Prince is dead at 57. So many great songs and by far the best Superbowl halftime performer ever. Hard to find much Prince on Youtube but this is good:
by DougJ| 265 Comments
This post is in: Music
Prince is dead at 57. So many great songs and by far the best Superbowl halftime performer ever. Hard to find much Prince on Youtube but this is good:
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Mwangangi
Live coverage
Yutsano
I’m in so much I can’t even about this year. RIP Minnesota songbird.
Elizabelle
Makes me want to cry, seeing this blogpost. Not crying, but what a loss. And a lot of good music still to come. He still had it.
Omnes Omnibus
Fuck.
Poopyman
WHAT?
Joeyess
Sometimes it snows in April
moops
Not sure he still “had it” but there was two decades of Prince genius, which is more that almost everyone. He was a really nice guy too.
57 is a short life.
Miss Bianca
I can’t believe he was only 5 years older than I. When I think about all the unbelievable music he was making so early in his career, it boggles me at how young he must have been when “Purple Rain” came out – I was just thinking a few nights back when Omnes Omnibus and I were getting into a “Best Soundtrack Evah” dance-off that I had forgotten to shout out to “Purple Rain”. Damn. : (
Betty Cracker
Stunned.
Elizabelle
Genius. And such style. Never wore out his welcome.
hedgehog the occasional commenter
Oh, hell.
Joeyess
Greatest guitar player I’ve ever heard. Period.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: Oh! You’re here. Well…Purple Rain, bud. Yes? No?
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
To my own amazement, I am crying.
Hungry Joe
What? No. Just … NO.
singfoom
RIP his purple majesty. A sad day.
Lee
FYI it is hard to find Prince on Youtube because he was VERY aggressive with take down notices.
Omnes Omnibus
Controversy.
Mai.naem.mobile
Jeezus. Wow. I really wanted to see him in concert. This year has sucked.
JordanRules
I’m in shock. Wow.
Patricia Kayden
Unexpected and awful news. RIP Prince. A true artist.
dedc79
My personal favorite – How Come U Don’t Call me Anymore?
A sad song at any time, but particularly so today.
Mike J
Wow. Easily the greatest showman I ever saw.
lollipopguild
Life is short, Party like its 1999.
rikyrah
He was brilliant. He was talented. He challenged everything I thought ‘ Black ‘ singers should do, not only in his music, but appearance.
And, I loved him.
Loved him.
I’m crying now.
I haven’t felt this sucker punched since I heard about Michael Jackson.
Keith G
He was definitely part of the soundtrack to some of the most fun years of my life. Post-college, early professional world, the time and extra money to go clubbing and dancing to his music.
While it’s probably ridiculous to say that his like will not be seen again, I’m pretty sure there won’t be that many of them.
Keith P.
Very few artists AND performers exist in this world. There are some great performers who lip sync someone else’s songs; there are amazing songwriters who have zero stage presence (or straight-up stage fright). There are good songwriters who wind up being better producers. Prince was everything. Incredible songwriter, incredible performer, incredible musician, incredible producer.
In the words of Chris Rock, “Prince won.”
EDIT: And incredible basketball player.
hamletta
@Miss Bianca: Hell, he made his debut album when he was still in his teens. And he played all the instruments himself. “I Wanna Be Your Lover” was my jam in high school!
Tony J
Even with all the shocking celebrity deaths staining this shit of a year this one has simply stunned me. Prince? Dead at just 57?
RIP, Your Funky Highness.
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: Definitely on the list.
@Mike J: Yep, he could do everything Michael Jackson could – backwards and in heels.
Mwangangi
Yeah. My eyes are wet and my mouth is dry.
Elizabelle
Maybe MSNBC should go to Prince videos in heavy rotation, for a few weeks, and spare us Morning Joe and the usual crap.
Miss Bianca
@hamletta: I’m looking at my very own raspberry beret – which I bought in London last year thinking of that song – and Lord, I can’t tell whether I’m about to laugh or cry. I think I’m leaning toward to the latter
BGinCHI
I got lucky that when I was in HS, early 80s (graduated in ’84), one of my buddies had an older sister who went to very cool parties. One time we tried to score beer from her at one of them but she told us to fuck off, so we took a cassette on the way out.
It was Prince. 1999 on one side and Controversy on the other. We played it in the car and looked at each other and said, “What the fuck is that?” In the days before the interwebs, if you grew up in the Midwest and were rural, you just found out about stuff late. But in this case we were the first kids in our whole school and peer group to get turned on to Prince, who got big soon after with Purple Rain.
That cassette will always stay with me. Two great records that tasted great together.
RIP, man. I’m glad we were gathered here for this Thing Called Life together.
Cacti
Holy hell.
Shocked.
Doug!
@Elizabelle:
Amen
Elizabelle
@rikyrah: I was in North Carolina when I heard about Michael Jackson too. Only heard that he was dead, and wondered if Michael had been a suicide.
Nothing but shock about Prince. Both men before their time.
LAC
Saw him in the 1999 tour, the purple rain tour and his tour at the Verizon center a few years ago. He gave amazing performances and his music is amazing. This is shocking and sad. And please, no fucking lectures about how people die every day and blah blah. Damn it!
guachi
My father had 1999 and he’d play it all the time when we’d drive from SF to stinson Beach in sausilito. I’ve heard that album 100 times if I’ve heard it once.
“I only want you to have… Some fun” (was on the album version of 1999, but not the radio version)
A Ghost To Most
From below
RIP Prince. Not a lot in the soundtrack of my life, but you surely filled the soundtracks of millions of lives. An innovator who both bridged and created genres.
