I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: PRINCE-Purple Rain (1984).

I resisted Prince for most of my high school and early college years.  He was just so, so, so.  Well, actually I think he was just so popular.  Plus, my freshman year of college, someone on our floor used to blast this CD at full volume every time he did laundry.  It was pretty oppressive.

As I grew less strident, I learned to appreciate his talent (and his absurdity), and even to like Purple Rain.  And when I divorce Prince from the hype, the overplay, the excess, the quirks (yes, I’m talking 2 U) this is a damn fine record.

It’s also somewhat surprising that it was as big a hit as it was.  Musically, it’s all over the place (or is that something for everyone?).  I think in today’s specialized market, this may not have sold as well (or else it would be like Gnarls Barkley and be a hit regardless).

“Let’s Go Crazy” is poppy sure, but it rocks really hard (and showcases Prince’s guitar virtuosity).  But it’s the  second half of the disc that is just berserk with great music. “When Doves Cry” has that insane guitar solo opener.  The rest is simple keyboard pop (until the ecstatic screams at the end).  “I Would Die 4U” is the poppiest thing on the disc.  And the disc ender, “Purple Rain” is just a great rock track.  Delightfully pretentious in the beginning, full-bodied by the middle.  It’s quite genre defying.

I’m obviously not the biggest Prince fan in the world.  I have a few discs from this period (and the greatest hits).  It’s more than enough Prince for me.  And while I don’t listen to this disc while I do laundry, sometimes, when it’s warm, I’ll open the windows and crank this up.

[READ: May 14, 2010] “1999”

This story opens with the line “I wouldn’t fuck [the artist formerly known as Prince] if he was the last man on Earth.”  This turns out to be excellent foreshadowing.  The year is 1999, morphing into 2000.  And the unthinkable has happened.  There is no one left on the planet.  Except for the voice of TAFKAP on the radio, exhorting women to cum 2 him and b with him.

Although Sonya wouldn’t fuck him, several other women in the story most certainly would.   And so, the story follows four different women, each with her own agenda as they travel across the continent to Minnesota, to Paisley Park.

The story starts out kind of silly (despite the end of the world and all).  It’s very Prince-centric (no I don’t have access to his “symbol”) with all manner of opinion floating around about him, including song lyrics, and impressions of his voice.  But as the story continues, and the four women converge, things get pretty intense.  And also quiet sad.

So, yes, it’s a post-apocalyptic world set to the soundtrack of Prince (but no mention of “purple” rain, thankfully).  But beyond that premise, it’s a story of survival (although the world isn’t that bleak just yet…there’s plenty of snacks at the abandoned gas station), and there is hope for redemption in the end.

I started this story not thinking too much of it, but by the end I was really hooked.

[No lyrical joke will be inserted here].