I love You YouTube...Uh, TubeYou. YouYouTube.
So, Jack Graham has a great post/point highlighting a performance of when Rod Stewart was one of the best singers in the planet.
And since I love YouTube, I thought I would look up another great artist. Yep, you guessed it. Prince! They have some great videos of him. Let me tell you, for all the rock theatre (and what is rock 'n' roll with out some silly theatre?), you *may* forget that Prince has a golden voice and is probably the best rock guitarist OR piano player out there. I mean, he's just a pure prodigy, period. I know we overuse "prodigy" or "genius"; I know Michael Jackson outsold him (damn, talk about a performer!); but Prince, quite frankly, is UNDER-rated.
There was this post a while back on Aspecialthing.com . It's a website for fans of comedy, and Mr. Show in particular. Two comedians were arguing over who was the best pound-for-pound musician, Stevie Wonder or Prince? Most people picked Stevie. That's not a bad choice, considering that if you play an R&B song you to play for a musical stranger most people will guess, "Stevie Wonder", or "That Blind Guy." Mr. Wonder defines an entire genre for most people. But Prince broke it.
Prince closed the circle of rock 'n' roll, bringing rock back to it's roots in African-American music, but encompassing the advances made from every corner of the musical atmosphere. His records seamlessly combine white and black, European Classical and American Jazz, Eastern, Indian, punk-rock, country (listen to how he sings "Darling Nicki"!), there isn't a genre he doesn't weave in and out of. You might not know what genre it is, but you know a Prince song when you hear it. (I mean, "Manic Monday!" C'mon! How can you not tell that's Prince--even though he wrote it under a different name and denied writing it for years) I think he opened the door for many musically gifted people to take chances; and I think what he's doing now with his different distribution channels and methods of marketing his music -- it's showing people that to remain an "established" artist does not mean you have to give up control over your career. I mean, he started utilizing the internet in the 90's, and now EVERYONE's doing it.
So, my man crush for Prince knows no bounds...but mostly because I sit back with amazement. How many people are so in love with their art that they (mostly) refuse to sell out and still become wildly successful? Okay, okay, so maybe he let the record companies embellish his sexuality to create controversy and sell records. Maybe he was an "enfant terrible" (whatever, I don't speak French), and maybe he was a bit silly. But you got to admire him as an artist.
There are a lot of comedians like him. Maybe one day I'll earn the same respect and admiration.
You what? I'm pretty good at the X-box. That counts for something, right?
No? Sigh.
Watch how people just go bananas over Prince back in the 80's, and he just walks off the stage after everyone jumps up to dance with him. Weird, but kinda cool!
By the way, those "Endorphin Machine" videos come from the first VH1 Fashion Awards. That's why you see a whole bunch of "Zoolanders" running around.
Just for my amusement:
Batman AND Prince? No way! My two favorites! "Like a G-flat major with an E in the bass!"
Girls and Boys
Computer Blue!
Musicology!
Sign O' the Time & Play In the Sunshine (VMAs)
And since I love YouTube, I thought I would look up another great artist. Yep, you guessed it. Prince! They have some great videos of him. Let me tell you, for all the rock theatre (and what is rock 'n' roll with out some silly theatre?), you *may* forget that Prince has a golden voice and is probably the best rock guitarist OR piano player out there. I mean, he's just a pure prodigy, period. I know we overuse "prodigy" or "genius"; I know Michael Jackson outsold him (damn, talk about a performer!); but Prince, quite frankly, is UNDER-rated.
There was this post a while back on Aspecialthing.com . It's a website for fans of comedy, and Mr. Show in particular. Two comedians were arguing over who was the best pound-for-pound musician, Stevie Wonder or Prince? Most people picked Stevie. That's not a bad choice, considering that if you play an R&B song you to play for a musical stranger most people will guess, "Stevie Wonder", or "That Blind Guy." Mr. Wonder defines an entire genre for most people. But Prince broke it.
Prince closed the circle of rock 'n' roll, bringing rock back to it's roots in African-American music, but encompassing the advances made from every corner of the musical atmosphere. His records seamlessly combine white and black, European Classical and American Jazz, Eastern, Indian, punk-rock, country (listen to how he sings "Darling Nicki"!), there isn't a genre he doesn't weave in and out of. You might not know what genre it is, but you know a Prince song when you hear it. (I mean, "Manic Monday!" C'mon! How can you not tell that's Prince--even though he wrote it under a different name and denied writing it for years) I think he opened the door for many musically gifted people to take chances; and I think what he's doing now with his different distribution channels and methods of marketing his music -- it's showing people that to remain an "established" artist does not mean you have to give up control over your career. I mean, he started utilizing the internet in the 90's, and now EVERYONE's doing it.
So, my man crush for Prince knows no bounds...but mostly because I sit back with amazement. How many people are so in love with their art that they (mostly) refuse to sell out and still become wildly successful? Okay, okay, so maybe he let the record companies embellish his sexuality to create controversy and sell records. Maybe he was an "enfant terrible" (whatever, I don't speak French), and maybe he was a bit silly. But you got to admire him as an artist.
There are a lot of comedians like him. Maybe one day I'll earn the same respect and admiration.
You what? I'm pretty good at the X-box. That counts for something, right?
No? Sigh.
Watch how people just go bananas over Prince back in the 80's, and he just walks off the stage after everyone jumps up to dance with him. Weird, but kinda cool!
By the way, those "Endorphin Machine" videos come from the first VH1 Fashion Awards. That's why you see a whole bunch of "Zoolanders" running around.
Just for my amusement:
Batman AND Prince? No way! My two favorites! "Like a G-flat major with an E in the bass!"
Girls and Boys
Computer Blue!
Musicology!
Sign O' the Time & Play In the Sunshine (VMAs)
posted by Coolhand at 1:11 AM
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