OT: Prince found dead

[Hercules Rockefeller]

I live in Minneapolis, and the burst of emotion and energy is off the charts. They are having an all night dance party at First Avenue, where I've seen countless concerts and where they filmed Purple Rain. The streets outside are blocked off and it looked like Times Square on New Year's Eve. I was working, but the photos I've seen, I've never seen that many people downtown in Minneapolis. The city extended the First Ave liquor license for the night so people could drink and dance and celebrate the man who put Minneapolis on the map. Even though I've lived here most of my life, I was an admirer but not a fan until I saw him at Coachella music festival a few years back. I've been to A LOT of concerts, and he was hands down the best live musician I've ever seen. He was so talented it was almost not believable. The city is lit up with purple on skyscrapers, and on the rebuilt 35W bridge which infamously collapsed a couple of years ago. He was someone who never moved out, he lived here, my friend saw him shopping for records one time. Everyone who's lived here long enough has a Prince story or knows someone who does. My stepdad makes and designs eyeglasses, and he once showed me this crazy gaudy pair he was making and said "Guess who these are for?" I instantly guessed Prince, he'd asked for a really flamboyant design. The color, of course, was purple. He was one of a kind and the city will never replace him.

 

[resdubwhite]

Some say man ain't truly happy until man truly dies.

 

[scout]

I can't decide which death I care less about. Prince or Chyna.

Tough call.

Ethics......you should get some.

 

[Tunescribe]

Ethics......you should get some.

I think he's addressing the manner in which our society over-worships celebrity entertainers. That's hard to argue with. I understand the sentiment from fans around people like this dying before their time, but speaking as someone who never cared for Prince's music (and I'm not the only one), I think the news coverage yesterday was over the top.

 

[RobertWeathers]

TMZ reported it. I wonder though if he was battling an illness that nobody knew about and he was taking pain killers for them

That's my guess. If you believe the reports he had some kind of OD on opiates or painkillers a few days ago.

I don't think Prince was a druggie but he may have been addicted to painkillers to help him get through something he was fighting.

Being 57 the body has a tougher time dealing with illness as opposed to being in your 20s

 

[Froob]

I think he's addressing the manner in which our society over-worships celebrity entertainers. That's hard to argue with. I understand the sentiment from fans around people like this dying before their time, but speaking as someone who never cared for Prince's music (and I'm not the only one), I think the news coverage yesterday was over the top.

Yeah, it's certainly sad but, I can understand that view point. I remember reading a barstool (yeah) post that said an Australian man died after 5 days after being bit by a snake or something and numerous people rated it as funny. What the **** a guy died...and the guy who was trampled on Black Friday in Walmart people thought was funny too...

 

[Kontradiction]

I think he's addressing the manner in which our society over-worships celebrity entertainers. That's hard to argue with. I understand the sentiment from fans around people like this dying before their time, but speaking as someone who never cared for Prince's music (and I'm not the only one), I think the news coverage yesterday was over the top.

I agree with this. I was watching CNN on the treadmill this morning (not my idea... only one open) and they were carrying on as if a saint died. One of their reporters, don't know his name and I can only say that he carried the resemblance of a milk dud, looked like he was about to begin weeping on the air.

 

[Tunescribe]

I agree with this. I was watching CNN on the treadmill this morning (not my idea... only one open) and they were carrying on as if a saint died. One of their reporters, don't know his name and I can only say that he carried the resemblance of a milk dud, looked like he was about to begin weeping on the air.

Prince was popular, but I think his so-called "influence" on popular music as a so-called "innovator" is debatable. I'd like to see someone here take a stab at defining exactly how he influenced and innovated. I saw a woman on CNN yesterday claim that Prince "made the profane profound." I thought to myself, WTF?

Just because an artist was popular doesn't make them groundbreaking. If you want to talk truly innovative musicians who have died recently, I'd put Keith Emerson, Bowie, Chris Squire and Lemmy Kilmister right up there.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Prince was popular, but I think his so-called "influence" on popular music as a so-called "innovator" is debatable. I'd like to see someone here take a stab at defining exactly how he influenced and innovated. I saw a woman on CNN yesterday claim that Prince "made the profane profound." I thought to myself, WTF?

Just because an artist was popular doesn't make them groundbreaking. If you want to talk truly innovative musicians who have died recently, I'd put Keith Emerson, Bowie, Chris Squire and Lemmy Kilmister right up there.