FY2016.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: awesome performance. Never seeing him in concert was a big peeve of mine, and now I never shall. Fuck.
Rand Careaga
His solo on this performance of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is pretty memorable.
Elizabelle
I am wondering if it’s flu plus walking pneumonia or something drug resistant. Or even a drug reaction. How sad.
Keith P.
And just so everyone knows, this is not a repost. Prince did not actually die 2 years ago.
raven
YouTube is slowwwwww.
Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class
Charles and David Koch still live, while Prince and David Bowie are dead.
Things sometimes suck to suck….
Icedfire
This is an absolute gutpunch for most of us here in Minnesota. He transcended genres, tastes, and media. Hell, what he did for the concert scene here with First Avenue has multiple punk aficionados I know reeling right now.
Should anyone here be interested, The Current is an independent radio station hosted by Minnesota Public Radio that has always had an extensive relationship with Prince and Paisley Park, and will be running his music nonstop starting in about 15 minutes as a tribute. The link above is to their free live stream.
I’m completely floored. 2016 can go fuck itself.
Poopyman
Skip to 3:25 if you just want the Prince part.
ETA: Same cut as Rand at #40. Sorry ’bout that.
Keith P.
@Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class: And Anthony Kiedis lives another day, too :(
A Ghost To Most
@Botsplainer, Cryptofascist Tool of the Oppressor Class:
But Fat Tony is still dead,so we got that going for us.
Elizabelle
@Icedfire: Condolences.
And thank you for the link. Would rather listen to Prince than the talking heads.
Cacti
Neither of the two biggest male music stars of the 1980s has lived to see 60.
Hard to believe.
rikyrah
You can’t find much Prince on youtube.
So, let’s smile and cry with the Charlie Murphy skit.
” Game..blouses..bitches.”
Mart
Agree. Super Bowl was awesome. By far the most entertaining ever. I have been saying that for many years. Damn kids and their Bruno Mars anyway…
TaMara (HFG)
On my own, living in Boston, he was the soundtrack of my wild years. I am heartbroken.
Loviatar
DAMM
Doug!
@rikyrah:
That was hilarious.
Xboxershorts
@Rand Careaga:
Pretty memorable?
Good lord, it’s inhumanly great! Almost GODLY
Wag
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6SFNW5F8K9Y While my heart gently weeps.
Poopyman
@Icedfire:
And we’re less than a third of the way through it.
Elizabelle
From a friend on Facebook:
Anya
The first legit concert I ever went to was Prince’s Planet Earth concert in London with my parents. It was the best experience, in part because I got to see my parents act like crazy music fans, but because Prince is masterful. When David Bowie died my dad said: Prince was the only original left. I was too scared to tell him about Prince. Can we just give up on 2016 all together? The one thing keeping me interested is enjoying Obama’s last months in office.
tinare
Damn, this is one of the worst years I can remember for deaths of celebrities I cared about. Definitely part of the soundtrack to my college years. Remember going to a late night packed theater showing of Purple Rain the day it came out. Just damn.
Keith G
Another thing that definitely cannot be overstated is that just like David Bowie before him, Prince’s choices as a performer gave enormous aid and comfort to queer kids.
Linnaeus
Bowie, Frey, Merle, Prince….ugh. Can I get a drink?
Cat48
RIP Prince, Best Concerts I’ve ever attended were Prince’s, such a show! So sexy!
CONGRATULATIONS!
This year fucking blows for so many reasons, but especially in that we’ve lost some musicians I really liked.
Mandarama
Shocked and sad– a fantastic musician and the soundtrack of my youth. I was just listening to him in the car yesterday and thinking that “Darling Nikki” really isn’t as shocking as we thought it was back then… Jesus, this crappy year.
Miss Bianca
@rikyrah: OMG, I was feeling weepy and you give us *this*? LMAO. It’s a good thing I’m alone in the office right now, that’s all I got to say…
Emma
@Tony J: Same here. It’s one blow after another.
Mnemosyne
WTF is it about 2016? For anyone who was into pro wrestling, Chyna also died today. And Doris Roberts was yesterday. This really does seem like an unusually high number of deaths for a single year.
raven
@Elizabelle: I had no idea for that until my 10 year younger brother told me.
raven
@Mnemosyne: And Pearl Washington.
Redshift
@Joeyess:
No contest. I only got to see him live once, and while he was great playing all the songs with the band, the segment of the concert where he just sat and played guitar was spellbinding.
Elizabelle
@tinare: Now I am hoping that theatres will roll out “Purple Rain” on the fullscreens in tribute.
Would be great to see it on big screen, and would make money for the theatres too.
ruemara
I’m so crushed. Was about to share the while my guitar link but I see you guys are on it. Bowie and Prince? Why?
A Ghost To Most
@Wag:
Wow! Thanks for that.
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
I need to share that.
geg6
I am completely devastated.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
Trollhattan
The Grim Reaper must really fucking hate pop music; he’s been taking our heroes out by the bushelfull. Fuck you, Grim Reaper.
raven
@ruemara: Because everything dies, baby that’s a fact.
Loviatar
A musical genius will have been born today, otherwise it wasn’t worth it.
CONGRATULATIONS!
@Elizabelle: There is a nasty-assed flu going around right now. I got it last week and am just getting over it now. Mine was so bad my doctor thought at first I had septicemia, and I thought personally I might die Friday night. Never so sick in my life. My doc put me on Tamiflu, which in retrospect was a great idea. I’m only a few years younger than His Purple Majesty was.
Take the flu seriously. It can and does kill people.
