This thread was created for Famous people dying that weren't covered by Movies,TV & Music. Now people just post in both.
Ive got no problem with that. I thought maybe an oldtimer here could explain to me as a latterborn why Prince was so consequential to them but yeah probably they cant.
God, I hope your music collection isn't limited to stuff written after 1986. Jjust do a wiki search. You'll find out he merits being here, regardless of how young you are.
Prince was arguably the greatest songwriter of his generation - you'd need to put him in the company of Lennon/McCartney. He was also one of the greatest performers of his era - think Bowie. And he was also one of the greatest guitarists - think Hendrix. That and he transcended genres, was a producer and possibly one of the most influential artists the world has seen.
I know about his music work, hence the question, why he or his work was so consequential for you at the time.
Well, I see him the same way I do anyone else whose music I listen to a great deal. Perhaps not as consequential as Stevie Wonder or Jimi Hendrix, but that's a rare tier to occupy. I don't have a set reason that I listened to Prince, truth told. It's not any specific tune or instrument (which is usually the case), but the over all sound. Hope this helps.
All I can say is that it seems to me like he was part of this last generation of real big superstars: MJ, Prince, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Bowie, Kilmister et all. I dont see this type of musicians around nowadays anymore. To go and easily sell 50 or 100 million records. It's like we dont have those legends anymore if you know what I mean. So from that pov I can understand in which way his music was consequential.
The media is different now - digital sales dwarf all other media while total sales are roughly 40% of the peak at the turn of the millennium - so the days of somebody selling 100 Million records/cds/cassettes are pretty much over. The internet has brought a fragmentation of genres, communities, and fanbases which has led to a whole bunch of new generation stars - but it will take something truly special to get another superstar like the ones we saw in the 80s.
The sheer talent that Prince had and shared makes him consequential. I never bought a lot of his stuff but I always felt I should even if what his style was at a given time wasn't mine, whenever someone played him I was always impressed with it. Eric Clapton thought Prince was the greatest guitar player; Dave Grohl thought Prince was one of the greatest drummers; Elton John thought he was the greatest entertainer; Stevie Wonder thought he was the greatest overall musician. Etc. Dude could (and did) do it all. I personally admired the way he extricated himself from Warner Brothers so he could own/control all his own stuff - of course this is backfiring on me right now because there isn't much Prince stuff out there to listen to all day
I think it's interesting that the INarguable best songwriter of the previous generation was also from Minnesota.
See I'll go against conventional wisdom and say that Prince will turn out to be MORE musically consequential than both of them. He was such a blender of styles than either Stevie or Jimi and was a whiz at any instrument he picked up.
http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/racism-forever.2027758/page-25#post-33900177 You need to explain equating Mrs. Obama with Eleanor Roosevelt.
I was going to say Sally Hemings was our 1st black first lady...or at least should've been in a non-racist country. But Michelle's the first no doubt.
Questlove & Eddie Murphy invited to after-hours skating party with Prince & friends. Of course his skates did this: When I got back, Prince had the briefcase out on the floor. He clicked the lock and opened it, and took out the strangest, most singular pair of roller skates I had ever seen. They were clear skates that lit up, and the wheels sent a multicolored spark trail into your path. He took them out and did a big lap around the rink. Man. He could skate like he could sing. I watched him go, so transfixed that I didn’t even notice Eddie Murphy appearing at my arm. “I’m going to go get your phone for you,” he said. http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat...h_prince_an_excerpt_from_his_new_book_mo.html
Here's a drum, bass and Prince on guitar playing the blues. His aftershows are legendary. Wait for the solo.
Didn't expect to see this: So what do you listen to? What I like is stuff that I can't do. That I would never do. Like the Cocteau Twins, I would never do that. And soundtracks, orchestral stuff. I loved the soundtrack to The Notebook, and Children of a Lesser God, and The Lover was a nice one. It becomes this ambient music that doesn't get in the way of speech, you know, 'cause rhythm does that and also voice. Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/n...-dont-think-about-gone-20160422#ixzz46btabiFc Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook
I thought of a way to describe why, to music lovers, Prince is a bigger deal than Michael Jackson, while the latter is a bigger deal in pop culture. I'll bet you that Michael Jackson fanatics bought far fewer records per year than Prince fanatics. Michael did some great stuff, but for the most part, he made music for people who don't care that much about music. You can't say that about Prince. So?