Prince RIP

this sucks

I was stunned & gutted this morning... I felt sad but wasnt crying, just lost i guess idk

and then Purple Rain showed up on my ipod after lunch & i cried big huge heaving sobs right here at my desk. having a hard time keeping it in my head that he's gone...the thought keeps flying away & then I remember :(

I saw him once in 2004 on the great Musicology in-the-round tour. Nosebleed seats, most I've ever paid for a ticket ever, could hardly see a thing, sound was garbage...and it was still the best concert I've ever seen. I ugly-cried all through the Purple Rain finale because I didnt want it to be over

Shout-out to the amazing women in his universe. What a constellation of brilliant artists.

The Current just got to Purple Rain and I'm a wreck again

sad guitar makes me sad

re: his masters. I'm sure I read this story on ILX. An engineer working with him, Prince came in one night, supposedly heartbroken, recorded this beautiful song top to bottom, engineer was floored, 8 hours later they're listening to the final mix and Prince just says "Erase it."

― flappy bird, Thursday, 21 April 2016 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31962180

Stevie Nicks: When we were recording "Stand Back" I decided to be really blatant and call Prince up and tell him that I had been inspired to write the song while listening to "Little Red Corvette." I told him that I figured my song was half his. He came over to the studio where I was recording and listened to it--as I turned extremely white and started to shake. Then he walked over to the piano and put on a really incredible keyboard track. And not only did Prince make it up right on the spot, he played it with only two fingers. Then he left.

Details: Did you see him again?

Stevie Nicks: Yes, when I was on the road a year or so later. I was sick, and Prince brought some cough syrup up to my hotel room. He was sweet--he walked around the room folding things, fluffing pillows, tidying up in general. Then he gave me a spoon of it himself. But when I asked for another spoonful he changed--he said, "I didn't come all the way up here just to get you hooked on another substance!" Then he left.

that's amazing

Details: Do you still see him?

Stevie Nicks: No. I was at the premiere of Purple Rain, and in the scene where he slaps Apollonia I freaked and had to go sit in the bathroom. Afterward I went back to see him, and when he asked why I'd left, I had to tell him, "When you popped Apollonia, it kinda popped my brain." He looked at me like it just killed him. We've never spoken since. (sighs) It's a shame, really...we were alike in so many ways.

Details: Such as?

Stevie Nicks: Well, for one thing, we both liked wearing black chiffon around the house.

Now it's "Damn U" from whatever yr sposed to call it. at the time, I had bought every record he put out the week it came out since 1999, but was with this record that I felt like his droit de seigneur took over and I did not buy his albums no questions asked afterwards. He was defensive re: hiphop's challenge to his authority and so many of the songs were overstuffed —anybody heard "3 Chains of Gold?" Yikes! Prince's "Boho Rap"!!!— but now I'm remembering shit like the "the Continental" and…now MTV has moved on to "The Morning Papers." ahhhhh…

The only record of his I heard that flat out sucked is The Rainbow Children.

gbx otm

bob mould via facebook:

I never spoke with Prince. He always struck me as a private guy. Maybe he was shy around strangers. We never had much actual interaction – a couple nods in passing, but no real words were exchanged.

The Twin Cities of the 1980s was a very special time for all of us local musicians. There were the North Minneapolis R&B artists, the South Minneapolis guitar rock bands, and in the center of it all was First Avenue/7th Street Entry.

I've seen Prince perform sold out shows with The Revolution at First Ave, he and a rhythm section jamming as a guitar/bass/drums three piece in the Entry for 30 people, and was selfishly frustrated when he took over "the main room" for 25 days of filming Purple Rain.

I had the pleasure of spending seven days recording the basic tracks for my first solo album at Paisley Park in December 1988. It was the most professional studio I had ever seen at that point in my life. On the seventh day, I moved from the B room to Studio A, which was Prince's primary room. I remember seeing Sheila E's percussion in one of the isolation booths. The large control room was decorated with several of Prince's scarves. It certainly felt like Prince's home.

Prince was an artist through and through – always pushing himself to new levels, often creating controversy through his actions and words, and ultimately creating a lifetime of wonderful memories for the world with his incredible volumes of published (and unheard) works.

I heard the news while driving from Tomah WI to Minneapolis. I immediately flipped on The Current 89.3 FM to make sure what I was hearing was true. Sure enough, there was a live report from outside Paisley Park confirming the sad news of Prince's passing.

I'm two blocks from First Avenue as I write these words. Friday and Saturday nights, I will walk that same stage we all know from the movie. The exterior walls of First Avenue are covered with stars to honor the musicians who made an impact on music fans in Minnesota.

