i have minimal patience for this kind of goalpost moving. These are your words, Sir:
"But his was a very narrowly defined, primarily '80s phenomenon that didn't go far beyond himself or the Minneapolis scene in terms of "influence." Adam Ant was doing something similar with the "new romantic" movement in the U.K. about that same time."
Here, you say, in plain english, that Prince had minimal influence outside of Minnesota, and then you compare his legacy with Adam Ant. Many would feel this is derisive. And, no, it has nothing to with a discussion of Prince "specifically as a guitarist."
Nowhere did I diss Kilmister and Squire. Also fine musicians (by the way, Lemmy was a founding member of Hawkwind, which is considered by most to be a progressive rock band--i assumed that a "tunescribe" would know this, but guess not). I am merely suggesting that you are going after a great musician because he received more media attention than your recently fallen heroes. Im not sure you disagree with this?
I will leave it to the real musicians to define Prince's legacy. Im sure you know your small corner of the musical universe very well, but your comments clearly betray a lack if knowledge about the area in which Prince operated.
You're just not getting the
genre-specific context of reference to "influence." His legacy was not compared to Adam Ant; again, it was a
genre-specific reference to Prince as an original stylist and how that
specifically was defined by the scene he created. If you were aware of the new-romantic movement in the U.K. concurrent with Prince's heyday in the U.S., you'd understand why I brought that into it. It was a reference point, not a comparison of overall legacy.
The goal post was not moved at all, if you had just followed along -- the conversation subsequently moved on to discussion of his instrumental prowess, guitar specifically. I'll spell this out for you so you're not confused any further: Prince did not create anything new
as an original stylist in terms of
a genre beyond the
initial Minneapolis scene, which included Morris Day and others. This was distinguished by an interesting cross-pollination of rock, r&b and dance "culturalized" by overt sexual/romantic imagery and fashion, all showcased in the film
Purple Rain.
That had its lifespan as a phenomenon. From that foundation, Prince launched an extremely successful and prolific career as a cross-genre chameleon -- a
very talented composer/singer/multi-instrumentalist/entertainer who went on to enjoy longstanding worldwide popularity. His primary claim to fame was as composer/singer, though he was skilled at multiple instruments and studio work. While he dabbled in and borrowed from several genres, the primary basis of his music was r&b.
Of course, none of this has anything to do with progressive rock as much as you're trying to work that in sideways by way of disparagement. Big fail for you there, Letekro. (Yes, I'm well aware of Lemmy's roots with Hawkwind in the U.K.'s early free-festival scene. He was with them three years and was not regarded over his 40-year career with Motorhead as a "prog" artist, by any stretch.)