MomDoc
I hate today.
I remember trying to get my parents to let me go to the Dirty Mind Tour (too young!) I saw him in concert 4-5 times and was hoping to see him again.
I have to go listen to my CDs.
LAC
@Miss Bianca: me too, girl, me too!
hamletta
@Miss Bianca: Definitely the latter.
Back when I was a bartender, I invented a drink called the Raspberry Beret! Shot of Vodka, half-shot of Chambord, half-shot of white creme de cacao, splash of cream. Shake w/ice, strain into chilled glass.
A Ghost To Most
@Linnaeus:
Not for me,thanks. I’m burning one in their honor, and to all the fallen heroes.
Elizabelle
@hamletta: Yum.
Elizabelle
@CONGRATULATIONS!: Glad to hear you are on the mend. How frightening.
I am wondering if he was overcome and lost his breath while working in his recording studio. Or just being in his studio, because it was comforting to him.
Miss Bianca
@Xboxershorts:@Poopyman: First note, and all the hair on my arms goes up. Last time I remember that happening was the first time I heard Peter Green’s “The Supernatural”…
Cermet
Again, sorry to hear he was a really good musician and singer but his creativity was truly brilliant. A lost to us all. He was younger than I so it sinks in.
Shell
But just heard on the news, that they’re not going to the convention , if Trump is the nominee. Boo-friggin-hoo
Linnaeus
@CONGRATULATIONS!:
Yep. 250,000 to 500,000 worldwide, according to the WHO.
Origuy
TPM says, “Prince, whose full name was Prince Rogers Nelson, was hospitalized last week after his jet made an emergency landing. The artist told the media he was battling a bout of the flu.” Maybe it went into pneumonia, or something worse.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
Dayum, make it stop! The guy was just sex on a stick. My favorite song is Sign o’ the Times. Quite the band being assembled on the next plane, but slow it down plz, thx.
Cermet
@CONGRATULATIONS!: Glad you recovered and sorry you got so sick. Remember that Vit D helps protect one from getting the Flu and aids in recovery but one must be taking it well ahead of time and in sufficient levels (at least 45 ng/dl.) A warning to all, I would think.
Trollhattan
@Miss Bianca:
Almost feel superstitious about mentioning Peter Green, given he’s, you know, still alive and has had as tough a road in life as any performer I can name.
Brachiator
What a morning. What a day. All kinds of craziness at work and now this.
I remember seeing Prince at a concert in Long Beach, California. Amazing ass show. He was working it overtime.
He was definitely in that hardworking jamming tradition that included Wilson Pickett, Jackie Wilson, James Brown, and Michael Jackson.
This is what it sounds like when doves cry.
Trollhattan
@Origuy:
Sounds similar to the fate that befell Jim Henson.
Miss Bianca
@hamletta: Wow…that sounds amazing. I’ll come drink at your bar any time!
@Elizabelle: Me, too. Would love to see it again big screen. Iwould travel for that.
evap
I tried to get tickets to his concert in Atlanta last week, but it sold out immediately. After he played two shows, the plane he was on made an emergency landing and took him to a hospital.
I was born the same year as Prince, Madonna, and Michael Jackson. Two out of three are dead :( :( :(
Tony J
@Emma: Back in the summer of ’92 or ’93 I was asked to come see him in his Lovesexy Tour, but turned it down because I already had tickets to see Guns ‘n Roses. Regretted it ever since, but never more than today. Everyone who went said he was amazing, best show they’d ever seen, and I was an idiot for missing it.
Damn.
Steve in the ATL
@Joeyess:
The wife had that discussion a few months ago. I think his guitar playing gets largely ignored because of the style of music he plays, but he was seriously good. Totally underrated.
TaMara (HFG)
@Rand Careaga: Thanks for that.
lollipopguild
He had M Jackson level talent without all of the circus sideshow lifestyle.
A Ghost To Most
Personal preference is Mark Knopfler, but my knowledge is incomplete.
raven
@evap: I had a couple of friends there, I guess that was his last show.
Trentrunner
@Linnaeus: Pretty sure we’re going to find out it wasn’t “flu.” But that speculation is for another time.
Among other things, Prince wrote “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
the Conster, la Citoyenne
Every day Keith Richards must be all like wtf holy shit yay for me!
Elizabelle
@lollipopguild: My guess is that Prince eclipsed Michael, due to the instrumental virtuosity, but they are both sui generis.
Omnes Omnibus
@Icedfire: I think the poor website is being overwhelmed. The livestream keeps cutting out for me.
A Ghost To Most
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
That’s who came to mind,as well. The mileage on that man.
Linnaeus
@Trentrunner:
You may be right.
Miss Bianca
@Keith G: Amen to that.
Felanius Kootea
I still can’t believe it.
Betty Cracker
For some reason, I’ve always found it endearing that Prince stayed in Minnesota.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: Stick with it. I actually x’d out and then had it come blaring back like the ghost in the machine.
ETA: Spooky, but in a good way. Not like clowns. Oops! There it goes, off again. Should not have mentioned the C-word.
Linnaeus
@Betty Cracker:
Yeah, I think it’s kinda cool when artists do that.
Ben Cisco
Man, 2016 is seriously sucking so far.
ETA: If you think you have a “cold” or the “flu”, don’t fuck around with it. A month out and I am just now getting back to “normal” – and still had to get an antibiotic shot last Friday.
raven
@Betty Cracker: Stipe, and Mills keeps their houses here and Bill Berry lives out in the country.
geg6
@evap:
Me too. Horrible.
Elizabelle
@Betty Cracker: I like that too.
