in 2016 does
not carry the same cultural import that it would have carried in 1986 while remarking it would be
a "good look to collab" with someone of Prince's stature . . . in 2016! If you thought Prince's death
shut down the internet in 2016, imagine what would've happened if he had passed thirty years ago?
I don't think you're paying attention to the nuance of my argument as Prince's reputation has not
been able to sustain, on an astronomical level, any careers of the more recent recording artist he's
worked with.

I never said you said or didn't say "any acts today associated with Prince greatly and consistently
benefitted from said acts." I'm using that as proof that the Weeknd potentially working with Prince
in 2016 would not have meant the same as it would have meant in the 80s! Bria Valente anyone?

And finally, my "logic" does not "sound like {I'm} saying that acts past their commercial peaks have
no business performing alongside the present day acts." There's nothing in my argument that im-
plies this or explicitly makes that claim. My claim has been consistently that the Weeknd possibly
working with Prince would not have meant as much to pop culture as it would have meant if this was
during Prince's hey-day.

Layzie said:

Weeknd is overrated trash.

Next.

What makes him "overrated trash"?

People sure seem to love to trash and dehumanize people on the internet, which takes minimal thought and rarely captures the complexity of most people. Just because Abel wants to be popular and crossover like MJ doesn't mean he is a clone. His music is much darker, that Michael's ever was. I like the weeknd though think there is still a great distance between he and the best like Prince and MJ, and perhaps he senses that too and wants some mentoring. I don't know the motive for making something up like this. He is extremely popular already, so a Prince reference hardly is a game changer for him. Also, Prince was showing all kinds of changes in recent years and seemed more generous than before. So, just because he historically has been drawn to female vocalists doesn't mean that he would not have been open to work with a young and perhaps troubled singer.

mjscarousal said:

I don't know if I believe this...but I do know during Prince later years he had an interesting taste in music and artists. I could see him maybe mentoring the Weeknd but who knows. Its hard to tell if this is the truth or not since Prince is no longer here to defend his thoughts. This kinda reminds me of when JT insisted MJ persuaded him to go solo after he passed I have a hard time believing that being Mike didn't even like him.

I'm super late to this thread but sometimes I think people like to make up stories to say an artist was going to work with another artist. That isn't necessarily an indication that the younger artist wouldn't just be used by the older artist to reach the younger artist's fanbase. I'm pretty sure that fans of the Weekend would (or already do) like Prince's music. Sorry but the Weekend sucks but to each his own.

Dasein said:

Dasein said:

MotownSubdivision said:

Dasein said: Yeah, obviously but so what? Prince was still a legend and it would look good for any current act to collab with someone of his caliber and status. Should Rihanna and Kanye not have worked with Paul McCartney because it wasn't as big a deal as it would have been back in the 60s?

Wait - your smart alecky post is a contradiction. Is it obvious that working with Prince in recent years
doesn't mean what it meant back in the 80s, or is it a "good look for any current act to collab with
someone of his caliber and status"?

My contention is that it would be a good look for a recording artist to have recently recorded with
Prince to a few; but the Weeknd working with Prince in 2016 would not have been the same as Prince
collaborating with George Michael in 1987, for example, which is when it would have been a big ass
good look!

Think about it: what recent acts who have been intimately associated with Prince recently have
benefitted ultimately and consistently from said relationship? It's a different ball game these days!

What difference does it make? Working with Prince would be a huge honor. If it does not mean anything to the Weeknd, why is he saying Prince wanted to work with him?

MotownSubdivision said:

Dasein said:

You are contradicting yourself in agreeing with my claim that working with Prince in 2016 does
not carry the same cultural import that it would have carried in 1986 while remarking it would be
a "good look to collab" with someone of Prince's stature . . . in 2016! If you thought Prince's death
shut down the internet in 2016, imagine what would've happened if he had passed thirty years ago?
I don't think you're paying attention to the nuance of my argument as Prince's reputation has not
been able to sustain, on an astronomical level, any careers of the more recent recording artist he's
worked with.

I never said you said or didn't say "any acts today associated with Prince greatly and consistently
benefitted from said acts." I'm using that as proof that the Weeknd potentially working with Prince
in 2016 would not have meant the same as it would have meant in the 80s! Bria Valente anyone?

And finally, my "logic" does not "sound like {I'm} saying that acts past their commercial peaks have
no business performing alongside the present day acts." There's nothing in my argument that im-
plies this or explicitly makes that claim. My claim has been consistently that the Weeknd possibly
working with Prince would not have meant as much to pop culture as it would have meant if this was
during Prince's hey-day.

No I'm not contradicting myself by agreeing with you. Me agreeing with you and the reason I also dismiss your argument are not mutually exclusive. You're saying things I never said and at the same time saying you didn't say things that you did. I didn't say that working with Prince in 2016 would be career changing for a current act but you did in fact say that I was implying that any acts today associated with Prince greatly and consistently benefitted said association. You said it in your initial response and now you're backtracking. And your stance that a current act working with a veteran act can easily be taken the way I interpreted it. However, you're stating the obvious and you mentioned it so matter of factly and simply as if to imply something more. Obviously performing with Prince in the 80s would habe been better for a current act but them performing with him now would have been good too. And when I say "good", I don't mean it would have excellently benefited the career of the current act.

We're gonna get lost in this "I didn't say you said" stuff! And I don't have a particular stance on
"current acts working with a veteran act." I have a particular stance on a current act working with
Prince in 2016 - it doesn't mean as much as it would have if this was thirty years ago when Prince
was a king of pop!

Purplestar88 said:

Dasein said:

Wait - your smart alecky post is a contradiction. Is it obvious that working with Prince in recent years
doesn't mean what it meant back in the 80s, or is it a "good look for any current act to collab with
someone of his caliber and status"?

My contention is that it would be a good look for a recording artist to have recently recorded with
Prince to a few; but the Weeknd working with Prince in 2016 would not have been the same as Prince
collaborating with George Michael in 1987, for example, which is when it would have been a big ass
good look!

Think about it: what recent acts who have been intimately associated with Prince recently have
benefitted ultimately and consistently from said relationship? It's a different ball game these days!

What difference does it make? Working with Prince would be a huge honor. If it does not mean anything to the Weeknd, why is he saying Prince wanted to work with him?

In the course of a discussion, new contours arise. My opinion that even if The Weeknd did work
with Prince, I would not have cared as much is one of them.