I tend to agree. What made Prince great was his improvisation and musical diversity. I'm not a die-hard fan of his but I appreciate what he did. He was something else.

I kinda put him in the same category as Queen or The Beatles. No single allegiance to a particular sound. They go where the music takes them.

 

[Tunescribe]

I tend to agree. What made Prince great was his improvisation and musical diversity. I'm not a die-hard fan of his but I appreciate what he did. He was something else.

I kinda put him in the same category as Queen or The Beatles. No single allegiance to a particular sound. They go where the music takes them.

He was an androgynous black chameleon who brought the sex/romantic thing and a bit of rock into pop r&b. I get all that; that's how he was different. 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.

 

[borisman]

Prince was HUGE, especially among all other musicians. He's just below God status (e.g. Led Zeppelin) in the music world. Today's music (or whatever you want to call it) is DEAD, just freakin dead. No originality or talent out there. People can't even write their own songs, play any instruments or perform "live" where it actually sounds good (like the older days). It's all been done, at least all the great stuff. You won't hear anything close to the music between 60's through a decade ago. The best concerts now a days are the ones done by bands from back in the day. They (the bands) all know there's garbage out there and people want to hear good music, even if it's been played out in the past, it's still damn good.

To quote James Earl Jones:
“Ray. People will come, Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. "Of course, we won't mind if you look around", you'll say, "It's only $20 per person". They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and that could be again. Oh...people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.”

 

[Tunescribe]

Prince was HUGE, especially among all other musicians. He's just below God status (e.g. Led Zeppelin) in the music world. Today's music (or whatever you want to call it) is DEAD, just freakin dead. No originality or talent out there. People can't even write their own songs, play any instruments or perform "live" where it actually sounds good (like the older days). It's all been done, at least all the great stuff. You won't hear anything close to the music between 60's through a decade ago. The best concerts now a days are the ones done by bands from back in the day. They (the bands) all know there's garbage out there and people want to hear good music, even if it's been played out in the past, it's still damn good.

I disagree with pretty much all of this. Prince was popular, hardly an innovator with wide-ranging cross-genre impact by any stretch. As for everything else, you're just looking in the wrong places for good music.

 

[Clonamery]

Prince was popular, but I think his so-called "influence" on popular music as a so-called "innovator" is debatable. I'd like to see someone here take a stab at defining exactly how he influenced and innovated. I saw a woman on CNN yesterday claim that Prince "made the profane profound." I thought to myself, WTF?

Just because an artist was popular doesn't make them groundbreaking. If you want to talk truly innovative musicians who have died recently, I'd put Keith Emerson, Bowie, Chris Squire and Lemmy Kilmister right up there.

A professed musical expert on CNN last night claimed that Prince influenced Lenny Kravitz. Period. I kept waiting for more input and there was none.

 

[Clonamery]

I disagree with pretty much all of this. Prince was popular, hardly an innovator with wide-ranging cross-genre impact by any stretch. As for everything else, you're just looking in the wrong places for good music.

Yup.

 

[FourierSeries]

Ethics......you should get some.

When you think about it, it's a pretty funny coincidence that these two individuals died on the same day. One was a dude who looked like a broad, and the other was a broad who looked like a dude.

 

[jah]

Today's music (or whatever you want to call it) is DEAD, just freakin dead. No originality or talent out there. People can't even write their own songs, play any instruments or perform "live" where it actually sounds good (like the older days). It's all been done, at least all the great stuff. You won't hear anything close to the music between 60's through a decade ago.

I bet you like AC/DC.

 

[borisman]

Studio albums 39
Live albums 4
Compilation albums 6
Video albums 17
Music videos 136
EPs 13
Singles 104
Remix albums 1

 

[borisman]

I bet you like AC/DC.

what's not to like?

 

[denverpatsfan]

Didn't know we had this many old curmudgeons on the board. I'm not sure how you can belittle a guy who sold 100-million albums in his lifetime.? Now go back and listen to your Patti Page records!

 

[Tunescribe]

Didn't know we had this many old curmudgeons on the board. I'm not sure how you can belittle a guy who sold 100-million albums in his lifetime.? Now go back and listen to your Patti Page records!

Prince's popularity and talent are indisputable. What is disputable are claims he was innovative, and influential on popular music at large beyond his own little sphere.