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Prince - is he genuinely nuts?


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Old 13-12-2012, 15:43
shaggy_x
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I used to be really into Prince back in the 80's and 90's then went totally off him when he turned into that unpronouncable symbol.

After being released from his Warners contract he turned against his own fans and went after just about anyone on the internet who dared post even a photo of him!

IIRC he even ordered someone to take down a video of their baby dancing to a Prince song on YouTube??? That is partly the reason why there are no Prince vids on YouTube

Then there was the case of him taking down loads of fan sites on the web even though, AFAIK they never hosted any illegal content but were simply fan sites.

While I can understand the issue of copyright, but did he go too far? Now he is nowhere near the charts due to his own choice I think. He could have made a few millions by releasing his O2 concerts on DVD but instead he chose to ban all photographers and anyone who dared to take any vids with their mobiles in the concert???

His LoveSexy and Sign o the Times stuff in concert was, and still is amazing and if you look hard enough you'll find it on the net on various sites (as far as I know not illegal downloads).

A recent article in the guardian ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012...rince-hot-chip ) rekindled my interest in Prince and I went hunting on the net and found some vids from his Lovesexy and Sign O The Times concerts. Absolutely amazing, and they still sound fresh now as they did 25 years ago.

As that article says, he's a bootleggers wet dream because a lot of his brilliant stuff is unreleased and available via bootleg.

Is he genuinely nuts by not releasing stuff through the proper channels, or is there some hidden motive behind all this?
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Old 13-12-2012, 17:06
sjp07
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He does what he wants. You mentioned he's not in the charts, so what? Why does he have to be? Clearly he doesn't want to be. Being in the charts does not make you a good musician.

He did an interview on The View recently and he said he doesn't listen to the radio or know about any music going on today because he makes music, so he doesn't feel the need to listen to what everybody else is doing. He doesn't care. He is successful in the way that he wants to be. The tour he just did here, sold out crazy fast and had zero promotion(except for that spot on The View, but the tickets were already sold out by then I think).

He's not crazy. The best I can do to describe it is that he's a Gemini(we share a birthday wooohooo lol). He just likes to do things his own way and doesn't like people in his business. According to him, he and his band rehearse almost everyday and he has hundreds of unreleased material that he may, or may not get around to releasing. Prince is an artist in the true sense of the word. He makes music for himself, not for anyone else.

To you, he might be killing his career or whatever, but to him, he has had the success he sought after, and now he couldn't give a rat's ass who likes him or not. Like I said, he does what he wants and the fans will still be at his beck and call when or even if he decides he wants them there.
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Old 13-12-2012, 19:53
Honestweegie
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Hes not in the charts, but how many from the 80s are? Hes knocking on a bit now
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Old 13-12-2012, 21:28
rfonzo
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I think it is fair to say that he is eccentric. I remember an interview with him where he had a balaclava over his head and he had someone with him who he was whispering his answers to the questions he was asked and was thus responding in his behalf. It was during the time in which he was known as ;The artist formally known as Prince.'
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Old 13-12-2012, 21:30
tracystapes
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I think it is fair to say that he is eccentric. I remember an interview with him where he had a balaclava over his head and he had someone with him who he was whispering his answers to the questions he was asked and was thus responding in his behalf. It was during the time in which he was known as ;The artist formally known as Prince.'
& people said Michael Jackson was crazy!?
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Old 13-12-2012, 22:32
axlgod
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Google 'Kevin Smith Prince'.
It's in 3 parts on YouTube.
Then you'll find out how batshit crazy he really is.
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Old 13-12-2012, 23:22
rfonzo
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& people said Michael Jackson was crazy!?
There was speculation that both artists were going to duet with each other on the single 'Bad.' Does anyone think that this would have been a good duet?
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Old 13-12-2012, 23:25
unique
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Is he genuinely nuts ?
YES!!
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Old 13-12-2012, 23:26
unique
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http://en.mediamass.net/people/prince/nude-pics.html

