Prince RIP

I agree it's annoying - feel like everyone's doing it because a) it's easy and b) it's iconic/it's the title track from his most successful album. But I'm p done with hearing other people butcher it.

like as far as big hits to cover go it's far and away the most straightforward, it has a clear chord sequence that repeats ad nauseam, easy to play on guitar without too much trouble, no spectacular chops required or tricky arrangements to master

"Purple Rain" is also slow and kind of relatively 'easy' to learn, even compared to his other big hits, i'd imagine. much more attainable to do a pleasant generic take of that than for someone who's not Prince to sing "Kiss" without sounding like Tom Jones or worse.

True. I think this was said upthread, but most of Prince's songs aren't defined by a single voice, it's the sum of a dozen or so instruments or elements doing their own thing.

"The Cross" obv hasn't been covered much, but that one is super easy to learn and play solo and properly convey on an acoustic guitar. Even something like Raspberry Beret is filled with augmented chords and doesn't quite come across as complete without the strings.

i always wanted to hear Soundgarden or someone like that cover "The Cross." sadly, Chris Cornell has only recorded a bland "Nothing Compares" cover in response to Prince's death.

weirdly i'd always thought prince woulda tore the shit out of "the day i tried to live" ala the "creep" cover.

honestly not trying to shoehorn SP but here ya go, i though this was pretty good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnzRWO-l9p4

All the Purple Rain covers are dire, but less dire than hasty attempts at funk.

Even something like Raspberry Beret is filled with augmented chords and doesn't quite come across as complete without the strings.

ha yeah I was trying to figure out the various parts to this the other day and without something replicating the string melody it totally doesn't work

I could imagine Soundgarden doing a wicked version of 'The Cross', yeah. Surprised that U2 have never covered it, actually! It feels like Prince's version of a late '80s U2 song.

not that i have any need in my life to hear springsteen cover prince, but it seemed like there were so many better, obvious choices for him. like "little red corvette," because cars. or "i could never take the place of your man," because chord progression and guitar.

x-post Bono sang The Cross with Prince on guitar at an aftershow when Prince came to Dublin in '95.

xpost That is so otm, that The Cross would be a great fit for U2. I think of a song like The First Day, which is more or less The Cross, anyway, in its simplicity:

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

But yeah, I don't I need to hear Purple Rain for years, let alone sung by someone else. It's not really that good, and I think someone posted it already, but Elvis Costello at least took a stab at Pop Life:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdAHLuf44oU

Hard for me to listen past his standard issue bellowing on that one.

Feel like I may be in the minority in that I recently discovered that I enjoyed the song "Purple Rain" more than I used to. I could take or leave most of the covers of it, but I liked the Springsteen one, it seems to bring it full circle back to its origin as a Bob Seger-style ballad.

Even something like Raspberry Beret is filled with augmented chords and doesn't quite come across as complete without the strings.

ha yeah I was trying to figure out the various parts to this the other day and without something replicating the string melody it totally doesn't work

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, May 31, 2016 6:02 PM (Yesterday)

I think a lot of the appeal was also the Revolution, this crew of oddball musicians with Prince as their eccentric but well-loved leader - after he replaced them the music headed off in a control freak sort of direction, suddenly it was weird-ass custom guitars, blow wave hair, pastel suits, Cat, and a relatively anonymous New Power Generation whose name sounded like a line of kids' toys. Compare the interplay between P and Wendy in the "Kiss" video with P and Levi Seacer in the "Glam Slam" clip - the former is clearly friends bantering, the latter is a bandleader and a supporting musician. In the context of the Revolution, I felt a kind of affection for P, but around the time of Lovesexy he became kind of insulated and self-referential, which persisted thereafter. I don't presume to know what he was really like as a person at those times, but that's the perception I had as a fan.

― MatthewK, Monday, May 30, 2016 3:39 AM (2 days ago)

True, and for years afterward I always thought of Sheila's appearances as a link to the Revolution era despite her not being a Revolutionary. A very interesting sympatico between them. She's a genius percussionist but I never really enjoyed her drumming as much (despite incredible chops), whereas P was clearly happy performing with her at the kit, right through into the 2010s.

yeah it's sweet that he met Sheila right at the beginning of his career and they seemed to stay close all through the years. not many people who seemed to be tight with for that long outside of Morris Day.

