[Genteel Death]

 

[noisereductions]

2016 has been a brutal year for music.

I feel like I have so much to say about Prince. And yet I'm still at a loss for words right now.

[Diesel]

Can now truly be known as the artist formerly known as Prince. Rep to the usual channels. Ta.

Elton John called him the Purple Warrior..

Lauren Laverne tweeted sometimes it snows in april

[Rob Instigator]

Prince was one of a kind. He never watered it down for the suckas. He never veered from his own internal beliefs and ideals for his music.

The REAL rock stars are all dying. That era is indeed over.

[Severian]

Yeah, this is a big one. Very sad.

[tesla69]

I posted last night but it didn't seem to have stuck.

Dirty Mind was one of the first albums I ever bought. I bought it on cassette so I could play it on this new device called a walkman, I was the first in my class to get one. I played it it until it was stretched and unlistenable.

I can't find my copy of The Black Album. I had a cassette from the original withdrawn version. I bought it from Belvy, the drummer for 7 Seconds, when he worked at a record store in the West Village.

As I recall, he was booed when he opened for the Rolling Stones on the Dirty Mind tour.

Even when I was listening to the harshest industrial and hardcore music, I always respected Prince. It was hard not to respect anyone who could hook up with the Vanity 6 and Sheila E.

[noisereductions]

the first album I ever bought on CD was Batman by Prince. I was in 6th grade.

[Severian]

1999 on cassette was one of the first albums I owned. Not the first, but among the first.

[themawt71]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

the first album I ever bought on CD was Batman by Prince. I was in 6th grade.

ha ha. me too. i was in 5th.

my older brother turned me on to prince when i was young. always liked lovesexy. i remember how prince made the cd as just one track so you had to listen to the whole thing

[Severian]

I remember hearing "Trust" and the other songs in Batman when I first saw the film in '89 and thinking, "I should think it's corny that there are pop songs -- by Prince no less -- in this epic adaptation of my favorite comic book hero, but damned if it doesn't just work."

And it did work. It kicked fucking ass.

[Rob Instigator]

Little Red Corvette was one of my favorite videos when I first had MTV in early 80's.

I should have known by the way that you parked your car sideways that it wouldn't last.....

His lyrics are stories like Chuck Berry used to tell.....

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

the first album I ever bought on CD was Batman by Prince. I was in 6th grade.

As a kid i LOVED prince. He was just so much fucking fun and having so much fun with his music and the culture he created. What is good coming out of his passing is all the support and memories people are sharing about their experiences of Prince's art. We all get to remind ourselves about what he was and what he brought to the table that made our lives so much fun.

No he wasn't quite Michael Jackson but he is indisputably in second place in that regard and that is impressive on its own.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Severian

I remember hearing "Trust" and the other songs in Batman when I first saw the film in '89 and thinking, "I should think it's corny that there are pop songs -- by Prince no less -- in this epic adaptation of my favorite comic book hero, but damned if it doesn't just work."

And it did work. It kicked fucking ass.

Prince is what made that movie work if you ask me. That movie would have taken itself far too seriously if Prince wasn't involved

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

Prince was one of a kind. He never watered it down for the suckas. He never veered from his own internal beliefs and ideals for his music.

The REAL rock stars are all dying. That era is indeed over.

I don't think he was a "sell out" but i disagree with you here. I think that what made Prince so brilliant was that like MJ he had his finger constantly on the pulse of what was popular and what people liked. However unlike MJ, Prince was perhaps one of the most talented and crafter musicians ever and so could create the actual instrumentation that would have his art reflect popular tastes.

The pure genius of Prince's art was his ability to merge his own sense of artistic vision with pop music and popular tastes. He never compromised BUT he was definitely flexible to creating music that people would want to hear. Some artists are brilliant because their original art creates something new that people have never ever heard and they likeit. But that is hit or miss. Other artist's genius is being able to merge their own original art with the sounds people already like. Ithink Prince mastered that more than anyone ever could

[Rob Instigator]

 

[Rob Instigator]

Prince created his own little side-genre of Funk. I think he did give fans what they wanted but there is a big difference between that and pandering to fans.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

Prince created his own little side-genre of Funk. I think he did give fans what they wanted but there is a big difference between that and pandering to fans.

I agree. I wouldn't call it pandering but as a musician i understand what he was doing. I have some art i create that is so unique and niche is really for me and limited audience. Other times i consciously create my art in a way that i know is more accessible. Sometimes i play my no wave stuff, sometimes i play the more accessible jazz or reggae i created.i think the genius of Prince was how his art always bridged the gap between his own original sound and sense of vision and yet making it widely accessible to the general audience. You can hear it in the evolution of his music. It always sounded like some of the other musics on the radio or TV BUT was also always distinctively Prince

[Severian]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

Little Red Corvette was one of my favorite videos when I first had MTV in early 80's.

I should have known by the way that you parked your car sideways that it wouldn't last.....

His lyrics are stories like Chuck Berry used to tell.....

Yeah, Little Red Corvette! I've had that stuck in my head all goddamn day.

I just love the intro to that song, that first verse. He tapped into something primal there. It's a beautiful song about mundane and profane things, but it's just so sweeping and elegant, and succeeds so much in capturing and elevating a feeling, that it's almost rapturous. One of the best moments of '80s pop kicks off with that verse.

[Severian]

And let's not forget Nothing Compares 2 U. That song (the song itself, not whoever sang it which time) is just some kind of force of nature. And Prince summoned it. Where the fuck is Sinead now? I don't know. Who cares? Doesn't matter. That song is still an essential listen, and continues to pull emotions out of people to this day.

One of the best, most well crafted pop songs in history, and it's not even Prince's best song.

Man was a god.

[Mortte Jousimo]

R.I.P.