did you see this article about the prince nude photographs that were leaked online btw?
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Old 13-12-2012, 23:29
edEx
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I think it is fair to say that he is eccentric. I remember an interview with him where he had a balaclava over his head and he had someone with him who he was whispering his answers to the questions he was asked and was thus responding in his behalf. It was during the time in which he was known as ;The artist formally known as Prince.'
& people said Michael Jackson was crazy!?
That was all an attempt to get himself out of a contract with Warner Brothers that he didn't think permitted him to release the music he wanted. By becoming unrecognisable he tried to claim that the contract applied to a different act. Once the contract was bought out by another record company he returned to being Prince and took the covers back off.
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Old 13-12-2012, 23:31
unique
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There was speculation that both artists were going to duet with each other on the single 'Bad.' Does anyone think that this would have been a good duet?
no.

it's not speculation. quincy jones invited prince to dinner with michael and suggested he duetted with MJ on the track as he thought it would be good publicity and a bit hit to sell the album, but prince looked at the lyrics and about the opening line ("you're butt is mine") said "well i ain't singing that to you, and you damn sure ain't singing that to me". prince later offered him another song for bad but MJ didn't use it. prince and MJ were kinda friends and met each other a few times and MJ sent prince recordings like sly and the family stone as he had the rights. prince also dated madonna and offered her a few projects she wasn't interested in too. a lot more went down than is commonly knonw
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Old 13-12-2012, 23:31
Mallaha
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He is rather OTT and heavy-handed in his behaviour around Youtube and other music streaming services.
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Old 13-12-2012, 23:36
unique
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Google 'Kevin Smith Prince'.
It's in 3 parts on YouTube.
Then you'll find out how batshit crazy he really is.
kevin spoke about prince on his first "evening with" dvd and his second one brings it back with a story about the reaction to that dvd.

i was at the studio the week when kevin was filming. i know exactly who the people are that he mentioned by first name.

btw kevin is a huge prince fan, and mallrats was shot at the eden prairie mall just along from paisley park in chanhassen. in fact princes original warehouse where paisley was originally going to be built was in eden prairie. the audio commentry for clerks laserdisc was also recorded in MPLS whilst they shot mallrats. kevin was also at the recording of at least one of the two december 1999 rave un2 show(s) that were broadcast on PPV and released on dvd, but he's not spoke about it pubically.

the thing about what kevin speaks about in those dvds is completely true. i nearly died laughing when i watched it, as i'm a big fan of kevin smith too. he was spot on the ball and pulled no punches
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Old 13-12-2012, 23:41
unique
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That was all an attempt to get himself out of a contract with Warner Brothers that he didn't think permitted him to release the music he wanted. By becoming unrecognisable he tried to claim that the contract applied to a different act. Once the contract was bought out by another record company he returned to being Prince and took the covers back off.
the contract wasn't bought out. prince just had to bide his time partially and work out a release deal with warners. the black album was part of that when it finally came out in 1994 and he was given money as a sweetner as WB really did want to release it. he was free to record for who he wanted from november 1996 onwards, but he didn't "change" his name back till the year 2000, although legally it never changed as you can't legally change your name to a scribble. his cheques still had his real name on them. he was just being a dick when he changed his name, and it screwed him up commercially. with all his mucking about with record companies few people want to deal with him now. that's not to say they won't, as he's great for the roster, but they know he's a pain to work with and can't be trusted
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Old 13-12-2012, 23:47
Mallaha
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Prince is actually his real first name. I assumed it was a made-up name for years.
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Old 14-12-2012, 02:36
Georges Grun
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Prince leaving WB - who indulged his every whim, every protege, failed side project and megalomania whilst propelling him to the top of the charts - is the worst decision (despite strong competition) he's ever made.

Prince is a brilliant artist but with a terrible business sense. His decisionmaking promoting and marketing over the years has been appalling. Outside the little bubble of Prince die-hards he's seen as a PR nightmare.

And, for the whole "that's what you get with a wayward, eccentric genius", I get that, but why not have genius AND success? Is there a point, for some people, where the two become incompatible? Is it the case with Prince where he just can't help himself?

He's viewed as pretty much solely as an 80s/early 90s artist now, when he has or had it in his power to be so much more.

