OK. I admit it. I never really "got" Prince. Or much of Bowie for that matter. Or Lou Reed.

DaveSchmidt said:

Ah. So that's where Delaney and Bonnie stole him from.

he's been hospitalized for years.  he was schizophrenic his entire life, and eventually bludgeoned his mother to death in the 80s.  very sad and tragic story of untreated mental illness.

He played on all kinds of great stuff (Pretzel Logic, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Nilsson Schmilsson, Low Spark of High Heeled Boys). But this is probably his greatest contribution to the popular culture. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY-Z6wm6TMQ

I will love punk until the day I die.  Beethoven was fun when I played the piano but the idea of playing his stuff around the house leaves me cold.  I didn't care for Prince's music but there was something about his funky persona and his utter refusal to live by anyone else's rules that made my world a better place.  

I mourn his passing even if I will probably never intentionally play one of his songs.

the18thletter said:

I don't think there is anything wrong with not 'getting' Prince's music. Not sure why a thread was needed during his celebration of life. As long as he's been making music this can't be a sudden revelation..

I understand where DB is coming from. I never thought much of Prince one way or the other, but did find him to be much too affected for my taste. I do like the songs he did for other people. So I find myself puzzled at the commentary I am reading and hearing, placing him among the top handful of rock/pop musicians ever.

I do not disparage anyone's opinion or sense of loss, but I feel odd that everyone else gets it but me.

debby said:

I understand where DB is coming from. I never thought much of Prince one way or the other, but did find him to be much too affected for my taste. I do like the songs he did for other people. So I find myself puzzled at the commentary I am reading and hearing, placing him among the top handful of rock/pop musicians ever.

I do not disparage anyone's opinion or sense of loss, but I feel odd that everyone else gets it but me.

I would imagine that those who care about Prince and love his music might rise to the DB challenge and defend Prince; whereas "everyone else" who is indifferent to him wouldn't respond and might not even bother reading the thread. 

I don't understand this thread and the preoccupation with 'not getting' Prince-  or anything else for that matter- so what?

I don't like peas, but I certainly don't mind if you do and I promise not to annoy you with my thoughts on peas while you're enjoying them.

The best thing about this thread is when another poster's attempt to grok leads to music/artists/links I'm not hip to or may have forgotten about.

So, kudos and thanks to @Azabache , @Spike_Jones , @davepressel (two times for you mr. pressel- did he put his foot in that cut or what!) ,  @DaveSchmidt , @dave , @max_weisenfeld and especially  @imonlysleeping for bringing it full circle. Like thousands of turntablists back in the day I played the break at 2:19 from Incredible Bongo Band thousands of times to get the party started. I also mixed Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side over looped backbeats to the chagrin of dancers all over the northeast. And yes, the colored girls in attendance sang the hell out of that chorus. Finally, thanks to @drummerboy for not getting Prince in the first place- your loss, my gain.  I'll keep checking back to see what else shows up here.

If some art doesn't touch you that simply means it's not for you- either you don't need it or you're not ready to receive it. No harm- just move away quietly and let those folks who feel it- feel it.  

Doo de doot de doot do do do do de doot dooooo  (or something like that)

flimbro said:
If some art doesn't touch you that simply means it's not for you- either you don't need it or you're not ready to receive it. No harm- just move away quietly and let those folks who feel it- feel it.  

+1

I understand the OP's question perfectly. I guess I don't idolize any modern musical artists. There are many I quite like and whose music I enjoy, including Bowie and Prince, but I can't see crying at any music star's death, or grieving in any real sense. And I find it difficult to grasp why people start jumping down each others' throats over it. Tastes differ just as personalities do, and that's okay. Really. 

PeggyC said:

I understand the OP's question perfectly. I guess I don't idolize any modern musical artists. There are many I quite like and whose music I enjoy, including Bowie and Prince, but I can't see crying at any music star's death, or grieving in any real sense. And I find it difficult to grasp why people start jumping down each others' throats over it. Tastes differ just as personalities do, and that's okay. Really. 

Oh come on.  If we can't hate each other over music, what can we hate each other over?  There was a time in my life (when I was a teen ager) when musical taste was the single most important attribute that I considered in another person.  I've toned that down A LOT, but there are still certain groups and even genres that would be a major check in the negative column if I knew someone liked them.  I don't claim this a virtue, I just state it as a fact.

Did someone mention a Prince song ear worm?  Since I first heard it, his "I Would Die 4 U" is mine.  I had thought I banished it at last, and then Prince died.  I think it must be the horns.  There's something very angsty about them, as "a transcendent emotion in that it combines the unbearable anguish of life with the hopes of overcoming this seemingly impossible situation."

In 1984 I went to see "Purple Rain" at the old school Bloomfield Theater.  I was alone.  It was a true experience.  Folks sang along and mouthed the dialogue.  

Remember how it was, Dotty Parker?  What IS THIS, a person would ask themselves, when a Prince song came on the radio in between blah and blah blah.  What even IS THIS???

.

ml1 said:

DaveSchmidt said:

Ah. So that's where Delaney and Bonnie stole him from.

he's been hospitalized for years.  he was schizophrenic his entire life, and eventually bludgeoned his mother to death in the 80s.  very sad and tragic story of untreated mental illness.