And on being removed from the world, to some extent, to work on his music. He appreciated and respected his gift.
Mnemosyne
@Trentrunner:
With absolutely nothing to back this up, I’m kind of leaning against it being drugs. As we saw with David Bowie, if you’re determined enough, you can conceal even a terminal illness. And 57 is right in the age range where an aggressive and nasty cancer could show up — we lost my stepbrother to lung cancer at 51.
But you never know. The common assumption with a performer is drugs.
Mary G
Wow, 2016 does suck so far for music. My obsession of the 70s followed by my obsession of the 80s, both unique geniuses in their own ways. Way too early for both.
A Ghost To Most
“It was a pretty big year for fashion,
A lousy year for rock and roll…”
Mwangangi
MTV is playing nothing but Prince videos. I know, MTV playing videos. Worth the view just to see that.
raven
Prince and the hoop.
lollipopguild
@Betty Cracker: He stayed grounded where as so many forget who they are or where they came from.
OGLiberal
@Xboxershorts: I first caught it on YouTube a couple years back. Just one of the best musical moments I’ve ever seen. And as noted above, he put on, by far, the best halftime performance ever.
bemused
Prince performed Purple Rain at Miami Superbowl in a downpour. Staffer said he called Prince to tell him it was raining in buckets and Prince said, can you make it rain harder. Another staffer was panicked. Prince had 4 live guitars plugged in. The twin dancers were wearing 8 inch heels on the tiled stage that turned very slick when wet. Just amazing performance and anyone who was there must be reliving it over and over now.
Elizabelle
@Mwangangi: re MTV: I wish they still did just do videos. I would watch them.
Ben Cisco
@Elizabelle: Quoted and spread.
raven
@Ben Cisco: Joe’s a jerkemer but he’s more into music than most of the news clowns.
hamletta
@Mnemosyne: Probably not. He was famously ascetic: no meat, booze, tobacco, etc.
raven
@Elizabelle: Video killed the radio star. . .
Icedfire
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m not surprised, to be honest.
I’ve been listening to the Minnesota Public Radio smartphone app – you can select The Current’s stream. It had a few hiccups at first but is running smoothly now.
I was in high school classes when September 11 happened, so this is quite possibly the first time I’ve ever heard radio deejays legitimately crying while on air. It’s…wow.
Peale
Lovesexy Tour Live
I wish I could find a link to the sign o the times concert movie.
Keith P.
@Origuy: Sounds to me like cancer…liver maybe. Only speaking as someone who knew someone doing fine, then had some stomach pains, went in to the hospital and was dead two weeks later from it.
ruemara
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: that is the fist joke someone’s made I didn’t feel like popping them in the mouth for. Even smiled. Well done.
Icedfire
@Icedfire: Apparently The Onion’s AV Club website is now linking to The Current’s livestream. Might help explain the bandwidth issues!
Omnes Omnibus
Been thinking a bit. If I had to pick, I would say that Dirty Mind is my favorite Prince album.
Ben Cisco
@raven: Fair enough, I’ll give him a pass. Just this once.
Shana
@raven: I think that’s why REM stayed so good for so long, they stayed in Athens for the most part.
raven
@Shana: It didn’t hurt that’s for sure. I have video’s I shot of a wedding reception they did in a little bowling alley wit another bands equipment. I’ve asked a couple of times if I could put them up but never got an ok.
Miss Bianca
@Icedfire: Seems to be running fine now (knocks wood).
@Omnes Omnibus: Heh. Title track is playing right now.
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: Now you’ve done it.
Elizabelle
Prince announced last month that he was at work on a memoir, tentatively titled “The Beautiful Ones”, to come out next year. Wonder if they made much progress on it.
NY Times, March 16: Prince Announces Coming Memoir at Performance
MazeDancer
@Mwangangi:
Amazing. Watching now. Music videos on MTV! And CNN and MSNBC going wall-to-wall. With Brian Williams in a purple tie.
My person fav Prince B-side is “Why Don’t You Call Me Anymore?”. Alas, no vid links available. But a suggestion for those streaming at Spotify, Amazon, or Pandora, etc.
John Revolta
Tsk. Jeez…………….wow. Poor Lenny Kravitz.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: What? What’d I do *this time*?
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: Mentioned that something was working. If you jinxed it….
Punchy
Yeah, but Prince expouses Minnesota Values, and I’m sure we all know what Minnesota Values lead to.
Yours,
Teddy C.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: “Sorry, Ren”… : (
ETA: If it’s any consolation, my stream just cut out when we got to “Controversy” cuts….
Bobby Thomson
God fucking damn it.
Eric S.
@Rand Careaga: On a stage of musical superstars, Prince owned it!
The Thin Black Duke
Fuck, man. 2016 goddamn sucks.
raven
@Miss Bianca: Yep
lollipopguild
@Punchy: Yep. “Minnesota Nice”.
SiubhanDuinne
It occurs to me that Prince probably provided much of the soundtrack to POTUS’s and FLOTUS’s lives, and I’ll bet they are feeling as gut-punched as everyone else. Wonder whether there will be a statement later.
FlipYrWhig
@Elizabelle:
Oh, RIGHT! I know Dan Piepenbring from a few years back. Shit shit shit.
daryljfontaine
The price Death demanded for taking Scalia is too high.
Thank u 4 a funky time, Purple One.
D
Schlemazel Khan
@A Ghost To Most: @A Ghost To Most:
I’m with you on that plus Hendrix and Clapton (yes, I saw the above quote). But then I never paid much attention to Prince’s guitar other than that ridiculous hing he did at the SB. If people who know great guitarists say he ranks than he does.