Not enough NO people around Prince. No bullshit detector. TBH speaking solely as an artist, he doesn't need them. That's fine. True, he's very rich and has had massive success. But he's seen widely as a relic who trades on 25 year old songs rather than play and get people to buy his new stuff. Doesn't he want to be known as someone who still has it, commercially AND artistically?
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Old 14-12-2012, 06:25
sjp07
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Like I said before, he doesn't care. He just wants to make music. That's pretty much it. He doesn't care about all the PR and hype. He's Prince no matter what. I think the recent state of the music industry has brainwashed people into thinking music is about number 1s and selling the most records. It isn't. Why is it so hard to accept that Prince just does what he wants, how he wants, and no one's opinion will change it?
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Old 14-12-2012, 07:14
unique
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Prince leaving WB - who indulged his every whim, every protege, failed side project and megalomania whilst propelling him to the top of the charts - is the worst decision (despite strong competition) he's ever made.

Prince is a brilliant artist but with a terrible business sense. His decisionmaking promoting and marketing over the years has been appalling. Outside the little bubble of Prince die-hards he's seen as a PR nightmare.

And, for the whole "that's what you get with a wayward, eccentric genius", I get that, but why not have genius AND success? Is there a point, for some people, where the two become incompatible? Is it the case with Prince where he just can't help himself?

He's viewed as pretty much solely as an 80s/early 90s artist now, when he has or had it in his power to be so much more.

Not enough NO people around Prince. No bullshit detector. TBH speaking solely as an artist, he doesn't need them. That's fine. True, he's very rich and has had massive success. But he's seen widely as a relic who trades on 25 year old songs rather than play and get people to buy his new stuff. Doesn't he want to be known as someone who still has it, commercially AND artistically?
a lot of this is right, but WB didn't indulge all his whims and thats why he wanted to leave them. there were protoge acts WB (rightly) had no interest in and wouldn't support and when sign o the times was presented as a triple album called the crystal ball, they balked at the idea of the cost and reduced sales as a result, and prince was very upset as he saw the triple album as a perfect peice of work. it was prince who pulled the black album after a change of mind, but later WB wouldn't release things as quickly as prince wanted, culminating in the gold experience era where he wrote slave on his face (he may as well have wrote dick head on his forehead) and touring and saying the album would never be released, when WB did want to release it, but not a month after "come", and by the time both albums came out he moved all the tracks around so they were very different to the original configurations. then he promised to release piles of stuff once free from contract, and then he never. no album in over 2 years now. not that he doesn't have material to record, as he has at least 3 finished albums ready, he just doesn't have a deal to release them. he also fell out with universal who were his publishers

but as he packs tens of thousands of people into fields to see him play or he can turn up pretty much anywhere without notice and get an audience, and he makes money from his deals, he'll just do what he wants and his yes men just don't tell him the truth
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Old 14-12-2012, 08:37
axlgod
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kevin spoke about prince on his first "evening with" dvd and his second one brings it back with a story about the reaction to that dvd.

i was at the studio the week when kevin was filming. i know exactly who the people are that he mentioned by first name.

btw kevin is a huge prince fan, and mallrats was shot at the eden prairie mall just along from paisley park in chanhassen. in fact princes original warehouse where paisley was originally going to be built was in eden prairie. the audio commentry for clerks laserdisc was also recorded in MPLS whilst they shot mallrats. kevin was also at the recording of at least one of the two december 1999 rave un2 show(s) that were broadcast on PPV and released on dvd, but he's not spoke about it pubically.

the thing about what kevin speaks about in those dvds is completely true. i nearly died laughing when i watched it, as i'm a big fan of kevin smith too. he was spot on the ball and pulled no punches

