Prince recorded the great majority of his music entirely on his own,
playing every instrument and singing every vocal line. Many of his albums were
simply credited, “Produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince.” Then,
performing those songs onstage, he worked as a bandleader in the polished,
athletic, ecstatic tradition of James Brown, at once spontaneous and utterly
precise, riveting enough to open a Grammy Awards telecast and play the Super
Bowl halftime show. He would often follow a full-tilt arena concert with a
late-night club show, pouring out even more music.
On Prince’s biggest hits, he sang passionately, affectionately and playfully about sex and seduction. With deep bedroom eyes and a sly, knowing smile, he was one of pop’s ultimate flirts: a sex symbol devoted to romance and pleasure, not power or machismo. Elsewhere in his catalog were songs that addressed social issues and delved into mysticism and science fiction. He made himself a unifier of dualities — racial, sexual, musical, cultural — teasing at them in songs like “Controversy” and transcending them in his career.
He had plenty of eccentricities: his fondness for the color purple, using “U” for “you” and a drawn eye for “I” long before textspeak, his vigilant policing of his music online, his penchant for releasing troves of music at once, his intensely private persona. Yet for musicians and listeners of multiple generations, he was admired well-nigh universally.
Personally, Prince offered something different to his music, and you did not have to see Prince to realize he was different, and that he was special. His unique spin on music, and his loud clothing added to the excitement of loving him as an artist. Notice I did not say singer. Prince was before his time, his music was loved, is loved, and will be loved by millions.
Prince’s music had an immediate and lasting influence: among songwriters concocting come-ons, among producers working on dance grooves, among studio experimenters and stage performers. He sang as a soul belter, a rocker, a bluesy ballad singer and a falsetto crooner. His most immediately recognizable instrumental style was a particular kind of pinpoint, staccato funk, defined as much by keyboards as by the rhythm section. But that was just one among the many styles he would draw on and blend, from hard rock to psychedelia to electronic music. Prince will be missed, but luckily whenever we miss him, we know we can always listen to his countless albums and rock to his classic hits.
Personally, Prince offered something different to his music, and you did not have to see Prince to realize he was different, and that he was special. His unique spin on music, and his loud clothing added to the excitement of loving him as an artist. Notice I did not say singer. Prince was before his time, his music was loved, is loved, and will be loved by millions.
On Prince’s biggest hits, he sang passionately, affectionately and playfully about sex and seduction. With deep bedroom eyes and a sly, knowing smile, he was one of pop’s ultimate flirts: a sex symbol devoted to romance and pleasure, not power or machismo. Elsewhere in his catalog were songs that addressed social issues and delved into mysticism and science fiction. He made himself a unifier of dualities — racial, sexual, musical, cultural — teasing at them in songs like “Controversy” and transcending them in his career.
He had plenty of eccentricities: his fondness for the color purple, using “U” for “you” and a drawn eye for “I” long before textspeak, his vigilant policing of his music online, his penchant for releasing troves of music at once, his intensely private persona. Yet for musicians and listeners of multiple generations, he was admired well-nigh universally.
Personally, Prince offered something different to his music, and you did not have to see Prince to realize he was different, and that he was special. His unique spin on music, and his loud clothing added to the excitement of loving him as an artist. Notice I did not say singer. Prince was before his time, his music was loved, is loved, and will be loved by millions.
Prince’s music had an immediate and lasting influence: among songwriters concocting come-ons, among producers working on dance grooves, among studio experimenters and stage performers. He sang as a soul belter, a rocker, a bluesy ballad singer and a falsetto crooner. His most immediately recognizable instrumental style was a particular kind of pinpoint, staccato funk, defined as much by keyboards as by the rhythm section. But that was just one among the many styles he would draw on and blend, from hard rock to psychedelia to electronic music. Prince will be missed, but luckily whenever we miss him, we know we can always listen to his countless albums and rock to his classic hits.
Personally, Prince offered something different to his music, and you did not have to see Prince to realize he was different, and that he was special. His unique spin on music, and his loud clothing added to the excitement of loving him as an artist. Notice I did not say singer. Prince was before his time, his music was loved, is loved, and will be loved by millions.
Citation: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/arts/music/prince-dead.html
This blog post really spoke to everything that Prince was. He truly revolutionized the way that African Americans were viewed in the music industry. He used his popularity to fight for what he thought was right. He put his heart and soul into his career and paved the way for so many to follow.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite childhood movies, the Sandlot, has an inspiring quote that I feel applies to Prince right now. The quote is "heroes get remembered, but legends never die". Prince was truly a legend. He broke down so many barriers and we will forever honor him for the good that he has done.