She's a genius percussionist but I never really enjoyed her drumming as much (despite incredible chops), whereas P was clearly happy performing with her at the kit, right through into the 2010s.

Probably he liked that crisp sound of hers -- she plays the whole kit like a timbale. Very in tune with Prince's dry, chopped drum tones. I saw her as part of the band on the Lovesexy tour and she was pretty great live. Authoritative.

Speaking of timbales, this is a good short video of her playing and talking at a drummers festival. I like how she gets all aw-shucks about not knowing what a paradiddle is and then just goes to town and schools the room.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5Q7INQ08xo

Whoa, bits of that sounded near identical to Autechre's "Under BOAC"!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxN9IZ005WU

(cf. 1:20)

Prince died of opiod overdose, law enforcement official quoted in L.A. Times sez.

Toxicology report finally comes out tomorrow, is that right?

yes, but only on tidal
(sorry sorry sorry)

fire emoji

Fentanyl OD

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2016/06/02/prince-autopsy-death-toxicology/

An attorney said Prince had agreed to an intervention for painkiller addiction the day before he died.

Prince’s death came less than a week after his plane made an emergency stop in Moline, Illinois, for medical treatment as he was returning from an Atlanta concert. The Associated Press and other media reported, based on anonymous sources, that Prince was found unconscious on the plane, and first responders gave him a shot of Narcan, an antidote used in suspected opioid overdoses.

Gah. What a waste.

So many "what if?"s

.

Every time I read this shit, I'm depressed all over again.

Did I get this wrong or was it the guy who was supposed to do the intervention who found the body in the elevator?

i think it was his son

the doctor's son not prince's

ugh that sucks

from what i understand it's not hard to od on fentanyl - it kicks in REALLY fast & can seize up your respiratory system if you arent careful

we've had a spate of od's in Sac in the last year. (Diff set of circumstances, they were being sold as Norco to recreational users/addicts etc, it wasnt a doctor situ)

emt friend said though that if you are used to other types of painkillers & you switch to fentanyl it can be dangerous

ugh that sucks

from what i understand it's not hard to od on fentanyl - it kicks in REALLY fast & can seize up your respiratory system if you arent careful

we've had a spate of od's in Sac in the last year. (Diff set of circumstances, they were being sold as Norco to recreational users/addicts etc, it wasnt a doctor situ)

emt friend said though that if you are used to other types of painkillers & you switch to fentanyl it can be dangerous

oos sorry for dbl
post

i've been seeing a lot more ppl coming in for detox that have been using fentanyl --- it might be cheaper/more readily available than H or pills, but Prince wouldn't have really had a problem with either, i would think

Lends some credence to this distasteful story (which I think was referenced above) - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/prince-drug-dealer-opioids-speaks-out-major-addiction-drugs-a6998006.html

Here's a very nice interview with Andre that I hadn't seen before: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/magazine-feature/7348518/prince-childhood-friend-bassist-andre-cymone-remembrance

I could imagine Soundgarden doing a wicked version of 'The Cross', yeah. Surprised that U2 have never covered it, actually! It feels like Prince's version of a late '80s U2 song.

― Turrican, 31. maj 2016 19:33 (4 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEekjkdAF_F/

the late 80s U2 song that it feels like, btw, is "all i want is you"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SB7i0U6V0A

not sure if posted yet; Prince's own notes for Alan Leeds re The Hits comp.

https://medium.com/@anildash/princes-own-liner-notes-on-his-greatest-hits-3a7baf4aec66#.10if2xjsi

yep! always worth a reread though

"write about the first time U heard reflective notes"

what does this mean

for you tidal peeps :

http://www.nme.com/news/prince/94026

well someone is clearly in a position to do deals for his music, so its odd that everything is still there on youtube.

"Prince withdrew his music from streaming services in 2015 to sign an exclusive deal with Tidal. He told Ebony: “When there’s a company like Tidal or the OWN Network, situations where we finally get in a position to run things, then we all should help.”

yes, that struggling entrepreneur jay-z could definitely do with a helping hand.

wonder what tidal pays artists.

so you don't understand why Prince was interested in supporting large music/entertainment companies with black ownership or leadership? nobody running a major corporate entity is "struggling," that's not the point.