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Prince's music
- Thread starter Gorn
- Start date
We saw that one too. Fantastic show. It was the first time we'd ever used a babysitter. Not that that's relevant, but I remember it.
I am so glad this thread got started! I always liked and respected Prince for his musical talent but really didn't listen to much of his music beyond the radio standards. Discovering some of the great music that has been posted here as really opened me up to want to dig deeper in to his catalog! If any good has come from Prince's death it will be that hopefully more people will discover him as well!
You aren't alone. Of course I remember his 80s stuff, but hadn't thought about him until the Charlie Murphy sketch on Dave Chappelle. After that, not until now.
People say he was a nice guy, so I won't bash him. The free form style of his post 80s music didn't do anything for me. People say he was a great musician. As I've watched some performances recently I didn't fall in love with his playing style.
What I can say about the guy is that he left it all out on the stage. That's a dude that didn't play it safe or rely on static, practiced production. You can tell that he felt music, which is something lacking in a lot of days pop artists.
Its a bummer that young artists keep dropping off like that. He was only 57. In just the last year Frank Watkins of Obituary died at 47, Martin Kearns of Bolt Thrower died at 39, and Piotr Grudzinski of RIverside just died of a heart attack at 40.
Part of me can't help but wonder if some of the grief over Prince isn't just my fellow gen-xers having to come to terms with their age.
I think Prince was an icon, but there's no doubt some of the grief is about that.
Such that it is.
Time is limited. For every Beyonce or Prince, or Frank Sinatra, there are a thousand more talented individuals that just never received the correct marketing. If the stuff I'm exposed to is not floating my boat, it will be unlikely that I will be exposed to the rest of their stuff, whoever "they" are. It's just the way it works. I have other stuff to do.
This is why the only deaths that ever happen that move me are those of people I know personally. I've never been moved by the death of a famous person, no matter what made them famous, unless I knew the person personally. We are all quite replaceable to those who did not know us personally.
I always enjoyed Prince's music. Purple Rain, the album and the movie were pretty big for me. It was very much the fabric of my youth, played constantly on the radio and on MTV, even if I did not go out of my way to listen to it. However, it was not until I saw him live in 2004, that I truly appreciated the complete musician and lyricist that he was. He really crossed a number of musical genres [disco, funk, R&B, pop, neo soul, rock, hard rock, punk, post punk alternative, new jack swing, etc]. Pretty amazing.
I understand that he has a huge catalog of unreleased recordings. With 35-40 years of recordings, I bet there is some really special stuff in there...something that will appeal to [almost] everyone.
Generally agree with this. The difference with Prince, at least to my ears with the music of his that I have heard, is the squeaky-clean production style and the use of synths and sometimes electronic drums. Those traits are generally a turnoff for me. Thus, I'm glad this thread exists to showcase some of his material that doesn't fit this profile. I'm looking forward to going through it and doing a lot of listening.
I only listened to Prince on the radio. A friend took me to a concert 6 years ago and it was maybe the best show I've ever been to. Its ok to not like his music. What made Prince different and exceptional was that he understood it all and could do it all - from composition to arrangement to production and engineering, and understanding and being able to play (and play well) most of the instruments involved. Not many people have that. Most musical "artists" only can do one or two of those things. He truly was a musical genious. That puts him up with the likes of Frank Zappa.
I love Prince's bass lines. I have been acquiring pedals (soundblox pro envelope and distortion + syb5drooldrooldrool) and trying to match the sounds because i really like making synthy disco bass lines
I like Zappa but Prince is in another league. He was able to appeal to musicians, music lovers, and radio listeners alike. He inspired a generation of working players and made little girls scream, equally. He did it all.
Man...what can I say about Prince's music...A man of mystery, often misunderstood, a musical genius of enormous proportions. It has been said that Prince could take your woman...lol Musically, he could play upwards of twenty instruments extremely well. A cultural Icon and pioneer of the Minneapolis Sound. I could go on...but,,,lol Too much to say about this man. On his first album he played all of the instruments...a truly gifted musician. He was erotic and sex was often used as a musical theme. He was funky and appreciated worldwide. He was very private, and always seen with a beautiful woman. He did not let his physical stature in anyway diminish his genius or influence on music or pop culture. To many he stood like a giant. What other man could wear makeup, six inch heels and still appear masculine, sexy and a heartthrob. In one video of Prince with James Brown and Michael Jackson on the same stage...he upstaged them all. It has been said that within his vault we have unheard of music for years to come. He fought for the rights of musicians to "own" their own music and not be "pimped" by the major record lables...I stand in awe of his musical genius and his impact musically will continue to be felt all around the world.
I think Prince was also very supportive of upcoming musicians. When I saw him 6 years ago there 3 or 4 tremendous opening acts. One was Esperanza Spaulding. Yup, I got to see her before her grammy. I knew even then I was seeing something special.
He shedded, he just started at the age most of us were watching Barney or playing dodgeball.
Prince was the baddest man on the planet...he commanded the stage and was electrifying on stage...Trully a funkmaster!
True, I would say he was simply a Musicmaster.
