“I don’t wear ‘em cuz I’m short, I wear ‘em cuz the women like ‘em”
(Prince to Neal Karlen, ottobre 1985)
- “His smile is benign, almost meek”‘I don’t care what people expect’(…) ‘They don’t expect me to wear what I wear, they don’t expect me to say what I say, but I’m doing it’ (riassunto delle puntate precedenti, per chi si fosse messo in ascolto solo in questo momento:) Hai poco più di venti anni. Sei un genio della creazione musicale, […]
- The first Chinese rocker
Non mancava ancora molto al momento in cui Prince avrebbe chiuso la porta in faccia ad interviste e giornalisti. Al momento in cui sarebbe stato il solo a dettare regole. A vietare ai giornalisti di proporre temi sgraditi. A vietare loro l’uso di registratori, telecamere e – per un lungo periodo – penne, matite, blocchi […] - #20 Around The World In A Day“Master of creativity: who else could reinvent his sound so dramatically from one album to the next? Music like no one has never heard. There will never be another Prince Rogers Nelson. He was inspired by otherworldly means” (Sonsarchangel, YouTube, 2019, commento sull’intero album) Secondo la versione ufficialmente accreditata, questa canzone è nata da […]
- “I was a very good fighter. I never lost”L’uscita di Dirty Mind ha rappresentato una vera e propria cesura nella carriera di Prince, agli inizi degli anni Ottanta. Quasi tutti i giornalisti, nelle interviste di quei mesi, cercano di esprimere come meglio possono lo sconcerto che questo album aveva generato intorno a sé. Nessuno, fino a quel momento, aveva mai osato […]
- “He does everything on his records except press and sell them”“They’re calling him the next Stevie Wonder, and perhaps with a good reason. The singer-composer known simply as Prince appears to be on his way to becoming the biggest solo solo artist in years. And ‘solo’ definitely is an apt way to describe his talents because Prince does everything on his records except press and […]
- “We’re wild and free”“A lot of people don’t know what to make of Prince. They don’t understand his music, they don’t understand the unusual outfits he wears and they don’t understand how such an extraordinary young talent could come from Minneapolis” (può capitare che – almeno agli inizi – le persone stentino a capire quale sia il modo […]
- Shyness“His problem has always been extreme shyness: ‘I would wonder what it would be like if you were sitting here with me?’ He inquired. ‘I don’t seem shy now but I would if you were here. I’m really shy when I meet someone for the first time. I like to listen. I think other people […]
- Okay, you win!Prince is a mystery man. His record company biography is a collection of information similar to a Right On! fact sheet. It simply tells his name (the name he chooses to use), his age, and the fact that he’s the youngest producer in the history of Warner Bros. Records. When you finally meet him; he’s […]
- He stops in mid thoughtFew people had ever seen the kid perform. But everybody in the local music community was talking about him. “Hey, have you heard those tapes by that Minneapolis teenager who played all the instruments by himself?“ (…) “I’m nervous“ Prince said with a sheepish smile. “I’ll be terrified, because it’s gonna take a while to […]
- I never considered myself as a singer“I told her I never considered myself a singer. I saw myself as an instrumentalist who started singing out of necessity. I don’t think I ever got through, but I tried explaining, that to me, my voice is just like one of the instruments I play. It’s just one thing I do” (Prince who […]
- “Who?” “Prince”(…) (Chris) Moon gave the kid a call, and he accepted. After the pianist had laid down the keyboard track, he asked Moon if he wanted some bass on the song. “Sure, but I don’t want to pay for a bass player”, Moon said. The kid went into the studio and laid down a perfect […]
- Self-possessed
“It’s a little startling, hearing this from a teenager, albeit an extraordinarily talented and self-possessed teenager. But when you begin playing piano at six, guitar at 13, bass soon after, and finally master the drums at 14, your time schedule gets pushed forward a bit” (Lisa Hendriksson, 1977) - He plays by earPrince plays by ear. “I’ve had about two lessons, but they didn’t help much. I think you’ll always be able to do what your ear tells you, so just think how great you’d be with lessons also” he said. “I advise anyone who wants to learn guitar to get a teacher unless they […]
- #19 Joint 2 Joint
“Joint 2 Joint” è la settima traccia del secondo disco compreso all’interno del trittico di Emancipation. Un brano che – come dichiara lo stesso Prince all’interno di una intervista in cui stava spiegando il modo in cui componeva i suoi brani – contiene cinque diverse e distinte lines, ognuna con un’anima diversa, con […] - Riconoscersi
“Ma perché hai scelto di parlare proprio di Prince?” – mi hanno chiesto una volta. D’istinto ho risposto che l’ho scelto perché ho sempre amato lui e la sua musica. In realtà le cose non sono andate esattamente così. Non ho affatto scelto Prince: in un certo senso è stato lui a scegliere me. È […] - Epochè
“Si tratta soltanto di non dimenticare che gli Invisibili possono andarsene, lasciandoci soltanto i rapporti umani, per coprirci le spalle. Come dicevano i Greci dei loro dei: non chiedono molto, soltanto di non essere dimenticati” “Take your hand in mine” Se vi accingete a leggere le pagine che seguono, armatevi di epochè, sospendete per qualche […] - The things I’ve lost
- Stubborn
“I didn’t learn anything. I taught myself.” Thinking back, he laughs for a second and reveals a tiny part of his nature. “I’m stubborn,” he said, his brown eyes boring right through me. ”I took a few music classes in school but mainly, I worked on my own”. (Prince and Cynthia Horner, Right […] - Prodigy
“If he makes it, the most atypical local star to come out of Sound 80 will be a multi-talented [18-year-old] prodigy from North Minneapolis who plays any instrument you hand him, sings with a crystal pure falsetto that would have put the young Michael Jackson to shame, and goes by the name Prince. No […] - Leggi Universali
“Il y a des lois universelles auxquelles il faut obéir. Une fois que nous les connaissons, nous nous évitons bien des ennuis. Des gens qui ne manifestent pas de bonté, qui n’ont confiance et d’espoir en rien, ne vont nulle part” (Prince, to Alain Brunet, La Presse, nov. 1996) - Album Commerciali“Je sais de quoi procède un tube, je sais comment concevoir un album commercial. Pour moi, cela est relativement facile. Mais il m’importe davantage de faire ce que je veux en tant qu’artiste. Cela est beaucoup plus complexe à réaliser”. (Prince, to Alain Brunet, La Presse, nov. 1996)