Keith P.
@daryljfontaine: Chyna was too a price for that!
SiubhanDuinne
Now I’m hoping he’ll receive a posthumous Kennedy Center Honor this year. I’m certain he would have been named within the next few years anyhow. The nominating committee probably thought they had plenty of time :-(
raven
Eddie Murphy, Prince and b-ball. If you don’t feel like laughing right now don’t watch it.
A Ghost To Most
@Schlemazel Khan:
Fuck Clapton, the racist old coot. Lots of folks mention SRV as belonging, Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes, and Skunk Baxter.
I had no idea how good a guitarist Prince was, but the clip of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is first-rate.
As far as pedal steel goes, John Neff and David Lindley are my favorites.
eta no more parmasan rancor? Is it truly over?
Schlemazel Khan
Anybody know what George R.R. Martin is up to these days? I wonder if he wrote the script for 2016
rikyrah
The Time I Went Roller-Skating With Prince
(In 2013, we ran an essay from Questlove’s book about the time he was invited to a roller‑skating party with Prince, who died Thursday at the age of 57. That essay is reprinted below.)
The following is an excerpt from Mo’ Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Ben Greenman, out now from Grand Central Publishing.
———————–
I got a text from Prince’s assistant. That’s how things go in the Prince universe: You get a pre‑message saying that a phone message is coming later. But this time, the message said something different. It said that there was going to be a roller‑skating party that night, for Valentine’s Day, and that I should bring some cool people
Schlemazel Khan
@A Ghost To Most:
I try very hard to ignore artists personal lives as they tend to interfere with enjoyment of their work.
Baud recommended the change yesterday after I described my desire to pacify the savage portions of America by force.
It appears as if we had hit peak parmasan rancor early this week & I expect it to soften from here. I did put together a collection of foods I plan on posting on the Friday recipe exchange for parmasan rancor.
Icedfire
First Avenue employees placing flowers at Prince’s star.
Right in the feels, man, I tell ya.
Patricia Kayden
At least Wolf Blitzer has given us a good laugh by mixing up Prince’s Purple Rain with Hendrix’ Purple Haze.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wolf-blitzer-purple-haze_us_57191549e4b0d4d3f722a2f3
raven
@A Ghost To Most: Jesus, what the fuck would you say if Clapton had said he sucked?
Elizabelle
This is eerie, in retrospect. From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, April 16, on Prince’s last Saturday night:
link: http://m.startribune.com/prince-offers-a-little-speech-and-even-less-piano-at-paisley-to-prove-he-s-fine/375981801/
[so there could be an album or film from the final concerts]
[hit the link; Prince says he’s staying away from his guitar as he concentrates on his piano skills for current tour]
A Ghost To Most
@raven:
Clapton lost credibility with me when he aligned with the National Front. He was a great guitarist, but he made his mark playing the blues, ffs. His entire life was made on appropriating music from people he apparently despised.
Captain C
WTF 2016?!?!?
SiubhanDuinne
@Patricia Kayden:
Jeesus. That’s almost as bad as mixing up 9/11 and 7-11. But of course nobody would do that.
Elizabelle
@Patricia Kayden: Anybody remember Wolf Blitzer’s ordeal on Celebrity Jeopardy a few years ago?
Not even “Are you smarter than a third grader?” calibre.
Man is not quick on his feet.
raven
@A Ghost To Most: Damn, had no idea. This is an interesting article
David Bowie has made a career out of reinventing himself, both physically and musically, but his most controversial persona was his Thin White Duke character from 1976, a self-described “emotionless Aryan superman” that Bowie developed for his Station to Station album. Around this time, Bowie would make several pro-fascist comments during interviews, including praises of nationalism and Adolf Hitler, culminating in a famous photograph of Bowie allegedly giving a Nazi salute. In later years, Bowie would blame his actions during this time on his heavy drug use and commitment to the Thin White Duke persona
Schlemazel Khan
@A Ghost To Most:
I’m sorry to hear that about him.
A Ghost To Most
@raven:
From what I can tell, the Duke was purely persona, and he came to regret it very deeply. Clapton is a fascist sympathizer, from what I have learned.
Miss Bianca
Upon reflection, I’m going to say that “1999” is my favorite album.
Elizabelle
@SiubhanDuinne: Hope you are feeling much better today. Sorry to hear about the spill.
Yeah, I thought the Obamas are likely very sad and shocked too. Would guess they got to meet The Purple One at some point? Hope so.
Aretha Franklin wondered aloud, on MSNBC, if death was attributable to the Zika virus.
Also, I am laughing that wingnuts cannot get away from cable clips of a skinny black dude writhing to devil rock and roll for a few days. Looking kind of gender disordered too. LOL.
raven
@A Ghost To Most: Yea, that’s what the google is telling me. I had not a clue.
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: Second on my list.
Miss Bianca
@A Ghost To Most: Da fug? Clapton a National Front sympathizer? Really? I always thought he was overrated as a guitarist, but I never took him for a bona fide moran.
Schlemazel Khan
@raven:
I had read that Bowie was quite a hell raiser as a kid and that one of the things he did was radio interviews where he was intentionally provocative in the way you describe but that it was meant as satire to expose people who really believed that crap. Wonder where the truth lies there.
Don’t think that covers Clapton
Germy
@A Ghost To Most:
The Rock Against Racism movement was started in response to ugly remarks Clapton made onstage.
raven
@Schlemazel Khan: I am not of the Bowie generation.
Sasha
@Mwangangi:
Same thing happened when MJ passed. That’s when you know shit’s turned real.
