Prince, his Royal Badness, the Purple Yoda

[San Martin]

A couple of years ago there were a few threads in which the musician Prince was mentioned, and I recall that a lot of people had never heard of him, but there were a few fans amongst the Escapists.

This thread is to ask, a couple of years later, who has heard of Prince? If you know who he is, are you a fan? Which are your favourite songs, or albums?

In the hopes that there will be a few people out there who are into him, I'll start out by saying that Prince is absolutely my favourite singer, musician and composer. I consider him to be a genius, and he is the greatest pop, rock, funk and r&b artist that I know of (though I accept the possibility of there being even better ones amongst the vast quantities of popular music I haven't heard).

My favourite songs are Adore, Computer Blue (Hallway Speech version), Lady Cab Driver, When U Were Mine, Why U Wanna Treat Me So Bad?, Housequake, Shhh, I Hate U, Cindy C, The Question of U and...well the list goes on.

And favourite albums: Dirty Mind, 1999, Sign 'o' the Times and Lotusflow3r.

So yes, anyone else like Prince?

Oh, and finally, the "Purple Yoda" thing is a nickname for himself Prince came up with in 2010 in one of his songs, which is called "Laydown". The song's ok, but we can all thank God for the fact that no one actually calls him that (and for Jim Sterling).

 

[Thaluikhain]

To me, Prince will always be the guy who did the now very dated songs for the first Michael Keaton Batman.

 

[Neverhoodian]

I'll admit, my exposure to Prince has pretty much been limited to Animaniacs:

But then, I'm a real luddite when it comes to pop music after the 70's. I blame my dad always listening to oldies stations when I was a kid.

 

[San Martin]

I'll admit, my exposure to Prince has pretty much been limited to Animaniacs:

But then, I'm a real luddite when it comes to pop music after the 70's. I blame my dad always listening to oldies stations when I was a kid.

I believe that episode was featured on a Cracked article: something about how anally penetrating Prince isn't really appropriate for a children's TV show. I would say that's probably a sentiment we can all agree with.

Nothing wrong with limiting yourself to music from pre-1980. Some of my favourite artists hail from those heady times, like Joni Mitchell and Simon & Garfunkel.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

I like Prince. I think he's a prodigious song-writer, an excellent musician and a great live performer[footnote]Also, a lot of his music is great to play in the background during sex.[/footnote].

Favorite song: Raspberry Baret, Cream, Guitar, ...
Favorite album: 1999, but I'm also partial to Sign 'o The Times and 3121.

San Martin, ever been to one of his shows? If not, do it. Might be expensive, but it's worth it.

 

[Tiger King]

I only know purple rain and I don't really like it :/

I shall give him points for being a snappy dresser though

 

[San Martin]

I like Prince. I think he's a prodigious song-writer, an excellent musician and a great live performer[footnote]Also, a lot of his music is great to play in the background during sex.[/footnote].

Favorite song: Raspberry Baret, Cream, Guitar, ...
Favorite album: 1999, but I'm also partial to Sign 'o The Times and 3121.

San Martin, ever been to one of his shows? If not, do it. Might be expensive, but it's worth it.

Nice to know there are other fans!

I also dig 3121, especially Black Sweat. Ever since he became a Jehovah's Witness songs that sound that sound that erotic have been few and far between.

Thankfully, I have seen him live. I went to his concert in Arras, France in July 2010. My experience might have been marred somewhat by the fact that I forgot to bring any water so nearly passed out from dehydration towards the end, but nonetheless I had a good time. I definitely need to see him again though, because having watched hours of footage of his concerts online, it's fairly obvious that his appearance in Arras was more about making money than actually putting on a good show. Not that it was bad, but the 2007 concerts and London, and the ones he's been doing more recently on his Welcome 2 America Tour, and this year with 3rdEyeGirl, all look more energetic and like he's putting in an effort.

Where and when did you see him?

Oh, and yes I agree, they are good songs for having sex. I lost my virginity to 1999

 

[Xanex]

Please tell me I'm not the only one who remembers this? They did this in the early 90s I think. God I feel so old now.

 

[San Martin]

Please tell me I'm not the only one who remembers this? They did this in the early 90s I think. God I feel so old now.

Hahahahaha! I've never seen that before! What show is it from?

Dave Chapelle also did a funny sketch about Prince, though I'd guess that was early 2000s.

 

[Xanex]

Hahahahaha! I've never seen that before! What show is it from?

Dave Chapelle also did a funny sketch about Prince, though I'd guess that was early 2000s.

Show was called "In Living Color". It's where Jim Carrey, David Allen Grier and Damon Wayans got their start. Show started in 1990 and had like 4 seasons or so.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Where and when did you see him?

I first saw him in october 2002 in Antwerp, Belgium. Great show the only downside being that the venue it took place in is meant for sports events and makes for a pretty poor concert hall.

I saw him again with my girlfriend on the fields (so outdoors) of Werchter in july 2010, only a few days after the show you went to. It was still really hot, so there was some thirst. But, karmatastically so, it started raining when he started playing Purple Rain. They had these purple spotlights, so yeah, I had the pleasure of seeing my nr.1 girl dance in the purple rain. Overall, I liked the other show more, but that was an almost magical moment.

 

[San Martin]

Where and when did you see him?

I first saw him in october 2002 in Antwerp, Belgium. Great show the only downside being that the venue it took place in is meant for sports events and makes for a pretty poor concert hall.

I saw him again with my girlfriend on the fields (so outdoors) of Werchter in july 2010, only a few days after the show you went to. It was still really hot, so there was some thirst. But, karmatastically so, it started raining when he started playing Purple Rain. They had these purple spotlights, so yeah, I had the pleasure of seeing my nr.1 girl dance in the purple rain. Overall, I liked the other show more, but that was an almost magical moment.

That sounds awesome! I read on Prince.org (theoretically a fansite but in practise half the people ***** and moan about everything he's released since about 1996) the concert in Arras was more or less the worst of his European mini-tour. One good thing I can say about my concert was that I was near the front, and when Larry Graham came into the audience and played a slap-bass solo he was no more than two metres away from me. As a Sly and the Family Stone fan, this was pretty cool.

Also, something tangential that interested me: someone a while back posted on the Escapist a 'map of the internet', with websites being represented by dots of differing sizes. If you look here, you'll see that, by a huge coincidence, Prince.org and the Escapist are right next to each other: http://internet-map.net/#9-171.82783530211432-88.87810821081297

 

[Drakane]

He is a genius. I believe he is considered to be proficient or better at something along the lines of 37 musical instruments (going purely on memory and could be wrong... but it is what I've heard). He wrote almost all of the lyrics and music for his work.

I am not personally a fan of the work of his that I've heard but I can't deny his talent.

To me he will always be the guy that got some parents in an uproar that lead to Tipper Gore creating the parental advisory sticker on albums and making them be only eligible to sold to people over 18 (in the states). If my recollection is correct it was the album Purple Rain and the salacious lyrics led to the crusade that led to the labeling system.

The following link is of Dee Snider speech to the senate after said crusade:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0Vyr1TylTE