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Prince: MUSICOLOGY


JSngry

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No Prince for me, please.

my life wouldn't have a meaning without Prince

i´m so happy that the "regular" audience is enjoying his last album. i think when he'll be dead (and i hope i´m gone before him) some of his underrated albums will be much appreciated.

"In the beginning, God made the sea but on the 7th day he made me! my name is Prince"

Marcus

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I've seen the video on MTV/BET/etc a few times and like it quite a bit--I always watch it when I happen upon it. Definately love the rhythm, drums, accompaniment and all that but what's the deal with those shitty, thin, p*ssy synth sounds? I can't stand that shit, man. Why, with so much at his disposal, does he insist on using those KORG circa-1986 synths?! :wacko:

OK, I finally saw this. Cool video. I love the shot of the old time record store at the opening (and when the big brother comes into the room). Maybe I am nostalgic, but the whole thing really kicks butt!!!

Eric

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Brandon -

I can dig that you don't dig those synth sounds. What confuses me is why you don't think they fit on this song. That sound is one of many that are "signature" sounds for Prince from his "glory days" of the 80s. The song is all about the old-school, and it seems to me that Prince is including himself in that group. Therefore, the sounds seem perfectly in context to me. Geez, you couldn't turn on the radio or drive through the hood back then w/o hearing those sounds on sides by Prince, Sheila E, The Time, Vanity, and everybody else.

So it seems to me that if Prince wants to do "old school", that those sounds belong. After all, many of his hits that retain appeal for the R&B crowd (and his crossover appeal is something that no doubt creatres different expectations from different audiences, something I think he balances incredibly deftly on this album) are in fact classic funk grooves played with those "cheesy" synths. It's one of HIS sounds from back in the day.

His jams from back then are DEFINITELY considered old-school by the younger kids of today. This was driven home to me by a conversation I had w/a co-worker at my straight job, an enterprising hip-hop artist/producer in his mid-20s who's been hustling his wares with a little bit of success. I asked him if he'd heard MUSICOLOGY, and he said he hadn't. I told him that I think he'd dig it, that the grooves were phat and the production worthy of study, and he said it sounded like something he should check out (this guy really wants to develop SERIOUS production skills). Then he said, "Yeah, Prince is BAAAD. I remember jamming to him in preschool!"

Gulp...

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Jim--

I hear you, man. Definately. I just never really liked that sound....which I'm sure you've figured out already. :w

That's just me being super-picky. (Go figure.) I like my funk to be a little more....er....meaty. I want to hear funk by dudes with facial expressions that look like something really f*cking stinks in that room and I didn't ever get that from Prince back in the day. This is not to slight his influence or his music. It's just not for me. Fair enough, right.

Strangely, I could always go for a little "Jesse....n-now Jerome." Don't ask me why....

As for the young hip hop co-worker, I hear you. We live in an era where guys like 2-Pac are old school which is really weird to me. I mean I never liked that dude anyways but 1996 isn't exactly old school. I don't care who you are. Granted, I bought my first rap cassette in 1983 (4th grade) so maybe I have a different outlook than other 30 year olds. I dunno....

Cheers,

B.

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Just wanted to chime in here: I was in Borders the other day and they had this on a listening station. I flipped around, probably through 4 or 5 of the different songs, and all I can say is that synth or no synth the it-shay sounded tight to me. He lost me somewhere around Emancipation (which probably could have been a really great album with a little editing), so I was really happy to hear how to the point this is. A straight uncut slab of pure Prince. Yummy.

Now if I had a little bit of bread to pick this bad boy up.... :(

Edited by chuckyd4
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Eric,

Diamonds And Pearls is where you can find Gett Off so it´s essential on a Prince discography. Come is another great album where you can find Letitgo, Space, Race & Come. Gold Experience is one of my favs as you can have there Shhhh, Now, Billy Jack Bitch. The Rainbow Children is so well arranged and Crystal Ball is an excellent compilation of all his previous unreleased work and Days of Wild is available there.

Exodus from the NPG is for those who likes hard funk and i´m just listening to it right now :wub:

if you manage to get some live performances, then you´ll get the best of the man. Prince playing live is incomparable. Return to Zenith would be a nice option.

NYC or Holland performances are also the best as the audience really interacts with him and Prince loves to play in NYC.

peace & b wild

Marcus Oliveira

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Prince did 2 performances here in Rio in 1991. they were far from his best performances and the audience wasn´t familiar with most of the songs but at least i can say that i´ve been on a concert and of course on the first row :g

Joe G, have fun for me please ;)

Marcus

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Eric,

Diamonds And Pearls is where you can find Gett Off so it´s essential on a Prince discography. Come is another great album where you can find Letitgo, Space, Race & Come. Gold Experience is one of my favs as you can have there Shhhh, Now, Billy Jack Bitch. The Rainbow Children is so well arranged and Crystal Ball is an excellent compilation of all his previous unreleased work and Days of Wild is available there.

Exodus from the NPG is for those who likes hard funk and i´m just listening to it right now :wub:

if you manage to get some live performances, then you´ll get the best of the man. Prince playing live is incomparable. Return to Zenith would be a nice option.

NYC or Holland performances are also the best as the audience really interacts with him and Prince loves to play in NYC.

peace & b wild

Marcus Oliveira

Cool - thanks Marcus - will hit the local used record shop on Thursday ... something tells me that (sadly) I should be able to find these pretty easily ...

Eric

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  • 2 months later...

Just got back from the concert, at Joe Louis Arena. The good: great energy, tight-ass band, plenty of solo time for Maceo (including a workout on Pass the Peas (HA!), and believe it or not, a duet version of What a Wonderful World w/ the keyboard player), and generally a good dose of all around entertainment.

The bad: up in the nosebleed seats, the sound absolutely SUCKED! I could not hear any details of what what happening. The pacing of the show was a little too quick for me. When Doves Cry, probably my favorite tune of his (I'm not a huge fan, BTW, this was more for the wife than myself), received a very short and fractured treatment, as did most of the other hits. Just a taste, I guess. It's been a long time since I've been to a big rock concert like this, and I forgot how the crowds are. Prince would scream "MACEO!", and wave his hands, and the crowd would scream and totally drown out what Maceo was playing. People! Listen first and then scream! There was a synth solo that everyone just talked all the way through, checking their watches now and again. I'm sitting there thinking, what's the point? :w

Weirdest moment: All the women's restrooms had lines about 50 deep. Meanwhile, there were no lines at any of the men's rooms (much more efficient to be able to pee into a trough I guess :winky: ). So I head into the nearest one, and just as I make the door, there's this big uproar coming from inside. Then about 15 women come stampeding out, all cursing about being chased out of the men's room. :huh::lol:

All in all, I'd say it was definitely not worth the money I shelled out, but, as I said, it wasn't for me. At least it wasn't boring.

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