Purple funk update
Prince gave away copies of his new album Planet Earth bundled with the UK's Daily Mail last Sunday, predictably prompting music industry outrage:The Entertainment Retailers Association said the giveaway "beggars belief... an insult to all those record stores who have supported Prince throughout his career... yet another example of the damaging covermount culture which is destroying any perception of value around recorded music."
Fans know Prince has always been ahead of the distribution curve, being among the first artists to podcast and release music on the web, so you can bet giving an album away is a move we'll see more of in the future. With the conventional music business crumbling the real money is in concerts anyway, especially when you can command three grand for a ticket (see below).
Planet Earth is still not out in the US but I snagged a copy via file sharing. Can't say I was blown away. It probably needs time to grow on me but so far I think there's one very good song (the disco-funkified "Chelsea Rodgers"), one goodish tune (country-tinged "The One U Wanna C") and eight bland, mediocre ones. Wendy and Lisa are rumored to have collaborated on some tracks, including the preachy "Lion of Judah".
We'll always have 1983 though. I really enjoyed the bootlegs from a 1983 Prince show posted at A Deeper Shade of Soul.
Finally, Prince has mastered the celebrity snub, reports A Socialite's Life:
Over the weekend, Prince delivered an impressive two-hour performance, with ticket-holders shelling out a whopping $3,000. Afterwards, he was scheduled to host guests in a private room the club, Flirt. However, when the artist currently known as Prince saw that he wasn't the first to arrive at the room, he decided to high-tail it back into his limo, where he basically hung out for the rest of the evening. Those waiting included Jon Bon Jovi, Leonardo DiCaprio and Londell McMillan, but Prince would not be swayed. From Fox News:
The guests drifted to Dune, a nearby club owned by Noah Tepperberg and Jason Strauss, who helped put on the big outdoor Prince show for 1,000 people on a field owned by the very private Ross School. Guests were heard singing, "Someday my prince will come." He did not.
Whatever. Prince can do what he wants. If you can afford to spend $3,000 to go see Prince, then I probably don't know you and have trouble sympathizing with you in the first place. And secondly, you gotta love the crazy. I hope he was in his car, mournfully playing that insane-looking guitar of his, while he lamented the pressures of being Prince.
posted by Sgt Howie @ 10:39 AM
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