I am fan of Prince music since 1988. I have a crazy amount of CDs and DVDs of him. And I have spent a crazy amount of time on him during the last years.
In 2009 Prince will release three new albums, two under his own name and one for his last protegee, Bria Valente. Initial hints from samples and from insiders suggest that at least one of them, Lotus flow3r, is very strong. And last Sunday Prince made a post-Oscars party which is headlining at many sites.
The expectable thing would be that I was, at this time, all hyped, overexcited and anxiously waiting for the release of new music, while very happy after reading news of a show with plenty of new, good songs.
But what happens is this: Prince did a show with loads of versions and very few new songs; I am not hyped at all, and I am not scanning the net for news on either the Oscar bash or new music; and my initial, huge interest on the new albums has almost completely vanished.
This is me, someone who calls himself a hardcore fan of Prince music. I wonder how others with lower interest might feel by now.
Welcome to normal life Cateto! I expect your wife is happy!!
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, I find it interesting that you feel like this all of a sudden. Prince has been doing mad control-freak fan-bashing things pretty much for ever. Why has the closure of HQ had this effect on you when, for example, the late-90s fansite lawsuits and the PFU fiasco didn’t? Is it a case of the ‘last straw’? Or is it because you personally devoted much time and effort to HQ?
Anyway, I hope you can still appreciate the man's past work - plenty there to keep you going for a lifetime...
Of course, the fact that I was personally very involved in HQ means I feel more affected now. But I am well aware of Prince's behaviour towards fans, and I have posted about:
ReplyDeletehttp://catetoblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/there-were-others-here-with-us.html
As for Prince's music, I love it as always. That won't change, mainly because I have no control on my love for music, regardless of my personal opinin about his author.
Hi Cateto
ReplyDeleteI do very much agree with your opinions. I've been feeling the same for quite a while now. Like you, I've been a fan for a very long time and have followed his career closely and I'm not holding my breath for the new releases. One reason for this is HQ was such an easy way (not to mention a very informative way) to keep track of what's happening - but more importantly to me - shone a very bright light on the bootlegs and collectibles aspects of Prince. I have to admit that even tho I wasn't connected to HQ in anyway apart from being a regular member, his 'attack' on Aaron's site was, in a way, an attack on his long-term fans as well. The little respect I had for him has no pretty much vanished - especially with the lacklustre music we've been exposed to lately.
Saying that, I know I will always consider myself an admirer of his previous work, because no matter what he does now, the sheer quality of his 80's work just can't be denied.
Now, I no longer look forward to new albums. Instead, I look forward to new bootlegs and the faint hope that one day the vault will hav it's doors well & truly open for us all to fully enjoy.
If only the Dawn did happen...
peace
Gianni (Boscho/Musica Viola)