DorothyParkerWasCool said:

Fine, I'll just buy that "Cult Members have more fun" T-shirt and throw that at him instead if he starts preaching....wait, that might piss him off more than the rocks. Don't worry, the rock throwing will only commence if he starts preaching in the middle of "Purple Rain" or some other non-religious song, but from reviews that I have read, there is little to no preaching. I wasn't going to aim for his face. I'm not trying to stone the man. Sarcasm.

I have no problem with Madonna inserting her spiritual beliefs into her work.So far,it's just been subtle references anyway and she doesn't do any sermonizing,so there's no problem...lol...and she seems to have a sense of humor about the whole thing (wearing a T-shirt that says "cult member",mocking those foiks who complain about it).She's not trying to convert her fans.The best thing is,she hasn't turned into a boring,conservative prude.She's still provocative,still swears and can still be "naughty" on occasion,so I don't think her fans could really complain.

Likewise,I have no problem with Prince's JW beliefs either.'The Rainbow Children' CD didn't bother me in the least.As Jedimaster pointed out,these people are artists and they're just expressing themselves.Spirituality is a large part of their lives,so it's inevitable that their beliefs would crop up in their work.The fans that have problems with it,well,perhaps they should consider moving on.

Overall,though,I would have to agree that Madonna's fans are way more tolerant than Prince's fanbase.Some of the JW-threads on this site have turned really heated and ugly,worse than anything I've seen on a Madonna forum discussing Kabbalah.

DavidEye said:

I don't have any problems with their religions either...they can worship trees, more power to them. But, if the song isn't about religion, don't throw in any religious references. I think it's great that they have found something stabile to hold onto in their lives. They were both really wild back in their younger days. It's nice to see them calm down a little. I'm not really upset that Prince stopped cursing. I don't like a lot of swearing in a song....main reason I don't listen to a lot of hip-hop or rap. I just wish he would lighten up with the not wanting to sing any songs with a sexual theme. Sex is a beautiful thing. Where would we be without it? But, that's his new thing now and it makes him happy, so it's all gravy. Just no preaching in the non-religious songs, PLEASE! The main reason I didn't like "The Rainbow Children" is because 98% of the album sounded like a church sermon with a really great band backing (awesome instrumental work on that album...lyrics were disturbing to me). I can't move on, because there's really nothing else in the music industry that's really worth listening to nowadays. At least Madonna and Prince made and still make some songs that have a message besides "Get Crunk" and "I'm rollin' on 20s"...
[This message was edited Thu May 27 11:41:35 2004 by estelle1981]

estelle1981 said:

i still have to say, i think it is incredibly arrogant of you dictate to a performer or artist what they should opr shouldn't do with their work. they made it. they perform it. who are an of us to say what they should or shouldn't do with it. if i don't like something someone does i simply skip out on buying it.

now, i'm not saying YOU are arrogant or anything, so don't take it too personally. i'm just saying that i think your requests of an artist are arrogant.

Actually the kaballah thing does not go down very well...
among Madonna fans, the term used is: Kabollocks.

But the thing is that it's NOT a religion. It's a philosophical en scientific interpretation
of the 'Old Testament'...it does not include a set of rules...so there's no
need 4 her to change the lyrics of her old songs & stop swearing or whatever
So in that respect i'd say, yes Madonna fans r less concerned with it.

As 4 her doing it 'cuz it's hip, that's just a load of shit. She's been taking kaballah classes
since 1996. That's a good 8 years...hardly a fad.

Some people just need 2 relax & not take everything she does so seriously.

Slave2daGroove said:

are you bored with the topic, with madonna, with kabbalah...please elaborate...

estelle1981 said:

All I know is I saw Prince 20 years ago and he was alot more preachy then, than when I saw him this year. Back in the day he would outright ask the audience whether or not they believed in God.

Nowadays, he says "He's your messiah" instead of "I'm your messiah" in IWD4U. But he did that 20 years ago also. And he adds a "read your Bible" reference into Purple Rain. In over 2 hours of music that's pretty much it as far as inserting religion into songs in the concert that I recently saw.

if that's too much religion for ya then don't go.


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[This message was edited Thu May 27 12:52:01 2004 by Universaluv]

SassyBritches said:


Since the beginning of this debate, I have repeatedly noted that this is how I feel on the matter. How is this a dictating statement, when it's just my opinion? If Madonna and Prince listen to me and change their shows, because of what I say, that would scare the hell out of me. I don't ever want that type of power. Most people go to a concert, especially a hits concert, to have fun and reminisce. I'm not the only person who feels that it's preaching when their religion's are brought up on a song that has nothing to do with religion. They can do whatever they want to, but that doesn't mean that I have to lick it up or agree with it....which is the point I've been repeatedly stressing this entire thread. I think it's arrogant when people down my opinions and views, because my views aren't going to change, but hey, some fans love everything that their favorite artist does...I'm not one of them, but if that makes those people feel good, than Yippie Yay for them. I'm not going to down their opinions, even when they start disrespecting mine. I bought "The Rainbow Children", because I wanted to hear what Prince had been doing. He went from "Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic", which was okay, to an album that sounded like a church service. TO ME, it sounded like he was trying to push his beliefs and religion on his fans...which he could have easily done on something other than a CD. He has a website that has a membership and that would have been the perfect place for it. Like I said, I liked the band production on the album, but some of the lyrics were a little to dictating to me. I didn't buy "N.E.W.S." because someone said that it was worse than "The Rainbow Children", so I skipped it. I'm going to his concert, because he's playing his hits...if it was a concert for "The Rainbow Children" album or "N.E.W.S.", then trust me, I wouldn't be going.



Let me again emphasize, that my opinion...MY....does not determine whether something is good or bad, right or wrong, smart or stupid. It is merely my opinion. Now, I see why disclaimers exist. You don't have to agree with any of my views, but just respect them.

Universaluv said:

Is religion really this touchy of a subject? The moment someone says that they don't want to hear a lot of preaching, everybody gets all miffed. Changing one word in a song that's had that same lyric in it since it was written....do you really think that I'm going to worry about that? Now, what you said in the beginning about him asking the audience whether or not they believed in God....that would bother me. What if you believe in something other than God, because that's not the title many people give to the spiritual being. I don't even think that Prince and Madonna take their spiritual beliefs as seriously as the people in this thread are. It's okay. This is nothing to get upset over. Just stay .

estelle1981 said:

Who's upset? Just because people disagree with you doesn't mean they are upset. I'm just telling you what I've observed over the years when it comes to Prince being preachy.

You said "Just no preaching in the non-religious songs, PLEASE! " and "I'm tired of hearing about Kabbalah and Jehovah's Witness from these two everytime they open their mouths"

I just told you exactly how I heard Prince insert religion into his show nowadays and that it used to be alot more direct.

Now if you are saying that it's no big deal now, then perhaps you overtstated you're case before.

Either way, I'm sure not upset about this.

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[This message was edited Thu May 27 13:22:55 2004 by Universaluv]

Universaluv said:

No Problems. I do agree with you that he did seem alot more preachy in his olden days. If he adds "Read Your Bible" at the end of the show, then I don't consider that to even be close to preaching...unless, he says, "Read Your Bible, and by read your bible I mean study it and put the word in your heart, because you're nothing without the Word" and so on. Now, that's how I define preaching. But, I doubt him or Madonna will be doing this in their concerts. Either way, I'll enjoy the show. I heard that it was great from soo many people that I'm getting impatient. I know P's gonna do his thing. Stay chilled.