Make no mistake: Prince was the brightest star in these Northern skies. My deepest condolences to his family, friends, and fellow musicians. Prince's music will give consolation and comfort to the collective grief. Godspeed.

i'm just picturing prince---in prince garb---walking around fluffing pillows and spoon-feeding stevie nicks. it's a very soothing image

a lil bit of humour

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

What the fuck... This year can eat a dick

Weird listening to the Current livestream in London, weird that I haven't knowingly heard Paisley Park since I left Minnesota for the first time.

So much love for Prince right now. I consider myself very fortunate to have been a weird Minneapolis teenager in the 1980s, for the reasons Bob Mould mentions above.

yeah that stevie nicks interview is aces

i just walked a dog to clear my mind.
coming home my downstairs neighbor was jamming prince, i knocked on the door and said "me too man, me too"
we had a good talk, nice guy. Prince still bringing people together!

not wanting to get all gossip hound,
but i do wonder if this was this the outcome of an evil lump ?
flu = pneumonia
often the final days when it comes to an evil lump = lung based crap.

wow @ those stevie quotes

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CgmNwoAWMAAv_Zs.jpg

ow.

not wanting to get all gossip hound,
but i do wonder if this was this the outcome of an evil lump ?
flu = pneumonia
often the final days when it comes to an evil lump = lung based crap.

― mark e, Thursday, April 21, 2016 5:35 PM (26 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

You can get fatal pneumonia off the back of a case of the flu even without that

i guess this is a weird thing to think but i feel bad that tuomas is probably asleep and doesn't know yet. hugs 2 u when you wake up tuomas.

very true.
sorry, given CPs recent post on ILE, the evil lump has entered my world again.

his full last performance on soundcloud:

https://soundcloud.com/misterpancakes/princelives

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/04/21/prince-dead-purple-rain-lyrics/

Help us celebrate Prince by annotating the lyrics of ‘Purple Rain’

Join The Washington Post staff in using Genius to annotate the lyrics of “Purple Rain,” one of Prince’s most celebrated songs. We want to hear your memories of this song — do you remember the first time you heard it? Do you have a single poignant memory that comes to you when you hear this song?

mtv jams is playing the batdance vid rn

not sure if i want to hear any of the inevitable tribute covers.

i would die 4 u

Posted from Jay Smooth:

The last time I saw Prince,
(the last.)
(the last time.)
Was an aftershow a few years ago at the club formerly known as Nell's, on 14th St. As we waited for him to come on there was a commotion around us and it turned out to be Prince, cutting a path through the crowd to get on stage. And he was coming right by me.
As he slid past us, with a grace only P could have while moving through a packed crowd, the guy next to me said "you gotta stop being so funky!"
Prince stopped and turned to the guy, reached out to grip both of his arms, and said, shaking him ever so slightly: "I CAN'T!"
Then he slid past me. He smelled like a thousand flowers were doing the house quake.

coworker said she "heard" it was undiagnosed hiv and went into a boring opinion on jehovahs witnesses & i lost interest

can this day plz end jfc

xpost omg <3

From a friend:

In 2005 I went to the old Largo on Fairfax to see Wendy and Lisa play with Doyle Bramhall II. I'd seen them a couple weeks back and had a good time so a group of us signed up for one of those awful Largo meals just so we could get a seat and see them again. But when we got to Largo we immediately noticed something was different. The tiny place was packed. Early. And like, on a Tuesday. Maya Rudolf, Sheryl Crow, Nikka Costa, PT Anderson, and Eric fucking Clapton were all there. After a while Sheila E., with the largest body guard I'd ever seen, arrived.
Then a sort of buzz started. A friend I was with said she overheard someone say Prince was coming.
It didn't seem possible. In part because Prince didn't seem like the kind of human being who would go to things. Let alone things where I was. But it was possible, it did happen, and he took the seat in the booth right next to us.
He was literally an arm's length away, but I didn't dare look at him. It seemed like a real "turn into a pillar of salt kind of moment" and I didn't want to mess with it. All I'd dare do was every now and again steal a glance out of the corner of my eye as I sat nervous and still, barely breathing.
Nikka Costa got up and sang with the band. Eric Clapton even sat in for a song or two. What did he play? How the fuck am I supposed to remember, I was sitting next to Prince, people?!
After Eric What's-His-Name played, Wendy asked if their old friend Prince wanted to join them onstage.
He did not.
Because he's Prince. And there's no reason he needs to share a stage with anyone.
RIP Prince. He was my favorite.