Rob
@A Ghost To Most #39: My feelings exactly. Very well put.
piratedan
@Miss Bianca: it is decidedly spiffy and still holds up well today imho
raven
Here’s his last show in Atlanta, grab it fast.
geg6
@Mnemosyne:
Not Prince. He was very against drugs.
raven
@geg6: That’s what I thought, but then I don’t know abut Clapton either!
Omnes Omnibus
@geg6: @raven: I would be shocked if it were drugs.
geg6
@Icedfire:
I’ve been crying in my office all afternoon. My students are confused and trying to comfort me. They are really sweet.
Schlemazel Khan
@raven:
1947 so he is not far off, raven. I think England had hipsters long before the US & he sort of was in that type of this but with a social conscious thing going on
Miss Bianca
@geg6: Please don’t tell me they’re asking who Prince is…
msdc
2016, you can go right the fuck back to wherever the fuck you came from.
A Ghost To Most
@Schlemazel Khan:
throw in backing up truckloads of cocaine into his nose during the Duke period.
The fact that he married Iman (Imam?), and acted like there was never a happier man in the world for the rest of his life speaks louder, I think.
The Thin Black Duke
Check out “The Vault”, a seriously overlooked and underrated CD.
raven
@Schlemazel Khan: Yea, I meant I wasn’t into him like people 10 years younger than me that got all hysterical when he died.
elftx
Something happened on the day he died
Spirit rose a metre then stepped aside
Somebody else took his place, and bravely cried
(I’m a blackstar, I’m a blackstar)
Been a tough year for losing icons
Trooptrap Tripetrope
It’s too bad Prince turned into such a raging homophobic asshole in his later years, after he became a Jehovah’s Witless.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Wife just lowered the flag to half-mast at her high school. “I don’t care if I get a ration of shit from the parents about it”. Damn, I love her.
Elizabelle
@raven: Thank you. Listening to it now. Quite good, and he does not sound winded.
Is there anyway to save the link, in event someone takes it down?
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
I heard that interview with Aretha on MSNBC, and that speculation struck me too. Yes, thanks, much improved today, to the point that I’m out and about and not even hobbling that much. Just need to remind myself to move frequently so my back doesn’t seize up.
Just heard that Obama has released a statement. Am going in search of it.
geg6
@Elizabelle:
I once said in front of a bunch of the Teahadi types that infest my part of the world that I though the sexiest man alive was Prince. I thought I was going to literally see their heads explode. LOL! Good times!
geg6
@Miss Bianca:
Oh no. They, too, worship at the Purple Throne.
They just can’t believe I’m crying. I’m not known to be emotional at work.
Trollhattan
@raven:
His music was never in my wheelhouse but his performances were dazzling, amply demonstrating both his chops and considerable showmanship. I certainly don’t begrudge him his fame and admire how he conducted himself over a long career. For that matter, I’m uncomfortable with the Michael Jackson comparisons for that reason–Prince seems to have remained genuine to his craft and his fans, and didn’t abuse his fame and clout. That other guy…ugh.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Well. Damn. I learn something here every time. Don’t like learning this, but that’s life.
SiubhanDuinne
@SiubhanDuinne:
Here is President Obama’s statement:
Technocrat
I had a meeting right after hearing about Prince. I just nodded mostly, and kept hoping no one would ask me to speak. Too choked up. I’m sure I agreed to some heinous shit, but I barely remember it.
Thanks, Prince!
ETA: Can’t believe how hard this has hit me.
Germy
@SiubhanDuinne: I remember seeing him on Tavis Smiley and he said he suffered from a seizure disorder. Maybe this, combined with a nasty bout with the flu/respiratory virus?
Miss Bianca
@geg6: One of my favorite exchanges from one of my favorite fantasy novels, War for the Oaks by Emma Bull:
“All I know is, this kid’s cuter than Prince, when he wants to be.”
“No one’s cuter than Prince.”
@SiubhanDuinne: Aw, darn it…I’m getting sniffly again, reading that…@Technocrat: don’t know why Prince’s death is hitting me so much harder than Bowie’s. Bowie’s was a shock and I felt sad, but I’m feeling mildly devastated by Prince’s passing.
A Ghost To Most
@CONGRATULATIONS!:
This is stuck in my head now:
“I’m brave enough to be crazy
I’m strong enough to be weak
I see all these heroes with feet of clay
Whose mighty ships have sprung a leak
And I want you to tell me darlin’
Just what do you believe in now?”
raven
@Trollhattan: We’re on the same page.
p.a.
Shit. Even the headbangers I knew liked Prince, and it had little to do with pyrotechnics. Everyone knew he was balls.
Germy
His cover of RadioHead’s “Creep” is up on youtube. Not sure how long it will stay there…
rikyrah
@Elizabelle:
The Obamas had a private party at the White House last year where Prince was the entertainment.
CONGRATULATIONS!
@p.a.: Used to play for a living. Knew he was balls. Didn’t quite realize how much so until I saw that SB halftime show. Dude brought the goods on the guitar and did the job, full stop. And he could play all the genres, as any real musician can, everything from jazz to rock to metal. Probably could play a mean polka, hell. He was fucking great.
He did a small club show here a couple of years ago. $750 a ticket. I was seriously considering it. Both my wife and I were seriously considering it, but that’s a LOT of money and we don’t make that much. We decided to pass. I deeply regret that decision now, as does she.
Elizabelle
@rikyrah: Oh yeah, right.
So glad to hear that. Yet another reason I like ALL of them. DC will not be the same. (Thank Dog.)