I really enjoy reading your posts about prince.
Very interesting.
I take it you used to work for him in some capacity?
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Old 14-12-2012, 11:08
unique
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I really enjoy reading your posts about prince.
Very interesting.
I take it you used to work for him in some capacity?
no, but i've had plenty of run ins with him in one way or another, good and bad, been onstage a few times, been in his studio a few times including literally in the soundbooth with him for a few hours, on tv shows, dj'ed at paisley, helped arrange an aftershow party last minute in the middle of the night (one that he actually attended - it was great fun turning up at a venue in the middle of the night asking if we could take it over to have a party with "prince - who?" - "no - PRINCE, purple rain, 1999" - jaw drops open), got to play with some of his instruments and stuff, sit on his motorcycle, and got taken to the movies one time in the middle of the night when he took over the whole movie theatre. on the flip side he's also tried and in some cases succesfully sued/shut down a number of things i've been involved with one way or another, which is a pain. one minute he'll try and stop you doing something, then another time he'll offer you something to do the very thing he tried to stop in the first place. he chops and changes his mind like the weather, but over time you get used to it and know how to handle him. most of his yes men don't agree with him, but it's just their job
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Old 14-12-2012, 11:37
mushymanrob
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id suggest that many of the greats in music are abit nuts in some way, it helps their creativity or chanela their energy into the creative process.
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Old 14-12-2012, 11:44
mushymanrob
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no, but i've had plenty of run ins with him in one way or another, good and bad, been onstage a few times, been in his studio a few times including literally in the soundbooth with him for a few hours, on tv shows, dj'ed at paisley, helped arrange an aftershow party last minute in the middle of the night (one that he actually attended - it was great fun turning up at a venue in the middle of the night asking if we could take it over to have a party with "prince - who?" - "no - PRINCE, purple rain, 1999" - jaw drops open), got to play with some of his instruments and stuff, sit on his motorcycle, and got taken to the movies one time in the middle of the night when he took over the whole movie theatre. on the flip side he's also tried and in some cases succesfully sued/shut down a number of things i've been involved with one way or another, which is a pain. one minute he'll try and stop you doing something, then another time he'll offer you something to do the very thing he tried to stop in the first place. he chops and changes his mind like the weather, but over time you get used to it and know how to handle him. most of his yes men don't agree with him, but it's just their job
i dont 'get' you.

dispite our differences over some things, i do totally respect your knowlege and apparent experiences. so why get embroiled in arguments that become quite ludicrous and ridiculous?

thats a rhetorical question, no need to reply and im not trying to re-ignite old arguments. just wanted to say....
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Old 14-12-2012, 12:46
unique
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i dont 'get' you.

dispite our differences over some things, i do totally respect your knowlege and apparent experiences. so why get embroiled in arguments that become quite ludicrous and ridiculous?

thats a rhetorical question, no need to reply and im not trying to re-ignite old arguments. just wanted to say....
if someone asks something to which i can reply, i am interested in the subject, and i have time to reply, then if i'll usually be inclined to reply. i learned a lot from other peoples experiences, without other people sharing information i wouldn't know so much, so i like to give back by sharing the information i have. sometimes people will argue the toss about it when they are convinced completely they are 100% right when they are wrong, so it can be rewarding to help someone out by giving them the right answer instead. you've seen yourself a number of things you've been wrong about to which i've proven you were wrong, and you've learned from those experiences, which is a good thing for everyone involved. sometimes it can be hard to teach people, but if everyone gave up when they came across a challenge, the world would be a very different place
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Old 14-12-2012, 12:49
Mallaha
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I think he's made his money, he doesn't need to bow to commercial pressures so much now, so he's just doing what he wants. He does have "issues" around quality control, but that's when the "skip" button comes in handy.
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Old 14-12-2012, 13:03
mushymanrob
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if someone asks something to which i can reply, i am interested in the subject, and i have time to reply, then if i'll usually be inclined to reply. i learned a lot from other peoples experiences, without other people sharing information i wouldn't know so much, so i like to give back by sharing the information i have. sometimes people will argue the toss about it when they are convinced completely they are 100% right when they are wrong, so it can be rewarding to help someone out by giving them the right answer instead. you've seen yourself a number of things you've been wrong about to which i've proven you were wrong, and you've learned from those experiences, which is a good thing for everyone involved. sometimes it can be hard to teach people, but if everyone gave up when they came across a challenge, the world would be a very different place
lol... i wonder what you do for a living, youd make a good lawyer/barrister, ill give you that. you could get hitler off charges .
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