After Eric What's-His-Name played, Wendy asked if their old friend Prince wanted to join them onstage.
He did not.

reminds me he was an asshole too, especially when it came to Wendy and Lisa.

Been struggling to find some music to listen to, and can't really listen to Prince right now. Settled on "Nilsson Schmilsson," which is just the salve.

That time he tore it up on American Idol

http://www.jukebo.com/prince/music-clip,lolita-satisfied,suv0l.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hChFHq2Xkfs

just discovered this. goodness what a groover.

im in denial. my most favourite musican ever. havent really computed this yet.

and he was just in the middle of writing his memoirs. i was genuinely looking forward to reading what princes biography might be like.

interesting to see how people will canonise him. he often ended up being cast aside by all sides. not black or hard enough for funk fans. not enough soul for R&B fans. not really rock or masculine enough for rockers. etc etc. he was best before he started to worry about all of that.

ill be honest, i fell out of love with his music (and even live shows - god i wish he got some better bands in recent years, and i think he got into the habit of over-souling his vocals a bit in recent years, but hey, i can cut him some slack) over the past decade or so, but i never stopped being a fan of him. i just loved prince. even his shitty songs were listenable cos HE made them.

but i love that you cant stream his music or get it on you tube (though i imagine a lot of uploads might happen tonight) - not like hes losing money from spotify's meagre royalty rates. not even the beatles held out like he did. he never gave in to the shitty internet model for distributing music.

i smiled a little when i read he died in the studio. i cant imagine prince dying anywhere else. he was obsessive and a workaholic til the end. i sometimes wonder what state his personal life was in, cos all he seemed to do was record or play.

strange though - i just assumed he would be around for a long time. maybe his health wasnt as good as most of us thought. i hope there arent any suspicious circumstances.

i was really interested to see how he would age. in that recent guardian interview he seemed quite aware that critics were now giving him an easy ride (sometimes i wish they gave him as fair/rough/serious a ride as other artists, but i think a lot of critics just didnt quite know how to evaluate prince) so he had to think of ways to challenge himself. id have loved to see where that would have taken him.

RIP.

fuuuuuuuck

Prince was probably the first musician i ever rocked out to. When I was 7 or 8 I wanted the Batman soundtrack so my parents bought me it on cassette only it wasn't the score it was the Prince album. Some of my earliest memories are dancing on the little table in the playroom and miming along to "Party Man". He's been in my life ever since and he never stops surprising me. Thankfully we are blessed with a giant treasure trove of music.

RIP

http://eil.com/images/main/Prince+For+You+3397b.jpg

actual photo of Prince in heaven rn

Listening to Sign O the Times, funny how this such a perfect analogue to Physical Graffiti's "real heads know the deal" place in the Prince canon (compared to Purple Rain's Led Zep IV) it's not the biggest hit but it's all his most "Prince" instincts and interests taken to the farthest degree on a near perfect sprawling double

Damn I'm cut, which is standard but only now realizing I don't really know any hardcore Prince fans to commiserate with. Feels a lot more lonely than I could've expected.

Anyway while it's up.
Always found this shit religous comforting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfFXM6I8Sg4

https://twitter.com/alexanderbolton/status/723257547197677569?s=09

I mentioned that Joni cover in my obit.

from this interview with Joni:

But even when you were somewhat obscure, so many musicians were citing you as an influence or even name-checking you in songs. Of all the musicians and rappers who have cited you as an influence, whose work do you appreciate most?

Prince. Prince attended one of my concerts in Minnesota. I remember seeing him sitting in the front row when he was very young. He must have been about 15. He was in an aisle seat and he had unusually big eyes. He watched the whole show with his collar up, looking side to side. You couldn’t miss him—he was a little Prince-ling. [Laughs.] Prince used to write me fan mail with all of the U’s and hearts that way that he writes. And the office took it as mail from the lunatic fringe and just tossed it! [Laughs.]

he was really great at the covers.

/After Eric What's-His-Name played, Wendy asked if their old friend Prince wanted to join them onstage.
He did not./

reminds me he was an asshole too, especially when it came to Wendy and Lisa.

Did he mistreat/throw over Vanity? Weird they died so close in time to each other

Oh no

http://www.tmz.com/2016/04/21/prince-treated-drug-overdose-dead/

Tampa Bay arena PA played a little bit of "Kiss" just now during a stoppage in the Red Wings/Lightning game

I feel like this story is about to get real sad real fast.