Icedfire
And now the livestream is playing Purple Rain in its entirety…
Schlemazel Khan
@raven:
same here.
I liked some of Prices stuff but didn’t feel that close to him. This is sad but any 57 YO dying is sad (unless it is Ted Cruz)
NobodySpecial
@Miss Bianca: Yep, back in ’76 he was on stage claiming that Britain was becoming a ‘black colony’ and that a vote for Enoch Powell was a vote to ‘keep England white’. Considering how many black musicians he both palled around with and supported, I’m gonna go with ‘Was surrounded by his buddies in the Tulsa scene for way too long’ with a big dose of ‘drinking at least a fifth of scotch a night’, which are both quite well documented. I certainly would hate to think he was that much a racist.
Elizabelle
The concert link Raven put up is terrific. He’s done “Controversy” and “I would die for you”, other songs I do not know, and the piano playing is exceptional. Good falsetto. He’s interacting with his audience; everyone’s having a good night.
Glad it was recorded professionally too.
JPL
@SiubhanDuinne: I’m pleased that you are on the mend. Take care!
Mary G
Some great images of Prince fashion on Tom and Lorenzo.
Elizabelle
Now he is covering David Bowie’s Heroes.
Wow. Great rendition. Great voice. Just piano accompanying. But wow.
A Ghost To Most
@NobodySpecial:
Yea, I’m gonna go with good-old fashioned British racist. Wog is not a term you’re likely to pick up in Tulsa.
SiubhanDuinne
@Germy:
Didn’t know that (about the seizure disorder) but right now it makes as much sense as anything. I suppose the authorities will release an autopsy in a few days — AFAIK, that’s standard procedure with any sudden death. So I expect we’ll learn the sorry details fairly soon.
Technocrat
@Miss Bianca:
I’d say exactly the same. Shocked/sad vs mildly devastated.
I really really liked Bowie’s music, and thought he was an iconic musician. But Prince was nights sitting in my first apartment with friends and wine and Purple Rain crying in the background.
hamletta
@SiubhanDuinne: The seizures were when he was little, though. One of the interviewees mentioned it on MSNBC.
Miss Bianca
@A Ghost To Most: Holy damn. No matter what kind of drugs he was on, that is just vile. Did he ever walk it back?
Mnemosyne
@Miss Bianca:
Bowie’s hit me harder, but I was REALLY into Bowie starting around age 13. I liked Prince, but he came along too late in my teenage years to be my moonage daydream.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Miss Bianca:
He was a junkie in those days(in addition to the booze).
Elizabelle
Tweet from JCole. LOL. It’s so true.
Mnemosyne
@rikyrah:
Funny parallel: I spent much of my early teenage years rollerskating to “When Doves Cry” and “Kiss” at the roller rink in Mundelein. I’m sure it’s long gone by now.
ETA: O. M. G. I just checked the internet and it’s still there. Wow.
danielx
RIP…..His Royal Badness.
James K. Polk, Esq.
Not a big fan myself, although his talents were obvious.
Get your flu shot people!
Steeplejack (phone)
Prince at the Super Bowl (video).
BillinGlendaleCA
@Mnemosyne: I used to go to a rollerskating rink when I was in Jr. High; the soundtrack was a bit different(early 70’s).
danielx
He did an after-show show here years ago. From an attendee…
John D
@Mary G:
That seems like an … odd claim, in the era of Lady Gaga.
I did lose more than a musical artist today. I lost a huge chunk of my young adulthood.
LAC
@geg6: my daughter made me all weepy when she called my husband I to say how sad she was. She said thanks to us she got learn and listen to this gifted man. She is graduating in two weeks from college. Maybe that is why I got weepy again. Her, my little skinny boo, watching in bewilderment while we danced around to a Prince song.
delphinium
Damn.
Shana
@John D: I dunno, Gaga just seems so…. calculated to me, whereas Bowie and Prince, while still deliberate, seemed much more genuine. She just leaves me cold.
Applejinx
RIP Prince, a great musician, arranger, guitar player, singer, you name it.
Any guitar player alive who listened to his playing on the ‘Purple Rain’ album would tell you he was one of the greats. I tried to find a clip of the insane ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ guitar break, but as Prince didn’t like getting exploited by YouTube he’s kept most of his music off it. I dug up the vinyl and I’m listening to it as he’d have wanted. At the end of the song, he just goes NUTS on guitar. It’s not even the notes, though they’re impressive: he makes the guitar just scream.
I can’t be that surprised he died even though he lived clean: I know few people who suffered more at the hands of rich people and corporations, and that wears on you. He’d appear in public with ‘slave’ written on his face. The symbol period was because the record company literally owned his name. I’m not surprised he didn’t like what YouTube does, after going through that: must’ve seemed like just more ripoff (which it is: just different rich people and corporations).
RIP to a great musician and true artist.
Trollhattan
@Shana:
Gaga’s a conceptual artist who happens to tie it in with music. Those others are musicians first and foremost and can…could do things she simply isn’t capable of. Will allow as to how she’s a lot more engaging and talented than Madonna (with whom she’s most compared), who’s a lesser musician and conceptually… I dunno, just doesn’t click.
FWIW Gaga’s Superbowl anthem really surprised me. In the good sense.
Kathleen
@Patricia Kayden: Was he lamenting purple on purple crime?
PJ
@Applejinx: The funny thing is that he mostly left the guitar pyrotechnics off of his records, but when I saw him live, his playing was jaw-dropping. On top of being an amazing singer and a great dancer. He was probably the best all-around performer I have ever seen.
