None of those artists had much of an impact on me as a kid growing up in the 80's. Later on when I was in college I did gain an appreciation for Duran Duran though.

Purple Rain the album is, song-to-song, for me, top 3 all-time (with Metallica's Master of Puppets and Michael Jackson's Thriller).

Whoa! Welcome back Razorback.

I still haven't found my Purple Rain Blu-Ray.

I don't loan out my discs but I'll loan you my VHS if you promise to rewind it when you're done...

Just read that Purple Rain is being played at selected theaters across the country this weekend and next week, including here in Baton Rouge.

Haven't been to the movies since Jurassic Park IMAX a few years back, the Mrs. will be pleased.

Now, maybe we'll get to hear some of those 50 completed albums he has stuck in a vault. At least that what Kevin Smith was told by Prince's assistant a couple of years ago.

It was 50 fully realized music videos, there are supposed to be thousands of songs

I never listened to albums in the 80s, it was the 90s when I started listening to them.

Oh, except the soundtracks to the Star Wars films. Those albums I listened to. Otherwise, it was pretty much put the record on, listen to a song or two (skipping is hard with turntables, but I did it!), flip it over, do the same, move on to next disc.



The Jedi Master

So, I guess I'll post something about this now. I've been a bit too bummed out about hearing the news and it's still a bit rough for me now.

I admit that I haven't been much into Prince at all since after 1985 or so. I loved his material up to "Around the World in a Day" but his style changed so much afterwards that it wasn't my cup of tea, but then again, my musical tastes were also evolving at the time. In any case, I respected what he did musically after 1985, I just didn't follow it too much.

But before then, he was a huge influence on my musical tastes. Michael Jackson was big at around the same time and I liked him too and there were always the Prince v. Jackson debates, but the thing that set Prince apart to me from Jackson was that Jackson came across as pop music for kids while Prince was more for adults. Can't even say he was too much pop. He lyrics were provocative, his guitar and music was gritty, and his stage presence was awesome. Sure, Michael was impressive with his dance moves and his performance, but I've never seen Michael play a guitar, or a keyboard, or anything at all while Prince played over 27 instruments all self taught. He danced and had some choreography on stage even though he had had a guitar strapped to him. Especially that in general, black musicians these days don't play instruments or play them as well as he did. Now it all seems to be rap and dance moves. He had a fashion sense that was eccentric yet worked well. But again, overall, his music and performance was so much more mature than Jackson's...I mean if you had Michael Jackson on and Prince on, which one would your mother have a problem with you listening to? That was part of the whole rock rebel thing too.

I also thought about how when Michael Jackson died he didn't have the same kind of remembrances as Prince. He was mourned by fans around the world, but they seemed to be more of the former teeny-bopper type. Not to mention all the odd controversy surrounding Jackson before his death---the plastic surgeries, the pedophilia accusations, the eccentric behavior (which was less than Prince's admittedly eccentric behavior IMHHO)--it all just took away from the image of Jackson when he died. Prince dies, and everyone is really down. I don't think I've heard a single person say, "Huh, well, ok, he's dead, but man what a weirdo." He was respected, even if his star was not as bright as it used to be in the 80s. I mean, even in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame clip above, look at the company he is playing with. Look at the looks on their faces watching him play with such passion. Look at how many musicians have chimed in on the talent that was lost in Prince's death. Even SNL did a 1.5 hour episode in the usual Saturday night spot to remember him with clips of past performances and even released for the first time footage when Prince did a surprise performance at the SNL 40th Anniversary afterparty. I don't think that Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, or even David Bowie got that much of a nod from SNL when they died.

So, I'm bummed out more than I thought I would be. We certainly lost a great talent and musical genius and just the thought of not hearing anything from him anymore is infinitely depressing. He was cremated over the weekend so just knowing that there is not even any way to visit his grave is an additional bummer. I'm pretty saddened by this, I really am...

v6,
boNes

Well said, bones!

Same here, same here.....

I will never forget Aug., 31 1988, when I was in his concert in ste St Pauli Stadium in Hamburg, it is said, he entertained half of the city `cause it was soooo damn`loud, my ears were ringing days later.

One of my all-time favourites of him, Sign O`the times:



Greets

Karsten

It was good to read what Prince meant to Bones, he put it well.

Prince reminds me of Frank Zappa in the way he demanded perfection from his band and had a similar creative drive.

He definitely had something about him that placed him way beyond your average popstar.

Man, I had to read Bones' post twice it was so heartfelt and articulate(?). That was right on.

We were going to watch "Purple Rain" after my parent's left yesterday evening, decided to put it off until tomorrow night at the theater. I'll make a report of the evening.

One thing I'm hoping is that whoever inherits Price's estate starts letting Prince videos show up on Youtube.

Lots of my favorite Prince songs (Kiss, Girls and Boys, Hot Thing, Mountains, HouseQuake etc) I haven't heard in many years because I watch/listen to most of my music on Youtube and he was very aggressive about not allowing his music or videos to be posted online.

Thanks, guys, I really appreciate the kind words. After I wrote that I watched the bonus disc of Purple Rain where they talk about the making of the movie and the legendary First Avenue nightclub and how it all tied in and I am in even more awe with the new things I found out from that documentary. For instance, Prince already had 100 songs written for the movie to which he let the director decide which ones to use. Interestingly enough, "Purple Rain" was not even in existence yet and neither was "When Doves Cry." The director had decided he wanted to put in a montage in that touched upon The Kid's current drama and called Prince up saying I need a new song. It should be about the conflict with your parents and your plight and your relationship with Appolonia, all in one. Prince simply said, OK, and that was it. The next day, he got a call from Prince and was told "I have your new song" and it was "When Doves Cry". Amazing how soon he came up with it, and how great a song it is. It was number one for 10 weeks in advance of the movie even being released.

The funky thing about the interviews in the bonus disc is that since Prince didn't generally do interviews, they interviewed everyone else and even though the interviews were done in 2004, it almost seemed as if they were done after his death because of how everyone shared their thoughts and memories about Prince at the time.

Certain tear jerker.

v6,
boNes

Apparently his sister was willed his $300 million estate.

v6,
boNes

It's official, Prince still makes the women randy!

Last night was a blast, and it truly did feel like 1984 all over again! The theater was only about 1/4 full, but almost everyone stayed behind until after the ending credits, reminiscing about when Purple Rain was released. Some of the audience probably wasn't born yet, but most people (like ourselves) were in high school at the time.

We walked out to the parking lot with two very nice black women around our age, remembering and sharing stories about those times. They got a kick out of my having the soundtrack on 8-track (although I later taped the LP to cassette) and watching it on Betamax, both totally forgotten medias.

The rest of the evening I'll keep to myself (I think we moved past 1984 ), but the ticket stubs have earned a place in my private bin, a plastic box of memories I keep including the Seiko dress watch my wife bought me for finishing HS with her, and the plastic guitars on my Groom's Cake...




I'm glad I didn't pass on this opportunity to revisit this part of my past if only for an evening.

Thanks, Prince!

Correction: I believe it was only "1999" that I had on 8-track, I don't get that sense when I listen to Purple Rain where the tracks would advance mid-song (usually with a fade-out and then a fade-in on a less popular song). I get a sense of a Side-A and Side-B, but not track advancing (happens 4 times per tape).

Cinemark theaters already have Purple Rain back in the theaters at $5.

They sure didn't waste any time taking a 35 mm print and converted to digital disc with all the new latest movie theater sound system tracks built in.

Haven't seen a movie advertised around here for less than 10 buck per showing in several years.


Wheels