I didn't know that. Yes, very sad.

Actually, I was alluding to the slide guitarist sitting in with him. And accompanying her: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQQ9OBP2XKY&sns=em

And him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR11RZ4iNbk&sns=em

DaveSchmidt said:

ml1 said:

DaveSchmidt said:

Ah. So that's where Delaney and Bonnie stole him from.

he's been hospitalized for years.  he was schizophrenic his entire life, and eventually bludgeoned his mother to death in the 80s.  very sad and tragic story of untreated mental illness.

I didn't know that. Yes, very sad.

Actually, I was alluding to the slide guitarist sitting in with him. And accompanying her: 



And him: 

I knew Duane was a Muscle Shoals guy, but figured the piano coda referred to the guy who wrote it and played piano

Just read a book about the Wrecking Crew and the sheer volume of hits those musicians played on was incredible.  Not to mention how they shaped songs and arranged them so brilliantly on the fly.  They were on the clock, trying to finish quickly and come in at budget, but also trying to make hits.  Carol Kaye was one of the Wrecking Crew bassists, and while recording "The Beat Goes On" for Sonny & Cher she came up with the song's signature hook.  They had hit a wall on a one-chord song that was going nowhere, until she suggested this bass line:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8gVUwrJZzo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y8Q2PATVyI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl-3a1scJrU

goo goo gjoob.

What???   What a ridiculous thing to say.

boomie said:

What???   What a ridiculous thing to say.

He thinks the guy you posted is Bruce Springsteen.

Anyway, still a silly thing to say.

flimbro said:

I don't like peas, but I certainly don't mind if you do and I promise not to annoy you with my thoughts on peas while you're enjoying them.

I dislike mushrooms, and when someone talks about eating them, I have a knee-jerk reaction. I make a face. I can't help it...

PeggyC said:

I understand the OP's question perfectly. I guess I don't idolize any modern musical artists. There are many I quite like and whose music I enjoy, including Bowie and Prince, but I can't see crying at any music star's death, or grieving in any real sense. And I find it difficult to grasp why people start jumping down each others' throats over it. Tastes differ just as personalities do, and that's okay. Really. 

I agree that tastes differ and am surprised about the debates.  I was teary eyed when Bowie, Glenn Fry, Alan Rickman and Prince died.  They were just here but now they are gone.  Overall for me, deaths are a matter of for whom the bell tolls.

Oh. Well, see, I do actually cry for actors. Alan Rickman, Robin Williams... H'mmm. That's odd.   

PeggyC said:

Oh. Well, see, I do actually cry for actors. Alan Rickman, Robin Williams... H'mmm. That's odd.  "> 

I wasn't brought to tears when he died, but I still miss Phil Hartman.

When Maggie Smith and Judi Dench go, I am going into formal mourning. Not sure how long that might last.

I can't recall ever having an emotional reaction to the death of an actor. Maybe it's because they seem less like creative visionaries than vessels for somebody else's vision (director, writer, etc.)? Not sure why (never really thought about it before), but I just don't feel the same emotional connection to actors that I do to musicians. It's an interesting question. I guess I just tend not to respond emotionally to particular performances so much as to the overall experience of watching a movie. And I've never been able to muster any interest in actors as people beyond the work. Just don't care at all about their outside lives. Whereas musicians I find endlessly fascinating. 

PeggyC said:

When Maggie Smith and Judi Dench go, I am going into formal mourning. Not sure how long that might last.

imonlysleeping said:

I can't recall ever having an emotional reaction to the death of an actor. Maybe it's because they seem less like creative visionaries than vessels for somebody else's vision (director, writer, etc.)? Not sure why (never really thought about it before), but I just don't feel the same emotional connection to actors that I do to musicians. It's an interesting question. I guess I just tend not to respond emotionally to particular performances so much as to the overall experience of watching a movie. And I've never been able to muster any interest in actors as people beyond the work. Just don't care at all about their outside lives. Where as musicians I find endlessly fascinating. 

PeggyC said:

When Maggie Smith and Judi Dench go, I am going into formal mourning. Not sure how long that might last.

Maybe that's why I miss Phil Hartman more than other actors.  He also wrote material, and there was a sense that as a voice actor he was bringing a lot more to the role than just reading a script.  Like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDOI0cq6GZM

The death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman brought a brief tear to my eye.  

But if all actors did was regurgitate someone else's talent, anybody could do it. Yet I cannot act very well, but I do sing. And write, play piano and guitar, albeit not on anything like a genius level. There are many different forms of creativity. I do respond strongly to many kinds of music, but usually not the ones that are in current vogue.

People respond to different things. I remember being very surprised to learn that the only thing my mother really valued in a song were the lyrics. For me, it was more about the sound, although I love lyrics, too.

Not saying there's no skill involved in acting. Just that I don't personally feel a strong connection to actors.

That's fine. But it is an interesting question why some people respond so strongly to some things that leave others shrugging, and vice versa. The performances that evoke near idolatry in some are mystifying to others who don't feel the same way naturally.