Tony J
Just watched that “As My Guitar Gently Weeps” clip for the first time and what strikes you right from the moment Prince takes centre stage is how much he – enjoyed – making that guitar wail. The expression on his face as he crouches over, twisting and turning his instrument to strike the funkiest pose, is of sheer, mischevious joy at the sounds he was – seemingly effortlessly – able to produce. Not a single wasted movement, every motion carrying naturally and gracefully into the next. Damn, that man had a presence and a voice to match the talent.
Damn.
John Revolta
@Miss Bianca: @BillinGlendaleCA: Clapton was off junk by then but was still drinking very heavily. His explanation, such as it is, was that some Saudi prince had tried to pick up his wife Patti earlier that day and he was pissed off and drunk. Since then, he’s gone the Jesus route, which may have changed his outlook on things but I dunno. I was a big fan once, but Clapton’s always been a spoiled rich jerk as far as I can see.
Miss Bianca
@LAC: Aww..you’re making me feel weepy again.
@Applejinx: What so many people don’t seem to grok is how much these “rock star excesses” we hear about come from some sort of legal/contractual background. Everyone’s heard about the notorious “brown M & M” rider in Van Halen’s contracts – but I remember reading David Lee Roth’s autobiography (a hoot, if you’re into rock star biographies, which I am) where he explained that they put that in to make sure that the venues had *read the damn contract*, because it was full of other technical details about how to deal with their (literal) tons of equipment, etc. If they saw that bowl on the table with the brown M & Ms removed, they breathed easier knowing that there weren’t going to be any ugly surprises or fuck-ups.
Likewise, Prince did that whole “Artist Formerly Known as Prince” thing and adopting the symbol as his official name to fuck with Warner Brothers. If you can’t pronounce someone’s name in court, you’re going to have a hell of a time with court proceedings. Smart dude – one of the only ones who managed to take on the recording industry and win.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
First, Prince left entirely too early, and I’m sad. And, I don’t want to distract from his remembrance thread. But I want to comment on @John Revolta:
And such a not bigoted guy. Can he play guitar? Sure. Is he also a platinum plated asshole? IMO, yes.
PaulWartenberg2016
Dear 2016:
Keep your filthy paws off Ringo and Paul.
Also Springsteen.
And any of the surviving members of the Clash.
debbie
@Elizabelle:
I think Clapton was being excessively modest, but yeah, Prince’s solo in the link below is pretty amazing.
I have a handful of songs that, when they come on the radio, life stops and I roll up the windows to bellow along until the very last note. Red Corvette is high up on that list.
Don’t screw around with flu, people.
debbie
There’s a Google Doodle up for Purple Rain already.
Brachiator
@debbie:
Yes!
And clicking on it leads to all kinds of great Prince stuff. Links to videos of some of his best (not just most popular) songs and other material. A very nice google tribute.
Elizabelle
@debbie: Good on Google, but the rain should be teardrops.
J R in WV
Wow, this is so hard. I really love music, and have traveled long distances to hear someone perform that I heard about. Fortunate to live where Mountain Stage lives, they bring great performers to our small town – like Sarah McLachlan, REM, lots of Texas folks.
But Prince, what an inspired genius. Wish I had seen him live… too late now.
RIP
PS: Thanks for all the great links, guys! While My Guitar Gently Weeps is great always, that was fabulous. The stream from MN is great too… all the music, in order. Block parties tonight, too.
2016 sucks rocks!
Davebo
And the stupidest guy on the internet makes note.
Breaking: Singer Prince Dead at 57 — Thought to be a Republican
I’m speechless.
NCSteve
I was saddened and gobsmacked and reflecting on the role “The Beautiful Ones” played in the soundtrack of my life at a certain very complicated and messy point in my early twenties, but keeping it in perspective, though that perspective was heavily infused with a lot of “damn, he was just three years older than me and fuck mortality, anyway.” But I wasn’t really feeling it. Then I heard them playing “Purple Rain” on NPR on the way home, and suddenly I’m afraid I’m going to have to pull off onto the shoulder for a few minutes until I can see again.
On one hand, fuck mortality. And on the other, every time I hear “The Beautiful Ones,” I’ll always, just for a few minutes, once again be that besotted and anguished and confused twenty-three year old kid, feeling the pain and the heat as only someone that age can.
Thanks for that, man. And fuck you mortality.
Mnemosyne
@Rand Careaga:
Okay, I only just had a chance to watch that now that I’m home from work, and I have to admit I laughed with sheer enjoyment when he did the lean-back thing. (People who want to know what I’m talking about are going to have to watch it.) And it was especially funny because you could see Tom Petty and the other guy crack up and Prince’s mischievous grin back at them.
Applejinx
@Miss Bianca: Oh, yes, so very right you are :)
Specifically, the M&Ms story is really great. Catering got the request for a bowl of M&Ms. The part about “There will be no brown M&M’s in the backstage area, upon pain of forfeiture of the show, with full compensation” was article 126 buried in countless pages about technical riders! (though I also see Snopes has the catering rider getting a mention). Stuff like “Article 148: There will be fifteen amperage voltage sockets at twenty-foot spaces, evenly, providing nineteen amperes”.
Roth (cited in the Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/vanhalen.asp) tells a story about how a university in Colorado booked Van Halen and didn’t pay attention to the technical riders. Sure enough, there were brown M&Ms and sure enough Roth trashed the backstage. But also, when they set up the stage, the weight of the stage wrecked their floor doing 80K of damage. And the story became that Roth trashed the place and did 80,000$ of damage. He said ‘Who am I to get in the way of a good rumor?’