Sucky CD Sunday

Purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka

I want to go on record as saying that I think that Prince, formerly known as the Artist formerly known as Prince, is a musical genius. The guy is a natural talent with skills that rival any musician and certainly an ability that well exceeds his contemporaries. If you don't believe me, look at his unplugged sessions where he performs the most heavily studio engineered of his songs on one acoustic guitar without letting his audiance feeling that miss any of the track overlays.

I have included this album on this blog because, well, it defined a moment in time that was so specific, so over-the-top-1980's that it is dated. Because it is dated, it is open to that half-admiration and half-deprecation that is the nucleus of this site. Don't get me wrong, I love it. I still love it. "Let's go Crazy" with its electric piano opening ("Dearly Beloved, we gather here today to get through this thing called life") was played at EVERY grade school dance I attended. "Darling Nicky" was borderline porno in my young mind ("you know he is talking about masturbation" we whispered in 8th grade home room) and "Take me with you" - there is a boy who has a special place in my heart when I think about that song. I wonder if he is shaving yet? "Beautiful People" - my God, this was the most anguished song ever written by anyone - ever! And of course, "Purple Rain" the prom song coda dance itself! We dreamed of being teenagers to that song!

I saw the movie with 6 other of my teenie-bopper friends in the theater when it came out. It was a life changing experience. Prince oozed his very greasy, slightly distasteful but very watchable sexuality on a big screen amongst 5 stories of glitter eyeshadow and hair with it's own scaffolding. Brilliant. The Revolution was just creepy. Everything was opulant. Everything was like pirate pillage (especially the clothes). Everything was purple.

When I think back on that time, as buddingly sexual as it all was, it was all so innocent - or maybe it was just because I was looking at it from innocent eyes. I am not sure but, whichever, I remember this movie, this music, this time with great fondess. I guess I was in no need of the purification of Lake Minnetonka. For those of you who do not understand the allusion, please go and rent Purple Rain, listen to some great but dated tunes and laugh at Prince, the Revolution, Morris Day and the Time (oh we oh we oh), the entire decade of the 1980s and if you are old enough, yourself and your skinny piano key tie (male) or vertically stripped miniskirt with matching plastic bangles (female).

If you won't waste one of your netflix choices on Purple Rain (cheap bastards), then take a look at this ... 'cause in this life, things are much harder than in the afterlife, in this life, you're on your own.

posted by pog mo thoin @ 6:40 AM